Tuesday, January 12, 1932
Crew of Coaster Marguerite
Had Tough Experience
Oil Laden Craft, Partly Dismantled Towed in Last Night
by
Gill Netter Serafina II
Battered and bruised, foremast gone, her tattered jib
wrapped around her bobstay and trailing beneath her stern, the former Gloucester salt
banker Marguerite, once owned by John F. Wonson
of Rocky Neck but of recent years in the coastal trade out of Eastport Maine, was picked
up in a bad condition 20 miles east of Thacher’s yesterday afternoon by Capt. Leroy
Curtis in the gill netter Serafina II, owned by John
Chiancola.
The crew of three men on the Maine packet were willing to
abandon ship, but because they only had a tiny punt which could not have lived in rough
seas, they were forced to take their punishment and await the arrival of some messenger of
mercy. The craft was towed in here at 7.30 o’clock last night, a watch placed on
board b the owner of the Serafina II. The craft is tied up at
Chiancola’s wharf pending a claim for salvage.
To be adrift at the mercy of a nor’wester for many
hours, in danger of being drawn under by the sinking of their craft, is not a pleasant
experience for hardy seamen, but Capt. Will Hicks of Eastport, Me., Hoyt
Chaney of Lubec, and Leroy Little of West Pembroke, Me., had to
take it on the chin for 14 hours, hoping that their craft would not sink beneath their
feet.
The Marguerite, owned by the
McNichol Packing Company of Eastport, Me., left that place two weeks ago today. Bad
weather caused her to seek harbor along the Maine coast, and four times she sought shelter
en route to Boston. First she was forced into Matinicus, then to Rockland, Port Clyde and
finally Portland. On Sunday afternoon, she left Portland on what she believed to be her
last leg to Boston, 452 barrels cod off stowed beneath decks, consigned to Marden-Hill at
Charlestown. She left Portland in a light easterly, but barely had she passed from sight
of land than things began to happen.
The wind freshened up considerably, yet it was astern and
aided the old-time salt banker on her way. The sea, however, had increased considerably
also, and the craft nose-dived into breakers that sent a smother of foam flying high into
her rigging, besides washing her decks repeatedly. About 11.30 o’clock in the
evening, according to Capt. Hicks, the wind hauled off to the northwest
and hit the craft a smashing blow that sent the freighter staggering for breath. Gamely,
she came up out of the trough of the sea, shook herself free of water, and staggered on.
Without warning, the fore rigging let go at the dead-eyes and with it went the headsails.
The skipper and his crew managed to take in the foresail, however but the jib and jumbo
were beyond rescue.
For many an hour the foremast swayed, held only by its own
weight, and then, with a crash, it went by schooner’s deck, carrying with it all of
the fore rigging, the head stays, and part of the windlass which had been caught in the
debris. When the foremast let go, the slackening of the rigging caused the mainmast to
lurch aft, and the mainboom on which the mainsail had been furled shot backward and caught
in the ship’s davits. On the davits hung a power yawl which is used by all of the
Maine coastal craft to tow with in calm weather and for emergency if necessary. The main
boom poked a hole in the side of the yawl, ripped the davits from their fastenings and
davits, boat and the small engine sank from sight.
Capt. Hicks and his men tried as best they
could to clear the wreckage from the deck and succeeded fairly well for when she arrived
here all of the forerigging had disappeared. Her main rigging hung slack and the mainmast
wobbled back and forth like a flag in the wind, threatening at any moment to fall out of
her. The shattered stump of the foremast was flush with the deck, the windlass twisted,
the windlass box shattered and headsails tangled in the water beneath her forefoot.
After the spar went, Capt. Hicks took in
the situation carefully, cautioned his men about remaining calm and then set to work to
signal for aid. The three men facing what they believed was certain death in the heavy
rollers which made a plaything of the 49-year-old craft, gritted their teeth and set to
work to do what they could.
All of the okum in the craft was gathered on deck and
torches made. These were lighted in the hope that some Coast Guard craft would sight the
burning flares and steam down to the rescue. But no boat came and the night wore on into
the early hours of yesterday morning. A quilt, then a blanket, then a mattress were
brought up on deck, soaked with kerosene and set on fire, but even these did not attract
attention.
At daybreak, the signals were still burning, clouds of
black smoke being drawn skyward in the nor’west wind. Capt. Hicks
then broke open a barrel of the cod oil and set part of this on fire and it was this,
evidently, that Capt. Curtis of the Serafina II
saw as he looked out of the pilot house of the gill netter. The rest of the oil was thrown
over the rail in an effort to flatten the water, but it was so thick that it had little
effect.
Capt. Curtis saw the smoke of the derelict
and started for it. The going was tough, but Serafina II made
the distance in fairly good time considering the rough weather. When the gill netter bore
down on the Maine boat, Capt. Curtis spoke her and the men begged to be
taken off. They had packed their suitcases and gunnage bags, and piled them on deck, but
feared to take to the small boat because three men could not possibly have entered it in
hopes of escaping, and it surely would have capsized with the load.
Because it was so rough, Capt. Curtis did
not dare to go alongside to take the men off, only an extreme emergency, but he made a tow
line fast, 200 fathoms of heavy line, and started to tow the Marguerite to port. The heavy
hawser parted under the strain and much time was lost in getting another line on board.
The second line held, and at a rate not over three miles an hour, the Serafina
II towed her prize. Had the gill netter not been a staunch craft, she never
would have accomplished the task for the Marguerite was deep in the
water.
Capt. Hicks told a reporter this morning
that he though his time had come. When the rigging went the strain of the mast opened up a
leak and every time the mast rolled the craft would leak faster. When the spar finally did
let go, the leak eased up a bit and there was at that time, no danger of the craft
sinking. But, with the Marguerite being tossed around beyond
control of her rudder, wave after wave would break over her stern and rush forward, which
made it extremely dangerous for Capt. Hicks and his crew.
"We had to stay on board," he said, "for as
much as we wanted to leave her, we had no way to go. The only boat left was a small punt,
and it wouldn’t hold three men. We all felt sure that we were goners, but what could
you do? There was nothing to do but stay there, and pray that something would turn up, and
when the Gloucester boat came down form astern of us, we were a mighty tickled gang,
I’ll tell you."
It was indeed fortunate for Capt. Hicks
that he was picked up by the gill netter, for she was the only one of the fleet fishing
yesterday and the story might have been a different one today.
The vessel is being held at the Chiancola wharf pending a
settlement for a salvage claim, entered by the owner of the Serafina II. |
