292 U.S. BUEEAU OF FISHERIES 



outgoing cargo included a few tons of miscellaneous items. The 

 Vega left for Seattle on August 11 and arrived there on August 20. 

 The Bureau's vessel Penguin delivered five minor shipments of 

 supplies to the Pribilof Islands during the year. 



POWER VESSEL " PENGUIN " 



At the beginning of the year the Penguin was en route from 

 Seattle to the Pribilof Islands with a full cargo of supplies, which 

 was discharged early in January. During the next 2 months the 

 vessel served as a tender between Unalaska and the islands, chiefly 

 in the delivery of mail and perishable foodstuffs. On March 10 

 it sailed for Seattle with 8 passengers, 26 cases of fox skins, and 

 119 empty oil drums, and arrived there on March 22. 



The Penguin left Seattle on April 20 with a full cargo of freight 

 and arrived at St. Paul Island on May 3. The return voyage to 

 Seattle began on May 24 and ended on June 2. On its next trip 

 to the Pribilofs, from June 10 to June 20, the vessel had 26 pas- 

 sengers aboard and carried 165 tons of supplies in the hold and 2 

 power launches on deck. The return trip to Seattle covered the 

 period from July 30 to August 10, a call being made en route at 

 Afognak, where six Bureau employees from the fish-cultural sta- 

 tion were taken aboard. Twenty-one passengers for the Bureau 

 from the Pribilofs, of whom 17 were employees of the Fouke Fur 

 Co. who had gone there in June as sealing assistants, were returned 

 to Seattle at this time. 



While the Penguin was proceeding through Seymour Narrows on 

 August 8 against a strong tide, the steering gear gave way, leaving 

 the vessel at the mercy of the tidal currents. Fortunately, the halibut 

 fishing boat Bernice, of Seattle, northbound through the Narrows^ 

 answered the call for assistance and rendered valuable aid in towing 

 the disabled craft to a safe anchorage in Deepwater Bay, where 

 temporary repairs were made, permitting the Penguin to resume 

 its voyage to Seattle. After permanent repairs of the steering gear 

 w^ere completed, the vessel sailed on August 23 for the Pribilof 

 Islands with nine passengers and miscellaneous cargo, and arrived 

 there on September 5. 



Nine Bureau employees and a small lot of freight were aboard 

 the Pengmn when it left the islands on September 11, and additional 

 employees were picked up en route south as follows : 1 at Unalaska, 2 

 at Chignik, and 3 at Kodiak. An employee of the United States 

 Coast Guard Service was added to the passenger list at Ketchikan. 



"Wliile running cautiously on her course through thick weather, 

 the Penguin collided with the gas boat Tuscan^ 18 tons net, plying 

 between Ketchikan and Hyder under a mail contract, at 3 : 40 a.m. 

 September 21, near Bold Island in Revillagigedo Channel, about 12 

 miles southeast of Ketchikan, damaging the starboard quarter of the 

 Tuscan. The disabled boat was towed to Ketchikan by the Penguin^ 

 and a report of the accident was made to the local customs officials. 

 Thereafter the voyage was continued, and the vessel arrived at Seattle 

 on September 25. Subsequently a libel suit was filed by the owners of 

 the Tuscati in the United States District Court at Ketchikan, claim- 

 ing damages to the vessel, salvage charges, and loss of her next mail 



