Work of the U. S. Hydrographic Office 



73 



The long red lines on the face of the 

 chart represent paths of the centers of 

 well-determined storms which have oc- 

 curred in previous years during the 

 month of February. Tropical cyclones 

 do not occur on the north Atlantic dur- 

 ing this month, but storms of great vio- 

 lence are frequent. From an examina- 

 tion it is plainly evident that an average 

 storm track for the month would be of 

 no practical value ; but these of previous 

 years are most useful as, if from indica- 

 tions of weather, sea, and barometer, 

 the seaman finds himself on or near the 

 track of one of these, he has good rea- 

 son to suppose that he will experience 

 a similar one. 



DERELICTS 



Notice the symbols for derelicts and 

 wrecks at the lower left-hand corner 

 and observe the large number of these 

 obstructions on the body of the chart. 

 These, with icebergs and fogs, and par- 

 ticularly a combination of all three, 

 give the mariner the greatest anxiety. 

 Each one of these constitutes a menace 

 to life and property, most dangerous 

 because not plotted on any other chart 

 nor marked in any manner. Those 

 symbols on the chart which are bot- 

 tom up give warning of especially dan- 

 gerous derelicts, the kind that show 

 so little surface above water as not to 

 be seen, even in daylight, until close at 

 hand. We read too often of vessels 

 which have put to sea and never been 

 heard of afterward, and we can easily 

 imagine that some of them have been 

 lost through collision with these floating 

 dangers. A collision with an abandoned 

 vessel laden with either coal, iron ore, 

 or steel rails would materially damage 

 any vessel afloat. 



Only a few years ago a large Dutch 

 transatlantic liner struck a submerged 

 wreck which broke her propeller and 

 probably stove a hole in her bottom. 

 The steamer was abandoned in a sink- 

 ing condition, but fortunately not be- 



fore another steamer had come along 

 and rescued the passengers and crew. 



During one interval of seven years 

 the total number of derelicts reported 

 amounted to 1,628, of which 482 had 

 been identified by name. This means 

 an average of 19 per month —that is, it is 

 reasonable to believe that there are never 

 less than 19 of these floating dangers in 

 the north Atlantic all the time, and the 

 records of the Hydrographic Office show 

 that the average time a derelict remains 

 afloat is about thirty days. The identi- 

 fied ones are easily followed and their 

 tracks plotted on the pilot chart from 

 month to month. A few remarkable 

 instances of ocean drift may be inter- 

 esting. 



A three-masted schooner, The Fannie 

 E. Wolston, was abandoned on October 

 15, 1 89 1, and frequently seen after that 

 for 1,101 days — three years and six 

 days — at the end of which time, after 

 traveling about 9,000 mile's, she was 

 lost sight of. 



Take the case of the lumber-laden 

 schooner IV. L. White. She was aban- 

 doned waterlogged about 80 miles off 

 the capes of the Delaware during the 

 great blizzard of March, 1888. She 

 drifted 5,910 miles, following the Gulf 

 Stream a good way across the At- 

 lantic, and about eleven months later 

 stranded on one of the Hebrides, hav- 

 ing been sighted and reported forty-five 

 times during the interval. For over 

 six months of this time she was a con- 

 stant menace to our transatlantic com- 

 merce. 



And another interesting case is that 

 of the ship Fred B. Taylor, which was 

 cut in two by a steamer, the two parts 

 remaining afloat. Strange to say, these 

 parts separated, the stern drifting to the 

 northward and going ashore on the 

 Maine coast forty-six days later, and 

 the bow drifting to the southward and 

 being lost sight of off the Maryland 

 coast seventy-two days later. 



From September, 1889, up to the 



