Aua. 4, 1900.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
08 
A Single-Hand Cruise Around the 
World. 
At this end of the century wonders are too common to 
attract general attention, and the advances of science are 
so rapid and bewildering that even the marvelous becomes 
commonplace. The statement that a small boat handled 
by one man alone, without human aid or companionship, 
had completely circumnavigated the globe is in itself so 
simple and unobtrusive as to pass almost unnoticed in the 
daily record of larger and more elegant steamships, 
speedy automobiles and faster and more luxurious railway 
trains; and yet the achievement itself, as well as the per- 
sonal record of it by the bold navigator, is well worthy 
of more than a hasty consideration. When a man not 
only attempts but successfully achieves such a voyage as 
this, the first questions which present themselves are: 
Why and how? What object would induce a man to at- 
tempt a long and uncertain cruise in the face of dangers 
and difficulties only too well known to him and with 
very doubtful gains to offset them? And in what manner 
of craft was the voyage made, and what means were taken 
to meet the special difhculties of single-hand sailing on 
long ocean courses? 
In this case the prime motives that have tempted men 
at times to shorter but successful ocean voyages and to 
various unsuccessful attempts at the great task of world- 
girdling — the love of notoriety or the hope of financial re- 
ward in the shape of a dime museum engagement or a 
salary from some soap boiler^ — are missing. The hero of 
the enterprise, Capt. Joshua Slocum, an old Nova Scotia 
sea captain, was moved apparently by the love of the sea 
and of an open adventurous life, coupled with a lack of 
suitable employment. While the adventure has probably 
terminated to the financial advantage of the bold skipper, 
• whose innate gumption has enabled him to develop into a 
clever writer and a successful lecturer, it does not appear 
that he started with any money-making end in view, 
though he was shrewd enough to avail himself of all the 
t)pportunities which the voyage offered for the im- 
provement of the ship's finances. 
The idea of such a cruise probably had its inception in 
an accident which befell the captain about ten years ago, 
when, with his family, he was wrecked on the coast of 
Brazil in the bark Aquidneck, of which he was owner and 
skipper. From the remains of this vessel he built a big 
canoe, the Liberdade, in which with his wife and boys he 
made the voyage home to New York and New Bedford in 
safety. After this fortune seems to have turned her back 
upon the hardy navigator, and in the winter of 1892 he was 
without occupation, when chance threw in his way a gift 
of an old and practicaly abandoned fishing smack. 
For over a year Capt. Slocum worked over this vessel, 
rebuilding her completely and raising the sides to .suit her 
for deep sea work. The cost amounted to thirteen 
months of labor and $553-62 in cash, and the result was a 
vessel of unquestioned strength, 36ft. gin. over all, 14ft. 
2in. breadth, and 4ft. sin. depth of hold. Her draft was 
4ff., including about a foot of keel, and her tonnage was 
9 tons net and 12,71 gross. As to her model, in view of 
what she has done, and of her owner's liberal praise, it is 
pefhapB best not to discuss it too deeply. In spite of a 
good amount of dead rise, it is that of the ordinary oyster 
sloop or small smack, though with a fixed keel in place 
of a centerboard. The bow is of the cod's head type, but 
the two ends are better balanced in their relative fullness 
than in many of the old "cod's head and mackerel's tail" 
sloops. The overhangs are quite short, and the stern is 
chopped off at the usual smack angle. The rig is that of 
a pole-masted sloop, with short hoist and long boom, 
though in the Straits of Magellan the boom was short- 
ened and a mizzen added for the balance of the voyage. 
The living accommodations included a trunk cabin in the 
extreme after end, barely leaving space at the wheel, and 
a midship house, the former being the owner's private 
apartment and the latter for stowage. The steering gear 
was of the ship type — a short tiller in the rudder head, 
with tackles leading to the wheel. 
The voyage of the Spray began, after a season of cruis- 
ing and fishing on the New England coast, on April 24, 
189s, when she sailed from Boston for Nova Scotia, where 
the captain visited his boyhood home, and on July 2 he 
sailed again, reaching Fayal on July 20, and Gibraltar on 
Aug. 5. From here she fetched across to the coast of 
South America, making Pernambuco after forty days from 
Gibraltar. The voyage continued down the coast. New 
Year's Day, 1896, finding the yacht at Buenos Ayres. 
What with head winds, bad weather of all kinds and 
murderous savages, the passage of the Straits of Magellan 
proved a heavy undertaking, and it was the middle of 
April before the Spray was well afloat in the Pacific 
Ocean. The successful passage of the Straits was due in 
part to the use of a package of large carpet tacks, which 
were freely sown over the decks at nightfall, as a protec- 
tion from the bare-footed savages in canoes, who con- 
stantly threatened the vessel. 
After calling at Juan Fernandez the Spray was at sea 
for forty-three days before making Samoa. New Year's, 
1897, was spent at Melbourne, and New Year's, 1898, at 
Cape Town, the intervening twelve months having passed 
pleasantly in a leisurely cruise across the Indian Ocean. 
After three months spent in land travel through the 
South African republics, a new start was made on March 
26, 1898, and after calling at St. Helena and Ascension 
Island on May 8, the Spray crossed her outward-bound 
track at the point where she was on Oct. 2, 1895. On May 
14 the Spray was passed by the U. S. S. Oregon, on her 
now famous run from the Pacific to the Atlantic, Capt. 
Slocum sending up a signal, "Let us keep together for 
mutual protection." A most inhospitable thunder storm 
of exceptional violence, as still remembered in New York, 
met the Spray off Fire Island on Jmie 25, and induced her 
to change her course and end her voyage, on June 27, 
1898, in Newport Harbor; her log showing a distance of 
46000 rniles traversed in three years and two months. 
It is impossible in this brief outline of the skeleton of 
. the cruise to give any idea of what it really was, but those 
who will refer to the book will be amply repaid. At every 
port _ visited Capt. Slocum was received in the most 
hospitable manner, the fame of his vessel having pre- 
ceded him, so that he was eagerly expected. The con- 
sular and naval officials of the great nations made much of 
the plain sailorman and his little ship, and the leading men 
of each community were foremost in welcoming him 
and making his stay pleasant. The story of it all is told in 
a plain, direct and sailor-like way, which shows the bright 
side of the voyage in full, but says little or nothing of 
the many difficulties, discomforts and dangers which must 
have tried the skill and endurance of the skipper. In 
each place visited — Gibraltar with its wonderful fortifica- 
tions ; Samoa with its charming people, including Mrs. 
Stevenson, who entertained Capt. Slocum at Vailima; 
Johannesburg, with its mines — the manner of his coming 
opened every door to the adventurous voyager and 
afforded exceptional opportunities for seeing everything 
of interest. 
Of his own personal part the sailor-author has little 
to say; there is nothing boastful in word or tone, but 
when' it cotnes to the ship he is extravagant in her 
praise. One statement is so remarkable as to have chal- 
lenged criticism of experienced seamen, but the writer 
stands by it from first to last. He states that once on a 
course and with sails trimmed the vessel would steer 
herself for not only hours, but days, and instances one 
run of 2,700 miles, from Thursday Island to Keeling 
Cocos Islands, in the Indian Ocean, made in twenty-three 
days, during which time the wheel was lashed except for 
a single hour. It was his custom to read, cook and 
sleep in the cabin, merely shifting the wheel a spoke from 
time to time, and putting a becket on it, leaving the vessel 
to her own devices for an indefinite time until another 
small shift was necessary. 
Those who question the possibilities, the pleasures and 
the innumerable charms of single-hand cruising on a 
small scale, as followed by the amateur cruiser, will find 
in the cruise of the Spray a plain and forcible answer to 
all their objections to this form of sport. There are very 
few who wpuld care to undertake a voyage of such 
length, and quite as few who are competent to carry it- out 
successfully, but the possibilities of small craft when well 
handled are very satisfactorily demonstrated. Not only 
the experienced yachtsman and the ambitious tyro, but the 
general reader as well, will find the time pass quickly as 
he makes the cruise in the company with the genial 
captain through the pages of the book. The volume, 
which is freely illustrated and very tastefully bound, is 
published by the Century Company, New York. 
The Wind Upon thej^Sea. 
From the Boston Transcript. 
When the wind is calm the sea is a mirror reflecting 
the sky. When the wind blows it deepens the color ot 
the water, and sea and sky are often contrasted. Sea- 
faring people can tell the way of the wind Irom the color 
of the water. To-day both sea and sky are of the same 
shade of blue. To-morrow tlie wind blows from the 
northwest and the sea is many shades darker tUan the 
sky. Now the wind is calm and sea and sky are gray; 
later the wind blows from the south, the sky is still gray, 
but the sea is green. One minute all the world is gray; 
the next, a breeze springs up and we try to count the 
colors in the waves; black, purple, violet, lilac and pink. 
Tennyson speaks of the "innnite character of the sea." 
Now it is sad and mournful, to-morrow full of life and 
joy; now calm and placid, again full of strength and 
power. These varjdng expressions are caused by the 
wind, its effect upon the water being much the same as the 
effect of joy and anger upon the human face. 
This morning at 5 o'clock two planets hanging low 
in the east shed a soft light over the water. A peculiar 
stillness which often precedes the dawn and a light which 
seemed not of earth filled the world. There were white 
lights close insh^ore, the rest of the water was a clear 
robin's-egg blue; no sound was heard, and not a thing 
stirred. At noon what a change ! The wind blew a 
gale from the west. The white caps, driven before the 
wind, raced across the bay and dashed high in the sun- 
light on the opposite' shore. A strong, white light flooded 
sea and sky, frorn out of the midst of which came the sea- 
gull's vigorous, joyous scream. 
Again, the wind is laid, the sea is at ebb. The water 
has no ending, the sky no beginning. Far down the bay 
are phantom ships with shadowy violet sails. The noises 
of the city which fall distinctly upon the ear belong to 
another world than this one, only the quiet lap, lap of 
the waves on the shore and the plaintive song of the 
meadow lark belong to the dreamland into which we have 
entered. 
Two days of wind and rain, and again we look out upon 
the bay. The Avind, raging from' the south, tears up the 
deep and hurls it booming and seething over the rocks. 
Down the bay the fierce waves fling up their long, white 
arms, defying the wind. A driving, blinding mist blots 
out the world. Neither sky nor island nor neck of 
land is visible, only the boundless, raging deep. It seems 
years since we stepped from our quiet homes. We cling, 
drenched and breathless, to the beacon, deafened by the 
thunder of the tumult and blinded by the fury of the 
storm. 
From Texas. 
I have not heard for some time from our friend Johnny 
Bludworth, of Texas, but word comes tip to me from that 
land of famine and pestilence that Johnny is still on 
earth and still building boats. He seems to have manu- 
factured a sort of sidewalk boat, 21 feet 10 inches in 
length and 6 feet 8 inches beam, which will run on a 
heavy dew and stand any amount of wind. Johnny sailed 
all the way from Rockport to Mobile, Biloxi and Pass 
Christian, and he trimmed up about everything there 
was to race against, beating the best of the Northern im- 
portations with his boat, which is called Skate. Part of 
the log of his trip reads as below: 
"July 4. — Left Mobile at 4 A. M., and with a fine breeze 
made the run to Point Clear in two and a half hours; 
great deal of sport made of the scow, but when the race 
was over and we had beaten El Heirie and everything 
else except a 28-foot catboat, their faces were rather 
long; there was a stiff breeze and plenty of sea, and 
Skate fairly flew on the free stretches.. The Adelaide 
capsized. Irma broke her tiller, and Mephisto leaked so 
she had to give up. 
"July 10. — Left for Biloxi races at 6 A. M., with light 
fair wind; course about west; reached Biloxi i P. M. ; 
* * * learned that races had been postponed, and left 
at 1*30 P. M. for Pass Christian, where races will be 
sailed on 14th. Passed Mississippi City about 3:30 * * * 
"July 14. — Raced to-day, with light wind, not much to 
Skate's liking, but we beat Irma, our only competitor, 
over three minutes. There were about thirty starters in 
the several classes. 
"July 15. — Leave Pass Christian for Gulf Port, on our 
return to Scranton, with a close haul and stiff breeze. 
Soon overhauled one of the litte racers ahead, and reach^ 
Gulf Port at 4 P. M.. Leave for Biloxi at 5 F. M. Pass, 
steamer Georgia with crowd of excursionists, who cheer 
us as we pass. Arrive at Biloxi about dark." 
E. Hough. 
Hartfokd Building, Chicago, 111. 
New York Y. C Cruise. 
FLAGSHIP CORONA — GENERAL ORDER NO. 2. 
Monday, Aug. 6— The squadron will rendezvous at CSeia 
Cove. At II J^s.. M. there will be a meeung ot the cap- 
tains on hoard the flagship. 
'ihe programme for me cruise, weather permitting, will 
be as toUows : 
Monday, Aug. 6 — Race for the Commodore's cup from 
Glen Love to Huntington Bay. 
1 uesday, Aug. ^ — squadron run, Huntington. Bay to 
Morris Cove. 
Wednesday, Aug. 8 — Morrie Cove to New London. 
Thursday, Aug. 9 — New London to Newport. 
Friday, Aug. 10 — Newport to Vineyard Haven, 
Saturday, Aug. ii — Vineyard Haven to Newport. 
Sunday, Aug. 12 — The squadroH will remain at anchor 
at Newport. 
Monday, Aug. 13 — ^Races off Newport for the Astor 
cups. 
Tuesday, Aug. 14 — There will be a meeting of the 
captains on board the flagship at noon. 
During the cruise there will be the usual races for 
the owl and gamecock colors and a race for launches. 
The Regatta Committee will furnish details for the runs 
from port to port and for all other racing events. 
Captains are requested to provide their vessels' with 
N. Y. Y. C. night signals; also to send to the Commodore 
a list of the names of their guests. ' - 
1 he captains and their guests will be welcome on board! 
the flagship when in harbor. 
By order of the Commodore, 
Robert Bacok, Fleet Captain.. 
July 20, 1900. -•. 
Patching Up the. New Yachts. 
The following account of the repairs to the. new 70- 
footers is from the Bristol correspondent ot the Njsw 
York Sun: ■ • " 
Repairs to August Belmont's 70-footer Mineola were 
completed at the rierreshott' works on Saturday, and she 
was lowered from the railway, sailing at once for City 
Island, where she will be painted. The repairs have been 
extensive, and, it is believed, will be effective in prevent- 
ing such straining as was given the boat in the heavy 
sea during Wednesday's race. ' , . ,, 
The interior strengthening consists largely of steel wire 
ropes, set up by turnbuckles and supplemented by steel 
struts, the principal work being about the bow, which had 
been twisted up. The outside strengthening was a band 
of galvanized steel 9in. wide and 3-i6in. thick, reaching 
diagonally downward and backward on each side of the 
bow from a point a few inches below the waterline to a 
point near the top of the lead keel. This band was bolted 
through the planking. 
Virginia was at once put on the railway in place of 
Mineola and will undergo similar repairs. Her bow 
now cocks up in the air like the toe of an old-fashion€«l 
shoe, but since Mineola's was similarly misshaped and 
has come back into place, it is to be presumed Virginia's, 
will do the same. 
Yankee will replace Virginia on the railway by Wednes- 
day or Thursday. Rainbow is being prepared at the dry 
dock at East Providence, and the others ought to be- 
ready for the New York Y. C. cruise that begins at Glera 
Cove on next Monday. 
YACHTING NEWS NOTES. 
Valiant, steam yacht, W. K. Vanderbilt, sailed ffottl 
Newport on July 2X with her owner and Mr. W. S. Hoyt 
on board. She made Plymouth on July 30 'after- a record 
trip of seven days seventeen hours. Valiant was desicned 
by Mr. St. Clare J. Byrne. . 
*6 «6 it 
Enterprise, steam yacht, formerly Saide ani Sfiay'of the 
Sea, now owned by F. L. Perin, of BaltiiMio,re,. Iloigi her jib. 
boom and the key of her propeller on jmliy 21 when 200. 
miles east of Fastnet on her way fronii Sciarttliiampton ton 
New York, and put back to Queenstawn.. 
_ ^ 
Atalanta, steam yacht, George J. Gpuld„ has been .sold 
to the Colombian Government and wilt be converted into 
a gunboat. 
*e n is 
At a special meeting of the Portland Y. C, July j8. the 
resignation of Com. L. C. Cummnigs was accepted. Vice- 
Com. J. W. Bowers, yacht Viva, was elected Commodore 
and Mr. E. W. Woodman, yacht Banshee, Vice-Com- 
modore. 
NAMELE55 REMITTERS. 
The Forest and Stream Publishing Co. is holding 
several sums of money which have been sent to it for 
subscriptions and books by correspondents who have 
failed to give name and address. If this note comes 
to the eye of any such nameless remitter we trust to. 
hear from him. 
Take inventory of the good things in this issue of 
Forest and Stream. Recall what a fund was sivenj 
last week. Count on what is to come next wcek: 
Waa there ever in all the world a mi|re abiiQduiC 
vaekly store of sfM»rtsaien'a reading' j 
