Interview with Seaman Maurice Howe

T Interview with Seaman Maurice Howe By Glen Perrins r^HE Vestris sea tragedy, in which 114 persons lost their lives, might have been averted had the English ship observed the regular routine aboard American ships, according to Maurice Howe, Ogden newspaperman, who recently returned from a voyage to South America. Proper precaution for the saving of lives in case of shipwreck, in contrast to what seems to have been a display of inefficiency, is set forth by Mr. Howe, who pays high tribute to the safety rules of American ships. In describing the manner in which life boats are handled at sea, the general rules and regulations prescribed by the board of supervising inspectors, ocean and coastwise, the following is listed as equipment for life boats by U. S. government: A properly secured life line the entire length on each side. One painter of manila rope. A full complement of oars and two spare oars. One set and a half of thole pins or rowlocks. One steering oar with rowlock and one rudder with tiller or yoke. One boat hook attached to a staff of suitable length. Two life preservers. Two helmets. One galvanized-iron bucket with lanyard attached. One bailer. One efficient liquid compass. One lantern containing sufficient oil to burn at least nine hours and ready for instant use. One can containing one gallon of illuminating oil. One box of friction matches wrapped in a water-proof package and carried in a box secured to the underside of boat. A wooden breaker or suitable tank fitted with siphon, pump or spigot for drawing water, and containing at least one quart of water for each person. Two enameled drinking cups. A water-tight receptacle containing two pounds of provisions for each person. These provisions may be hard bread or U. S. army ration — any emergency ration of cereal or vegetable compound ap- proved or used by the army^or navy, but no ration of meat or any ration requiring saline preservative allowed.

190 IMPROVEMENT ERA One canvas bag, containing sailmakers' palm and needles, sail twine, marline, and marline spike. A water-tight metal case containing twelve self-igniting red lights capable of burning at least two minutes. A sea anchor. A vessel containing gallon of vegetable or animal oil, so con- structed that oil can be easily distributed on the water and so ar- ranged that it can be attached to the anchor. A mast or masts with one good sail at least. All loose equipment must be securely attached to boat. Life boats of less than 180 cubic feet capacity on pleasure steamers are not required to be thus equipped. With the foregoing general rules set down by the U. S. govern- ment, and being strictly observed, sea tragedies may be averted. Howe tells of life-boat drill, as follows: Clang! goes the ship's bells and "whooooo" goes the ship's whistle as the alarm is given to stand by and prepare to lower the life boats. The members of the crew rush to their accustomed posi- tions, each to his assigned task, — fulfilling the orders given by the captain, mates and other officers aboard the vessel. The gripes are loosened, the boats are swung out on the davits and lowered. A signal is given and the boats are returned to their positions on deck. All is completed quickly and in an orderly manner. Such a scene is part of the regular routine abroad American off-shore ships and is required by the safety laws governing U. S. merchant marine. And no one knows when the weekly life-boat drill aboard ship may suddenly become the real thing. When actual emergency conditions supplant mere practice and rigid discipline must prevent confusion, calm heads and steady hands must prevent loss of life. The recent tragedy of the freight and passenger steamer Vestris, sinking in the Atlantic ocean with a loss of 114 lives, brings to attention the helplessness of persons inexperienced in danger, coupled with a lack of discipline, lack of leadership and lack of proper equipment. American ships operate under the strictest laws pertaining to safety of any nation in the world, and failure to comply will bring penalties for the master and the owners. The boats were swung out. Everything was observed to see if they were in good working order as a precaution against emergency. The boats swung back. No confusion, no disorder. Each man trained to his duty. There were life preservers in every stateroom and in the fore- castle where the seamen slept. The life preservers must be inspected

INTERVIEW WITH SEAMAN MAURICE HOWE 191 each year to see if they are in good condition. Most life preservers are made of blocks of cork or other light material, sewed into a sort of canvas jacket that can be strapped around the body. The life buoys, shaped like an automobile tire, usually seen fastened to the rails along the decks, are painted white and have a can attached to them containing a chemical. This- will ignite and burn as a flare as soon as it touches the water. In case a man falls overboard at night or in foggy weather, someone may throw him a life buoy for him to cling to. The flare will burn and enable him to be found after the ship is stopped and a boat lowered. Since the sea all looks alike, it would be impossible to locate the man in the darkness without the aid of the light. The same holds true in case of ship- wreck. The chemical in the cans will burn for several hours and passing steamers can trace the survivors by means of the glimmering flares. On American ships engaged in off-shore trade the crews are made up of a certain number of A. B. seamen and ordinary seamen. Ordinary seamen get about $40 and their "mess" per month. The A. B. seamen, also known as able-bodied seamen, get about $55 and "mess." The able-bodied seamen must have had at least two years' experience and a life-boat certificate, or one year's experience with an examination and a certificate. Life-boat certificates are issued by officers of the coast guard to seamen who have had experience in handling life boats and their equipment, and on passing the examination at the coast guard station they are given a certificate of their proficiency. Efficiency is the watchword aboard American ships as con- trasted with inefficiency of the ill-fated Vestas. If the officers really did fail to maintain discipline, they were at fault; if the captain really did fail to send for aid when aid was needed twenty-four hours before the ship sank, he was at fault; if the demoralized and un- trained crew rowed away in the boats leaving helpless people to drown, they all, officers and men, committed one of the gravest offenses against the law of the sea. Rather they should have died to the last man than to have refused aid to the passengers. Rather should the officers have held the crew in control, if need be at gun point, than to allow them to abandon women and children to the waves. One wonders what the captain of the Vestris could tell about the matter. An SOS message sent in time might have saved every life. The law of the sea demands that a distress signal be heeded by all vessels within range. Most distressing are the stories told by the survivors of the rotten lines and ropes, casks filled with salt water instead of fresh.

192 IMPROVEMENT ERA rusted match and rocket boxes, rotten boat material and unskilled seamen. On most American ships making long cruises the life boats are inspected and painted each voyage. If one is found defective it is repaired at once. The United States rules are very strict regarding the construction and buoyancy of life boats. Each one is equipped with water-tight airfloats that will keep it afloat even though it is full of water. New ropes or "falls" replace those showing the slight- est signs of decay. The blocks (pulleys) are tested. The food and water and other supplies are renewed. Foreign ships, of course, operate under the safety laws of their respective flags. For example, boilers in the engine-rooms of Ameri- ican vessels must be inspected at regular intervals. This requires that the fires be drawn and the boilers cooled. This subjects them to a terrific and uneven strain. But the ships of other nations can come into port and have their boilers tested while they are still hot! The equipment on ships is usually stenciled with the name of the vessel and especially all life-boat equipment. Then, in case of a wreck, the finding of some floating objects will identify the ship. The Lamport and Holt line which owned the Vestris has a number of ships engaged in South American trade. Most of them run between New York and Montevideo and Buenos Aires, on the River Plate. The Vestris was in South America during the time the West Nilus was there and one of the passengers who went to Argentina aboard the Vestris decided to come back to the United States on an American vessel. She was Mrs. R. L. Selleck of Santa Monica, California. She came aboard the S. S. West Nilus, while it was lying at anchor in the Rio Parana at San Pedro, Argentina, June 22, and came back to the States with us, arriving at Los Angeles, August 9, this year. While the West Nilus is primarily a freight steamer, with a capacity of over six thousand tons of cargo, it also has accommodation for ten passengers. Each passenger was assigned to a certain life boat. The mem- bers of the crew and the officers are assigned to various boats, so that there are men in each that understand seamanship and can handle the boat properly. There was at least one navigating officer assigned to each life boat, and each was equipped with a sea anchor. This is a conical piece of canvas fastened to a length of "line" in the stern of the boat. It acts as a drag and thus keeps the boat headed into the waves and keeps it from capsizing in the troughs of the sea. The sea anchor may contain a small can of oil that will spread over the water. Each life boat is equipped with a gallon or so of oil. This may be poured on the water in rough weather and will keep

INTERVIEW WITH SEAMAN MAURICE HOWE 193 the waves from "breaking" and thus swamping the boat with its human cargo. In the forward end of the boat is a "painter." a coil of about sixty feet of two-inch rope, which is made fast to the rail of the ship when the boat is lowered to keep it alongside the vessel. When the boat has reached the water a person in the boat can pull a small lever which operates the automatic release device. This latter releases both "falls." or lowering ropes, at the same time so that one end is not tipped up as would be the case if the ropes were not freed at the same instant. Before the boat leaves the deck the canvas cover and its sup- porting "strongback" is removed. A moment is devoted to glancing at the stores and equipment to see that all is in good order, the "gripes" are released, the "chocks" removed, then following the order the boat is lowered away. American sea laws require that life boats be of certain length and breadth and of certain materials, and of non-sinkable construc- tion. Along the inside of the boat are air tanks for buoyancy. There must be enough boats to accommodate all the persons aboard the vessel, and they must be equipped with a number of articles fixed by the regulations governing safety devices. These include the follow- ing: A full set of oars and two extra, small mast and sail, twine, needles, sailor's "palm," hatchet, lantern, rockets, water-proof matches, compass, a life line and floaters, storm oil, fuel oil, two drinking cups, a quart of water and two pounds of hard tack for each person, canvas, a knife, etc. Thus there are provisions to sustain life and equipment which would enable the occupants to make their way towards land or another ship. In a case where a ship comes to the rescue of another and the seas are running high a line may be literally "shot" from a small cannon to the ship and "breeches buoy" rigged up. This is a sort of chair or swing attached to the line from one ship to the other and one by one the people are transferred to safety. Whatever the cause of the Vestris wreck and whatever blame will be attached to those in charge, it will always be a blot on the records of British shipping. It appears strange that 154 out of 199 members of the crew should be saved while only 60 out of 129 passengers are now alive — that is. more than 77% of the crew and less than 47% of the passengers were saved. But considering the panic, the apparent lack of leadership, the mountainous waves and the difficulty of launching poorly equipped boats down the side of a listing ship, we must withhold judgment until the facts are brought out. Ogden, Utah