Thirty-Six Hours Rudderless: The J.C. Ford's Last Voyage

VICTORIA, Feb. 21.—[Special.]—Little encouragement to sealers is contained in the report of the schooner Brenda, which returned to port in distress this afternoon, bringing the shipwrecked crew of the San Francisco coasting schooner J. C. Ford. The Brenda, since January 26, secured five seals at an outlay close on to $3,000. A series of gales prevented the lowering of the boats, though seals were plentiful on all hands. But it is an ill wind that blows good to none, and the same gale which destroyed the Brenda's chances among the seals carried her to Gray's Harbor in time to save the lives of the crew of the Ford only a few hours before she disappeared beneath the waves.

The Ford was commanded by Capt. Charles Brown, a veteran navigator of the coast waters, and left San Francisco on February 9, with a mixed cargo of lime and machinery, stiffened with sand ballast, for Gray's Harbor, where a return cargo of lumber was to be loaded. Her passage up was favorable, fair weather prevailing until February 17, when, being off the midchannel buoy, the captain decided to run into Gray's Harbor. Soon afterward the sky became overcast and a series of squalls came up, driving the schooner, a three-master of 232 tons, on to the South spit. She got off, but not without the loss of her rudder and a long strip of her keel, extending clear to the mainmast. Immediately the ship began to take water, and while one squad of the crew of eight worked the pumps, the others were employed in keeping the schooner off shore by manipulating her sails, the steering gear being entirely destroyed. The small boat was provisioned in anticipation of the worst, though its chances in the sea then running would have been slim, and for two days the little band worked like heroes, while the water steadily gained on them, the pumps becoming plugged and the vessel hourly becoming more unmanageable.

On Friday morning a new terror presented itself. The lime caught fire and added to the horror of the situation. The shore was fully thirty miles distant and the rough waters promised immediate destruction to any small boat entrusted to them. Signals of distress were displayed night and day and the captain and crew resigned themselves to the agony of waiting. So all day Friday and Friday night passed.

Early on Saturday morning the signals of distress were seen by the Brenda's lookout, and the sealer promptly bore down to the rescue, and succeeded not only in safely transferring Capt. Brown and his men to the schooner, but also in removing property to the value of about $2,000 before the end of the Ford came, two hours later. From the deck of the sealer Capt. Brown saw his ship give her last lurch into the sea.

Capt. Brown and his crew will go from here to San Francisco by the next steamer.

The schooner J. C. Ford was built in San Francisco in 1881. She plied between San Francisco and Puget Sound in the lumber trade for several years under command of Capt. Mercer. She usually loaded in lumber. Last year S. E. Slade, of the Slade Lumber Company, purchased the vessel from the Mendocino Lumber Company, and Capt. Brown, who is a member of the company, assumed command. The Ford has been running between San Francisco and Gray's Harbor for the last few trips. Her dimensions are as follows: Length 123 feet, breadth 32 feet, depth 10 feet, and 232 net tons. The only insurance on the vessel was carried by Capt. Brown on his one-eighth interest, the insurance amounting to $2,500. The schooner was classed high and valued at $15,000.