Frank Coffee

Name: Forty Years On The Pacific — Navigation On The Pacific
Author: Frank Coffee

Forty Years On The Pacific — Navigation On The Pacific (1920)

Summary

“Forty Years On The Pacific — Navigation On The Pacific”, published in 1920, is a work by Frank Coffee. It explores elements such as Pacific, Australia and Sydney.

Quotes from Forty Years On The Pacific — Navigation On The Pacific (Frank Coffee)

Frank Coffee, Forty Years On The Pacific — Navigation On The Pacific (1920)

“ It is one of our human weaknesses to remember one stormy voyage longer than a dozen tranquil trips, and we never forget to refer to our trying experience. The longest voyage I made was from San Francisco to Sydney. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Frank Coffee, Forty Years On The Pacific — Navigation On The Pacific (1920)

“ The first steamer that made the trans-Pacific voyage that I find record of, was the Monumental City, from Panama to Sydney, in the 'fifties. She put into Tonga for provisions and firewood, and the amazed and fearful natives called her a "fiery sailing ship." Their emotions are not to be wondered at when we remember the bewilderment of our own people at the sight of their first steamer, the Savannah (300 tons) , that crossed the Atlantic in 1819, traveling from her namesake town to Liverpool in twenty-six days. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Frank Coffee, Forty Years On The Pacific — Navigation On The Pacific (1920)

“ In Summer, too, occasionally, a forest fire will contribute a huge pall of smoke to add to the dangers and difficulties of navigation. Between Victoria, Seattle and Vancouver large ships from Australia and the Orient must plow their way over this route at all hours and seasons. The navigators, nevertheless, have so accustomed themselves to finding their way by echo that neither fog nor smoke-bank can interrupt their course. At certain periods of the year rain, snow and wind increase the hardships. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Frank Coffee, Forty Years On The Pacific — Navigation On The Pacific (1920)

“ While on the subject of Pacific navigation, it is pertinent to set down in this place a method of what I may term echoseamanship that greatly interested me on the Pacific coast of the United States and Canada. This unique form of navigation I witnessed in Puget Sound and the Gulf of Georgia, which are noted for the numberless islands in their waters. On the voyage the ship is seldom on the open sea, and the going is smooth. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Frank Coffee, Forty Years On The Pacific — Navigation On The Pacific (1920)

“ So much for the whistle-echo and its effect on at least one man's destiny.
Generally speaking, the conditions on the Pacific coast have many advantages for those who follow the sea. Navigation here is not so hazardous as in numerous places in the same latitude along the Atlantic coast. Owing to small rise of the tide on the Pacific coast and freedom from ice, passengers and cargo can be handled at all ports night and day throughout the year. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Frank Coffee, Forty Years On The Pacific — Navigation On The Pacific (1920)

“ It is singular that their manifold responsibilities are so little appreciated by passengers. For instance, a passenger might protest against a captain putting to sea in wicked weather, not realizing that he must, to satisfy the owner of the ship, who is obligated by the terms of his mail contract. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Frank Coffee, Forty Years On The Pacific — Navigation On The Pacific (1920)

“ Not for an instant must he forget that sound travels a mile in four seconds, and his reckoning must be absolute. The whistle is tooted frequently, and the captain must gauge his position by the echo-return just how far he is from rocks. There are some very narrow passages, and all the skill of the captain is called into play. There is a large amount of iron in the rocks contiguous to the shore which demagnetizes the compass, making it unreliable. For that reason, on board some of the ships, the use of the magnetic compass has been discontinued, and the gyroscopic compass is used instead. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Frank Coffee, Forty Years On The Pacific — Navigation On The Pacific (1920)

“ Johnston acquired his skill in the whistle-echo system through years of work on the British Columbia coast where the fast express ships of the Canadian Pacific Railroad and the Grand Trunk Railroad are navigated in all seasons, no matter what the condition of the weather, and they must reach their destination without loss of time. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Frank Coffee, Forty Years On The Pacific — Navigation On The Pacific (1920)

“ The early efforts of government and steamship companies to establish a line between Australia and America are well worth our notice. In 1869 Colonel Woods, mail commissioner of the New Zealand Government, was told to devise the best route for steamers carrying mails across the Pacific. He recommended establishing a service from Sydney via Wellington and Tahiti, to San Francisco, and claimed that a 2,500-ton steamer could accomplish the journey in twenty-five days under ordinary conditions. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Frank Coffee, Forty Years On The Pacific — Navigation On The Pacific (1920)

“ To beat the elements at their worst the officer on watch must, first of all, know the time the engineer is making. Of course, he must possess excellent hearing and an accurate measurement faculty, together with a qui vive alertness that is attuned to the slightest variation. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Frank Coffee, Forty Years On The Pacific — Navigation On The Pacific (1920)

“ The date of the beginning of navigation by trade vessels on the Pacific is hard to place. However, a British fleet of eleven ships under the command of Governor Phillip arrived in Botany Bay on January 19, 1788. La Perouse, [1] commissioned by Louis XVI, entered the same bay with two ships, only a few days later—January 24th. It will be seen, therefore, that Australia came very near being a French possession. The first foreign trader to arrive in Sydney was the Philadelphia, on November 1, 1792, with Captain Patrickson in command. ”

Frank Coffee

Summary

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