Post by KG on Jun 11, 2018 19:54:58 GMT
Come across this as I research the life of a Master Mariner.
Galveston, Texas. Liverpool, England. Although both are seaport cities, very little seems to link the two. Once a major port, Galveston is a small island town that depends on tourism. Liverpool is one of England’s largest cities with a diverse economy. But on September 8, 1900, the day a hurricane killed thousands in Galveston, the British steamship, the SS Kendal Castle, was there. Her captain, Edwin Goudge, age thirty-six and born in London, had sailed from Liverpool.
That night, the tide at the wharves rose. By eight o’clock on the morning of September 8, many of the captains were busy preparing their ships. First Mate W. Ledden of the Comino noted in his log that the barometer had fallen and the crew continued to prepare for a storm. Near the quarantine station, Captain W. R. Page of the Taunton instructed his crew to work the engines to counteract the strong current that strained its anchors.
If only Galvestonians had taken precautions. Instead, men went to work, women managed their households, and children and tourists rode the trolleys to the beach to watch waves destroy the bathhouses.
By mid-afternoon, the mood changed. The wind had picked up and the cold rain was needle sharp. Homes near the gulf began to flood, even those on brick pilings. Battered by the wind, women and men carried their children through waist-deep, fast-moving water in search of safe shelter. At 3:00 p.m., First Mate Ledden wrote that “all manner of wreckage” bombarded the Comino. By seven o’clock, wind gusts were estimated to be up to 120 mph. Without warning, the tide surged and Galveston was suddenly submerged in 8 to 15 feet of water. Houses collapsed; people were flung into the water.
At the wharves, the Roma’s stern mooring post broke and her anchor chains snapped. As if it were a child’s toy, the wind and water carried the Roma broadside along the wharves. It slammed into Captain Goudge’s Kendal Castle, then tore through three railroad bridges that linked Galveston to the mainland.
LINK
Galveston, Texas. Liverpool, England. Although both are seaport cities, very little seems to link the two. Once a major port, Galveston is a small island town that depends on tourism. Liverpool is one of England’s largest cities with a diverse economy. But on September 8, 1900, the day a hurricane killed thousands in Galveston, the British steamship, the SS Kendal Castle, was there. Her captain, Edwin Goudge, age thirty-six and born in London, had sailed from Liverpool.
That night, the tide at the wharves rose. By eight o’clock on the morning of September 8, many of the captains were busy preparing their ships. First Mate W. Ledden of the Comino noted in his log that the barometer had fallen and the crew continued to prepare for a storm. Near the quarantine station, Captain W. R. Page of the Taunton instructed his crew to work the engines to counteract the strong current that strained its anchors.
If only Galvestonians had taken precautions. Instead, men went to work, women managed their households, and children and tourists rode the trolleys to the beach to watch waves destroy the bathhouses.
By mid-afternoon, the mood changed. The wind had picked up and the cold rain was needle sharp. Homes near the gulf began to flood, even those on brick pilings. Battered by the wind, women and men carried their children through waist-deep, fast-moving water in search of safe shelter. At 3:00 p.m., First Mate Ledden wrote that “all manner of wreckage” bombarded the Comino. By seven o’clock, wind gusts were estimated to be up to 120 mph. Without warning, the tide surged and Galveston was suddenly submerged in 8 to 15 feet of water. Houses collapsed; people were flung into the water.
At the wharves, the Roma’s stern mooring post broke and her anchor chains snapped. As if it were a child’s toy, the wind and water carried the Roma broadside along the wharves. It slammed into Captain Goudge’s Kendal Castle, then tore through three railroad bridges that linked Galveston to the mainland.
LINK