commenced to spell our in Concinental Mo rse che disabled vessel's predicament in broken birs: "Rudder broken"- ''All lifeboacs desu oyed"- "Seven or eight miles off shore and drifting closer" and the climaxing statement of "six fee t of wa ter in number fi ve hold ." A second barometric chill shivered along Sparks's spine; now stiff, bolt upright. "H elpless! Hurricane! O ff a d angero us sto rm-irritated coast! " flashed th ro ugh his mind, emphasized as he felt th e West H arshaw plunge and tremble to the o nslaught of a sudden burst of wind and sea. H e swung around. But the Skipper, having sensed the unusual, was already leaning over his shoulder. Nervo usly he thrust the slip of paper with the distressed ship's position into the captain's h a nd and cried, "There's ano ther ship, a passenge r ship, in communication with h e r bu t not offeri ng mu ch positive assiscan ce-t he S •O •S ship is srill requesting aid! " His eyes flas hing, body vibrating with poignant excitement.
**************** 'Twas alo ng towards early evening when the howling devils of Eolus had reached their most peak'd crescendo of m ad revelry that, afrer a long interval of silen ce from the two h unting vessels which m ay have given the hapless Ansaldo che harrowing choughc char chey had borh deserted her,
IAH again called che West Harshaw in char srumbling to ne with a m essage containing a scarding, pathecic plea in ics erracic syntax. "Please yo u and KU G (call lerters of ch e Gulf ofMexico) come me more," came trickling down o ur of storm-immersed air as if a lase hope, o r dying supplicacion.
**************** As soon as the West Harshaw pulled abeam the A nsaldo, the capcain broughc several m essages back to che wireless shack, including one to the mascer of the helpless vessel, saying che West H arshaw wo uld keep a close wacch over him chrough che nighc and at daybreak get into co mmunication whether he wished to abandon his vessel or take a row line. His messages all cleared- it was chen 1:30AM of the 28'h- Sparks closed up and rook a trip up o n the bridge fo r a good look at the objecc of his lase twe nty-four hours of continuous watch . There she was-laying abour a mile off the port beam -a lo ng black shape ridin g deeply in the wa ter, gread y resembling an immense black cigar half submerged, and with not a light visible. Lying helplessly in the trough with decks awash fore and afr, she rolled and wallowed with each buffet of the sea as if a dying animal in the las t throes of resistance; each succeeding comber breaking over the defenseless vessel, so metimes dashing a drapery of spray mas t-high-a so rry sight fo r o ne who loves to feel the
The Law of Salvage - A Summary The law of salvage entided the owner, officer, and crew of the West H arshaw to assert a salvage claim and receive a monetary awa rd for services rendered to theAnsaldo San Giorgio II. The historic purpose of salvage awards is to encourage vessels to render aid to other vessels in distress. The rights of salvors are recognized th ro ughout the maritime wo rld. The seminal United States salvage case is the BlackwaLL case decided by the United States Supreme Court in 1869 . It, and subsequent cases, set forth th e essentials of salvage as: 1) a m arine peril to the property to be rescued, 2) voluntary service not owed to the property as a matter of du ty, 3) success in saving the property or some portion of it from impending peril. In the.event the right to an award or the amount of it were not amicably agreed to, the West H arshaw's owner, officers and crew could have filed libels (complaints) in an admiralty court, petitioning the court to resolve the issues and render a money judgm ent agains t the Ansaldo. The am ount of a salvage award is at the discretion of the court, which would take into acco unt the essentials set forth in Blackwall, and such things as the danger to the West H arshaw in effectuating the rescue and the skill and contribution of her crew in aid of the rescue. -Thomas F D aly, NMH S Trustee
SEA HISTORY 134, SPRING 2011
engine-pulse throb of a pro ud sea-voyager as she steams out and over the distant ho rizo n in all her majes ty. Anyway, there she lay- the prize! The second mate, then o n wa tch, was rick.led green . H e co uldn'c stand still. Pacing nervo usly backward and fo rwa rd, trying his hand at predicting what they wo uld do and raring with impatience fo r daylight to come.
**************** Then fo llowed eight long hours of disco u rag in g maneuve rin g in repeated unsuccessful efforts to gee a line aboa rd the disabled vessel. To bring two plunging, unancho red steel hulks into close proximity during a full gale and mo untaino us seas is a dangerous task. The slap of a migh ty swell amidships, or a powerful gust of shifting hurricane wind, and sm ash! There are two ships frantically calling fo r assistance instead of one. Commuting a line by means oflin e-carrying was tried; but the gun barrel was shattered upon the second trial. Finally, way past noon when discouragement was overwhelming, a line was Aoated over to the Ansaldo on a buoyant barrel and picked up. AFrERWARD
How could the West H arshaw m anage to row such a d isabled boat, with leaking h old, buckled deck plates, broken hatch covers, sm ashed lifeboats, and useless rudder and engines, to safety? An d if a tug cam e out, stalking for the prize of the disabled ship, sho uld the freighter with her lack of rowing equipment turn her ove r in light of ano ther fero cious h urricane which m igh t overtake them ? Read the endi ng of this exciting true story at www.seahisrory.org. 1, H ewitt S. Morris (1 905 -1973) left home at seventeen to become a ship's wireless operator or "Sp arks, "the name given to radio operators before vacuum tubes were invented. From 1923-1928, M orris plied the oceans and visited major ports across the globe as a crewmen in ten merchant ships. H e entertained thoughts of making this sea-going adventure a career, but an opportunity ashore intervened, and instead he pursued a career in the sound and communications field (his company installed the first "talkingpicture" equip ment in movie houses starting in the late 192 0s). Later he became p resident of A ltec Lansing, a world leader in audio p roducts. H e once said that the sources ofhis education were the H arvard C lassics and his five-J1ear tenure at sea.
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