PILOTS AND PILOTAGE Pilots.-Pilotage is compulsory for certain inward and outward bound vessels in Delaware Bay and River and Chesapeake Bay. Pilots cruise off the entrances of both bays and are always available. Further information concerning pilotage in Delaware Bay and River is given on page 46, and in Chesapeake Bay on page 102. Local boatmen competent to act as pilots can usually be found near the entrances to the principal inlets and to the tributaries of Delaware and Chesapeake Bays; the charge for piloting in this case is by special agreement with the pilot. Towboats are stationed at Wilmington, Philadelphia, Norfolk, Newport News, West Point, Washington, and Baltimore. Harbor masters are appointed for the principal ports, and they have charge of the anchorage and berthing of vessels in their respective harbors. Harbor and anchorage regulations are given under the descriptions of the ports or in the Appendix. Navigation laws of the United States are published by the Bureau of Navigation, Department of Commerce, at intervals of four years, the present edition being that of 1927. The volume can be obtained from the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C.; price, $1. Rules of the Road.-International and inland "Rules to prevent collisions of vessels," lines within which the inland rules apply, and "Regulation of motor boats," are published in the Appendix. Pilot Rules for certain inland waters of the Atlantic and Pacific coasts and of the coast of the Gulf of Mexico are published by the Steamboat Inspection Service in Form 804. Copies of these pamphlets are furnished by the officers of the Steamboat Inspection Service, and can also be obtained from the Division of Publications, Department of Commerce, Washington, D. C. QUARANTINE AND MEDICAL RELIEF Quarantine. Quarantine for all ports within the limits of this volume is enforced in accordance with the regulations of the United States Public Health Service. These regulations will be found at the stations of the service and at American consulates and will be furnished to vessels upon application, either by officers of the service or by the bureau in Washington, D. C. Every vessel should be provided with the quarantine regulations. Quarantine inspection for all ports on Delaware Bay will be conducted by the United States Public Health Service at Marcus Hook, Pa. Quarantine inspection for all ports on Chesapeake Bay and tributaries, excepting Baltimore, is conducted by the United States Public Health Service in Hampton Roads, off Point Comfort. Vessels bound to Baltimore are not required to undergo quarantine inspection in Hampton Roads, and should proceed direct to the quarantine anchorage off Leading Point, Patapsco River, and there undergo the required quarantine inspection conducted by the United States Public Health Service. Vessels bound for Alexandria or Washington should undergo quarantine inspection in Hampton Roads, but may be inspected at port of arrival; this latter procedure, however, may subject the vessel to some delay, as facilities for performing the necessary inspections are not as good as in Hampton Roads. Medical relief.-American merchant seamen are entitled to free medical relief at the expense of the Government through the United States Public Health Service at its established marine hospitals and relief stations. A list of such stations in the region covered by this volume is given below. An American merchant seaman is one "engaged on board in the care, preservation, or navigation of any registered, enrolled, or licensed vessel of the United States, or in the service, on board, of those engaged in such care, preservation, or navigation." Marine hospitals: Relief stations: Philadelphia, Pa. Perth Amboy, N. J. Relief stations: Cape May, N. J. White Stone, Va. Relief stations, fourth class (in charge deputy collector of customs): Wilmington, Del. Reedville, Va. WEATHER Prevailing winds.-North of the thirty-eighth parallel the prevailing winds are westerly. South of the thirty-eighth parallel they are southerly throughout the year, except in September and October, when they are northeasterly. They are subject to many variations at all seasons. See also the meteorological tables in the Appendix. Fogs are most frequent along the coast during the months of March and April, but may be met with at other times during the year. Easterly winds bring them and westerly and northerly winds clear them away. In the late fall dense fogs are liable to occur, and may last two or three days, sometimes practically suspending navigation in the harbors and bays. In Chesapeake Bay fogs are most frequent in the spring, fall, and winter months and will sometimes remain for a period of several days, during which time navigation in the bay and its tributaries is seriously interrupted. The most dense fogs and those of longest duration occur from early in November to March. During the summer months there will sometimes be a fog in the tributaries of the bay during the early morning, but it rarely interrupts navigation after the sun is two hours high. The following table shows the average number of hours per month, from a record of about five years, that the fog signals were operated at the stated light stations of the United States: Ice rarely interferes with navigation along the coast, but in severe winters may form a serious obstacle to navigation inside the entrances. Ice conditions in Delaware Bay are described on page 47 and in Chesapeake Bay on page 104. Ice in the tributaries is treated under their descriptions. STORM WARNINGS Storm warnings are displayed by the United States Weather Bureau at numerous places on the coasts of the United States and the Great Lakes. Small craft warning.-A red pennant indicates that moderately strong winds that will interfere with the safe operation of small craft are expected. No night display of small craft warnings is made. Northeast storm warning.-A red pennant above a square red flag with black center displayed by day, or two red lanterns, one above the other, displayed by night, indicate the approach of a storm of marked violence with winds beginning from the northeast. Southeast storm warning.—A red pennant below a square red flag with black center displayed by day, or one red lantern displayed by night, indicates the approach of a storm of marked violence with winds beginning from the southeast. Southwest storm warning.-A white pennant below a square red flag with black center displayed by day, or a white lantern below a red lantern displayed by night, indicates the approach of a storm of marked violence with winds beginning from the southwest. Northwest storm warning.-A white pennant above a square red flag with black center displayed by day, or a white lantern above a red lantern displayed by night, indicates the approach of a storm of marked violence with winds beginning from the northwest. Hurricane, or whole gale warning.-Two square flags, red with black centers, one above the other, displayed by day, or two red lanterns, with a white lantern between, displayed by night, indicate the approach of a tropical hurricane. Day hurricane warnings (flags) are displayed on the following islands in the Atlantic: Jamaica, Santo Domingo, Turks Island, Bermuda, Haiti, Porto Rico, St. Kitts, Dominica, Barbados, Trinidad, and Cuba. The following are the storm warning display stations within the limits covered by this volume: Information relative to radiotelegraphic weather broadcasts will be found on page 21. WEST INDIAN HURRICANES Tropical cyclones of the North Atlantic Ocean are usually designated as West Indian hurricanes, but actually many of these storms originate and die out far from the mainland and hundreds of miles from the West Indies. The storm area varies from 100 miles or so to 500 or more miles in width, with a comparatively calm center (the area of lowest atmospheric pressure) some 10 or 20 miles in diameter. This center in some respects is the most dangerous part of the hurricane since, although the air movement within it, if any, is usually light and fitful, yet the seas here in most cases are terrible and confused, rendered so by the shifting violent winds surrounding it. The center, or "eye," is therefore a region to be especially avoided, if possible, by seamen caught in a cyclone of this character. The storm field advances in a straight or curved track, sometimes with considerable speed and sometimes at a very slow rate. The highest 1At these stations barometers may be compared with standards. 2 Delaware Breakwater display duplicated on The Bourse, Philadelphia. NOTE. The Weather Bureau station at Cape Henry, Va., is equipped for day and night communication with passing vessels. The International Code is used by day and the Morse Code, flash light, by night. Messages to or from vessels will be forwarded to destination. 89926-30- -2 rates of progression usually occur when the storm moves northward or northeastward over the United States, or in middle and higher latitudes over the ocean. The average speed is about 12 to 15 miles an hour. Hurricanes form over a great range of the sea between the Cape Verde and the Windward Islands, over the western part of the Caribbean Sea, and in the Gulf of Mexico. While some move northward in the beginning, especially those that originate southeast of Bermuda, the majority take a westerly to northwesterly course. Of these some curve gradually northward, either to the eastward of or above the larger islands of the West Indies, then turn northeasterly or easterly near to or far from the Atlantic coast of the United States. Others pass over or south of the greater islands and enter the Gulf of Mexico, there curving northward or northeastward and striking some part of the east Gulf coast or continuing to the westward and striking the west Gulf coast. Tracks of hurricanes are shown on the pilot charts of the North Atlantic Ocean and Central American waters, published monthly by the United States Hydrographic Office. The hurricane season is likely to begin in June and close with November. The months of greatest frequency are August, September, and October. Hurricanes are most likely to be severe during August and the early half of September. During all the months of the season, however, the possibilities of encountering an intense storm are sufficiently great to warrant the mariner in keeping careful watch of the weather elements while in these waters. Signs of approach.-One of the earliest signs of a hurricane is the appearance of high cirrus clouds which converge toward a point on the horizon that indicates the direction of the center of the storm. The snow-white fibrous mares' tails appear when the center is about 300 or 400 miles distant. Another usual early indication is a long, heavy swell propagated to a great distance, sometimes two or three days in advance, when there is no intervening land to interrupt it, and which comes from the general direction in which the storm is approaching. There is usually a slight rise of the barometer at the outset, followed by a continuous fall. In front of the storm, if it is advancing in some westerly direction toward the observer, the winds blow from a northerly point (northeast, north, or northwest); if in some northerly direction toward the observer, they will blow from an easterly point (southeast, east, or northeast). A further indication is a rough, increasing sea. If one or more of these signs be wanting, there is little cause for anticipating a hurricane. As the storm center approaches the barometer continues to fall, the velocity of the wind increases and blows in heavy squalls, and the changes in its direction becomes more rapid. Rain in showers accompanies the squalls, and when closer to the center the rain is continuous and attended by furious gusts of wind; the air is frequently thick with rain and spume drift, making objects invisible at a short distance. A vessel on a line of the hurricane's advance will experience the above disturbances, except that as the center approaches the wind will remain from the same direction, or nearly so, until the vessel is close to or in the center. |