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| -Signs, Portents, and the Weather- |
| Cargo Ship With Crew of 33 Sank in Storm in Caribbean |
| 2015-10-06 |
| [NYTIMES] The tropical storm had been newly christened Joaquin not long before the fat merchantman El Faro pulled out of the busy port in Jacksonville, Fla., last Tuesday, heading for San Juan, P.R. It was a familiar run for the old ship, ferrying goods on the 1,200-mile route, one it had made countless times. For many experienced captains of large vessels, a tropical storm is cause for concern but not necessarily alarm. It is carefully monitored and meticulously charted. Tropical storms in the Caribbean are commonplace, and do not necessarily lead to canceled voyages, veteran captains said. But by the time El Faro and its 33 crew members approached the Bahamas, the storm had turned treacherous far more quickly than initially forecast. It hurdled past hurricane categories 1, 2 and 3 until it settled at 4, a fearsome ball of wind, waves and rain, and then it sat patiently. By Thursday, El Faro was trapped in the crush of 50-foot seas and 120-knot winds. Listing 15 degrees, the ship, full of cargo containers and cars, was taking on water. The engine failed, making it impossible to steer the ship. Then, after a distress signal, all communication vanished. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 Son of Gazetteer author Horatio Gates Spafford and Elizabeth Clark Hewitt Spafford, he married Anna Larsen of Stavanger, Norway on September 5, 1861, in Chicago. The Spaffords were well known in 1860s Chicago. He was a prominent lawyer, a senior partner in a large and thriving law firm. He and his wife were also prominent supporters and close friends of evangelist Dwight L. Moody. Spafford invested in real estate north of an expanding Chicago in the spring of 1871. When the Great Fire of Chicago reduced the city to ashes in October of that same year, it also destroyed most of Spafford's sizable investment. Two years later, in 1873, Spafford decided his family should take a holiday somewhere in Europe, and chose England knowing that his friend D. L. Moody would be preaching there in the fall. He was delayed because of business, so he sent his family ahead: his wife and their four children, daughters eleven-year-old Tanetta, nine-year-old Elizabeth "Bessie", five-year-old Margaret Lee, and two-year-old Anna "Annie". On November 22, 1873, while crossing the Atlantic on the steamship Ville du Havre, their ship was struck by an iron sailing vessel and 226 people lost their lives, including all four of Spafford's daughters. Anna Spafford survived the tragedy. Upon arriving in England, she sent a telegram to Spafford beginning "Saved alone." Spafford then sailed to England, going over the location of his daughters' deaths. According to Bertha Spafford Vester, a daughter born after the tragedy, Spafford wrote "It Is Well with My Soul" on this journey. When peace, like a river, attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea billows roll; Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, It is well, it is well with my soul. Refrain: It is well with my soul, It is well, it is well with my soul. Horatio G. Spafford, 1873 |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2015-10-06 03:43 |