OILING THE SEA.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume I, Issue 68, 13 March 1877, Page 3

OILING THE SEA.

The utility of throwing oil on . the sea for the purpose of reducing its roughness j's a subject which has often been discussed. The possibility of saving a ship from being disabled or e\en wrecked by such a simple contrivance seems at first sight to be preposterous. According to facts which have been recorded, it does, however, appear reasonable to suppose that it might be useful under certain circumstances. There is a popular impression that in order to obtain so desirable a

result a large quantity of oil is necessary. This, however, is not the case, as a very small portion will spread itself over a great extent of water This covering prevents the wind from entering under the surface, and thereby greatly reduces the roughness of the sea, and possibly the height of the waves, the crests of which are thus prevented from breaking, which is one of the principal causes of injury. The cook's slush or the waste from a disused oil barrel, or a little coal tar thrown overboard lias caused a rough sea to become remarkably smooth. Dr. Franklin records that in Newport Harbour, United States, the sea was always smoother when there were any whaling vessels at anchor in it, through the waste of blubber and oil from them. It should, however, be remembered that were there is a number of ships at anchor, the sea is generally less rough than it would be without them. When the bilags water from oil-laden ships in the Ceylon trade is pumped into the scuppers, the roughness caused by a gale subsides immediately, and knowing this, some intelligent masters especially when near the Cape of Good Hope, always resort to the pumps of such ships previous to having some heavy weather. Indeed, when running in a gale oil is sometimes thrown from vessels in the Newfoundland and Labrador trade to keep the sea from breaking over them. They can run much longer with this assistance than without it, About ten gallons in 24 hours has been found sufficient. The oil spreads to windward nearly as fast as to leeward. When leekage has occurred in the topsides of a ship, or when she has lost her rudder, and it becomes necessary to lower a man into the water, a pint, or even half-a-pint of oil has made it stffieiently smooth for him to work where otherwise it would have been impossible. All these facts do not demonstrate the possibility of saving a ship from being disabled or wrecked. In 1867, a master stated, in the New York Shipping List, that he had been at sea twenty-eight years, and master for ten years, and that he had saved the vessel under his command twice by oiling tlie sea. He says, when a ship is disabled and cannot get out of a storm, and the master has to make the best of the gale, if he has oil on board, he should start two or 'three gallons over the side. This will make smooth water to windward, and then oil allowed to run drop by drop is .all that is required. The ship is in smooth water as long as the oil is allowed to run. In 1864, in the heaviest gale of wind he ever saw he lost all sails and then the rudder, and knew the vessel could not have ridden the sea for an hour longer if he had not had some oil. Five gallons lasted fiftysix hours, and this saved the vessel, cargo, and lives. He recommended that ships of heavy tonnage should have two iron tanks for forty gallons each, one on each side, with the faucets so arranged that the oil can be started at any time, into small vessels, ten-gallon casks, and in all ships' boats tanks of five gallons each, well filled, so that in case the ship founders or burns, the boats will have oil to smooth the sea in a gale.— The Journal of Applied Science.