The Gazette, Montreal, 8 May 1909
LAURENTIC IS HERE
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Maiden Voyage Upholds the Satisfactory Results Achieved on Trial Trip
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AN EPOCH IN SHIPPING
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Perfect steadiness Exhibited---Electrically Driven Fans Provide Continual
Delightful Atmosphere
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The largest passenger vessel that ever steamed up the St. Lawrence, the new
R.M.S. Laurentic, of the White Star-Dominion line, tonnage 15,000, arrived
at Montreal at 5.20 yesterday afternoon on completion of her maiden voyage
from Liverpool, and was greeted by a large concourse of people as she moved
into her berth at the head of the company's wharf.
At 4 o'clock yesterday morning she arrived at Quebec, which port she left at
7.20 a.m. for the run up to Montreal. She got to Father Point at 4.15 on
Thursday afternoon. From various eastern points she had been reported, but
on Thursday, until an hour before she was seen off Father Point, no one knew
where she was. It afterwards appeared that her Marconi receiver got out of
order, but as the boat didn't know it, they waited until they had received a
reply. They might have waited endlessly but that it occurred to them there
was something wrong with the signalling apparatus, and about 4 in the
afternoon they called up again. It was a great relief to Mr. R. F. [sic]
Macfarlane, the passenger manager of the line, to at last get in actual
touch with the ship, for the land connections between Fame and Father
Points was also not working, and consequently no word was received as to the
position of the boat. Messages then sent elicited the fact that the vessel
was then nearing Father Point, having been delayed by fog and snow storms
all day.
At 4.20 on Thursday afternoon she loomed gradually larger and more distinct
in the approaching distance, and by 5.30 several newspaper men, sent to meet
this new giant of ocean traffic, had boarded the pilot tender Eureka, which
started out to meet the new arrival. During the morning and afternoon there
had been dirty weather, wet, snow-storms, cold winds, and foggy, but it
auspiciously cleared up later on and soon after the half hour the pilot
tender landed her little delegation on board the Laurentic, from whose stern
fluttered the Union Jack, while the White Star flag fluttered from her mast.
Mr. John McWilliams, for 21 consecutive years mayor of Father Point, came
out in the boat.
The first thing noticeable was the great rousing cheer from the incoming
vessel to the handful of men on the pilot boat, who heartily responded to
the best of their ability. Her officers were gathered on the bridge, and
crowds flocked the decks fore, aft and amidships. Crowds, too, of seagulls,
hundreds strong, hovered, hungry, about the stern. The boat, drawing,
despite her great tonnage, only 26 feet of water, showed signs of
ice-hitting around her water line, but was a picture of majestic dominion
over the waters, which she, the first of her size, had come to rule.
The Laurentic is of 14,892 tons, the largest boat which has ever come to
Canada. Many people will think with great interest all this means to Canada
and the Canadian trade; that the largest steamer in the Canadian trade is
now plying not only from England to Quebec, but right up to Montreal.
When the pilot and the newspaper men, received with such acclamation by over
1,000 passengers of this epoch-making vessel, had struggled up the companion
ladder, the Laurentic forged ahead on the way to Quebec, on the same 157
miles of water which Jacques Cartier came along on the Grande Hermine,
hundreds of years ago. But what a difference! The newspaper men who
officiated, merely had to wander over the vessel, and see her as she was in
steel and velvet, in resistless power and splendid comfort, the pioneer of
the really big boat from England to Montreal.
Every minute could have been put in in wandering over the luxuriously
appointed saloons and splendidly equipped other portions of passenger
accommodation. But to do so there is no necessity to stumble down stairways
on the Laurentic; it is only necessary to step in the elevator, and tell the
boy which floor. The Laurentic is a floating hotel of the Waldorf-Astoria
pattern.
With the successful season experienced last year and the heavy bookings
already strongly in evidence this season, Montreal requires little nowadays
in the way of advertisement of its advantages in distance, and in
attractiveness over other ports, but the achievement of the Laurentic once
she is lying at her pier in Montreal, will be heralded in every part of the
shipping and commercial world not only as a realisation of a long desired
wish but as an overwhelming proof that the biggest ships can make Montreal
their headquarters. It is a triumph both for the White Star-Dominion Line,
and also for the Harbor Commissioners.
CAPT. HAYES IN COMMAND
The Laurentic is commanded by Captain Bertram Hayes, late of the steamship
Majestic, Lieut. R.N.R. When the pilot got aboard at Father Point Mr. R. T.
[sic] Macfarlane, the passenger agent of the line at Montreal, who has been
identified with so many history-making events in connection with Canadian
shipping also boarded the vessel, and was met by Capt. Hayes, whose first
words were of hearty congratulations. When Mr. Macfarlane, later on was
asked his own opinion, he was brimming over with delight. "I am quite
happy," he said, "and I am very proud of her. I hope it is a proper climax
of thirty-five years of passenger steamship management." Mr. James Thom,
Montreal manager of the line, who came up from Quebec to Montreal, also
spoke in pleased terms of the new vessel.
Amongst the over one thousand passengers were many Montrealers. Mr. H.
Markland Molson was one of them. "A perfect ship," said Mr. Molson, "and
thoroughly equipped in every department. Unquestionably the most up-to-date
vessel I have ever been on. Everything for the comfort of the passenger has
been provided, the accommodation is unsurpassed, the cousine [sic] most
excellent, and as for comfort she is so steady one might imagine they were
in the Gulf all the time."
The steadiness is one of the things which will draw passengers to the
Laurentic --- for on this boat it is well nigh impossible to imagine the
vessel is not stationary. A spirit level would hardly deviate from a
straight line, and a game of billiards would not be likely to be at all
interfered with. A very important matter for the general travelling public.
Mr. C. B. Gordon, managing director of the Dominion Textile Company, also
stated that the Laurentic was the most comfortable boat he had ever crossed
on.
From the engineering point of view the Laurentic's maiden voyage, fitted, as
she was, with a combination of reciprocating engines with low pressure
turbine, will be of extreme interest. In this new departure the White
Star-Dominion Line were determined to provide not only the most modern and
up-to-date tonnage in the Canadian trade, but to give the new service the
utmost benefit represented by the latest advancement in British marine
industry. Mr. J. Willett Bruce, R.N.R., Superintendent Engineer, of the
White Star-Dominion Line, came over on the boat on her maiden trip. Asked
what he could say as to the performance of the machinery, Mr. Bruce stated
that the results on the outward passage had quite upheld the trial tests of
the ship at home. The Laurentic, Mr. Bruce said, was built for an open sea
speed of 16 knots, and the experiment so far had fully come up to
expectations, allowing for the weather experienced, which on Wednesday and
Thursday necessitated a slowing down in consequence of the fog and
snowstorms. Mr. Bruce did not mention it, but there is little question but
that, apart from the conditions experienced, the Laurentic, or any other new
boat, would have considerably slackened speed after entering the Gulf, as,
with an entirely new ship, the deviations of the compass could not be
properly computed until two or three voyages had proved its working.
Mr. Willett Bruce stated that he was not prepared to express a direct
opinion in any way at present. He preferred to await the trial voyage, in
June, of the sister ship Megantic, which, unlike the Laurentic, is fitted
with quadruple reciprocating engines only, when the results of both systems
can be properly compared. Personally, he has advocated the combination of
reciprocating engines with low pressure turbine, the latter screw in center,
and the two others, as usual, as an important economy. During this trip,
the engines and boilers acted magnificently, he said, never stopping from
the time the ship left port, with the exception of the necessary slowing
down by reason of falling in with the fog. After the first voyage of the
sister ship, Megantic, the company will be in a position to fully judge of
the respective merits of the two systems, and the result will be shown, in
the machinery arrangements selected for the
Olympic and Titanic, now being
built.
The automatic steamship whistle, patented by Mr. Willett Bruce, automatic
with intermittent, time 60 seconds and blast five seconds, is in use on this
boat and was used pretty well all day on Thursday.
Mr. W. J. Pratten, representing the firm of Harland & Wolff, the entire
builders of the Laurentic, ship and machinery, expressed the opinion that
the voyage fully came up to their expectations, but he did not care to
express a definite opinion until the Megantic had made her run, when they
could make accurate comparisons. The Laurentic's machinery, he said, would
need to be somewhat more economical than the other ship to compensate for
the extra cost of construction.
EVENTS OF THE VOYAGE
Capt. P. D. Murray, the marine superintendent of the White Star-Dominion
line, also thought it quite necessary to await the Megantic's first trip
before expressing a definite opinion on the merits of the experiment tried.
The Laurentic, he stated, could carry a cargo of 6,000 tons without a
greater displacement than 27 1/2 feet.
All the steering gear of the Laurentic is duplicated, both sets of engines
being identical. The vessel has six large double-ended boilers (thirty-six
furnaces in all), and a complete system of carbolic oil gas refrigerators,
while the stoke-hole ventilation is mechanically accomplished by electric
motors driving large fans. If there be one thing conspicuous in the way of
innovations on this splendid vessel, tending towards general comfort, it is
the fact that nowhere on the vessel is there the slightest stuffiness or
sense of discomfort from close air. Electric fans keep everything and
everywhere in delightful coolness, a desideratum often much to be wished,
and vainly sought for on most ocean liners. In equal importance is the
wonderful steadiness of the boat, an advantage which will be broadly
appreciated by the great ocean-travelling community which has to confess to
the terrors of sea-sickness, perhaps annihilated by the new Laurentic. And
all her appointments are the best that could be had for money, in perfect
taste, and greatly in advance of anything yet seen in Canada.
Representing the company on board the boat are
Captain Smith, who will
command the Megantic; Capt. Murray, the marine superintendent; Mr. J.
Willett Bruce, R.N.R., superintendent engineer, and Mr. L. C. Shepley,
victualling superintendent of the line.
The daily runs of the Laurentic have been, since her departure from
Liverpool on the 29th of April, 301, 392, 396, 393, 403, 409, 317 miles, and
98 miles, which brought her to Father Point, a total of 2,709 miles. Time,
7 days, 3 hours, and 50 minutes. The passengers carried were 56 first, 255
second, and 746 third class, total 1,057, out of a total accommodation for
1,690 people. She brought no mails on her outward trip, but will carry them
on the return voyage.
One little girl, who happened to be born on the voyage, was the daughter of
Bulgarian parents travelling third class, and in honor of the ship and the
eventful occurrence she was promptly christened "Laurentia," the services,
to this end, of Rev. W. Venables, another passenger, being requisitioned for
the youngest Canadian of the party. On the other hand, there was sorrow in
the family of a gentleman travelling in the second class, whose infant
daughter died during the voyage. At dinner on Thursday night the fine
orchestra, for the first time on the trip, played "The Maple Leaf," which
resulted in prolonged applause from the occupants of the tables.
In round figures, the cost of the Laurentic was nearly a million. She
carries on this trip, in addition to her passengers, some 2,500 tons of
general cargo, mostly for Montreal.
The run up from Father Point to Quebec finished at four o'clock yesterday
morning, Grosse Isle being passed shortly before 2 a.m., and that part of
the trip was accomplished in delightful conditions, with a full moon
streaming over the clear waters of the river, and close on eighteen miles an
hour was made, the time being ten hours. From Quebec on her advance to
Montreal, the Laurentic, a floating palace of splendidness, exquisite
appointments, and the most solid comfort, was in charge of Pilot Albene
Angers, of St. Anne de la Perade, who, by bringing her on to Montreal, has
brought about by her performance a great and immensely distinctive era in
the annals of shipping.
During the past three days, Capt. Hayes, R.N.R., popular with everyone,
especially with his crew, hardly left the bridge. The greatest care was
exercised, and although the weather was wet and foggy all afternoon the run
from Quebec was made in ten hours. At 10 a.m. the Allan liner Corsican,
outward bound, was passed close by, and the Laurentic ran up her "ice seen"
flags. Those on the Corsican indulged in hearty cheering and waving of hats
and handkerchiefs. At Quebec Mr. A. A. H. Franklyn, vice-president of the
line, came aboard, as did Mr. James Thom, and came up to Montreal on the
ship. Amongst those awaiting her arrival at Montreal was Mr. I. W. Cowie,
chief engineer to the Harbor Commission.
The bringing of this boat up to the port of Montreal is not a matter which
has been viewed with satisfaction in shipping circles in Quebec.
The manner in which every detail in every class on board the Laurentic has
been arranged, whether of the utmost cost or just as a matter of immaculate
cleanliness in the different work, is spoken of with admiration by the
passengers, many of whom were conducted over every part of the ship, from
the regally luxurious first-class rooms down to the isolated apartments of
the crew, and many experienced travellers who appreciated the differences
were loud in praise. Everything is of the very best, every up-to-date
provision for comfort or cleanliness has been adopted, and every luxury that
can appeal to ocean travellers is to be found on this latest marvel of
elegance and comfort. The Laurentic sails on her return voyage to
Liverpool, Saturday, 15th, and with the new R.M.S. Megantic, of similar
tonnage, and the other vessels of the White Star-Dominion line, will keep up
a regular weekly service between the two ports.
The following saloon passengers were carried: Mr. Charles E. Abbott, Mr. J.
R. Beazley, Mr. T. B. Bethell, Mrs. Bethell, Mr. H. H. O. Bridgeman, Mr. W.
J. Willett Bruce, Mr. Maurice Cohn, Mrs. Cohn, Mr. W. F. Crittall, Mr.
Robert J. Dale, Mr. E. Denning, Mrs. Denning, Adjutant Frank Dyer, Mr.
Trevor A. Evans, Mrs. R. Forbes, Mr. C. B. Gordon, Mrs. Gordon, Mr. Stanley
B. Jackson, Mr. H. H. Vaehell Koeller, Com. Fred. Chas. Law, R.N., Mrs.
Law, Mr. H. Laylock, Mr. A. F. Macallum, Mr. J. Malcolm McIntyre, Mr. John
McKorgow, Mrs. McKorgow, Mr. John Minto, Mrs. Minto, Mr. H. Markland Molson,
Capt. P. D. Murray, Mr. F. W. Podmore, Mr. W. J. Pratten, Mr. Thomas
Prentis, Mr. Godfrey W. Rhodes, Mrs. Rhodes, Miss Rhodes, Mr. F. Roberts,
Dr. J. Robertson, Mrs. Robertson, Mr. A. W. Robinson, Dr. H. R. Ross, Mr.
Frank W. Ross, Miss Belle Roy, Mr. L. C. Shepley, Capt. H. T. Skinner, Mrs.
Skinner, Capt. H. Smith, Mr. Richard Smith, Mr. A. W. Sonnenthal, Mr. James
Waites, Mr. G. D. Warrington, Mr. G. H. Wattsford, Mr. William H. Wayman,
Mr. L. M. Wilde, Mr. M. Wolff, Mrs. Wolff.
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