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West India and Pacific Line. See Leyland Line. West India Mail. See Imperial Direct Service. West Lancashire Yacht Club. Established 1895. Commodore, W. D. Coddington; Vice-Commodore, T. B. Rowe; Rear-Commodore, W. A. Hooton; Honorary Treasurer, W. G. White; Honorary Secretary, H. W. Hatch, 171 Lord Street, Southport, Lancs. Entrance fee, I IS.; annual subscription, I IIS. 6d.

Westoll, James, has a fleet of 38 vessels engaged in the different carrying trades of the world, and under contracts with nearly all the European Governments. The firm was started in 1851, since which time they have owned steam and sailing tonnage amounting to nearly 2,000,000 tons of shipping. The first steamer was built in 1864, with a dead weight capacity of 1,100 tons, the fleet now comprising vessels varying from 1,200 to 7,050 tons. The firm specialise in tonnage so that the requirements of any class of charterers can be

WETTIN

supplied, from a transport to a Government collier. The head office of the firm is in Sunderland. FLEET.

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West Quay Regatta Club, Southampton. Established 1866, but there was a club of that name in existence many years prior to that date, and this club is known as the father" of the "Royal Southampton Yacht Club." The present club conducts the annual Southampton town regatta, and has a membership of just over 200. Burgee: Blue, bearing a white St. Andrew's Cross, with the Southampton shield in centre. Commodore, T. Chamberlayne; Vice-Commodore, Myles B. Kennedy; Rear-Commodore, A. Jones; Honorary Treasurer, J. Pickett; Honorary Secretary, C. Thompson. Annual subscription, 10s. 6d.

West Virginia. U.S. 1st class cruiser. (Newport News, 1903.)

Length 502ft. Beam 70ft. Maximum draught 27ft. Displacement 13,400 tons. Complement 822.

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10 in. Barbettes.

10 in. Turrets.

10 in. Conning tower.

Torpedo Tubes.

5 Submerged bow and broadside.

1 Above water stern.

Three screws. Hp. 15,000 18 kts. Coal maximum 1,500 tons. Approximate cost £1,100,000.

W.F. Distinguishing letters on sea fishing boats registered at Wervershoof, Holland.

W.F.D. Distinguishing letters on sea fishing boats registered at Wolfaartsdyk, Holland.

W.H. Distinguishing letters on sea fishing boats registered at Weymouth, England.

Whale. See Royal Fish.

Whale Island. See Naval Establishments.

Whaler. A vessel or person employed in the whale fisheries.

Wharf. An erection of wood or stone for the convenience of loading and unloading merchant vessels.

Wheel. General name for the helm which works the tiller and rudder.

Wheeling. U.S. gun-boat. (San Francisco, 1897.) Length, 174 ft.; beam, 34 ft.; draught, 12 ft.; displacement, 1,000 tons; complement, 140; armament, 6 4-in., 4 6-in., 2 1-pdr.; Hp., 1,080 = 12 kts. ; coal, 226 tons.

Wheft. A long strip of bunting used at the masthead as an aid to steering, or as a signal.

Whelps. The projecting brackets which surround the barrel or main body of the capstan-like buttresses, enabling the cable to get a good bite.

Wherry. A light river boat used in harbours for river and passenger traffic.

Whiffler. Obsolete term for fifer; a term of derision.

Whipper. Local term in use on the River Thames for a man who unloads coal into lighters.

Whipping. Spun yarn saturated with tar and formed into a string for whipping or protecting the ends of ropes.

Whipple. U.S. torpedo-boat destroyer (1900). Displacement, 433 tons; guns, 2 14-pdr., 5 6-pdr. ; torpedo tubes, 2 18-in.; Hp., 8,300= 30 kts. Whirl. Obsolete term for a rope winch. Whirlpool is an eddy or vortex in running water caused by the meeting of two or more currents inducing a whirling motion, which attracts and engulfs floating objects. They take place more or less in all rivers, and in every tide race of the sea, the depth, diameter, and velocity depending on accidental causes.

WHITE

Charybdis, a whirlpool famous in classical literature, is situated in the Straits of Messina; this was nothing more than a current which became dangerously strong under certain conditions of wind and tide.

Saltenstrom, the whirlpool of Salten Fjord, on the north-west coast of Norway, is known as one of the most violent tidal currents of the world. It runs with a velocity of seven miles an hour with an irregular sea-bed rising abruptly from 200 fathoms seaward of Mosken to 20 fathoms in the Channel and Fjord, which gives it a character very similar to that of the Straits of Messina.

In the Faroe Islands several dangerous tide races exist, in which there are whirlpools, the worst two being the Quærne off Sand Island, and one round the rock of Sumboe-musk off Süder Island.

The Shetland and Orkney Islands are traversed by a system of formidable tide waves frequently forming whirlpools. The channel of Jura Sound in the Hebrides contains a whirlpool resembling that of Mosken and Messina. Full and trustworthy details of the actual state and dangers of whirlpools will be found in the Sailing Directions for Coast Pilots of the British Admiralty for the various seas.

Whirlwind. A small, local cyclonic whirl in which there is a very strong upward motion of the air. Whiskers. Projections from the cat-head on which the jib guys are spread.

Whistle. A small instrument used for signalling by the boatswain.

White, Alfred Francis. Educated Belfast, and served his apprenticeship with Messrs. Harland and Wolff. In 1889 he became draughtsman with Messrs. Gourlay Brothers, Dundee, and in 1890 left this firm to go to sea to gain experience in marine engineering. In 1892 went to Australia, and was employed by the New South Wales Government until 1895. On his return to England in 1896 he joined the firm of Messrs. Babcock and Wilcox, London, with whom he was associated during the period of the introduction of their boilers for marine purposes, and had charge of their marine department. In 1897 he became superintendent engineer to Messrs. Wilson, Sons and Co., Hull, and after four years with this firm he went to Japan as technical adviser to the Nippon Yusen Kaisha, and under his supervision 10 vessels have been added to the fleet of this company, aggregating over 40,000 tons. Member of the Institution of Naval Architects and of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.

White, Sir William Henry (b. Devonport, February 2, 1845). British naval architect, K.C.B., cr. 1895, F.R.S. (Lond. and Edin.), LL.D., D.Sc. After serving his apprenticeship in the Devonport Dockyard he took first place in the scholarship competition at the Royal School of Naval Architec

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ture in 1864, and three years later he gained his diploma as Fellow of the school with first-class honours. From 1867 to 1873 he was in the constructive department of the Admiralty, commencing as confidential assistant to the then chief constructor, Sir Edward Reed, until the latter's retirement in 1870. The inquiry into designs for ships of war, which followed the loss of the Captain (q.v.), resulted in an important series of calculations as to the stability of vessels, the results of which were published in a paper contributed by the late Mr. W. John and himself in 1871 to the Institution of Naval Architects. His lectures as professor at the Royal School of Naval Architecture from 1870 to 1873, and subsequently from its incorporation with the Royal Naval College at Greenwich until 1881, formed the nucleus of his "Manual of Naval Architecture," which has been translated into several foreign languages, and enjoys a world-wide reputation as a standard text-book. Having risen to Chief Constructor of the Navy in 1881, he held that post for two years, when, at the invitation of Sir W. G. (afterwards Lord) Armstrong (q.v.), he left the service of the Admiralty to organise and direct the warship building department of Messrs. Armstrong and Co., of Elswick. In October, 1885, he succeeded Sir Nathaniel Barnaby (q.v.) as Director of Naval Construction, and was (in 1886) appointed also Assistant Controller of the Royal Navy, holding these posts until his resignation in consequence of ill-health in February, 1902. During this period he was responsible for the designing of all H.M. ships, amounting to about 250 vessels of various types, the aggregate cost of which was about £100,000,000 sterling. In recognition of his exceptional services he was awarded a special grant of money by vote of Parliament.

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Publications : 'A Manual of Naval Architecture," "A Treatise on Shipbuilding," numerous papers published in the Transactions of the Institutions of Naval Architects, Civil Engineers, Mechanical Engineers, and Iron and Steel Institute.

Whitehead, Robert (1823-1905). English engineer and inventor (b. Lancashire). Began business in Milan, and in 1848 went to Trieste, finally settling in Fiume. In 1886 he invented his first torpedo, which was two years later adopted in the Austrian Navy. The British Admiralty adopted his invention in 1871, and to-day the Whitehead is now among the foremost torpedoes in the navies of the world. When first invented, the range was about 600 yards, with a speed of 8 kts. ; it is now effective at a range of 4,000 yards, and can travel at the rate of 36 kts. Numerous improvements and additions have been added from time to time, the latest being the heater designed by Sir W. G. Armstrong, Whitworth and Co., Ltd., which was tested at the beginning of 1907 at the torpedo range of -Messrs. Whitehead, Weymouth. Refer to Torpedo.

WHITE

White Sea of the Arctic Ocean is an enclosed sea, having its communication with the ocean restricted to one opening. It has an area of 36,500 square miles, and its length from N.W. to S.E. is about 300 miles. It is of importance chiefly on account of its fisheries. Between the months of October and May the sea is frozen over.

White squall. A sudden squall of wind which only becomes visible through the commotion on the sea surface, which is lashed up into white spoon drift.

White Star Line. Though chiefly known in the Atlantic trade, the White Star flag was first hoisted over a fleet of Australian clippers during the middle of the last century. In 1867 Mr. Thomas Ismay took over the flag, and he and his firm, Messrs. Ismay, Imrie and Co., founded in 1869 the Oceanic Steam Navigation Co., better known as the White Star Line, and began a service of high-class passenger and mail steamers between Liverpool and New York. Events have moved rapidly in the history of this company; beginning with the Oceanic (a vessel of 3,807 tons, 430 ft. long), which made her maiden voyage to New York in March, 1871, they now have a fleet of 30 steamers, aggregating over 350,000 tons, with an average tonnage per steamer greater than that of any other company. They own three of the largest vessels afloat-the Baltic (24,000 tons), the Cedric and Celtic (21,000 tons)-and the famous Oceanic (17,274 tons). The fleet comprises in addition to these no fewer than 18 vessels each over 10,000 tons gross register. The company has been under contract for the carriage of mails since 1877, and in that year held a record for the Atlantic with the Britannic, which succeeded in reducing the previous best Atlantic passage by three hours, her time being 7 days 10 hours 50 minutes. In 1889-90 the Teutonic and the Majestic were built, and were the first merchant ships constructed with a view of their being used as auxiliary cruisers in time of war. In 1899 the Oceanic, then the largest ship afloat, was launched from Messrs. Harland and Wolff's yard at Belfast, and made her maiden voyage September 6, 1899. With the advent of the Celtic II. (20,904 tons), which sailed from Liverpool for New York on her maiden voyage July 6, 1901, the company possessed the largest steamship in the world; but she has been surpassed in size by the Cedric (21,035 tons), to be in her turn eclipsed by the Baltic, with a length of 725 ft. 9 ins., the longest ship afloat, and having accommodation for nearly 3,000 passengers, besides quarters for a crew of 350; and, finally, the Adriatic, a vessel of 24,000 tons, which sailed on her maiden voyage June 5, 1907. Since June, 1907, the Wednesday Royal United States Mail Service has sailed from Southampton instead of Liverpool. This change was made to enable travellers to embark and disembark at either a Continental or British

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port. The steamers leave Southampton every Wednesday morning, calling at Cherbourg the same afternoon, and then proceed to Queenstown to take the mails on board. Homeward bound steamers leave New York every Wednesday and steam direct to Plymouth, where mails and passengers are landed; from thence to Cherbourg, and end the voyage at Southampton. In addition to the mail and passenger services and the cargo services to New York and Boston, a most popular branch of the line is the Australian service, by which one class of passenger only is taken. The five twin-screw steamers on the run are each of 12,000 tons gross register, and thus the largest in the trade despatched from the United Kingdom. They leave Liverpool every four weeks for Albany, Adelaide, Melbourne, and Sydney, calling at Cape Town on the outward voyage. Homewards they touch at Durban, Cape Town, and Teneriffe, landing passengers for the United Kingdom at Plymouth and London. conjunction with the Shaw, Savill, and Albion Co., Ltd., the White Star Line has a monthly sailing from London to New Zealand, and among the steamers engaged in this service are three over 12,000 tons-the largest in the trade. The outward voyage is made via Teneriffe, Cape Town, and Tasmania, the homeward via Cape Horn, Rio de Janeiro, and Teneriffe, passengers for the United Kingdom being landed at Plymouth and London. The company also have steamers in the TransPacific service between San Francisco, Honolulu, Japan, and China, managed by the Occidental and Oriental Steamship Co.

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In

WHITWORTH

COLONIAL SERVICES.

New Zealand.

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Whiting. British torpedo-boat destroyer. (Jarrow, 1896.) Length, 215 ft.; beam, 20 ft. ; draught, 63 ft.; displacement, 330 tons; complement, 58; armament, 1 12-pdr., 5 6-pdr., 2 tubes; twin screw; Hp., 6,23930 kts.; coal, 91 tons.

Whitworth, Sir Joseph, Bart. (1803-87). English engineer (b. Stockport). Spent some time at various engineering works in and about Manchester, and in 1825 came to London, where he gained experience in machine shops, including those of Maudslay and Holtzapffel, and whilst working at Maudslay's made his first important discovery-a truly plane surface. He found that if two true planes were arranged parallel to each other, an exceedingly small motion towards or from each other was sufficient to determine whether an object placed between them was held firmly or allowed to drop. and by mounting one of the planes on a screw shaft provided with a comparatively large wheel, bearing a scale, he was able to obtain measurement of the amount, however minute, by which the distance between the planes was altered, by observing through what angular distance the wheel had been turned. In 1833 he returned to Manchester and started business as a tool maker, and for the next 20 years he gradually developed his system of standard machines and gauges. In 1854 he was asked by Government to make experiments regarding the making of machinery for producing rifled muskets. He also experimented on the construction of heavy guns, and the greatest of his discoveries in this connection was his method of obtaining steel castings from compressed steel, the process being that the metal was subjected to high

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WHITE STAR LINE ROYAL MAIL STEAMER "OCEANIC."

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