Coulter -- The Manuel Llaguno Shaking Out Her Sails After Casting Off the Active's Hawser --June 23, 2021

San Francisco Call, 26-May-1895

William A Coulter did many maritime drawings for the San Francisco Call. The article from the 26-May-1895 San Francisco Call describes a competition between vessels to pick up sugar in Hawaii and deliver it to New York. 

RACING TO THE ISLANDS

The Manuel Llaguno After the

Starbuck in a Run for

Sugar.

The American ship Manuel Llaguno went to sea yesterday, bound for Honolulu to take on a cargo of sugar for New York. There has been considerable rivalry be tween the Llaguno and the Tillie Starbuck since the former vessel arrived in port. Both vessels had been chartered prior to arrival to go to Honolulu to take sugar cargoes to New York.

For many years no sugar has left the Hawaiian Islands which has not been destined for San Francisco; but this year the output from the islands was found to be too great for the California market. The contract between the planters on the islands and the California Sugar Refinery provides that two-thirds of the crop must come to San Francisco and that the remaining one-third can be shipped to any point the refinery might dictate.

In the early part of the year it was decided to send nearly 30,000 tons of sugar from the islands to New York, and the question arose among the skippers as to where the vessels were coming from to carry the cargoes. The first vessel to load here was the American ship Kenilworth, which has only flown the American flag within the past few years. The Tillie Starbuck came next, with the Manuel Llaguno close upon her heels, and both vessels are now bound for the islands with all canvas.

The Starbuck was in port when the Llaguno arrived, and gangs of stevedores have been employed on both craft day and night. The Starbuck got away on Thursday, and should have been at least 100 miles off shore when the Manuel Llagnno dropped her tug's hawser outside the heads yesterday afternoon.

Captain Small of the new sugar ship had blood in his eye when the wind filled his sails, and he yelled back to those on the tug Active that he would beat the Starbuck down to Honolulu or eat his mainsail. He had a good breeze for a start and as he squared away to the southward he looked like a winner in the ocean race.

On the heels of the Manuel Llaguno another American ship was towed to sea, bound for a sugar cargo to carry to New York. This was the Great Admiral. She left here yesterday afternoon for Manilla, from where she is to take a cargo of sugar to the great American metropolis. Bets are freely offered along the water front that the Manuel Llaguno will be the first of the trio to reach New York.