Calliope, Samoa, and the Apia cyclone escape

With anchor cables beginning to part, Captain Henry Kane decided that remaining in Apia meant being driven onto the reef or neighboring ships. Chief engineer Henry George Burke ran the boilers at maximum pressure while the propeller turned fast enough for roughly fifteen knots in calm water, yet Calliope barely made headway. The crew cut the remaining anchors, squeezed past USS Vandalia and USS Trenton, and cleared a passage with the rudder at times only meters from the coral. As the hull pitched, the propeller repeatedly lifted clear of the sea, forcing careful throttle control while green water swept the deck. The ship needed about two hours to travel only four cables, or four-tenths of a nautical mile, before reaching open water. This is a close study in how command judgment, boiler performance, helm work, and deck discipline combined to save a ship.