“Recently Captain John S. Blank, 3rd, who has run the Great Lakes, the St. Lawrence, the Irish Sea, the English Channel, the coast of China, and has been in various services on Long Island Sound-Buzzards Bay, declared himself on the same theme. His up-to-date opinion matches Nickerson’s of fifty years ago. Captain Blank had this to say about the Long Island Sound routes: ‘ Coming around the Battery and up the East River took its toll on some men. Bucking the tide, which New York shipping never does, meant meeting down bound sand tows, coastwise tows and traffic. The Sound itself from Eaton’s Neck to the The Race can be nasty when wind and tide oppose each other from The Race to Point was the safest run traffic-wise. But here the elements of current and wind made up for the port, was the worst place I know of on the coast. The currents meeting off the Point and again at the tip of Conanicut Island make some for terrific seas. The run from Newport to Fall River was not a picnic either in foggy weather. To and from Boston via the Cape Cod Canal was mean in thick or NE weather, then dear old Buzzards Bay-properly named-with all its outlying shoals and shallow water is a very poor place except on clear nights. To summarize, because of many course changes, lack of sea room, unusual traffic and abundance of fog make this one of the toughest runs in the world.’ “

"Commonwealth" stuck the battleship "New Hampshire anchored at Newport in a heavy fog. "Commonwealth" sustained hevy underwater damage.

"Priscilla" badly damaged in 1902 after collision with "Powhatan"