THE WRECK OF THE PELHAM.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1317, 17 August 1886, Page 3

THE WRECK OF THE PELHAM.

Invebcargill, August 16. The Pelham enquiry was resumed today. Captain Tyson, harbor mas'er. deposed that about 6.20 a.m. on August 9 he irai at the pilot station watch"jg for the Pelham'a lights. A few minutes rf :er he observed the »te mer'a three light -.. It was quite daik, but it appeared from the lights that the oteamer was Btrerirg straight for the Point. He bsw thicgh his glasses that it was the .Pelham, and ordered out the boat. Ho went to the steamer as frst as possible, by first pulling , lDto tbe stream and then setting Ball to make for the vessel. As soon as they opened the Point he saw that tip ve".ol I was too far In and waved her tut with the fI»R Bx 6 but those on boa d did not setm to take any notice. He did not believe they could aee it becaußo of the darkness. A few minutes jfter, the vessel stijck. About this time the wb'stle commenced to blow. From the time the pilot left the ■ways until he got alongside the Pelham ■was between 15 and 20 minuter She struck 20 urioutes sfter he first saw tbe lights, at which time be j idged her to be one mile from the point. When he went on board the captain nked: " Why didn't you ccmo out before I got my ship

BBhotp?" WitntßH replied that he cvno oat as quick as it ivta, possible to do a'ter s»k|ng opt the lights. He added that there was a heavy sea od the beach, and the boat had filled in po'ng aft the waya.

He asked the captain why he came poking there In the dark, and the captain replied that he thought he wai further <ff the land, and that the darkness of the morning had deceived him. Watch was kept at the station all night, an 1 there was no reason why the watohman thould not have seen the at earner's lights when cff Dog Island be'w en 2 and 6 a.m., unless I she was more fisn two miles off, or lying with stern to Starling Point, A steamer was signalled from the hill at 6 a.m., bat they did not know what vessel it was, as the Manaponri was expected. He only had two men in the boat, but did not •think he would have reached the Pelham sooner with a foil crew. Cross-: xamin d Never heard the steamer whistle till the boat was off the ways. The vessel should not have been brought within two miles of the station. If a captain wanted a pilot, a prudent master should wait till It was light enough for him to distinguish |b« harbor's leading lights.

Shephard, watchman at the piiot station stated that at G a.m. a steamer waf reported by telephone from the hill and he called out Iwj of the staff. Up to the time of their arrival and that of the harbor master he had not seen the steamer. As soon as she came In sight a boat was launched ho, pilot McDonald and the harbor master going in her. 1’ was not then proper daylight. No time was lost, and when they pulled out into the channel the harbor master waved a lr-ge flag continuously, signalling the steamer to keep out. If he had been a* the station inste .d of in the boat ht would have made an effort to tave the vessel. If the semapnore had been worked Captain Greager might havo seen it; The semaphore had not been worked during 18 months. Had there been signalling it was done from the hill and at night vessels were mt supposed to come lu.

W. G'fford, assistant pilot, said that when the boat left the ways it was dark. He was absent six minutes after he saw the steamer’s masts over tho position which she now occupies. He had never J-nown a vessel come so close in for a pilot The semaphore had only been used twice to his knowledge in thirteen years. H > doubted if these on board would have

seen it, It being so dark. Captain Gilroy, signal man, who had been 50 years resident at the port, denosed that he saw thi steamer's lights ofi Dog Island He saw no blue lights, but heard two whistles. She must have b: en very close Into land os he had lost sight of the lights when the whistle sounded. It was not daylight and it was nearly morning. Be would m t have attempted, if a stranger, to take a vessel in at tho time. It waa not the proper course for the Pe ham to take, when she passed out of his sight under the hill He should see the vessel all tho wry in. The mode of signalling vessels was from the hill, not from the sem- p'lore at tho pilot station. John McDonald, pilot, corroborated the

statement that the fl g was waved to warn the Pelham from tho time the boat got in sight of her. There was no reason for the vesael beiag where they saw her between the leading buoys and the shore Cjptain Tyson, recal:ed, Baid the semaphoio was only used when a boat could not live. Only five minutes elapsed between sighting the steamer and her striking. Had the engines been reversed that time the ship would hive escaped. Captain Greager, rcc*l ei, »aid he had tha light at the pilot station on the port bow and the red bu<y on thu ttitboard beam ]uat before tSe staking. Captiin Whjburn, asses o: : If that was so it would have been simply impossible fjr the vrssel to g< t into the position she did and if c.-oss bearings had been takea they would have shown that the vessel was in dagger. Oaptaiu Gr<=sger continued: —He had been boarded by the harbor master at the rtd buoy before daylight en hiß first visit to port and complimented him on being up 10 eerly. Tyson replied, " Oh, we ttke vessels in during the night here." But for that remark witness would not have come In early last time.

OapUia Brodtick, Lloyd's agent, deposed that Greagor told him aftec -hi wreck that ho was steaming up tho Harbor whoa I e saw a buoy for which he steered straight. He could not tell whether it wr i red or blrck.

James Smith, late harb r master said that he did not think Captr’n Greager was out of the w*y in coming in at thst time of the morning. He believed there was light enough te guide a vc sel by tho semaphore. Ho bad always taken precautions to sea that a vessel was in a safe position before go : "-» off to her and if not rc'.d semaphore. It would have been c-.fer in the Pelham's case to guide her by the semaphore. A a tin boat’s c-ew were all there if he wore a strange ship nv- -.ter and the semaphore remained steady ho would conclude be was on the sune course.

David Long, Uto of pilot service, deposed that in hia opinion it would have been more prudent in the oircums'anres to have wavi d steamer off from the look oat station than to go round to her by boat.

Captain Whyburn (asseesor), said that if it was light enough for Captain Greager to see the scmphore it must also have been cleat enough to see the black buoy and change ot position, and it should not have been necessary to wave him out.

Captain Greaeer'a counsel complained j that Captain Whyburn bad throughout | the enquiry taken up the position of advocat3 rather than assessor. The B .M. said that Captain Whybnrn'a suggestion was made because there would be no review of the evidence and it enabled counsel to he r and meet such ot>j etions. Xhia conclude 1 the evidence. The decision will be given to morrow forenoon Invekcabgill, August 17. Judgment in the Pelham enquiry, wn civon to-day. The Court was ot opinion

that C*ptain Greager having only been to the port once and being without an exemption certificate, he was wrong in attempting the harbor before daylight. If the captiin had reversed the engines when the Bounding showed 4£ fathoms he would bavesived the t hip, and when jast previous ho got six fathomi he w: t in default for net k- eping her cut at once. If , he had coneulted hia chart at all he must have known that with aix fathoms at 1 ist qucrter fl jod he must have been near the

ive fathom line, aud consequently in •hoA and a glance would have ihown him the eunken rook on which the •hiplstruck plainly laiddowaon the chart, the contention (hat if signals hnd tean made from the semaphore when the vessel was sighted she would not have struck, waa not borne out by the evid?noe which was very conflicting n to whether it was light encugh to eei such signal or not. The court was inclined to think there was not. The voB?el was \ho:e too eirly or the doubt would I not hove arisen. If thoro w; s light enough to enable the Cap'am to see the si nals from the semaphore thero muat have been enough light to enable him to see the black buoy and that ought t) have warned him (St at once. In conclusion the Couit said, respecting the pilot regulations of the i o t and sailing directions in New Zsaland Pilot;—" I can only say I dont think this casualty is owing to any defect In either of them, although the sailing direction ai least might be the bet'er for careful rev'uoD. lam of opinion that the loss of the Pelham was caused by the default of Captain Greager in the Instances I havb pointed ou f . I buspend his certificate for 3 months and order him to pay ooFt« of enquiry. In thU the I .sseßSors concur. The costs were £25 19j.

The stranded steamer Pelham broke up yesterday owinj; to a stroDg easterly galo and sea. The forward part turned bottom up sad the aftor portion haß been t'nrowa farther ashore some th ; -ty yarJa distant from the other. The engines and boile s have broken frcm the wreck and lie where the steamer first struc'i. The wreok, gear, and fittings were Bold eep irately yesterday. The foimer was bought by Bradshaw for £2O. The latter realised in all £147.