HARBOUR COLLISION.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 779, 31 March 1910, Page 5

HARBOUR COLLISION.

• .DUCHESS AND COBAR. ; LATTER VESSEL BADLY DAMAGED - BEACHED At THORNDON.' ■'■'• ' . '■•'•'■'.•"• , '■'• - '"■•y'. : ', -.-:' .• '■:' . ■ ' : The .Wellington: Steam. Ferry Company's harbour steamers Duchess and Cobar came into collision 'off Point Jerningham at about G. 45 o'clock last 'evening. Both steamers! were'.; injured, the,. Cobar ..so badly .that she"sprung a. leak'and-., had to be beached near the Thorndon Baths. : The Duchess left. Day[s Bay for Wellington in charge of -Captain l Jones, at a few ■.■"minutes after ; G p.m., and tho Cobar (Captain Williams) left; the ferry: wharf for Day's. Bay a. little later. The two vessels approached one another,near .the red-light, buoy off Point Jerningham, tho Cobar colliding : with' the : Duchess almost stem on, striking the latter vesseLoh her') starboard; 'quarter, where, the; stout^;iron,stanchions that.' support ihe promenade deck were snapped and the iron .bulwark smashed in; ■■■'■ .''!.■■■;' ) The Cobar, w'hich^was"■•'injured! in the bows by the force of the.impact,' kept on her course for. a few. minutes' after-the collision: Then, 'as it was ; reported 1 that the water was. gaining,;'- the ■' captain turned 'his ship' about, and ran. for ;the. ."hard'.'VJiear the:.'.Thorndon,,Baths. By ,tho : ,.time; shej.touched the fore-tank- was holding:, a 'good deal.:of waterj and the little vessel was well;down -by..the bows.'-■ ;'. As soon , as the vessel , touched Captain Williams ordered dut'the boat,'and.the passengers,, numbering,", about" 25,-' wero , landed in safety on : the' ; Esplanade. Later on most of: ; them -were taken . across ii to Day's Bay/by^the Admiral. ■'■ •',- '[■ y v;^ ; • Wβ' were unable to 1 obtain 'a statement abprit the accident 'fr'omi Captain.. Jones, last, evening., •, Our", repfesentative 'called ;at. his home.in^.Oriental,Bay at,a;few :mjnutes : after 9 p.m;, ,: and' was'; informed ■by;his son that .Captain 'Jones'was in'.bed —hadlwnin;. bed. for half an hour.' : : : ..,:

) :' CAPT.UWILUAMS'S ACCOUNT.;:'' .Captain /Williams, master ■! of .'■ the .!Co;bar,' when seen by: a Dominion, reporter, :Said '* that • he.' would not care yet ■ to' give ;an opinion; as' to. the cause of the'acoident.... The boats met about a cable's iiength .from tho' red buoy and between Me. buoy .and the wharves/' A'few seconds ibefore' as hecould onlysee'the-red (portj :light' of ■ the Duchess.:: he blew the ■whistle:•■' Immediately after .the impact :je got .areport, from the ■enKineer'statinE; jthat the ship was' making.,.no','water,' so ■he kept on'for KonaßayV A' few minutes' later he got report: from the ;ehgineer. that, water, was' rising, arid he instructed the.'engineer..to".let,him know' soon' as tho water came , .above! a, certain* point., The passengers, ihowever, be•gan to grow anxious, so,'without inpre ado •Captain; Williams 'put! the steamer .about,' ;and headed:for ; the.-beach near : Thorndon ;Bathe.;:.v;::',.; r ; ; /.;,.-.'; .V^ 1 ::. •...; '■■ , : "I. : ,knew, the .particular spot where I beached,her,", remafked the • master, 'Tjut:the difficulty was.to get in-between- the, ■hulks.-and .buo.ve' in• the dark,",;'■■•, ■'.?:. ■; .This .-pait of, the business was'satisfactorily accomplished, and the passengers 1 jwere'safely landed. ■'. ■■■', .'.■:'. . ' .. i..: PASSENGERS NERVOMS.■; - • •' ..In .answer 'to a question,'! Capiain", Williams said he was sure! he. could have got

■across, :to. Edija Bay,- a 9. the..vessel'e,twb : bulkheads -would have kept ,her afldai.all Tight,.;and as■ a matter-.of fact the : water ;waa ; : not,. making; -very ; fast. ,It '■ struck him:;.: though.... that ;-.ff■ ..beached .-.,011 'the,, ~other ■*; side-, .-of •; the .:harbour,: ■the gale.'might; do her some damage, during the;night. Then itiwas,.a:.longer' !r'un;.'to the 'Bay, . : and;as..,sho.-.iwas¥g6ing, .down'.at theT'head':she;might, have'.".beicome" difficult to'-'navigatei All this, comibmed'iwith. the- fact, that theipasssiigers; .:were .inclined ~to tecome -;nervous,': decided hinr.to.'put about.■. From! the time .'she; turned ground', until.' the. time- she 'ieared--the" beach-it wae-'just-jabout-e: ; twenty minutes' run, but the passengers :were not landed until:\a little, longer, as ;some■;water>was;;let..'into-the bujk-heads tq. : eyen. : the ; vessel -up she .was ;run aground,: and 'tlius she'■ would .be jess 'likely to sμstain further damage..,:..",;.'. ;.• After.the beaching had been, accomplished, the ■ engineer .'stood by, : and Captain, Williams came; ashore .with the pas-; eengers.'and after .communicating with the.companyvhe went to! call,, up| the officers and,crew of the,steamer'..Admiral ' so, ; that ,the)' passengers, might be taken aorbss,,to Day's!Bay.-^Eventually..the"Ad-■rairalfleft.: the Ferry Wharf. with-the CobaT'B. passengers 'at .9.45. p.m.';, ;. !■ ': /;;:':./;;::.!; ;:the : : . damage;"';:'.:"':''.','' ;;' :'.- Questioned,as to.the extent bf the damage,;. Captain . Williams /said he' did not consider it was very, serious; , ; ■.■';'! :; :."'•"..'. '.. :' "As 'far as I'.'could, see/' he remarked, "there. was only /one. plank'.; badly ' damaged.. We are : gding. to. have' a' look 'at her! , at low water,'.'about' , !! o'clock in the ■ morning, and; then, if itVis, as I. think, :ehe mil ;be: blocked', up and taken to the ;slip!at to'nce:for repairs." " ' ■'' "' : •-■' : In; conclusion,',he remarked that excellent orderv'had. prevailed on the steamer during the , ' whole. time. /The passengers, in :their, turn, spoke in high terms of. the coolness, displayed Vy.the master and the engineers! in/the 'awkward, situation, and particularly.'. praised- the'.'ekilful ..manner in, which the' master brought his vessel past-the coal hulks -on to '.the beach.■.■'"•'■

EXCITEMENT ON THE DUCHESS. ' Among;.the .passengers by. the:, Duchess were .Mrs.: ;and Miss,, Carte- of' Muritai, who, were-coming, into town to "take part in'a, theatrical .;'performance , at Karori ("Miss .Cleopatra").; , With itwo or three other : ladies they were sitting on the leeward.'.side of the Duchess's lower deck, which had been screened off by 'an. awning ; rigged" between the bulwark and ■the top- deck. rThey "were.chatting quite comfortably; .when,' the;--: sound- of a steamer's-whistle::waß heard. "I wonder what .that .is?" said one of the ladies, ~and another replied: : "It sounds like' a fog-horn.!" "She.had:hardly.'uttered the words,", said Miss: Carte, ''when :the Cobar.orashed'irito,' the ' Duchess just where, we were .sitting. , We. all received an-awful frightj' as you can imagine, and my, mother, ;• who', had ■ been' sitting with one' hand.on the bulwark, -, received a severe blow on the arm, which completely prostrated ,her. : The scene' was a. terrible one. ..While we .were attending to mother one was' praying; ' another was nyying. put :for her, child, and twohy S : terical girls: were ' screaming, and Conto do so until we'reached the wharf. "■■' ;.-., ■■:. ■ . -.-... .■'. :-': ■: . ■;■.. ■■.-. -.'---■ ONTHE COBAR.i - ■.: The passengers on the Cobar' behaved remarkably well, though their plight was the more serious. Two . young fellows werethrown, off. their feet by the force of the impact, but there: were no signs of panic:.,. It was at first thought that the' steamer, would go, right on to the Bay, but; as she made water quicker than was anticipated, the vessel's, nose ' was pointed towards the lights of the city and in. from 20. to 25 minutes the vessci took the -ftronnd ■, near .the , Thorndon Baths,, where without any confusion or accident the passengers were landed in boats. .•■ ■ ".' : " : ■ ■'.■■ : ■ ■

Though it. was dark and a, stiff eontherly . was blowing the night was- clearenough, winch makes tho cause of the collision all the more inexplicable; ; ■ Article: 18 of tho steering and sailing rules (vido the Now Zealand Nautical I Almnn'i'n) reads:— ■ ■: ; ' "When.two steam vessels are meet- • ing. end on or nearly end on, !=o ns to involve risk of collision, each shall, ■alter her course to starboard, so thnt each may nass on the port side of the pther. This - article only applies to ... coses.where vessels are meeting endon or nearly, end-on in such a manner as to. involve risk .of collision, and . does not apply to two vessels which must, if. both keep on-their respec' .-tivo courses, pass.'clear of each other." In the: case of the Duchess nhd Cobar the boats apparently passed on the starboard, not the port side, and it was tho starboard bow of the Cobnr which' struck the starboard quarter of the Duchess. The Cobar is a wooden r screw steamer of 150 tons, built in 1903" by W. G. Fraino, Sydney. Her'principal dimen- '•'-••> are length 113 ft., breadth 24ft., depth