VIOLENT STORM AT TONGA.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1683, 25 February 1913, Page 6

VIOLENT STORM AT TONGA.

WILD NIGHT ON SEA AND LAND SCHOONER ON A REEF. '

CAPTAIN'S NARROW ESCAPE.

; ; THE WRECK TAKES FIRE. ,;•■'. (By Telegraph.—Special Correspondent.! '.:>;■' . Nukualofa, February 14, 1013. , / On Sunday afternoon last (February 9) '•':. stormy, weather set in, and towards eventing a.rising wind and a steadily-falling ' barometer .gave indications of the approach : ofV a' hurricane. .Upon this -being, noted;: residents. at once set to in battening up, '.'••■.■ window's and' doors and otherwise doing ;.:' sverything',possible to make all house and ■ store 'prbpci'ty : safe ! 'against the oncoming ':■ "b10w.'',;.'.,',...,;-: ~...'"/ ~' ,■•.,.'".. :•■■■' . ".The J schooner 'Borealis, which 'has..recently cargo of timber for a local firm, lay off the wharf soma distance, ■:•'■ with tie'shore reef not many yards astern. T rhe;position of the vessel appeared none J- ;toO safe'should the wind change, aid when ?;■ 'it wcis remembered"that the harbour af- '-. lorded no''towing, facilities, thejcharices of. :, the vessel pulling through seemed remote. . :'.;?',Theiwiiid',was blowing hard from E.S.E.,' :'• and: thejweathor, generally was becoming ..' u'tisty,' with', occasional heavy fain squalls, whilst the'sea; was running' heavily .and , rolling" shorewardsC in■', majestic style, ;to u Bluish lip.6a the' sho're Tecf,with, a crash. "; ; tq,.be. ; heard far inland, ■- The fringing reef, ". was;onelong line of white churning spray! : looking' out on> the ia'rbour; one. caught .■.6ight^of, i a' , heaying;fmara, l o'f;. white-capped 1 ?jivavSs^>riishin'g.'.fiercely.';in]one mad race' 'A shoreward. v;'St6rm-driven;;. seabirds ■ were ;■ carried high; on the w,ihd, and with shrieks ■,-. they disappeared into: the' gathering 1 gloom. '■:':-. Overhead it was heavily clouded with a ' light ■■.mist.' hanging' low.';. Occasionally the ;: mirt i.would rise, : and' a. 'glimpse would 7 be' . had of the outer; reef/'some, miles' away,, ,'. where/showed'tip a : >'ild-koking line of .'white foam set up by the.crash of waves ; coral, broken in one place : by .the ill-fated''steamer' Knight of, /St.-' ;i George,.which was wrecked last year. .-. 1 '•'•■ V; v Buijdings -Laid.Flat, L " !../With the ilose of ddj;'the wind in- ,'. creased,/the!.barometer still dropped, and ;V we,knew.-.'wo-: were in/for'a. ;dirty • night. •^Th'r6ughbut :; the'. night {the. .wind;-..howled : with increasing force; arid" many buildings were laid flat and.Others 'unroofed." Sheets „■ of-galvanised iron were., torn -from the ■ t roots.and whisked about like chaff before the wind,.and.carried hundreds of yards -, away.' : The night 'was. one long swirl ;of .'/howling; wind, 'driving.rain, crashing ■'•. of'iron,'.'falling .of. nuts and , .'.branches', '.'from' •'■' the., tall, ; ■ swaying ', coconut • ■ treesv,.and;".o,thers!7 r bea'utifuT.tree growth '■•of; ! the; ■ ''tropics. ; The •'< stpnn. was doing considerable damage to property, but we weraiinable.'tp stir outside to note how were gbing-Ht wasn't .safe; but 'fortunately.no lives,were/lost, nor were ,:,there'any reported coses, of; in jury. '.;,'■ ■ '•;-: The ..damage., to., house property <-,was /.maihly\ the'tearing offof'the galvanised ;, roofing ..irqn ..ajid.,.tl« :fa)i of fencing. ■Some'old'buildings were' completely'level]-. . ed (to the ground: Coconut trees were badly \ knocked .about;, and; thousands of nuts, • mostly immature, now.lie .on.th'e' ground ;;as reminders.'of .the; blow..;';,As:.thb p'ro- , dupt of the'coconut;' copra; is piactically •the only;'industry in., the, group,- and as the.trees will be'sent baqk, so to speak, .'•/ for. nearly two-years, ■it): will be. readily noted: that a' state; of iCommercial-.ide-' -pression must ensue. No great damage: was done to the native foodstuffs, such vM.yainsr;and other- tuber, growth,-but , :the''!handspm<» bread-fruit: trees were torn -•'.. b.ot; t by,' the- roots, :;/.;■■ ./'.;>;. :/- •.' .;'.'■•There',will land,, -/but''the'natives will.haye perforce'to do .',,without"'his'.', :,.thie..wa.y of .tinned foods...and [■ the /better /quality:-of ; clothing:materials. /If: is' the European trader- who /.will,, feel the pinch :.for -the .. next•.'couple.* of years.';- . ; /-',',:■•,'• .-, ' -.;. : One'evil".effect ofith'e.blow'has been to' /nrc|vide.jns„with a;, brackish .water supply.; vThe heavy: wind/carried t no S pray' '~ from off;the-harbour/ and deposited it on '.the rwf.v;.of' the fronr where it ./\yns .wa'shed/'inte 'the :,watef tanks-our :'onl^;;rneanß^ of. • water.'storage; as.' there "Si! 8 ,; f stream's':'in- Tonga. 'Should ■ ram hot. come' sopn this 'question yj*'V?sV.Sster. for.domestic purposes will -■/be' ajseriqus.bhe.'i :'':' yr .'":■:...•-.'■/ ■-.:■;. f,/'•:£■"'Wrick^ . schooner..Bcreali9 wis ,a: wreck' high' up, -on the., reef; towards' the' south 'end of : the ,- ™wri.•!.' -yeryferf 'persons'.'saw {the vessel ' crash on to the/Tecf.';:but the story of ,::.the' /wreck;'is:' , related' !i :'by;'Mr.' ff. • IT. : .Clements,';:.harbpur : master,':' who / ivas' ;■; abroad;.;the:;,vessel-:till/ /about.- twenty '.miniites'before she found her last ■resting-' f. place"'ori-the I ,': ' '■■ •';■.-/-, '/ :•:, ■ //,.-• -• ; , Clements states that the'Borealis •lay well to her' nnchors till about three /oclock iofl.'-.tho Monday'morniiig, -when the-wind-shifted. ...The: wind was setting / from JKSIE. in'the. earlier part of the : '* v but, it gradually vtercd. to the i.'' o ™'L''tnen it , suddenly chopped to .This change" of, wihd/sehti the ',:,vessel .heeling,/and presently a hard vbump-jistern. betokened that the schooner had struck the reef, and th.it anchors ' were dragging. : The night was black,:and '. the'.-drivihg rain: Fet up. a mist, inakiiic \\il alrftpst impossiblo to see ahead with any; degree .of certainty, but the wharf w-as, occasionally,/: glimpsed;, through: the gloom; All'aboard could feel the drift of /the •vessel: f ..-.■". '~, ' , • ..Suddenly.-'the stern was lifted high on a ' wave, and,, with a.terrific crash came. down noon the: iron bollard on the cer-> ; J« r '°f-the; wharf./ This crash opened out • the lockers in the stern, and another liftof the causpd the contents of the' ■ Jpckers to-,:be thrown out on to the wharf.' 'But tins latter incident- .was not observed til daylight.. The vessel hun<r tp tho i/.wlia.rf'fmva few, minutes.'aiid ,then,drifted, stormvards .alonV'v.fhß ."front/ of the .wharf witha grrtdnaVdriftontwdrds'. : .:'•: i/' ■' Into Darkness, ■. *:;, :Tn .° skipser';inowfcK'ave:''ofd ail ' hands.to take the opportunity of getting ■ ashtfre, as it was seen nothing could save ■ the, schooner; arid there'would bo danger :in 'remaining aboard of an unmanareable /vessel; fast drifting, toward J the jagged coral-reef. /Tlio.crew jumped into the •darkness and wero fortunate in landing, .but, not without sometbruiscsVand a severe shaking. The skipper aH'hut left it too late as bytho time ho-left/tho vessel she was welj out , from the-wharf. The crew stood by in the iiowlihg windla'nd' shouted for the skippor to jump,/which , he did, and none too soon, for oji the edge of the wharf and but for the. prompt assistance of- tho mato and some of the crew he would have fallen backwards into the surging waters and beon smashed to. pieces-against the pilesbelowi Tlie skipper was the last to leave the vessel, and indeed es- - co.ne. - ' '- '/■' The schooner disanpeared in the darkness and continued her drift towards the ecko of tho reef, bumping heavily, till an opening in the.reef, caught;the sfenuof the vessel and held her. Gradually she swung round and lay broadside oh to the rolling seas, and was slowly, but surelv, -lifted on tp;.tho top, of the reef—a wreck. Mr. Clements says'"that the'men had no opportunity to save,anything during the; night, but that next day some of their effects wero/recovered from the wreck. Vessel's Back Broken. From the shore through the mist could be seen the tops.'of the masts swaying at a great angle. The vessel was rolling, heavily, and this continued till a bigger sea than usual struck <hev full, and down : came two of her tall ronstt. It was then seen that the vessel's back ~was;,broken. She lay shaking; in the 'storm with the . tin hamper swaying, in,,all .',, directions.'' With a mighty crash what top gear remained camo down,;tho hnll split, in two parts and.lay still.". ' '••: Smoke wa9 ob-ierved issuing from the, ■• wreck, the fire no donbt being caused: by a falling .kerosene lamp which had been '"ft burning'in the cabin when the craw . l*w the vessel.' ..Desnite the ruin the ves,rel burned throughout all day Monday and ns ereninf nnnronched the fire seemed to hn"! enrend; At night she presented a very pnftty-picture from tho shorp, more es-

pecially when somo of tho heavy gear would burn through and crash into the roaring furnace beneath. Myriads of . Hying sparks wero sent in all directions, and hundreds of interested sightseers viewed the display from the foreshore. wreck ns she lay with a big quantity of timber was sold by public auction on behalf of tho owners, and realised .£558, Mr. W. Cocker being tho main purchaser. Tho Borealis was a four-masted schooner and was built at Fairhaven, California, in 1902, and has beon under tho command of Captain. Klintbom for the last seven ■years, whilst the mate (A. Wewetzer) has been attached to tho vessel for the last three and a half years. The second mate, H. Lcmcke, is a now hand. Some months ago he was'wrecked in the schooner Endeavotir in Fiji waters, and on his return to the States shipped in the Borealis The Borealis was credited with some fast trips, the most noticeable being from the Hawaiian Islands to Port Townscnd, Washington, a distuueo of nearly 3000 miles,-in' thirteen days, and another trip, from Tahiti to Port Townsend, 5500 miles, in 33 days. The cargo was fully insured, but the vessel only partly. The Captain's Statement. . Frederick. Klintbom, tho captain, made the following sworn statement before the British Consul :-*'l am master of the Borealis. We sailed from Port Townsend' on December G, with, a cargo of lumber for Nukualofa, Vavau, and Apia; We arrived at Nukualofa on January 25, 1913. the total cargo was 1,032,000 feet of mixed ViSySSF', , Wo dis 9 har ge<l at Nukualofa 542,000 feet of' timber, and ' finished on lhursday, February 6, about 1.30 p.m. After taking in water we prepared to haul away; from the wharf the' following morning. 1 At about.9 o'clock we left the wharf, and hove out. Our position, was about two cables''length off the wharf, with the shore "reef about half a cabk astern. It was browing hard from E.S.E., and I could not'with safety have moved the vessel from her position. It was iny intention' to sail the same evening or the following morning had the'weather been favourable.'., The . wind was very' strong all Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, so strong in fact that I was unable to put the harbourmaster ashore. The glass did not give any indication of an approaching hurricane, and on Sunday, February 8, the wind had moderated slightly, and I thought there was perhaps the possibility of my getting away that day. At 2 p.nv the wind shifted a few points north., and began to increase in force, and there was a good bit of sea running. The, glass then began to fall steadily, and I thought wo were in for a hurricane. I could hot, however, Tisk making any attempt ■ to. get away from the position I was, then in. We had both anchors down, and gave all the chain wo possibly could. At 2 a.m. the reading of the shin's barometer wis 29.20. That was the last reading I took.' After that I was on deck, together, with most of, if not all, .the crew.; Heavily Astern. "About 3.30 the vessel s'iuck' very heavily astern, and the rudder came up, through'the deck. That, was tho first warning I had that: the anchors were dragging. W« could see or hear nothing in the roar of. the storm, but estimated we had struck the shore reef. In about 15 : minutes- ive. struck the wharf, which is of ferro-concrete, and with the collision the' side of the vessel was torn out. We were against the whaTf for about ten minutes, during which time she, was bumping and grinding heavily. Everybodyaboard, with, the exception of myself, managed to jump on to the .wharf. As there was nothing that'cculd be done to save the vessel; I made a leap'of forty feet, and managed, with the assistance .of the mate, to scramble on to tho wharf. The vesselwas. then rapidly breaking up. She was swept along'the edge of the reef,,nnd eventually stranded on tho Teef:at v the southern extremity of .the town of Nukualofa. J,- with' the crew,"made p'ur way to the residence of the German firm, to whom the timber was consigned. At about 8 p.m.-1, saw that the ship was on fire, but it was 'impossible for us to get aboard and put out. the fire. -. Tho following day I made arrangements with Lloyd's agent tor a survey of the..vessel. She was disposed cf at public aucticn fcr .£558. •This sum-of money, is lodged with the German firnrat"Nukualofa., All my private papers and effects have been lost. I endeavoured befpre leaving tho vessel te rescue'.iny. effieiai log-book,' but, the stern of the vessel had l»en torn awny, and I was unable.to get,to my room." ... The schooner walowned by the'Borealis Company, and'was under the management 'pf the Charles Nelson\Compiihy, San Fran-