SHIPOWNERS' TRIALS.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1843, 1 September 1913, Page 8

SHIPOWNERS' TRIALS.

TOLD BY MR. JOSEPH HATCH.

"A YANKEE GRAB."

Mr. Robert M'Nab ha 9 dealt very full}' and lucidly with some phases' of the old sea life round the coast of New Zealand in his latest bdok, "The Old Whaling Days," but there aro still some phases of the rougher lifo at sea which prosent plenty of interesting pabulum for the recorder. There is probably no one. who knows more about the iVlacquario Islands tilian Mr. Joseph Hatch, who since the early,'7o's has been engaged in. trado among tlnj southern islands of New Zealand. His first venture was in connection with tho sealing industry in the days when seals were vory plentiful at the Campbells and Aucklands. For that work he purchased tho cutter Nancy, formerly a dispatch boat in South Australia. She was lose at the New Riven - Heads (near tho Bluff) when *in chargo of Captain Shurlmrd — no hands lost. Then for some years he sealed with the fore-and-aft schooner Awarua (built at and it,was whilst in the possession of that vessel (in 1888) that Mr. Hatch commenctd the penguin and sea-elephant oil industry at tho Macquaries, the Awarua (Captain Giles, formerly of Lyttelton) taking tho first digester to the group. Tho vessel occupied, six months on the trip, and all hope had been given up of her ever returning. Subsequently the Awarua was sold to Rarotonga, and in 1890 Mr. Hatoh .purchased at Sydney the clipper ketch Gratitude, 116 tons, built as a trawler at Terrigall, N.S.W. "There was a vessel for you—she con id slip through tho Water. I came down to tho Btaf in her from Sydney when I bought her, and we did the trip in ten days. Captain Bramston was in charge. Her first trip to' the Macquaries, there and back, only took a fortnight, and on one occasion sho did the trip from the Islands to the Bluff (nearly COO miles) in three days. Sho was in charge of Captain Neil Macdonald, when she was caught in 0110 of those sudden south-westers, and was wrecked at the Nuggets (four miles south of tho north end at the Macquaries, where hor bones still lie. I was sorry to lose her—she was a.bright little ship. No lives were lost.

. "My next vessel was tho topsail schooner Jessie Nicoll. I bought her in 1903 and ran her;until December, 1910, when, after missing stays twico, she went ashore.on tho coast two miles to tho southward of t'bo Nuggets. Threo lives were lost —Captain Holmes, the mate Dickenson, and the Barbadoes cook Mercer. Thcro is a rather interesting story in connection with tho loss of the Niccul, which I think is new to print. By some means or other a paragraph had appeared in some of. tho papers stating that 100 tons of oil had been abandoned at the Macquaries, and pointing out with much emphasis what a find it would be for any vessel which had time to go down and pick it up. In tho meantime I had sent the Niccol down to pick up a load of the oil, and she had not been there a couple of days when two rakish-looking Nova, Scotian three-masted schooners appeared off the coast, and eventually landed at the north end, where my men were. They said they had called at Lusitania Bay and South-East Harbour, but could find 110 oil, and had come along to pick it up as well as do a bit of sealing in southern-waters. There were about 40 men all told on tho two ships, and my inen only numbered 17, including those on tho Niccol. As each of tho Yankees had an extensive armoury, it was themght that it would bo' f> case of grab, by, force, but my skipper held his ground; and eventually the strangers made away to the northward. Then it was that the weather came up, the Nicoll tried to beat off, missed stays twice, and then piled herself up on tho beach,, winch never releases a victim.

••"In June, 1911,1 bought the schooner Clyde in Wellington. She left for the Macquaries in charge of Captain Smith, took 41 days on the trip, discharged part cargo at tho Nuggets and North End, then got caught in a treacherous south-easterly gale, mid went ashore, where the fore part of her, hull still 'lies.

■ "My latest purchase was tho brignntine Rachel Cohen, 150 tons, which has made two trips to the Macquaries since I bought her in July, 1912. On both occasions she has had to leave with parr< cargoes only, tho first with 116 barrels, and tho second with 210, whereas she can carry 600 barrels. on know my experience on the- last occasion. About, the time we passed tho Mactiuaries, they were experiencing 60 and, TOrinile gales on the island. Somo eighteen or twenty years ago tho Baeliel Cohen was offered as a prize in a sweep in Hobart. It was the timo of the smash of the Bank of Van Dioman's Land. All sorts of properties fell into the bank's hands, and somo of them were turned oyer to Messrs. Adams and Harvey to be raffled on behalf of the bank. Tho Rachel Cohen, was put in as valuedat >£800,' and two of tho other prizos were a laundry, in full working order, and Miller's druggist's shop: Tho sweep never filled, and the Cohen was passed in. I paid ■in all about £1400 for the vessel-last year, which shows how values change."