HARBOUR FERRY SERVICE

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2659, 3 January 1916, Page 6

HARBOUR FERRY SERVICE

A TEMPORARY DISLOCATION.

. A slight . mishap to the ■ steamer Duchess at 5 p.m. on New Year's Day caused a temporary dislocation of the ferry trailic arrangements, and a large number of excursionists who had delayed their return to town until the evening steamers, were considerably inconvenienced as a consequence. To- copo with the holiday traffic the Eastbourne Borough Council had chartered the steamer Admiral to run in the service, in addition to the ferry stoamws Duohess and Cobar, but as the total number of passengers carried from town during the day was much below that usually comfortably handled l>y the two last-named steamers, 210 difficulty would havo been experienced under ordinary circumstances in transporting the trippers back to town. However, just as the Duchess was about- to leave Day's Bay at 5 p.m. with 900 passengers. on board, a flaw developed in a steam pipe in the engine-room, and it was necessary, to immediately draw the fires from the '■ furnaces and put the vessel out of commission, to enable repairs to be effected. This meant that tho Cobar, which was due to arrive at Day's Bay at 7 p.m. to take the overplus from the Duchess, bad to cope with over 1000 excursionists, all eager to get back to town before night set in, and as the latter vessel's oarrying capacity is only 745, some 200 persons had to be left behind on the wharves at both Day's Bay and Rona Bay, until the Cobar returned from town on a special trip at 9 o'clock. Being a wild, boisterous night, this was not by any means a pleasant experience. From inquiries made, it would appear that the best possible was ; done under the unfortunate circumstances. The management, consider that they did quite right, in tho interests of public 6afety, by not allowing the 7 p.m. uteamer to carry more than her registered ' complement.