THE STEAMSHIP CYPHRENES.

Evening Star, Issue 3467, 2 April 1874, Page 2

THE STEAMSHIP CYPHRENES.

•' \ • The/Cyphrenes arrived in Hobson’s, Bay On , i'Marqh . She differs from her predecessors—the Macgregor and. Tartar—being larger than the former f somwhat inferior to the latter, . put for the special service for which she is inV tended she seems tb be well adapted. The Cyphrenes was launched less than two years ago from the yards'of’Messrs Stephens and Son, Dundee, for the China trade, and since then her voyagingvhas been from London to China, Japan, and New York, and back to London, from whence she again proceeded to China and Japan, back to Hong Kong, and there loaded coolies for San Francisco. Thence she returned ■ to China; and loaded for London with tea, after landing which she was laid up for three months J prior to coming to the Colonies. She is a regular ** canal wallah," being intended'for the Sues Canal passage, consequently she pan carry a( large cargo (over 300 tons of tea) on a light draught of water. Her dimensions are $s fallows Length over all, 3J2ft; beam, ,35ft j and depth of hold, 25ft, giving her a gross measurement of close on 2,0(H) tons. Viewed externally , .ishe.M'not, all . ait once, Jvery taking jnher api. pearamee, the neutral tint of her lead-colored topgidea being .disadvantageous to the. showing off of her lines. The steamer, however, is a fine model, and when painted up and in proper -i i .trimj . she will-' have quite. an improved look. Being rigged as a fore-and-aft schooner, she has, for so large a vessel, quite a scanty 100k 1 aloft, spars and yards and the usual top hamper of square-rigged vessels being conspicuous by Iheirabsence. The strong point of the iCyphrenes is steaming, and she does not depend • on her spread of canvas. ShejspropfcUecTbjr a screw, driven by powerful compound ' by Elder and Co,, of Glasgow, :• They, ate .dipeet acting, are of 250-horse power nominal, and have inverted cylinders. The . cylinders are 401®, with a stroke of 3ft 3in, and on a consumption of from 20 to 22 tons coal per diem a speed of ten knot? can be obtained, and {under favorable circumstances of eleven knots. Tt?®re are two boilers, each hayingfour furnaces. ■ In addition to the larger machinery, there is also a jl’andy donkey-engine for discharging and taking in cargo, heaving the windlass, etc., and not the least useful piece of mechanism is the ■ blast-engine foL' . securing a current of fresh ail • to the stokehole when going through the canal' •and the Bed Sea; or when the tropical heat is 'overpowering. She j$ specially constructed sc • to-to secure unlimited ventilation throughout, aqd both passengers and cargo have been amply .eare'd for in this respect. ' The saloon of tbi is not very much unlike that of the aateamalup Tartar, and at present there is only .aaeommoda*ion for thirty-six passengers, fos •whom every Comfort apd convenience is fur-. 1 mished. There is available space, however, foi. . 'the .erection of more firstmlasa cabins, arm < . ; .also for ihe accommodation of about JW second-, --class passengers! 1 The space of the long push deck - " is duty broken by the captain’s cabin over --saloon companion aft ; by an exio*UWVt> nouse s ' where the Officers’ quarters, \ ’ *ynguw hbhse,' oboking galley, carpenter’*

boatswain’s lookers, &c., are situated; and by a bouse forward, where the crew are lodged much mote comfortably than in any forecastle. Over tb J a house amidships is the chartroom, in front of which is the wheel, the steering gear being Dais’s patent, Bound the deck the only protection' is a light iron rail, with 6pen-wire netting, so that there is nothing to prevent any sea 'from finding its way off the ship as rapidly as it came in. The skylights over the saloon and enginereom are substantial, and capable of resisting great pressure. She is well provided with boats, amongst them being a bandy little steam-launch ; and she is also amply supplied with the latest improvements conducive to speed, and for quick and efficient working. The sad fate of Captain Stephens, who started from London in command of the Cyphrencs, but who was not destined to bring her out here, has already been reported; and at a very short notice, something less than two hours, her present commander, Captain Thomas Wood, had to take charge. The voyage from London to Adelaide was made m sixty days, but was not altogether an uneventful one. On February 11, after passing lohaboe Island, Captain 'A r ood shaped a course which was corrected, as far aS possible, and he supposed the high land inside the Britannia Reef would be easily disguishable. However, the utmost caution proved insufficient, for although a suspicious bank of clouds ahead induced the master.to keep the ship off a little, she struck on a shoal at twenty minutes to 11 p.m. The captain at once telegraphed to

the engine-room to go full speed astern. Fortunately she was in a position of no immediate danger, and upon inquiries being madeon shore it was ascertained that there was at that particular place a great inset of current. Although the master’s course should have allowed him to be: about ten or fifteen miles outside, and consequently clear of the reef, the influence of the current stranded the ship. Finding that the vessel was afloat aft, the sails were backed, and all hands hauled the port cable from the chain-tier to the port side of the quarter-deck. At near high water an extra strain was hove on the hawsers, and one parted, lasing a keclge and twenty fathoms of rope. Then the workers parried out a heavier kedge and hove a strain, at the same time signallinjfTor the shore boats to lighten the ship. Two came alongside and took about thirty tons of cargo. On Friday, the 13th, the captain sent away these boats, Mid hauled another into the gangway. She being larger took forty tons. The greater part of her cargo being spirits, the third mate went, in charge, and to lighten the vessel as much as possible paid overboard the chain cable and put a buoy on it. The commander started all the spare hands to jettison coal, and having sounded carefully round the steamer, he found that she was on a sandbank from forwards to the funnel. At 11 a good head of steam was ready, and on giving an order for full speed astern, she glided gently into deep water. While stranded she made no water, and as soon as practicable anchored in four fathoms, and commenced reStowing the cargo. The cargo was reshipped, and on the 14th the vessel steamed’ out of the bay. On Sunday, the 15th, a strong gale with heavy head sea, attended by thick drizzly weather, prevailed ; but on nearing the Cape the engines were slowed until a break in the clouds showed Table Mountain. On the 16th the Government diver overhauled at Table Bay the vessel’s bottom. On the evening of the 17th she weighed anchor and stood away from Table Bay. Then commenced the run across the South Indian Ocean, which appears to have been accomplished in about 39deg. to 40deg., keeping up a good pace from 248 to 252 miles per diem. SHIPPING TELEGRAMS. . New iYobk. —Sailed, February 14, barque William Gifford, for Dunedin. The barque ■ Splendid, for Port Chalmers, put into St. ’ Inomas leaky, and discharged. The barque Eureka left for New Zealand. London. —Loading, Fraterilli, Gaggio, City ef Agra, Balloch Myle, and Syren, for Canteibury; Lapix, for Nelson; ScniehaUion, Lahogue, and Inverallan, for Wellington; Roslyn Castle, for Otago. Sailed, Atrato, London to Otago, bn February 10; River Lodge, Liverpool to Otago, on February 7.