PERIL OF BRITISH IRONCLADS IN BESIKA BAY.

Globe, Volume VIII, Issue 839, 2 March 1877, Page 3

PERIL OF BRITISH IRONCLADS IN BESIKA BAY.

We learn from an account in the Western Daily Mercury of the following narrow escape of two ironclads: —“Her Majesty’s ship Triumph loft Malta on December 19th to join the fleet under Admiral Drummond, near the Dardanelles, and at noon on December 22nd, after a splendid run of seventy hours, anchored in Besika Bay, where she found the rest of the ships lying at single anchor. Tho position she took up was about half a mile ahead of the Monarch, thus forming with that ship the outer of the three lines in which the fleet was placed. It was blowing very fresh when the Triumph arrived. The wind soon increased to a furious gale from the south and south-west. As the barometer was still falling and the wind increasing, all the other ships let go a second anchor about 2 p.m, thereby making themselves pretty secure, bat the Triumph, having her steam still up ready for use, continued to trust to the one anchor only. At sunset there was a slight lull in the storm, and it seemed as if the worst was over, more especially as the sky was unclouded, and the moon and stars shone out clearly. It was a delusive pause however in the conflict of the elements, during which the gale seemed to gather greater fury, for about S p m it hurst over the fleet again with tremendous force, At 9 30 a terrific squall struck the Triumph ani quite overcame the holding power of her anchor, though no less than 100 fathoms of cable were out. In a moment she began to drift with fearful rapidity straight towards the Monarch. It soon became evident that in a few minutes she would fall right upon the other’s ram, and that the career of both ships would come to an untimely end unless something effectual was done at once. The Triumph’s second anchor was let go as speedily as possible ; but the effect it produced was ooly slightly to check the rate of progress. It never stopped it for a moment. On went the noble ship, as if bent upon self-destruction, and dragging both her anchors after her as if they were mere playthings. Presently the jib-boom of the Monarch was over the stern of the Triumph, and everybody on board the latter ship was expecting a midnight swim; but, fortunately, just when a few seconds would have sealed the fate of the two finest vessels afloat, steam came to the rescue, and began to make the Triumph move ahead. Both her anchors were weighed, and she started in search of better quarters. Such was the fury of the storm, however, that she was driven back, though under full steam, and at about 10 80 p.m. found herself close alongside the Monarch-being so close indeed that anyone might easily have gone from one ship to the othcr. Everybody on board expected momentarily to hear the ironsides crushing to bits, but marvellous to relate, they did not actually touch, so no damage of any consequence was done. The Triumph was steaming ahead at full power all the time. At last, during a lull, she managed to sheer off from the other, and once more got ahead of her about a mile and a-half. Then both anchors were let go, but again the squalls came on in greater force than ever, and again shp drsgged them both. Of course there waa nothing for it but to get them up once more and go through the whole performance again. This was repeated altogether three limes before it was found where the anchors would hold, but at last, about three a m on the 23rd, the ship was securely moored, though even then it was considered necessary to keep the screw going in order to take some strain off the cables. The captain of tho Triumph, who is one ef the best sailors in the navy, was quite equal to the emergency, and no one po\Ud have done more for the safety of the ship than he did He did not leave the deck for a moment from tho first alarm until things wore quite safe. It is considered lo be a most unwise thing to keep such a fleet as Admiral Drummond’s in such an exposed and unsafe anchorage. The fleet might be in some safe harbor, such as Salomes, and the few hours' additional steaming required to roach Constantinople from that place would not be worth considering compared with the tremendous loss to Great Britain in every way if one or two of the ironclads now in Besika Bay should be wrecked.”