INQUIRY INTO THE LOSS OF THE BARQUE GLENCOE.

Globe, Volume IX, Issue 1253, 13 March 1878, Page 2

INQUIRY INTO THE LOSS OF THE BARQUE GLENCOE.

Ail inquiry wup held at the Custom House, Xyttelton, before A. Kobo', Esq., Collector of Customs, sv.o Captain Wntt, of the Wanganui, nautical assessor, Into tno cause of the loss of the barque Glencoe, at Gore £••>* vu March ana, 1878, jinuti Caicy sworn sari—x aolu a i>.Z. master’s GOrlijlcate, No, s®. 1 was master of the barque Oleuiioc, registered tonnage 160 tons. I left Lyttelton on Eel-rut ry doth, bound to Gore Bay in charge of tao Glencoe, with an original cargo of iron !• rk timber from N.S.W., arriving at Gore Bay on the same clay at 6 pun, the weather was very flue, and on the 21th wo moored to the Governmeet moorings there. Up to the 2nd March the weather was line, with variable winds. On the 2nd it wan blowing hard from the hi.E., and at 6.30 p m, the breeze increased m force, and the sea got up. We were then hanging to the buoy with 30 fathoms of cuaiu, and when the wind increased I let go the port anchor. Chain was paid out to 45 fathoms on the port and w on the starboard side. I then found by sounding there v/.i» only 24 fathoms of water on the >mui(er, which remitted it imve(,r.il>le to give her asy -pore '‘hntO, ttb SHB was dmwiua itjn U I'n-n roujijl'je'l u h'Pirlu u'rGW) l of the fcotftpp, It *. »8 IfUhs

Government moorings, and it comes on to blow from seaward, it becomes impossible to get out to sea with a sailing vessel. The wind and sea increasing, we dragged our anchor and the Government moorings. Struck on the rocks about 0 p.m., the sea breaking aboard, still dragging neither chain having parted. She strnckjaft heavily, unshipping her rudder, the sea sweeping her docks clean It was low water at the time she struck. I tried to slip the chains, but could only let go the starboard one, and finding it impossible to save the ship I ordered tiie hands to lower the boat. She was launched across the poop, and lowered on the lee side. We stove her in slightly forward. Three ofthe crew went in the boat, and managed to get aline ashore, and by this means by 9 p.m. wo got all hands safely ashore. The barque became a total wreck, and is now lying on the beach. The cargo is still in the wreck. On March 3rd the second-mate and three hands tried to get aboard the wreck, but the boat was capsized alongside and stove, two of the men being nearly drowned. The crew saved themselves by scrambling aboard the wreck. They escaped ashore by the line.

By the Nautical Assessor—My object in trying to slip the chains after the ship struck was to allow the ship to go as far up the beach as she would, with a view of saving life and as much property as possible. By Mr Hose —I have been at sea since 1851, and have held a master’s certificate since April, 1875. The Glencoe was registered at Auckland, and well found. The owners are Captain Daldy, of Auckland, and myself. The vessel is insured for £IOOO in the South British. The vessel was worth from £I2OO to £ISOO. The cargo was not insured, hut I believe it will be saved. All hands were aboard at the time of the wreck, and did all in their power to save the ship and cargo. By Mr Rose—There was no grog aboard the barque at the time of the wreck. I had made two previous attempts to land the cargo at Gore Bay, and in each case the vessel was lying there 17 days, but owing to the want of facilities I could not get the cargo from the ship, and had to come back to Lyttelton. I found, however, that from the nature of my charter my consignees were not bound to take delivery of the timber in Lyttelton, I was not required to land the cargo at Gore Bay, but only to deliver it over the ship’s side. On the two previous occasions on which I visited Gore Bay, I depended entirely on my own chains and anchors. The Government moorings were not then laid down. Charles Couch, chief officer of the Glencoe, and W. H. Candy, acting second officer, gave corroborative evidence. The enquiry then terminatedSHIPPING TELEGRAMS. Auckland, March 12., The Australia has arrived with the English arid American mails. She made a sharp passage of twenty-one days five hours. Passengers for New Zealand—Messrs Clayton, Raymond, Benjamin, Reichelt, Maguire, Panoramet, Kernsley, and twenty-one steerage. Wellington, March 12. Arrived—Spray, from Lyttelton. The Australia, with the San Francisco mail, is due at Auckland to-morrow afternoon. Timaru, March 12. Cleared—Elizabeth Curie, schooner, for Lyttelton, with grain. Port Chalmers, March 12. Arrived—The French barque Ulysse, 43 days from Mauritius. She brings 12181 mats sugar. She left Port Louis on 29th January. Ringarooma from Bluff, Arawata from Lyttelton. Arrived—l2.2o p.m., Arawata, from Lyttelton. Sailed—Ringarooma, for Lyttelton. Port Chalmers, March 13. Arrived—Claud Hamilton. She brings 200 passengers and Cooper and Bailey’s menagerie. She encountered very severe weather after leaving Adelaide, and had a succession of heavy gales right across.