WRECK OF THE CLYDE.

Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 880, 10 February 1879, Page 2

WRECK OF THE CLYDE.

The Akaroa Mail publishes the following particulars in connection with the wreck of the Clyde on Ninety-mile Beach : On Saturday intelligence reached Akaroa that a vessel calle'd the Clyde was ashore near Taumutu/'ori'thieNirtety-mjle Beach. As there were no'signs of jiny of the crew, and the boat was missing, the worst was feared with regard to the safety of those on board, and the police received instructions to proceed to the scene of the wreck, and make all necessary enquires as to the fate of the missing men. Sergeant Ramsay accordingly started for Taumutu on Sunday, but on his way met with a passenger by the wrecked vessel who had reached Little River, from whom he learned that the fears entertained for those on board the vessel were happily groundles§. The following are the particulars of the disaster as furnished by the passenger referred to. We may premise that the latter is a Mr. John Bennett, clerk to a shipping agent at Oamaru, who was proceeding in the schooner on a trip to Auckland for the benefit of his health.

The Clyde is a fine schooner of about 130 tons, owned by Mr. Frank Guy, 0 f Fremantle, Western Australia. She was built in Fremantle five years ago ex- ! pressly for the conveyance of jarrah i timber. She is constructed of ironbarlt ! and redgum, and is described as being very strong. She left Oamaru at 7 aim. on Friday last, bound for a full cargo of Oamaru stone and grain. It ■was blowing hard from the south-east at the time. Our informant, Mr. Bennett being unwell, went below. At 1.30 a.m. ' on Saturday morning he was called by the captain to come on deck. He found the surf breaking over the vessel, which was . drifting stern first on to the beach. The I crew were engaged in lowering the boat. All hands then got into the boat, viz., the captain, five seamen, the cook, and passenger, eight souls in all. The boat was eighteen feet long on the keel, and pulled four oars. They took half a bag of biscuits and a keg of water with them. The boat behaved splendidly as soon as they got her head to the sea, rising to the waves like a duck. They left the schooner at 2 p.m. and shaped a course for Akaroa. When they made the Peninsula, the captain was afraid to attempt reaching Akaroa Heads in case of a contrary wind pi - eventing their getting in, and accordingly put into the first bay they reached, which was Long Bay, between Island Bay and Peraki. They landed here at noon on Saturday, having been ten hours in the boat in a heavy sea. The place being uninhabited, they started in two parties over the ranges to look for some settlement. Four of the seamen reached Mr. Buchanan's place at Lake Forsyth at 0 p.m., whence they reached Olphert's Hotel between 8 and 9. The captain and the remainder, including the passenger, were not so fortunate, as they lost themselves on the ranges, and had to camp out all night. They, however, succeeded in getting down to Mr. Buchanan's about 11 o'clock on the following morning (Sunday). The captain and crew left the same day for the wreck. Mr. Bennett remained at Olphert's. For an invalid in search of health ho has had a rough time of it so far. A rough sea to start with, then two hours in an open boat, and succeeding that a night on the hills, without any defence from the weather, are certainly not the most genial experiences for a man in delicate health. However, we may be thankful that the first fears as to the fate of those on board were not realized, and that we have no worse catastrophe to record. The Lizzie Guy, a sister ship to the Clyde, was lately cast away on the West Coast, near Hokitika.