The s.s. Rosina Adrift.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume X, Issue 1028, 26 January 1882, Page 2

The s.s. Rosina Adrift.

Captain Scott called upon us at a late hour last evening, and directed our attention to the sonsat ional account t hat appeared in last night’s Z/era.M of the hairbreadth escape the Rosina had of being washed over the bar, of the Tologa Bay River, and becoming a total avreck. As it is our province to deal with facts, not fiction, we hardly expect our version to be as soul-stirring as that given by the Herald. We may sav at the oulset that the statement contained in our Gladstone Road contemporary, that when the steamer began to drift that the “ engineer flew to the wheel and skilfully guided her into the channel,” while extraordinary as a nautical feat, if true, is altogether the reverse of fact. The Engineer made no such aerial Hight. Oilier statements in our twilight contemporary are equally wide of the mark. The facts are that, as is usually the case after a few day’s rain, a slight freshet arose in the Tologa Bay river. Capt. Scott, cautious mariner as he is, moored his vessel in anticipation of the rising current, some four hours before hand. A snag drifted down, and got foul of one of the chains about 8 o’clock. As Captain Scott could not get the log clear of the chain, he did the next best thing, that is, he let the chain go, and the log go with it. The other chain giving way, the Rosina floated down the stream like a swan upon the bosom of the deep, a distance of some five hundred yards. At a suitable place the spare anchor was let go, and the vessel remained awaiting the gallant skipper’s pleasure. The Captain being in the boat when the vessel drifted the short distance she did, after seeing everything right continued on his way to the township. Of course anyone acquainted with New Zealand rivers is aware that it is ad ifficnlt thing on such an occasion, in a cockle shell of a boat, to pull against the tide and current. But the Herald's version wants revising.