A NEW NITRATE PORT.

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 315, 10 November 1888, Page 6

A NEW NITRATE PORT.

' Captain John Mafahias, commander of the clipper barque Hampshire, now at Port Chalmers, gives the following description of a new nitoate port on the West Coast of Spanish Soulh America, which must prove ot very great assistance to shipmasters bojindirom these colonies to &oubh America. Captain Mathias states : — Calefca Oliva is an open roadstead seven.milesN.N.E. of Ta'ltal Point (W. coast of vSouth America) m lat. 25, 18 S. , long. 70, 31 W. approximate, and was opened in 1881 for tho shipment of nitrate of soda, the mines being inland about 26 miles, and owned principally by Messrs Keeling 1 and Quatefaslcn. Tho port iteelf (if it may be so called) comprises a few wooden buildings, consisting or a nitrate slied, manager's house, office for clerks, poi t captain's rooms, and storekeeper's room, one store, and a few huts, the majority being roofed with old bags. A long, continuous, and at times heavy, ocean swell, rolls in from the PouUnvaicl and S.W., and vessels "'are moored head and stern in from 26 to 16 1 fathoms oi water, the nature of the bottom boing rocky and uneven, and ib is a very common occurrence to hear of vessels losing their anchors and chains, as also in picking up other 10.3t ones when getting under « .iy. 'The fe'v following remarks may be suggestive to shipmasters visiting this place for thc_ lirst time— viz , jto make Taltal Point h'i\st, and 'hoist their jack, where a look-out is always stationed,' and whence the services of the Taltal pilot ( Domingo Castillo) can always be obtained, his fee being 2odol. (dollars paper). This" is mofet 1 beneficial, as the- said p^lob personally surveyed the port of Caleta Olive. Should vessels bo proceeding to this port without a pilot, the best anchorage will be found, in from 16 to 18 fathoms water, with the white anchor on the clift in a line with the southernmost gable of tho double gabled shod three cables from the landing-place or mole, arid about tiwo cables from the black rock ; but the white anchor should not be brought to bear to the northward of the hole or window in the nitrate shed which is to the northward of all the other wooden buildings, and is easily recognised by being in a direct line with the mole. Owing to the rocky nature of the bottom, and the long rolling ocean swell, the cables and stern moorings of • all vesse's that are likely to make any length of stay should be spiked before mooring, with long French wire nails, as the continual rumbling of the chain over the locks causes tho wooden pins to work out The best position to moor, to feel tho least efiect of the heavy swell, is with the vessel's, head S.S.W. or S. W. by S. ; this will bring the black rock light astern, or a little on either quarter. Care should be used in landing, as there is a great rise and fall, and at times a very nasty' &mf. Currents. — The current genez-ally runs to the southw ard from midnight till the sea breeze sets in, which is very irregular, sometimes coming in at 9 a.m., and at other times not till ns late as 3,4, and sp.m. Some days there is notea breeze, asalllight cloudy, weather i a almost invariably a sign oi little or no sea breeze. After the sea breeze has i-ct in for an hour or so, the current then commences to run to the northward and increasing with the wind. Vessels about to tret under weight should heave thort with the n'rpt of the sea breeze, and be ready to weigh as soon as it increases steady. Up to the present time there is not a single buoy laid clown or even a small tug for the convenience of vessels getting under weigh, and the water is too "deep to kedgc out, so that vessels aie clays at times after being loaded waiting for a breeze, which breeze may be seen at Taltal, but not reaching Calota. Supplies, etc.— Vessels visiting this place should be well supplied with stores for thf homeward voyage, move especially fresh water, as that which is obtainable (and at times there is a scarcity) is braciu«h, and as also what lew stores are obtainable are of a most exorbitant pi ice. A ' vessel coming from the Australian or New Zealand colonies would do well to lay in a quantity of potatoes; onions, sheep, flour, etc., "as fresh beef (although obtainable) is not to be depended upon, and is 25 cents per lb. A steamer calls here every 10 days, and from which you can mostly obtain vegetables at a fairly reasonable figure, although I myself have bad to pay as much as 9dol. per bag of 2001b for potatoes. By sending to Valparaiso for provisions or stores, what with shipping expenses, freight, and launch hire, by the time they are received on board become most expensive. There is communication with Taltal by an open boat which trades to and from Caleta on an average twice a week. Captain John Mathia^, master of the British vessel Hampshire, arrived in Caiera on December Jsth, 1887, from Port Chalmers, New Zealand, via Iquique and Taltal, and loaded an entire cargo of nitrate of soda and sailed for New York on February 3, 1888. During his stay at Taltal, which port he anchored at for water, a vessel was detained several days at Caleta waiting for a breeze to get to tea, and when eventually weighing anchor picked up on his own anchor another vessel's chain and wire rope. During the Hampshire's stay at Caleta a large vessel of 1,700 'tons register Smashed his windlass and broke his^ port bower anchor in getting under weigh, the latter having hooked a rock ; this detained him several days and when getting under weigh for the second time hove up on his own anchor' another vessel's anchor and chain. The Hampshire also lost tho stock of her stern anchor on the rocky bottom. This is only a few of the many instances in which vessels haA r e lost their anchors and chains, and it' is as well for vessels lying in this' roadstead to sight their anchors on a 'calm morning, and to put out thorough good stern 'moorings, •a& the land breeze at times, is very strong and gusty.