THE LARGO BAY CATASTROPHE. London, February 8.

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 355, 30 March 1889, Page 6

THE LARGO BAY CATASTROPHE. London, February 8.

'& terrible marine catastrophe occurred in. the'" Channel on Tuesday night. 4 ' Tho'Largo' ißay, a Glasgow sailing sbip'of some 1,500 -tons, outward bound from London to Auckland, 2tfe\v Zealand, with a- large cargo bufc ■ no passengers; was proceedingdown ChanneL. , •in a! nbrtih-eastely gale and snowstorm when slie' ran' into/ the -Anglo-Chinese 'steamer , Glencbe,- 5 a^ 'Vessel of 3,000 tons, with . tremendous forcei The Glencoe - sank. - in a • fe*w' minutes, and it is feared • all ' on board (fifty-three persons) perished. The sailors on the Largo Bay thought their VesePwas about to follow the -steamer's example, ' but by the greatest good luck 1 the smash was forward of the collision bulkhead, which held till morning, when abrig took the disabled vessel jnto Cowes. 4 Telegraphing last night, a Southampton , correspondent states : " Further details relating to the collision, between the Lar^o Bay and the Glencoe show that fifty three lives have been lost. Owing to the suddenne&s of the shock, .the crew of the Largo 3ay wete in such a dilemma that they saved •their ship only with great difficulty. ' The night was tempestuous',' ,with a heavy snowstorm, and the" lights of th y e two ships could only be seen when the collision became inevitable. ' The steamer then forged, ahead to cross the barque's bows, which "she cutoff,' and, .recoiling, sank almost immediately. "Thouh gthe craw were struggling in the' water, it was impossible" to attempt' a rescue, as the Largo Bay's boats were smashed, her sails blown to ribbons, and her foremast gone. Mr Veysey, agent for the owners of the Largo Bay, proceeded this'(Thursday) morning to Cowes, accom : paniedb,y a surveyor. A press representative proceeded to the 'wreck, which ' he reached after making .a rough passage'ih a small boat. Prior to the arrival of' the agent the mate declined to enter inti any details of the circumstances, the captain having strict and repeated instructions from " the owners ' not to allow a word to be spoken. The vessel presents a forlorn appearance. The foremast is . broken oft close; other masts have also broken off f f the sterri'is damaged by colliding with ,the Urpeth whilst being towed by her ; the' bow is also cut completely away ; and the deck presents a remarkable'spectacle. Iron plates', twisted and .broken in.to most ' fantastic shapes, 'give* a forcible impression of the terrible effects of the collision. A bailor 'of the Eargo Bay volunteered the following r narrative : * I was in my bunk in tbfe forecastle, being on the sick list, with the .watch" below, when the collision occurred. All thought the vessel must fouder immediately. I ru ( shed on , deck "and saw a large'' steamersink in a few minutes. ' There was too, much excitement on the Largo Bay for us 1 ' to notice much of what occurred on the steamer. Captain Smith and the mate were ondeck. The cabin boy,'Alex'.'Mct)onald,got into the lifeboatfirst/butweiit overboard and" was drowned. Many men were un&ree.sed,' but the whole crew., numbering 'twenty three, including officers,. got into one boat and left the ship, believing she- was sinking. The weather was very, bad* land th.c night dark. " Presently a steamer^answered , our signals and offered to'take us on board ;* but did not do so) ' weather, being rough. We again tfoarde'd' the' Largo^ "Bay, and found the collision bulkhead holding, but all our stock of coatos gone." Clothes and tarpaulins were also lost.'*' We I ' have not'been able to cook since, and I shall be glad to .go ashore. We drifted helplessly all' night ; but lam thaiokful we were Spared. I cannot help thinking of the poor fellows who went down' with the steamer. ;. She must have ripped right along and' fou/idered quickly. In the morning the' Urpeth came to our assistance and towed us' 60. Cowes Roads.'" Our Dover correspondent telegraphs that the barque Largo Bay had a 'series tol misfortunes just prior to „the. , disaster. > On' Sunday she put into the Downs to obtain shelter from -the. gale and snowstorm,. There she was in danger of driving aground. She lost one anchor and chain, and to prevent a collision she had 'to slip .another. She was then driven out 'of the Downs by the gale, and wasrunning down the Channel when the collision occurred. 'Messrs McGregor, Gow, and Co., owners of the line, share the opinion of Lloyd'^, and have but little* doubt that' the^fouhdered vessel is their steamship the Glencoe. ', In London yesterday as much 1 as ninety guineas' was paid for re-insurance. The crew consisted of twenty-nine British seamen and twenty-three Chinese, arid in addition it is- believed -that a Liver- J pool pilot, named .Askin, was on board, having been unable to leave the vessel off Liverpool on Saturday owing to stress of weather. Io is difficult to ascertain the exact circumstances uuder whieh,th'e collision tpok place, local correspondents stating that, in consequence of the' many contradictory statements which have .been, made by the crew of , the Largo Bay, ' the captain of that vessel 'has refused' to admit representatives of the press on board. The discrepancies iii" the statements are, owing,' doubtless, ,'to ! the hurry and confusion which occurred on' board the, barque at the time of the, collision. According to a J statement made by the pilot who took the Largo Bay to Cowes, the steamer tried to pass between two sailing vessels going in oppo'site v directions when .the collision occurred. After t;he catastrophe nothing more was seen pfthe steamer, but at the .' time there was a blindinsc snowstorm," which at sea is worse than fog. .So confused were the crew of the Largo Bay that, while some state with positiveness that the colliding steamer was a four-masted, others" 'are equally confident that she was a threemasted vessel. The Glencoe is describedin" Lloyd's Register as an " iron , steamer, ' schooner-rigged. ,