PERILS OF THE SEA. ADVENTURES OF THE BARQUE OTAGO. TERRIBLE EXPERIENCES. FORTY-NINE DAYS' DRIFTING.

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 413, 23 October 1889, Page 4

PERILS OF THE SEA.

ADVENTURES OF THE BARQUE OTAGO. TERRIBLE EXPERIENCES. FORTY-NINE DAYS' DRIFTING.

TWO MEN LOST. i Probably never in the nautical history ot this colony has there been a case involving evidences of the perils of the sea such as those through which the barque Otago has ' gone since she commenced her voyage from Sydney for London on the 13th of August. Not long since the steamer lonic broke her crank shaft when three days out from Lyfctelton, and, after a considerable amount of manoeuvring, managed to regain this port. Bad as the experiences of the White Star liner undoubtedly were, they were not to be recorded in tho tame chapter as those of the barque Otago, which Were brought to a close on Saturday a few minutes before midnight. ' '

THE VOYAGE. The OUgo left Sydney on August 13bb, bound for London, with a cargo consisting of about 1,000 tons of tallow, copper, silver ore, oleine, wool,- leather, and other products of Australia. Moderate and unsteady weather was experienced, during which the vessel made good progress on her voyage until the longitude of the Snares was passed on August 21st. The wind then blew hard lrom the north-west with high sea, but being a favourable wind, still good work was done, but on Augubb 24th, in lat. 50deg South, 160deg West, when the bhip wa& running before a heavy west-south- weßt gale and terrific sea, the vessel broached to and sea after sea came aboard in quick succession. Su of the sailb were blown away before anything could be done, the front ot the cabin was stove in, and the sea continued its course of destruction through the captain'B room into that occupied by two passengers, and finally exhausted itp energies in a spare room at the rear of these two, not betore it had, however, gone through no less than six bulkheads. The torce of the sea c.in be far more readily imagined than described. The berths, tables, cupboards, and everything in the starboard cabins were completely wrecked, and t-he back wash of the wave took with it the ship's papers, including all the officers' certificates, manifest, official log, the captain's clothes, and worse still, his instruments for navigating the ship. This was the effect of one wave alone, and it was followed by several, but of less- magnitude, the cabin being full of water for several houis. While the carpenter was endeavouring to repair the front of the cabin so as to keep out the water

ANOTHER LARGE SEA came over amidships and washed him with great force into the cabin, and knocked him against a drawer. He was picked up bleeding badly irom the nose and head, and a few hours afterwards the poor fellow* died from the result of his injuries. His name was Kelly, and he joined the vessel at London. When the crew were mustored, which was done as soon as possible, it was found that an A.B. named Johenson, who joined the vessel at Sydney, was missing, and he had no doubt been washed overboard by the sea. The seas had all come on board well aft, but the cabin was nob by any means the only part of the vessel that suffered, tor several of the boats were smashed and washed overboard, the rail, bulwarks, eta., damaged, while the after deck-house, in which wa6 quartered M r E. White, the chief officer, and Mr T. Crook, the second, was smashed in. Thelatterofficer was in his bunk at the time, and his chest of clothes was carried overboard by the sea and everything lost. Some idea of the force of the sea can be imagined when it is stated that one of the davits, a piece of solid iron three and a half or four inches in diameter, on whioh was hanging one of the boats, was snapped oft like a carrot. The gale was encountered on August 24th and oontinued throughout the 25th, during which time the vessel was hove-to. On the following day the crew were kept busily engaged repairing the sails, rigging, etc. ; and on August 27th the gale having moderated, it was decided to proceed on the voyage. As it was, the officers were in a pretty predicament ; the charts were nearly all washed away, the chronometers were smashed and were not working, the sextants and other instruments for finding the ship's position were gone. Imagine, then, the feelings of Captain Norman and his officers, and, indeed, the feelings of the twenty souls on board, eighteen of a crew and two passengers, , I when ib became known that

THE RUDDER WAS GONE. This was far and away the woist mishap of all, and although io happened during the gale of August 24 or 25, was nob discovered until two days afterwards, when they tried to make the vessel shape her course. The wheel was intact, and the soaman whose dutiea ib was to carry out the orders of the officer in charge turned it this or that way as directed, but still the ship ref used to come to the wind, and after l'epeated efforts it at last became known that the rudder was snapped off at the second gudgeon. This was indeed a last straw to break their backs. There lay the ship

AN UNMANAGEABLE LOG, hundreds of miles from land, and out of the track of trading vessels. It was indeed an awkward fix. To make matters worse, the weather continued particularly stormy, and during the worst of the gale a large quantity of the waber which came on board found its way down the lazarette hatch and into the vessel's hold, consequently the pumps had to be kept going night and day. By dint of hard work the water was reduced from throe feet to three or four 1 inches. The first thing to do was then to \ rig a jury rudder, but this proved by no | means an easy task, for no less than four 1 method& were tried. The first attempt was with hawser and spar, but it proved to have no control over the vessel, • and she could not bo made to tack. The ■ sscond was what is known as Captain ; Withor's patent, a spar with blades of deck planking on each end. This was likewise • a failure, theie being such a sea running ; that the danger of the spar being driven " through the ship was very great. A third '. attempt suffered a like fate and tho one > which brought the vessel into port was ? next tried. It consists of a number pi '. deck planks lashed together, with a kedge ■ anchor fastened to the bottom edge. This is suspended by block and tackle from a spar fixed over the stern, and lowered \ into the water. At either side are ropes . which are used to pull it over as may be required from tijne to time. This was not ' t altogether a success at first, and after con- • sulbation Captain Norman decided to

; JETTISON CARGO. \ About 1,000 sacks of copra were thrown ( overboard from the fore hatch, and after , that the vessel was more under control. \ The weather, which up to this period hftd ' been a succession of storms with mountainous sea, began to improve a little, ~ but

1 with the heavy swell the barque rolled fearfully, and made but little way. It is stated above that the charts were washed overboard with other things ; a few were, however, afterwards found, and, luckily among them was one which could be used to navigate the vessel in the waters she happened to be. Great care had to be taken with it, for the rough experience which it had grone through had damaged it greatly, and it was well nigh full of holes, being, as Captain Norman put it, a '* perfect, rag of a thing." The exact position of the vessel was, of course, not known nor could it be ascertained. Everything had to be done by

DEAD RECKONING. A log was kept over the stern, and tt e vessel's head shaped such a course as wa s thought would bring her to New Zealand. Fortunately the compass was not lost, or the position would have been oven worße. After the cargo was thrown overboard better progress was made, but the anxiety suffered by Captain iSorinan and his party was very great. A watch was kept night and day tor land, and every litble gale or sea was felt by the disabled i vessel with tenfold force, she making 3uch slow progress. The small notion they had of the correct position of tho vessel can be partially understood when it is stated that on October 2nd, thhty-nine days after the accident, the • look -' out man reporting larid ahead, it was surmised that the coast line of New Zealand was in view. This happened at night, and the vessel was hove-to until daylight, when, from the general appearance of the land," Captain Normau could see he was not on the New Zealand coast. A closer inspection proved that the barque Otago was in no other position than

CLOSE TO THE SISTERS ISLANDS, which lie a few miles to the westward of the Chatham Islands, which are again 400 mileo east of Lyttelton. During the thirty-nine days she had moved from about 50deg. South, 160deg. West — which, by the way, is not a great distance from the Auckland Islands, where more than one good ship has come to grief — to about 43 North, 176 West, and but for the lucky shot of catching sight of the land, and being able to recognise her true position, would probably have gone on in the same course. From October 2nd to Saturday last, the vessel was kept true eastward, j and although misfortune was kept company with,themishaps werebutslight,such, stance.asthecarryingawayofoneofthesteering ropes, which necessitated the jury rudder being hauled aboard and re-rigged, a sail blown away, and other such trifling mishaps — trifling at least when compared with the adventures which the vessel had gone through since leaving Sydney. The joy of the sfcorm-toseed crew need hardly be mentioned, when at about 5 p.m. on Saturday the well-known shores of Banks Peninsula presented themselves Co Captain Norman — well-known to him by reason of previous" trips made by him to Lyttelton. When the anchor was dropped at midnight on Saturday, their appreciation of a good night's sleep, snugly at anchor, with no cares for the disabled vessel, can be imagined.

THE SHIP AND HER CAPTAINThe barque Otago is well known ab the Porb of Lybbelbon. She loaded here lasb eeason with wool, etc., for London. She is a composite-builb vessel of 993 tons register, and was built ab Glasgow in 1569 by R. Duncan and Co., her registered owner being W. Blown, of Glasgow. She used to trade regularly to this port a few years ago, and was then rigged as a ship, and was noted for her good sailing qualities. She is 207 feet 3 inches long, 34 feet 5 inches beam, 20 feet 1 inch in depth of hold. The experience jusb ended is nob the first that Captain Norman hae undergone, indeed he is truly .one of those mariners who ha\e had. a good opportunity of recognising' the perils of " those who down to the sea in ships." When he was last at this port, a representative of this journal interviewed him with regard to his experience during the wreck of a vessel called the Dannottor Castle, which was wrecked on June 7th, 1886, on a coral reef while on a voyage from Sydney to San Francisco. The vessel was wrecked on a coral island, and Captain Norman, who waschiet officer, volunteered to take charge of a boat and attempt to reach Honolulu, showing the same amount of British pluck and endurance which appears to have been characteristic in him during the recent experiences with the Otago. After fifty days in the boat they reached a native village, bub nob before nearly every man in the boat was half dead for want ot food. We cannot close the account of this very wonderful escape of the Otago and her crew without giving a word of praise to captain and officers for their attention during such trying times; and we hope to be able to record that their action will receive some tangible recognition from the right quarter. Mr White, I the chief officer, was at one time second mate of the barque Norman McLeod. — "Lyttelton Times."