THE PENGUIN WRECK.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 31, 2 March 1909, Page 2

THE PENGUIN WRECK.

NAUTICAL COURT'S JIIKiMKXT. CAI'T. KAYLOB HELD RESI'ONMItLIi I'UR THE DISASTER.

By* Teiegraph.—Presa Association. Wellington, l.:i>L -Nignt. The judgment of tin' Xautical Court that enquired into the wreck of the I'enguiu was delivered as follows nt (i.;) 0 tllia evening: Question I—Whether saia vessel was seaworthy and properly found, particularly in regard to the lifeboats and other life-saving appliances, and whether such appliances were sufficient and efficient and properly attended to, and whether boat drill was properly carried out on the said vesselAnswer: That the evidence! discloses the said vessel to (lave been seaworthy ami properly found in regard to Ihi lifeboats and other life-saving appli ances; thai such appliances were suffi cient and efficient and properly at tended to; and that boat drill wai propcrlv carried out 011 the said res ad. Quest ion 2—'Whether under the ex istiuj; weather conditions at any time after p.lll. shelter should have been sought, or tire vessel's head put out to sea instead of her course being continued to Wellington*; Answer: Hiat under the existing weather conditions, cnnsideiiug the vessel had run a course of IS miles at 11.30 p.m., the ship's head should have been put to sea instead of her course being continued towards Wellington, and that under the existing circumstances tile master was guilty of a breach of article 'l(i of the regulations for preventing collisions at sea. (Article IV reads: livery vessel shall in a tog, mist, or heavy rainstorms go at moderate speed, having careful regard to the existing circumstances and conditions.) Question (ier.cially, what, was the cause or what were the causes to which the said casualty was due? Answer: That the cause of the said casualty was the presence of an exceptionallv strong Hood tide, coupled with breach of article Hi by the master of the vessel, and with his failure trader existing circumstances to put to sea when he had run a course of IS miles. Question 4.—til particular, whether the said casualty was due to or contributed to by the negligence or wrongful act or default of any person or persons on the vessel, and, if so, who were such person or persons and what was the nature of such negligence, wrongful act or detmflt? Answer: That in particular "the said casualty was contributed to by the default of Francis Edwin Naylor, the master of the said vessel, in not putting his liead to sea sooner than he did, and in not complying with article lli already referred to. Question s.—Could the said casualty reasonably have been prevented, and, if so, how! Answer: 'That with the distance run up to 9.-10 p.m.. with the weather thick and rainy, and with neither land nor light at Penearrow in sight, tire casualty would have been prevented if tile vessel's head ha'd then been put towards safety. When the vessel struck some twenty-two minutes later the ..ulster was doing that which the Court considers he should have done when closing with the land in thick weather. Question (i—After the casualty were all reasonable and proper precautions taken to prevent loss of life, and, if not, what precautions that ought, to have been taken were omitted? Answer: That after the casualty happened everything that could lie reasonably done to prevent loss of life was done by the master, officers and crew. Question 7. Whether under the circumstances shown by the evidence soundings should have been taken, and if so, after what time? Answer: That under I lie circumstances shown by the evidence, as the master did not put liis vessel's head to safety he ought' to' have I alien soundings. Question 8. —'Whether i( is necessary or desirable that coasting vessels should be fitted with patent, sounding gear? Answer: That although not actually necessary it would be r great assistance to.masters if coastal vessels were provided with patent sounding

apparatus. KECOIIJIKN DAT! OS'S.

The Court considers that lifeboats of vessels should have some mea:ia fitted whereby a steer oar could be used when required, and that when having boat drill ami when the boats are lowered in the water an opportunity shoutyl Jbe given to members of the crow to ac> quire the knowledge necessary to handle • such an oar. It, also considers that tlx Murine Drparlnient should obtain th' 1 latest data re the phenomenal current obtaining at limes hi Cook's Strait; t?ta full information un me subject shoul be put liofore tlie Admiralty: that al 1 mariners should be made aware of th danger* attending tile navigation, espeei ally during hazy or thick rainy weathci In view of the facts in this ease tha all the boats were capsized and Jloate ashore bottom up. it would suggest tha some simple appliance should be fittec say, a line of similar material to th life lines already fitted on lifeboats t (he gunwale on one side, taken throug holes in the boat's keel and brough up to the opposite gunwale at suitabl dMancrs opart. . Remarks were made during the lieai it)g of the ease as to the speed of th currents marked 011 the charts. In re lVrenee thereto the Court desires t draw attention to the instructions con taincd in the introduction to "The No Zealand l'ilot/' which instructions ar common to all the Admiralty publics tions of that nature, and have specir importance in the ease of vessels nav; gating Cook's Strait. The Court woul refer more particularly to paragraph n n page J2, and paragraph JO on pag IX They are as follow:—(0) Tides an lidal streams: In navigating coast where tlie tidal range is con&idernb'.i?! caution is always necessary, ft shout be jciuembered that there are indraught to nil bays and bights, although *th general run to the stream may be para lei to the shore. (10) Current arrow on charts only show the most, usual o the mean direction of a. tidal stream o current. Jt must never be assume that tlie direction of a stream will no vary trom that indicated by tlie arrov In the same manner the rate of a strcar constantly varies with eireumslance* and (he rate given un the chart is morel the mean of those found dtirin<r (1 survey, possibly from very few observj tions.

.. ( l " lrl ls f ' lr from satisfied that Iho vessel struck on Tom's i; o ck, but is unable from (lie evidence to definitely Jocjito the scene of the wreck. Considering the undoubted presence of nil exceptionally hca.y ilood tide, tluj Court is opinion that the suspension of | the master's certificate for twelve niontln will meet the circumstances of< the ease: but also considering the anguish ot tile master, and having no desire to ruin him financially, no order will he made as tu costs. [lie Court desires to express its heart. I'lt sympathy with the relatives ol those who have been lost in this national disaster. His Worship added that every point «as go.m mto, and whatever wight lie s.u <i> to tli'. l . verdict, it was the honest, conscientious opinion of tile Bench, -Mr. llerdman: Will your Worship fix tile costs of appeal? His Worship said lie would fix the matter with .Mr. llerdman and -Mr livers 111 chambers, lie would take the question as notice of appeal, , A W»SEXTIN(i Jl'lH'illEXT. Captain UcArthur dissented from some of the findings. |] o held that the inaslei was justified in altering his emirs'■lhere was heavy rain at the time he al teml his course from S\K. by K. to I', bv and he considered Captain Xavlo'i was guilty of a breach of the jvgulal tions ("Prevention of Collisions "| in not moderating the speed of his vessel, although ho did not think, takbig the currents into aecou'.it, this would liav

prevented the casually. The cause of the casualty, in his opinion, was an exceptionally strong Hood tide seUiiißthe vessel out of hor course. He did not think the casualty could have lieen rea-

sociably prevented under the eiitcmn-sia-nees. The exceptional tide could not have been reasonably anticipated', and he did not think soundings would have been reliable, considering the vast differences in the depths Ox the Straits ul I short distances. Soundings, however. I would have of material u«e after

getting to the vicinity of PeneaiTow. THE INQUEST RESUMED. THE JURY'S VERDICT. Wellington, Last Night. Following is the verdict of the jury concerning the Penguin disaster:—(l) That Mrs. Brittain and others came to [ their death by the wreck nf the Penguin; (2) that the course laid down by Captain Naylor would under ordinary circumstances haye been perfectly Bate, Vut "wag affected by adVerae winds and

contrary tides and currents, and, having lost his bearings through the thickness of the weather, no lights being ( visible after ii.iil) p.m. and the vessel struck at 10.2 p.m., the I'eiiguin struck UJIOSI some object the exact locality of which has not been defined and became a total wreck; (3) that the conduct of Captain Kaylor and the «rew of tl;t\ I'cngiiin after the vessel struck was in all icspeets admirable; (-1) tnat o:l the evidence submitted it is apparent that all was done by the Union Steamship Company, the police, and Mr. and Mrs. MeMenainin ami their men for the care of the dead and the welfare of the survivors that could be done under tile cir cumstancea; (5) that, having regard to the number of wrecks in tiiis vicinity and with a view to preventing Hie incurrence of such a deplorable disaster a#

the wreck of the IVnguin and consequent loss of life, the jury is of opinion that a light on Tongue Point is desiri able, and its erection should lie com 1 sidered favourably by the Murine I)e- ---. partmenl.; (li) tliiit the jury is of opili ■ ion that steps should be taken speedily I by the. Marine Department to locate the

hull of the I'enguin. THE LOCALITY Or' Till! WRICCK.

Wellington, Last Xiglit. At the inquest to-day Dr. Mc.irthur said that strange allegations sometimes readied those who had to adjudicate on matters. It was hinted, for instance, that the Union Company eould locate the scene of the wreck in half an hour, and that it was a long way from Tom's Rock.

Mr. Kenm-dy said the statement. was absurd. The Company had tried twice to locals the ?cene of tire wlreck and failed.

TJIE KELIKF FUND. Wellington, Last A meeting in connection with the Penguin relief fund was held to-day, the Mayor presiding. The total in hand is GHKiI. This includes CIOO from the ITuddart-l'arker Company, but does not include any Government subsidy. About £llOO has been spent in relieving cases of urgent need, ft was decided to make no diflVrenee in the treatment of passengers and crew. An active canvass is to be made to augment the fund.