A STEAMER CAPSIZES.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 351, 31 March 1910, Page 5

A STEAMER CAPSIZES.

IN THE NELSON HARBOUR. . HIT BY EXTRAORDINARY ROLLERS. EXCITING EXPERIENCES. By Telegraph. —Press Association. 1 Nelson, Last Night. The steamer Koi, owned by the Anchor Shipping Co., of 53 tons net, capsized half a mile to the westward Ncl- , son entrance a few minutes after three J this afternoon, and now lies on her aide, submerged, the rail being just nwnuh at low water, The bottom is lying on J sand, and no injury has been done to , the hull. The circumstances of the capsize are very extraordinary. The steamer was' coming from Motueka with a, cargo of hope and produce, and a deck load of 287 sheep and lambs (within; the regulation number). There were no passengers. A heavy south-east wind was | blowing, but this makes little sea in the j bay on account of the conformation of the hills'. A heavy swell, however, was ; coming down from the north-enst, the effect of the big sea in the Straits. For intervals of a quarter of an hour at a time the sea would be quite calm off the entrance, then a few rollers ot extraordinary height would come down and break on the bar to the westward of the entrance. The Koi was caught by one of these rollers', being put on her beam ends, and before she could recover, a second one came aboard and flooded the engine room. A third came over her and sent her down by the stern. She lies out of the fairway in about twelve feet I of water. | The crew of six clung to the side of the vessel. Some were washed off. I Franklin, the steward, who could not swim, was' brought back by his two mates, Dave Stewart and Hugh Fowler. Engineer J. Weir and Seaman Hendry were washed away from the vessel. Weir kept by Hendry, who was nn in- | different swimmer. I A. J. Glasgow, cruising inside the harbour in an oil,launch, was first to the I rescue. He picked up Weir and Hendry two hundred yards from the steamer. The pilot crew in the whaleboat took . Captain Scully and the rest of the crew . from the side of tli e vessel just as she was disappearing.

. The whole thing took about a quarter of an hour. There was great excite- ' ment astfiore. There were many wit- ! nesses of the whole occurranee. The company have an insurance fund of their own, and the vessel was not therefore insured in any office. > The consignees of the sheep were not insured.

They stfood to lose £l5O. but during the evening the consignor, Thomas Pattie. of Riwaka, generously telegraphed that he would share the loss. Good hopes are entertained of floating the vessel. The pilot crew made a line fast at low water. This was connected with a winch on .the Boulder Bank. An attempjt to drag the vessel in to the Boulder Bank will probably be made in the morning. Tom Lawson. the sculler, and a memher of the pilot crew, was nearly drowned while making fast the hawser. The undertow took him to the bottom. Great sympathy is felt for Captain Scullv, who is a groat favourite of the public. The phenomenal character of the rollers coming from an apparently calm sea w&<? the subject of genera] re> mark. A crowd was" attracted from town. Pilot Collins says he has seen the same thing twice before during heavy south-easterly gales.