NAUTICAL ENQUIRY.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1524, 26 June 1886, Page 2

NAUTICAL ENQUIRY.

[Bafore J. S. Beswiok, tisq., R.M., and Cuptains Thomson and Milton, Nautical Assessor?.] On Wednesday afternoon Captain Hill (Master of the Grafton) was crossexamined at considerable length. He said if the ship had b«en moored to the buoys till his eteamor got into position he could easily have taken her out. He had a conversation with Captain Webster at Dunedio before he came up, and be told witness there was any amount of water. (He wished to detail the conversation ho had with Captain flTehst'-r, but the Court would not Allow him to do mo as Captain Webster would be called as a witness.) He had been a pilot in Wellington harbor for two years, and had never had an accident. Henry Hudson, chief mate of the Qnifton, g«ve evidence corroborating th.it given by Captain Hill, as to the events which took place after the tow rope was made fast from the Grafton to the Lyttelton, When the ship went on one side of the buoy and the steamer on the other, the enginas of the steamer were stopped so as to allow the line to clear the buoy. The pilot said " Go on," as if he wanted the rope to be tightened up. Before the line was cleared over tha buoy the bow of the ship had been brought near to the red buoy. Just at this time witness was on the tuffrail looking at the ship, and he noticed she was down considerably by the head, and was drawing more water at the bow than s''o was aft. She looked to be very badly trimmed. As went out she seemed to be getting deeper by the head. The going down by the head was Tery gradual. When the Grafton was off the wreck buoy, and whilst it was under her port quarter the third engineer came on deck and said, "Aintthat ship terribly by the head, or else her stern is sticking" out." In his opinion the Grafton never hfid the vessel under proper control for toving. If she had had four times the power she would not have had control the way the other ship was steered. Her head was kept parallel to the steamer. A prober tug, with cross beam and a travelling chock, might have been able to take her out, but it would have been a hard job. The witness answered a number of other questions, but mainly to the same effect as the Captain, and the Court then adjourned till the following morniag. The Court resumed on Thursday morniag. Mr Hulson, the chief officer of the Grufton was reculled, and in the course of liis cross-examination he stated there was a little range alongside the breakwater that day. He first thought the vessel was "by the h«iad" when they were a couple of ships'lengths from the red buoy. It was between fire and'ten minutes" from the time they started that he noticed she was down more for'ard than aft. The Lyttelton had a high poop. Some ships always appear to be down by the head. His attention was more particularly drawn to this- ou account of the steamer lying off parallel with her all the time. In his opinian it was not usual for a ship having a high poop to appear to be down by the head. The only order he heard after passing the red buoy was " Port your helm," and at the Bime time they sang out "Starboard." He never beard the Cap-tain of the ship sins: out " Look sharp ; we have struck." John Corliss, third engineer of the GraftoD, deposed to noticing that the ship was down by the head, with her stern coeke 1 up, and remarking to the mne " She is very high aft," or something to that effect. "He was only on deck afeiv minutes. Henry Brickwell, chief officer of the Lyttelton, deposed to unmooring the vessel under Captain Storm's (the pilot's) orden about Ivilf-past six on tho moraing of the 12th. Tho Lyttelton was moored by warps to the breakwater; had the port anchor out and a rope on the pott quarter leading to the chequer buoy. they unmoored unier Captain Storm's orders and hove short on the anchor. He could not tell if the anchor was foul. He passed a tow rope to the steamer, and put a slip rope on the chequer buoy. They then hove the anchor up, and wound a half turn of the chain round the stock. As they hove in the ship went up to the chequer buoy. The effect of this would not have been to have brought the ship over her anchor. The witness, then corroborated the evidence of his captain as to the position of the steamer daring the towing operations op to the time when the vessel bumped. She bumped twice before the anchor was let go. After that she bumped a number of times and began to settle down. The vessel might have gone a couple of ship's lengths after she bumped till she settled down. He did not think the Grafton ever lnd full control of the Lyttelton. In his opinion the vessel did not drop on her auchor, but if she did that would account for her settling down so rapidly. He thought the Captain of the Grafton did the best ho could with the Bhip. William Hutchison Maororie, second officer of the Lyttelton, deposed that the vessel bumped first, then Houndings weie bken, and then the anchor was let go. He did not notice that the vessel was beginning to sink until they were beginning to heave in the anchor. The vessel kept going up to the anchor as they hove in, but he did not think she went over it. William Ransom, the able seaman at the wheel on the Lyttelton at the time of the accident, deposed to receiving all his orders from the pilot. He received three orders : to put the helm hard to starboard just before they started ; to put the helm amidahip just after they started ; and to port the helm when the anchor was being hauled up the last time. The vessel did not follow the steamer, the steamer followed the vessel. The Lyttelton hid Bteersge way from the time she startod. He felt the vessel bump once lightly before the Jin© was let go. >. ,

Andre* Johnston, carpenter" on the Lyttelton, said he did not feel the Lytteltou bump at all when aha wss being towed out on Juoe 12th. The pilot told him to let the anchor go. He let out 10 f«thomi of chain. He went up and told the mate tbat he thought that the anchor was away from the chain. He replied "No, the ship has only ran ahead of it. Witness' reason for thinking r.be anchor had gone was because the chain sprang back after he checked it. To mnke Himself sure he looked and found that she was ahead of her anchor. He looked over the bows to see this bofore he vonfc below. He found- hsr over her anchor, and that the cable was streaming under her bottom. He could not toll where the cable had parted. About forty minutes elapsed from the timo he let go until he received orders to heave in. When he got the order to heave in he sent Robbins down to the chain locker to see if the chain had paid out all right. Whea he took tha lid off he asked m/to go down and hearken what the noise was. Witness went down and said it was only the refrigerator, us ho could see nothing. He then told Robbins to go iDto the forepeak to see if he con Id notice anything there. He accompanied him, but they could find out nothing. Directly afterwards Bobbins again went down to the chain locker, and cnme up aguin and said " Now the water is all over the chain." Witness went to the fo'oas'le head to tell the mats, but the Captain being there he told him. They went below together. The Captain told him to put the sluice down, and witness replied " i never lifted it." The Cuptain and Robbins nent down to tho chain locker together. He went to , the forepeak with the Captain when he came back from the chain locker, and they could hear the water, but could not see anything. The Captain then gave him orders to clear away the boats. He never felt the ship bump at all. It was fotty minutes from the time the anchor was let go until they got in the boats. He heard the pilot sing out three times to the Captain of the Grafton during the time the towing was going on : "If you don't mind what you're doing you'll put the ship ashore." The watchman and he were the only persons who saw the cable Bpring back from the windlass. The watchman is in Lyttelton on the ship Auckland. . .

Tbe Court then adjourned till the following morning. The enquiry was resumed on Friday morning. Robert Storm deposed that he was the pilot of the Titraru Harbor Board, and been so for three years and a half. He had never passed an examination as pilot. On June 12th he was acting, as -Harbor Master. He had taken large vessel* into and out of the harbor before, and never had any difficulty. The harbor is not at all a difficult one to take vessels out of. Sometimes he took vessels one side of the red buoy and sometimes the other, according to the wind and weather, and generally 60 or 70 fathoms clear of the breakwater. After clearing the breakwater a more easterly course was taken. Before he went on board the Lyttelton, he asked the waterman, Bradley, as to whether he had taken orders to the steamer to tow the vessel out. He told witness it was all right. He then went aboard the Lyttleton when Captain Borman asked for a good tow rope. After unmooring from the wharf the anchor was hove short and a line attached to the chequered buoy. He thought it impossible for the vessel to have passed over her anchor at the time of unmooring. After the tow rope wag in position the anchor was hauled up and he instructed the captain of the steamer to go between the ship and the red buoy. Captain Hill said he could not do so, and witness then told him to go to the north of the buoy, and he would bring the vessel out ou the starboard side of the buoy. Ho then gare the Grafton the full length of the tow rope, and told them to go aheud, and keep to the starboard. After a while he sing out to the steamer that if he did not mind he would put the ship ashore. He went aft of the steamer as fur as be thought prudent. At the wreck buoy the steamer got more into position, and he thought it was all right. Shortly after he felt the vessel toach the ground lightly, but did not cast the lend. A little while after the steamer pot ioto a worse position, and cast off the tow rope. Before the steamer let go he ordered the man at the wheel to port the helm, and ordered tho sails to be loosed. When the vessel was brought round he ordered the anchor to bo let go, and shortly after the vessel struck heavily. He gave orders at once to htavein the chain, but before this was done she bumped again. Another tow rope was passed to the steamer, and it was then found the ship was making water. He signalled to the steamer to stop, and went aboard her a'.d told them the Vessel was going down. To the Court the witness stated he did not think that the tug got proper control of the ship. The ship would have towed on the other quarter, and in his opinion the tug could hive easily kept ahead of the ship if she had been properly manoeuvred, had the ropes been oo the starboard quarter.. To Mr Hay he stated the Lyttelton was about half a mile but of the ordinary course when she sank. The steamer started in proper position, but got out of it afterwards. He considered it dangerous to anchor in 25 feet of water. In no part of the harbor was there a lees depth than 25 feet at the time of the accident. He thought that the cause of the wreck was that she grounded on her anchor, and not from the effect of touching the ground. His reason for this belief was that when she struck it was not like striking the ground. It might be some other anchor or some hard substance.