WRECK OF THE 'CITY OF VENICE.'

Thames Guardian and Mining Record, Volume I, Issue 70, 29 December 1871, Page 3

WRECK OF THE 'CITY OF VENICE.'

Intelligence of tho loss of the iron

clipper ship ‘ City of Venice ’ comes to us by way of Mauritius. Tho ‘ City of Venice’was a fine large iron clipper of 1,199 tons, belonging to the well known “ City ” lino of Messrs Smith and Son, of Glasgow, and was launched about five years ago. She was built specially for the Indian trade, and at the time she was wrecked slio was on her way from Glasgow to Bombay. She left Glasgow in command of Captain Muir, on August Ist, with a large cargo, and a crew of some 28 hands, all told, and struck on Rodriguez Island at 2 a.m. on October 0. The captain of the barque ‘Sharston,’ which arrived in port yesterday from Mauritius, picked up first one and then another of the boats belonging to the wrecked vessel, and from his log we condense the following particulars of his falling in with the captain and crew of the 1 City of Venice :’— “ Monday Oct. 9.—At 10 a.m. saw a boat bearing S.W by W.. with a kind of flag as a signal at the end of a boat oar ; steered to it, and hove to, main yards aback, when the boat came alon side and reported having in her part of tin- crew of tho ship ‘ City of Venice,’ which was wrecked on Rodriguez Island on Friday, Oct G, at 2 a.m., and the hands in the boat —a small thing about 19 feet in the keel —had been in her ever since. There were 13 of the crew in the boat, and on Captain Le Gros inquiring for the captain and the remainder of the crew, the boatswain stated that the captain of the ‘ City of Venice ’ and the rest of the crew, 14 in all,

had left the ship at 7 a.m, in a lifeboat, and that they could not bo far away. Captain Lc Gros then steered as near as lie could judge in the direction given, and at 11 a.m. he came up with the lifeboat and took the captain and crew on board bis vessel, hoisted the boats up, and entertained the shipwrecked men, who were rather hard up for provisions and water.” From the minutes of the evidence taken before the Marine Board at Mauritius, in reference to the loss of the * City of Venice ’ it appears that the vessel was bound to Bombay, with a general cargo worth about £150,000. At noon, on October sth, the east end of Rodriguez bore north, distant 110 miles. Tho captain thought that tho course steered would take tho ship some 30 or 35 miles to the eastward of the Island, and he did not expect to see the land. At 2 in the morning he considered that the ship had get to the northward of any danger. He had not been oil the deck two minutes when the ship struck on a reef. There was no appearance of land or broken water when lie left tiic deck. In his evidence the captain stated : —As soon as tho ship struck the sea rolled in on the starboard quarter. It knocked him down. All the hands were on deck immediately. Gave orders to got the boats out. They were all inboard, capsized on the skids. Had no time to save any documents, or to provision the boats properly. Saved a chronometer, a sextant, and a compass. All the people got off the vessel into the boats in about an hour. It was a matter of considerable difficulty on account of the sea. Had a little water and bread in his own boat. In the mate’s boat there was biscuit and cheese, but no water. In the boatswain’s boat there was neither food nor water. After leaving the vessel pulled .along the southern and western edges of the reef, and seeing no way of getting inside bore up for the Mauritius.” The result of the inquiry was that the board came to the opinion that, although there was not sufficient grounds for depriving the captain of bis certificate, lie deserved severe censure—lst. For not allowing his officers to participate in the navigation of the ship ; 2nd. For not heaving the log; 3rd. For not attempting to ascertain the correctness of the chronometers by lunar observations; 4th. For going so near so dangerous a spot as Rodriguez. —A mtralasian.