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West Coast Times, Issue 322, 4 October 1866, Page 2

There was no improvement in the state of the entrance yesterday, as the bar extended from spit to spit, and at no time of tide earned more than six feet of water. There was a gutway running to the southward, but bo narrow and crooked as to render it quito useless for the purposes of navigation. One look at the bar at low water uas sufficient to convince the captain of the Challenge that to work it ■with his vessel would bo madness, and accordingly the outsiders waiting/or a tow were condemned to a further delay of twenty-four hours. Fortunately the port had at command the services of a steamer of an exceedingly light draught, or the Otago and Omeo would have been detained also ; for the Persevere, ugly as the entrance looked, determined to try it, and accordingly at 1 p.m. left the wharf with passengers for them. She crossed the bar safely, effected the transhipment, and then returned inside with a few packages of cargo from the Omeo. These discharged, she left for Grey/mouth, to attend upon the two steamers, which also proceeded there. Messrs Carey and Gillee, agents for the p.s. Lioness, received a telegram from Christchurch yesterday morning, which announced her safe arrival at the port of Ly ttelton. She had called in at Nelson on h^r way round ; and we believe left Ly ttelton for Dunedin yesterday. The schooner Maid of Erin, from Hokitika, had a succession of moderate winds from the north and west for about a fortnight after leaving ;, westerly gales were afterwards experienced to this roast. The schooner is now the property of Spence Brothers. — Melbourne " Argus." Sept. 22. Yesterday the schooner Fanny arrived" in port, after a stormy and eventful passage passage from Newcastle, N.S.W., which port she left on the 31s| uit. Moderate variable winds were met with until the 6th instant, when a heavy gale sprung up from the westward. On the following day, and when about forty miles to the N.E. of Kent's Group, the schooner was hove to, the wind blowing fiercely from the W.S.W., and a very high eea running. About noon a tremendous sea broke over, and washed two of the crew overboard. ■ Only one of them was seen, but it was impossible to render him assistance, in consequence of his being to windward. In aldition to this most; calamitous occun'euce the schooner herself was roughly handled, the cooking galley, two boats, a portion of the bulwarks, and, indeed, everything moveablo on deck being swept away by tho overwhelming i'oVce of tho body of water. During the fury of the gale the jibboom was carried away, the mainsail split, aud also the mainstay sails that were set to ease her ; , the cargo also shjfted, giving her a very decided Hpt. Captain Downing stood towards Twofold Bay, and got there on the Bth, about seven o'clock in the evening. After trimming the cargo, and procuring a boat, and having some urgent repairs executed, the Fanny left on the 13th, and arrived as above. — Melbourne "Argus," Sept. 22. The B.s. G-othenmirg, Which ' lias • so faithfully served her owners, is, while on the Government Patent Slip, to have a thorough overhaul, in giving her «hich no expense will be spared. Her cabins and internal fittings will be painted and decorated afresh, aud the hull as a matter of course will be scraped and pah.ted, and her bottom coated with Borthwick's patent anti-fouling composition. It is some fourteen months since the composition was applied to the steamer, and notwithstanding the constant active service in which she has been engaged during that period, the coating on her bottom is as free from incrustation as if it had been but recently applied, thus demonstrating the special applicability and advantage of the invention. The s.s.' Omeo will proceed this month to Hokitika while the Gothenburg is on the slip. H.M.S. Challenger, eighteen guns, 1462 tons, 400-horse^power nominal,' which arrived yesterday, was commissioned at Sheerness on April 10, 1866,"" f0r the broad pennant of Commodore Hoehfort Maguire, successor to Cornrood#re Sir William S. Wiseman, Bart., C.8., on this station. H.M.S. Challenger left Spithead on May 30, and called at Madeira, Rio de Janiero, and Simon's Bay, Cape of Good Hope. Her dates are — Spithead, May 30 ; Madeira, June 11 ; Bio de Janiero, July 14 ; Simon's Bay, August 5. On June 19, off the Cape de Verde Islands, the Challenger picked up a boat with Mr Jones (second mate) and five men, of the ship Severn, of London, coal laden, from Newport to Shanghai. Mr Jones' statement was the following: — ''On June 13th, the ship leaking badly, and the crew being worn out with pumping, ail hands took to the boats, the master of the ship taking charge of the longboat, the chief mate of the gig, and the second mate in tho small gig. The two first -named boats were lost sight of in the course of the night, and theu the bpat'i

head waß put to tlio eftat&aVd, with the intention of feteliing (otto of tho Cape de Verdes'." As ifti weather was fine and tbo "boats being not Far from the laud, (hero is every probability of theii* having arrived in safety > if they were not previously picf&d lip by outward bound ships. ton t 0n $uno 29th, 'in lat. Gdeg. 8., long. 32dcg. W., the ship J. M. Joshua was spoken with, standing to tho northward, with a jury foremast and bowsprit, and apparently damaged about the bows. 11. M.S. Challenger, as before stated, is a vessel of '100-horse power, and steams with ease ten knots. ' She is fitted with a Smith's propeller wit n the leading corners cut off, tho diam&er being 16ft., the pitch 23ft., 6iu., longth 3ft, and the immersion of the upper edge, lft. 4in. Her armament consists of eight 64-pounder rifle gunß, eight eight-inch smooth bores, two seven-inch breech-loading rifle guns ; and she carries a complelnent of 295 men. The following are the officers t^-Commodore Rochfort Maguiro ; commander, (J. J. Brown rigg; lieutenants, St. John Hornby, J. M'Neill Boyd, L.A. Bell ; master, 11. Q-. Slader ; chaplain, Rev. Q- H. MacDownll, B A. ; surgeon, A. Watson, M.1). ; first lieutenant marines, C. J. Airey ; paymaster, M. GL Autey ; chief engineer. H. Brown ; naval instructor, R. A. . Fowler ; assistant surgeon* G-. E. Pickthorn, M.D. ; sub-lieutenants, W. F. A. H. Kuasell, A. P. Williams ; assistant paymasters, B. F. Drayson, E. R. Brown (supernumerary) ; engineer, M. Litt >, commodore's secretary, R. W. Parish (assistant paymaster), who served in the same .capacity in H.M. ships Iris and Pelorus on station. — "Sydney Morning Herald," Sept. 13. The new schooner Jessie Kelly, built by Messrs Nichol, of Auckland, for Captain R. Kelly, of this city, returned from her first voyage early yesterday morning, and has proved herself not only a remarkably fast* vessel, but at the same time capable of carrying a very large cargo, having on board 4000 bags of sugar. She has made the round in ninety-four days despite the very heavy weather encountered. She left Mauritius on the 16th of August, and has had a contiuuance of heavy gales. On Ist September it came on to blow a perfect hurricane from W.N.W., bringing up a terrific sea. ,The vessel lan before it, wider squarcsail, close-reefed topsail, and reefed mainsail ; at 4 p.m. a heavy sea broke over the quarter, washing one of the seamen, naihod Alexander Moore, overboard, at the same time driving the helmsman with such force against 'the wheel that, the steering gear wus capsized, the schooner broached to, and being taken aback Avas thrown on her beam ends, in which position she lay for two hours, the sea making a clean breach over her. By dint of great exertion, Capt. Smith by his example got a portion of the crew to go s forward, and at great risk got the jib adrift aid paWtially hoisted, when she at once payed off, and was again kept scudding before the fury of tho gals ; it was'then deemed necessary, for Ihe preservation of the ship and freight, to lighten her if possible, and about 100 bags of sugar were got up and thrown overboard, when sbo made better weather. Captain Smith states that his crew acted most prmsevvorthily throughout this trying time, the pumps being kept going as occasion required. As a. proof of tho sailing qualities of this fine schooner, wo may mention that her log shows several good days' work, as much as 264 miles having been made in twenty-four hours. Good as the passage has been, it would haveljeen considerably shortened but for the loss of the squaresail, which was blown to atoms when she broacheffto.— "Sydney Morning Herald," Sept. 20.