THE SHIP AT SEA.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XIII, Issue 4033, 9 February 1892, Page 2

THE SHIP AT SEA.

The St. Luolo, from New York. A TorrlMo EsporioMO' Wellington, Tuesday. The barquentine St. Lucie arrived at Wellington from New York last night after an udveniurous voyage of 1] j days. The vessel, which is comrounded by Ortpt. James T. Mine,left New York 0118 th October, They ( had a fair run to the Equator, and | after this they experienced variable weather until the 81st December, when the vessel was in Ifttitule 43, longitude 74. She then encountered . a terrific north-west gale,, with tremendous sea. The wind blew with hurricano torce, and at 12,45 p.m. a mountainous sea broko on board the ship, which was then going dead before the wind, The sea completely overwhelmed tho vessel from stern to stem. The after part of the deckhouse was smashed, the cabins gutted, the spanker boom (fourteen inches in diameter) was broken in two pieces, also the gaff, The steering wheel was bent, three beams on the starboard side of the wheel deck were torn'up, so that the deck on that side settled down, and one plank of tho Bternpost below the ■ covering boird was stovo in. A boat, water casks, gangway, in fact almost everything movable, was washed away. The man at the wheel, Eiohard Stretz by name, was washed into tile cabin and carried along with the rush of the water. He was eventually picked up with his left leg broken above the knee,' The second nmto, John.Griw, who was having his dinner in the cabin at the time the sea came aboard, was knocked down and thrown against the side of the cabin with great force, He also had one of his legs broken between tho knee and ankle, The mate, Fvederick K, Punck, was also Btruck liy the sea and carried from the wheel deck, where he was standing/ to the forward part of the cabin, and was ox* tricated from the debris with some difficulty, His right ankle was sprained, and he was also braised about the body. About half an hour afterwards the mate was unfortunate enough to be washed into the oabin again, and this time he did not escape without injury, his left shoulder being dislocatod; The captain was also seriously injured, He was close to the man at tho wheel when the vessq} was pooped, and was thrown to the deck with considerable violence. When lie came to his senses it was found that his breast and stomach were badly injured. He was unable to stand, and was badly cut about the eyes aud.faco, and his left ankle sprain d, Tho captain's wifo and two daughters, aged 10 and 12 years, had a miraculous escape from injury. They were seated on a bed at the side of the vessel, and con* sequently did not experience the full force of tho mountain of water which had swept into the cabin, As it waa the door of tho oabin in which they wore was broken down, and witer came in in great volumes, A piece of wreckage carried into their cabin by tho rushing water, struck an iron, compass banging from the ceilingovor the ted npon which Mrs Erskine and her two children wo''o, seated, and Wnt it.' Had any portion of tho wreckage struck either ono of them they would have sustained serious injury.

Even after the gale had spent itself ihe troubles of the crow were not over, for a scauian named Astraro, a young man, wbile assisting in bracing the yards up, was washed overboard. For* Innately lie caught hold of a ropo attached to an oil bag which had been cast over to smooth the sea, and with a little difficulty was hauled on board,