FURIOUS SOUTH-EASTER IN ALGOA BAY.

Auckland Star, Volume XIX, Issue 242, 13 October 1888, Page 2

FURIOUS SOUTH-EASTER IN ALGOA BAY.

NINE VESSELS ASHORE.

A' DAY OP DISASTER AND

EXCITEMENT.

Friday, August 30tb, was in truth a day of almost unparalleled disaster and excitement in Algoa Bay. When darkness fell over Port Elizabeth on the previous even-

ing, there were eleven sailing vessels riding at anchor in the Bay, and by eight o'clock on the evening of the following day nine of these vessels were helplessly ashore, all of

them being stranded within a distance of .about half-a-mile. Probably tho total >value of the nine vessels ashore, with ■their cargoes, would ab least- amount to £100,000. It became pretty evident before dusk on Wednesday that some nasty weather might be expected. Late in the evening the wind had developed into a gale, and during the night some very heavy gusts swept across the Bay, and set the windows rabbling and a few slates flying in Pert Elizabeth. Ab 3.30 a.m. rockets .were fired from the Port' office as a signal that the services of bhe Brigade were required, for ib seemed that the German brig Dorbhea had a few minutes previously shown distress lights, and had commenced to drift. She grounded at 4 a.m. on the North beach, about a mile from the Railway station. Fortunately for the safety of the crew she was lightly laden, and was able to get within perhaps twenty or thirty yards of the dry sands. There she heeled over right on to her side, and remained firmly in that position, the crew being got ashore without much difficulty by aid of the rocket apparatus and! a boat. The weight of the vessel, combined with the force of tbe waves crushed in the bulwarks of the side on which she was lying, bub otherwise, beyond a torn sail, she did not . look "much the worse for the disaster. j" No other vessel followed the Dorbhea ashore until about nine o'clock. The gale 1 wasi however, steadily" increasing in vio- '< lence, and the Dorthea was within a few hours to have an extraordinary number of i companions in distress. At five o'clock in ■ the morning the wind, as registered at the I Hill lighthouse, was going ab the rate at f about 53 miles an hour; at nine o'clock this I rate had increased to 66| miles per hour. I The first instance of loss of life occurred at f about half -past eight, when a boat's crew I attempted to proceed to the tug John Paterson. Just as the boat was approach-! f ing the tug, the latter lurched heavily and [ struck the boat, and the collision and i heavy roller that caused ifc, combined, threw the boat head over hcek—if we might so ! express it in shore parlance. Anyway, her stem went over her stern. The crew were, of course, thrown out, and the tugs Koodoo and the John Paterson, between them, managed to pick them all up with the exception of one maii. This unfortunate individual was clinging to an oar, but left it to swim to the Koodoo. He sank, and was not seen again. The Belgian barque Drei Emmas,; I about half-an-hour afterwards, began to i drift, bub was brought up agam for a short time. Then she rapidly drifted on to the beach, where she grounded at 9.40, about 200 yards nearer the railway station than the Dorthea. The gale was at this time:at its height, and one vessel after another parted from her anchors and drifted on to the beach, where by this time an immense crowd of persons had co ii ec ted. Between 9 o'clock and 2.30 in the afternodri, seven vessels went ashore, lhey were the barques Jane Harvey, Wolseley, Elizabeth Stevehs, Lada C. Boschotta, and the' schooner Natal. Then there was a oaSßEitioi- of the disasters until 6 p.m., when the Norwegian barque Andreas Rus, which recently visited Auckland, was stranded. If was then, of course, getting dark The' water boat and the powdeij} I bulk' and one'1 or two fishing boats also i drifted on to the beach, from which, howi ever, they cjin probably bo towed without I having sustained any serious damage. I The? principal interest and excitement I during the day was centred on the British barque Wolseley. She had been drifting a ' 2 reat deal in the early part of the morning, tnd soon after 10 o'clock she came down on . the" Drei Emmas. She struck the Drei En-mas on the stern, which she smasliech (-At the same moment the .foremast of the I Wolseley came crashing down with all its' i hamper. Themastahdyardsseemedto creak, j and fall like match-wood, the noise maaci being easily heard .from .the* shore. Tin. S Wolseley proceeded some .thirty or forty I yards further, where she settled down, and t it was" soon made very clear that she wits fast breaking up. The mam-mast scon followed the foremast over the side, and ' then the crew, about a dozen m number, ' took refuge in the... mlzzen mast,, as the back of the vessel was . broken, arid the waves were breaking m <hnor : mous" volume and with the - greatest; vio- ;, l e ii(Jor all over her, especially over; the fete Part, of which'there was soon; very ' little left beyond the itame-work;. Of course; the position of the crow ; crowded iin the rigging of themiz-en mast, had now become a very dangerous one. It the mizzeh mast went the-way of the ojijer two masts, the crew would m all probability * have been drowned to a .man. The eforts of the Brigade were .therefore tarried to , the saving, .f^^se men. Unfortunately, the Brigade had, for some time very bad luck in firing the rockets. Several of them went about thirty yards, arid then' plunged into the w*gfc where, after a few ricochets, they finally buried themselves.' Tho position of attairs at this- juncture was.... extremc/ly distressing: Not more, perhaps, thtm a hundred yards from the shore there .were a dozen *nen clinging to .the mast of, a vessel, that was rapidly going to piece?;, and. sinking deeper arid deeper intA> the sand. ThW waves were frequently washing with , great violence completely / oyer these un- ' feunate people, although thejr were m the rigging at some. Weight from the deck And these helplesfe creatures were beini literally bombarded ...with j iron rocklts, arid heavy projectiles from a mortar, while a great doncourso of .spectators were .gathered on the .beach within almost speaking -distance of the vessel. The! captain was on; the beach nearly demented, for his tvvo.'.bOys were,, we believe, among those in deadly peril on the vessel. At last.'.a lino was carried by one of the rockets, and placed very nmely across the cross-tree of the, tri'izzen mast just bverlhe bWs of the men in the rijro-ing But rescrie was apparently as far away as ever, ior the fine got fouled in some wreckage, and could not be drawn on board. It was ultimately, got free, but then the brew appeared to be powerless, from some cause or other, to haulitjin. ' One of the crew either jumped off; or fell off the ve?sel,'and the spectators fervently hoped he woulcl be able to reach the beach. H<f'appeared to have, a rope round his I waist, "arid the idea prevalent among the I spectators was that he intended to reach I the shore by meriris of the rocket line. This 1 line was hauled in as quickly as possible ; I men rati so, far as they could into the sea 1 sb'as to be able tocatoh hold of the man if I-he'c^me hear them; and one individual i verY gallantly went into the' water. ,on I'■ horseback. His horse got krioc^d over however, by a waveband both horse gd I Sder had to swim,, for their The I We fellow who left the Wolseley.never 1 came near those who were anxiously lookI JSou. on tne beach to rescue him, but he I w£ fortunately hauled back on board of I SveSeh The rocket line broke at the ISi S§* through the Mi™ ™M> 1 feh;ti^endfe;hne. attach^ f |f» ■ -tins second line became fouled and broke on

boirig hauled in by the Brigade. Happily, in the course of the afternoon communication was established by a rope between the people on the Wolseley and the Drei Emmas, which was near, and by means of a basket the crew of the Wolseley were transferred to the Belgian barque. . The crew of tho several vessels were brought off when the weather moderated, and no one from any of the vessels were drowned, the only life lost being that of man from the life-boat.

When the mail left the Cape ib was feared that there was not the least chance of either of these nine vessels being floated again. '