THE BARQUE OTAGO.

Auckland Star, Volume XX, Issue 244, 14 October 1889, Page 4

THE BARQUE OTAGO.

TERRIBLE GALES AT SEA.

TW6 MEN LOST.

RUDDER, BOATS AND CHARTS

SWEPT AWAy.

(BY TFXEGBAPH—PRESS ASSOCIATION.)

Chbistohukch, this day. Thb barque Otago, which arrived at Lyttelton yesterday, has suffered an extraordinary eories of galea, and has only leacbed harbour under extraordinarily , fortunate circumstances. She left Sydney on August 13th, bound for London, with a> cargo of copper, tallow, wool, etc. When in the longitude of Snares she met a fearful gale, was thrown on her beam ends, and terriiic seas made a complete breach over her. The sails were blown away, and everything movable — small bulkhead, berths, tackle, cupboards, etc., swept out of the cabins by a wave, which also took overboard the ship's papers, oharte, the log, captain's and officere' clothes, and worse than this, the captain's instrumentClfor the chip. All this latter damage was eflboted by one onormous wave, which was followed by several others. The ship carpenter, while engaged in : •Wpeire, , ; was hurled against a locker by one of those, and died almost immediately f rom the effectsof thiß ihjupyi'V iWha.n- the oirew was mustered another was found to be missing, as were the lifeboats, bulwarks, deck-house, all of whioh had been washed clean away. The ship was hove to till August 26th, and the feelings cf the passengers (two) and crew can be imagined when it was found that the voyage must be prosecuted without sextant, or chronometers, and worst of all, without a rudder. This terrible lose was not discovered at first, the wheel being intact, and was only made clear when it was found that the chip had become unmanageable. Hundreds of miles away, and out of track of trading vessels their plight looked anything but cheery. The weather too unluckily continuedsfcbrmy/ Water found its way into the lazaretto and into the hold, and it became necessary to keep the pumpc going night and day: The rigging of a jury rudder with the heavy sea prevailing proved a terribly diffi* 1 cult task, your methods were tried, and j the last, in whibK a number of deck planks were lashed together with a kedge anchor and bottom, the whole being suspended over the stern with a blook and" tackle, one on each aide to haul it over as required, was successful, but only after the forepart of ' the. -chip, had been lightened by cargo being jettisoned. To navigate the vessel to portunder ell these adverse conditions • wee naturally an exceedingly trying matter, and progress was made only afe a snail's pace. Antaoeewnt watch was kept by everyone, and after 39 day c of this species of voyaging, by deed reokoning, land was sighted, and turned out to be the Siatere Islands, .to the westward of the Chathams, From that point various email mishaps bcourred, and from October 2nd to 12th wee consumed in covering the 400 miles between that and New Zealand*; Captain Horman and the barque Otago are i well known in Lyttelton, and »•*«*«s' the eooarreioe bae caused great e*olw>?i Wnt here, Neman, «s<)&*• *w,'

vreoked on a coral reef while-on a voyage from Sydney to 'Frisco, took charge of a boat and made for !Hono!<la., Thewwere fifty days in the b.oat and vyhen land was reached they were all more, dead than alive.: The Otago will diechferg;etißr cargo and be docked.