NAUTICAL INQUIRY.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXIX, Issue 252, 21 October 1908, Page 5

NAUTICAL INQUIRY.

GROUNDING OF THE KAPANTTL THE CAFTAUTS CERTIFICATE SUSPENDED. A nautical inquiry was opened this morning before Mr C. C. Kettle, S.M., , and Captains Reid and Crawford, into . the circumstances connected with the grounding of the s.s. Kapanui on August , 11 on a sandspit off Maogawai Heads on . the voyage from Auckland to Whangarei. J Mr Selwyn Mays appeared for the Crown, and Mr McGregor for the master of the vessel, Captain Warm. Mr Mays said that the Kapanui left Auckland for Whangarei on August 10 at 10 p.m. The vessel passed Rodney Point at 2 a.m. on the following day, and when the captain came on deck, the vessel was under a mile from Goat fc Island, off the Cape. Then it appeared . J that he should have stood off the coast » j just before reaching Mangawai. The i i wea-ther was. the captain said, hazy, and I it appeared that he had mistaken Bream . j Tail for Bream Head, and stood in too t j close. He (Mr Mays) thought that the j rule of tutnnb method on the coast seemed to call for investigation. There had been no compass adjustment, and no log was carried. The captain had .previously been on the Wainu rnn. and had apparently taken thie course to get to Wbangarai. j j Edmond .Tamps Warm. holding a mas- . ; tor's certificate for river limits, stated j I that when he took charge of the vessel j. j at 2 a.m. on Augnst 11. off Rodney Point. £ there was a hoavy swell from the eastward, and th" tide would he about dead low watpr. Thy vessel was rolling h<"avj| ily. and the card swinging so that j ; they could not sfr>er a rompas-s ooutpp. Up wi>.= steering jibsnhite'y by the land, and wh<»n the heearep hasrv tows rd c Mangnwai. although he could spe th" land, it was bard to I Whrn hr- pirked np f r." isUnd. efT Mnngawsi Heads hf rook it t.o he the "Frenchman." off Whangarpi Head?. When he first saw it. n» altered b.if ! course to westward, but on seeim; j th«* second pinrtnrlp. hf =!iir he was misj taken, and tuiwd rmm.n 1 a,t. once. The j vpsse! rtrwck the ssin<i.*pit at about 4 ■ a.m. In about baff an hour they got . i off and proceeded to Wlianjrarei. where I on examination, it was found no damage was done. The vessel, since hp had I been on her, had only carried a log for j one trip to test the speed. He had , ' no watch, although therp was a clock J ! in the saloon. They had gone inside [ I the McGregor rock, although the usual \ , cctirse to Whangsrc , " was ontside. J ; Mr Kettle: Didn't it orcvj to you that you could not be as far north as you • i supposed when you saw you f thought to bo thp Frenchman?—No, I , thought we might be as far as that. Mr Mays: the card so bad ,: that you cotrid make no use of it *—I j ; looked at it when I went on deck, and l saw it swinging badly. , ! To Mi McGregor: He had been run- [ I ninp to Waipu for nearly two years, and I had been frequently on the Whangarei I rnn. He had never had an accident j before. It was not usual for these vpssels in river limits to be supplied with lops. He had been somewhat fatigued by the extra work during the previous day or two. A DROWSY MARINER. Mr Kettle: Do you say you were overtaxed?— Yes; I think we were. It took mc all my time to keep awake. Were you drowsy or dozing—l was drowsy enough, but I did not doze. Were you keeping a sharp look-ont going up the coast? —Perhaps I wasn't \ I keeping as bright a look-ont as I migbt ' nave uaae wnuer brighter circumstances. 1 I was satisfied with my position. Do you think you werp fit to navigate i that vessel property *—The only reason ! was that I was too sure. j ! Were you too sure, or too sleepy?— , I It may have been both. Will you swear you were not asleep? ! —I could not swear to it. [ Don't you think you might nave sod- ' J denly awakened, and. seeing the land. \ j and not calculating yoTtr position, foxmed I j an opinion of your whereabouts?—l saw the land. and. being so sure of it, I did not make any further calculation. To Mr Kettle: He had returned from ' Whangarei on the Sunday at 5 p.m., and spent the Monday (fleet week) eightseeing prior to leaving the same night The sleep he had got on the Sunday night was> not enough to reeonyense him , for the previous nights on wnien he had been awake. William Hosken, the seaman at the helm from Rodney Point, said that be was steering NJT.W. The compass was swinging. Mr Kettle: Were you steering a mmpass course that was not set by the master? —He may have given it to mc. Were you trying to steer a compass course?— Yes. Were you asked to steer by any landmark ?—No. Were you both keeping a vigilant '■ look-out?—l was keeping a look-ont, and : I believe the skipper was. Do you swear that the captain wae keeping a vigilant look-out? —I do not know. Was the any nee to you?— We lighted it up before the vessel weqt aground. Mr McGregor said the aeident was a very minor one. It was rather strain* '• ing the terms of the Act to call the ' vessel stranded. t*ne trouble had apparently arisen through the captain having lost cotmt of the time. Mr Kettle: If he had been awake and vigilant, he conld not haTe thought he was as far out as that. Mr McGregor: If he had been going 5 at eleven knots an hour, he would have I been much nearer Whangarei. Mr Kettle: It is his duty to see that he is fit for the responsibility, and take his sleep when he can get it. Charles Fleming, marine superintendent, said that it was not necessary for such a vessel as the Kapanui to carry a log. He might carry one him- • j self, and the thing would be very use- ' j ful. On the initial survey, the compasses must be swung, bat vessels restricted to river limits, although they must carry compasses, need not have " them adjusted. There was no regulation about keeping a tune-piece on '■ ftniu. Mr Kettle: Putting aside expense, i do you think it desirable for all yesI sels to carry logs and properly adjusted . compasses?—l would prefer not to - answer the question. I would ratner . leave that to the department. 1 Mr Kettle: I can't see that the Act exempts such boats from carrying proI perly adjusted compasses. , j Mr Mays: They are not supposed to . : be out of sight of land. (To witness) - . Would a log have prevented the captain mistaking his di^taseeT—Yes. i CAPTAIN'S CERTIFICATE SUSPENDED. , I After reining {or about five mnmtes, i I Mr. Ketfie defivßMd the finding of the

cf the vessel was due to the gross.carelessness, incompetency and indifference cf the master. The vessel at tbe time had a large number of passengers, and with, these on board the r.»pt-a"n admitted that be did not keep a vigi___ look-out. The Court was aaftgfjpfl that wßen he suddenly awoke from his cirowsy condition, he discovered that he did not know where his _ositon was, And made a very gross mistake in determining it. If he had been awake and alive to his responsibilities lie ought to I have known, at any rate approximately, his true position at any time during the i run. When he did awake, and became ] fully conscious of his responsibility, he | thought he was within a mile of tbe I "Frenchman," off Whangarei Heads. It vras evident that he must have been , asleep during part of bis watch to come |to such a conclusion. He admitted be i had not seen Bream Tail, the Hen and : Chickens, or Mokohinau. Having regard i to aE these features, the Court considerjed he was guilty of groe carelessness, , neglect and indifference. He had com- ; plained of being overwrought. In their j opinion he had had ample time to rest on the Sunday night. But instead of ■ lairing advantage of the time in port, ]he apparently went sightseeing, and was ; weary and worn when he sailed. This i was no excuse for his conduct. A capI tain should'have taken advantage of the ' opportunity and subordinated~pleaeure |'o duty. The Court would order that i his certificate be suspended for two years, and that he be ordered to pay the costs of the inquiry. They were of the opinion that a vessel such as this shouM be compelled to carry a log, reliable clock or clocks, and also that the compasses should be adjusted, as required by the Shipping and Seamen's Act for home trade vessels. When a vessel j was outside Rodney Point it was pracI tically at sea. The Court also consider!ed thaj the captain made a mistake in j not reversing the engines and going i astern when he found out that he was I off his course.