GIANT WAVE MYSTERY.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 144, 19 June 1926, Page 23

GIANT WAVE MYSTERY.

■ ■ ' . i < FIVE SAILORS SWEPT OFF SHIP. Five members of the crew of the Lowestoft fishing boat Buckler Were swept overboard, three df them to their deaths, by a giant wave which broke on their craft about a hundred tallies south-west of the Woll Lighthouse, Land's End. The sea was quite normal at the time, but suddenly a great wave struck the boat with terrific force, and the Buckler' was nearly swamped by the deluge of Water which tell aboard. The captain and the crew, who were packing their catch of mackerel after toe night's fishing, were taken completely unawares, and five of them, including the skipper, who were standing on deck, were washed overboard. Three others were In tbe fish room packing mackerel, and they Were ia danger ot being drowned by the water which came rushing in. When at last they scrambled on dec*, they were astonished to find no trace ot their fellows, While everything unsecured i—id been carried off the deck. To the latter fact William Thompson, the skipper, owes his life. His leg was badly injured as he was sent hurtling across the deck, but as he went over he was lucky enough to catch hold of some boards, whicn were also carried into the sea. His injury incapacitated him from swimming, but he supported himself by the wreckage, and attracted the attention of the survivors of the crew, who manoeuvred the beat closer to him and eventually got him aboard. He then learned that his Son, Charles Thompson, had perished. Meanwhile another member of the crew, named Weaver, was seen clinging to similar wreckage, and he also was rescued, after having been in the sea for half an hour. A third man, William Nunn, was seen in the water, and life-belts were thrown to him, which he caught, but could not hold. Neither he hor Sidney Rowlands, the stoker, was seen again. All the victims are Lowestoft men. The wave which caused this havoc was an extraordinary one, and its occurrence is something of a mystery. Had it been a short, broken ware, little damage would bate been done, but it was a long Atlantic swell that had been thrown up by some unexplained cause and swept aboard with devastating effect. The disaster took place off Mounts Bay, and the sad news Was flfst brought to land by the Penzance lifeboat.

Further discoveries have strengthened the belief of the police that tho old-time mansion in High street, huh, to which the fire brigade were called, was formerly the scene of a crime. New evidence consists of a bunch of human hair and a hand-saw. Both Were found in tbe top room where arm-bones and a severed hand were discovered. The hair is of auburn colour and is tied with a ribbon.