AGROUND AT THE HEADS

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3114, 19 June 1917, Page 6

AGROUND AT THE HEADS

AMERICAN BARQUE STRANDED

' THE CREW SAFE

VALUABLE OIL CARGO

Misfort-inies never come singly. Ou top of various shipping disasters comes th'e. news-of the stranding at Wellington Heads of the well-laden ship John Eiia. Particulars about the John Kna are, up to' the present, not elaborate, but they are f(uite sufficient to indicate that if the vessel is totally wrecked the loss will be seripip? News received in the rity last night was to the, effect that the John Emi went asiiorc somewhere about 5.30 o'clock in a heavy'squall of rain and wind, wlren endeavouring to enter the harbour. .The news of Hie stranding arrived iu the city later in the evening, and steps were at once taken to send assistance ■ k>\ the vessel iu distress. I The Pilot, the Karaka, and the 'Adl miriil went out. but returned in duo 1 course and reported that at the time I of their visit little or nothing could be done. Captain T)aw;ou, the Harbourmaster, was kept appraised of .whatever information was available, and he decided to,go out to the scene of the disaster later in' the evening. Tlie vessel .which made this later trip was, of. course, the tug Terawhiti. a, useful craft associated with ma'hy wrecks and rescues. The Karaka, also, went out}. Rocky, Treacherous Locality. The spot where the John Una went ashore is on the right side of tho harbonr coming in. The vessel is on the city side of Pencarrow Lighthouse, and therefore not far from the scene of tho wreck of tho Devon. The coast tlierea.bonts is rocky and highly treacherous, and has assisted to account for (he destruction of more than one craft in former year.~. When thn news reached Wellington it was thought by some that the vessel was one 6'f another well-known line, but t.lio agents of that vessel were able to report that, she was as yet not within some distance of Wellington. The one pleasing feature of tho stranding is the fact that so far the crew are reported to be safe. Valuable American-owned Vessel. The John Ena is .o,wned_ in America by the .San Francisco Shipping 'Company. She is reckoned to bo at one of the largest sailing vessels which has visited New Zealand. Her cargo consists solelv of oii, which was consigned to Wellington. Lyttelton, and Dunedin. The value of the cargo could not be ascertained last uight, but it is said to 1)0 a costly one. Moreover, the vessel itself is, at: present-day rates, beyond doubt a valuable freighter. A gentleman who moves in shipping circles wheu spoken to last evening, said that the loss, if it Droved a total one, was one to be deenly. regretted. This was a time when the nation could ill afford to lose, useful ships and valiiohlo cargoes. The John Ena was, lie;added, probably the biggest ship which has ever visited New Zealand. Her carrying capacity, he thought, would be about .1000 tons. iinJ at that rale the ship itself should be worth anything in the vicinity of ,650,000. To the Rescue. One of the men who took craft out to render aid to the Joh.ii.Knsi labt evening said that at tho time the boat went out the seas were running mountains high. The weiithcr was black and bad, and little good could be done ju=t then. The ship, he said, was inside Pencarrow Lighthouse, and he reckoned she was about ,'illD yards nearer the city than the place, where.the Devon .went ashore and ultima! elv became a wreck. Asked as to tho nature of the place where she was stranded, he said it was exceedingly rooky—very similar to the place where the Devon stranded. Hβ could not say whether she was holed or not, and he'considered her prospects of being refloated were uncertain. He said that the more or less moderate weather in the harbour did not give ;i fair indication of the stato of the sea and the elements in general out toward the Heads. T.lfere they were rough in the extreme. The Safety ot the Crew. Special inquiries were made concerning thf safety or otherwise of the crew. It was' learned from one who had' visited the stranding early in the evening that little could be said on the subject, as tlie weather then was very bad. This weather, however, was not exactly continuous. It was squaliy. The In test report is that the crew is safe, ami that there is smooth water between vessel and shore. ' 'Big Cargo of Oil. The John Ena's cargo of oil, it is understood, was being brought to the Vacuum Oil Company, and (bat company are local sigeiits ior the vessel. One of the representatives of the company was communjcai'eii with last night, and he confirmed the statement that the cargo was si most valuable one of oil for various parts- of the Dominion.. - lie added that he had no definite information as to the cause of the stranding. Particulars of the Vessel, Tim John Ena h a larger sailing vessel than any which has visited this port for some time. She is a four-masted steel barque of 2842 tons gross register. She was built in Wi by K. Duncan and Co., Ud., at. PovtGlasgow. Her dimensions are: Length. 312.8 ft.: breadth, IS.lft.; and depth, 25ft. She. has two decks. Jier owners are the San Francisco Shipping Company, Ltd. Shu is registered at San VrincUco. and sails under the American flag. In 1!)H Captain C. V. Olson was in command, but whether be is c=llll in charge is not known. Low, Straggling Rocks. Low, straggling rocks showing above water mark the vicinity of the wreck. The rocks extend at I'encarrow .Read nearly two cables. The light from Tho li"hthouse is a fixed white light placed at an elevation (( 322 feet and visible iu ordinary weather at a distance of 25 liiilw. A. caution in "The New Zealand Pilot" specially warns sailing vessel-) working up the eastern shore, as in th« event of missing stays they are in great danger from these outlying rocks, and liable ti> get into eddy tides. Between Pencarrow Head and Barrett's Heel, the broadest and usual passage, there is a. dear breadth of six cables for a dislance of one and a half miles. TKRAWHITI ARRIVES BACK VKSSEI, SOT JUICING MUCH. WATER. • The Terawhiti arrived back at midnight from the scene of t:he straiuli/ig. Captain J. .Dawson, Harbourmaster, Captain Walton, in command of the_ Terawhiti, and Mr. Gilbert, of the Vacuum (Jil Company, returned. The wife of tho captain of the John Ena (Mrs. Olsen), the daughter of Captain Olsen, and a son-in-law, Mr. M'Menimcii, also camo iu by the Terawhiti. The Tcrawhiti had been unable to go very near tho vessel as the vicinity was dangerous. ; Thn people hsid changed by mpqns of tlie lifeboat, and the sceno had been lit up continuously by a searchlight from theforts sit Hie heads. The Karaka was left standing by, and tho Terawhiti returned shortly after 1 a.m. to the scene of the stranding. It was reported 'Suit I ho vessel was probably iinholcd, as she had only made six inches of water in four hours. She was lying in a basin, between two ridges of rock, and hopes were entertained that she would get elf at high tide at 1 a.m. ' GRAVE OF SAILING CRAFT PREVIOUS WTtrcCKS. In addition to tho Devon and the John lOna, the following wrecks ha-vo occurred in the vicinity, and the Maggie Pattooson (1681) and felicity (1310) went aslioip ,

almost in (ho same place- as tlic Devon ami the .folin Una:—

Tyne, barque, Black oV.ock, near Island Bay, July 'I. 18-15; lost. Sobraon, sailer, Wellington, to Sydney, Barrett's Reef, ISIS (.on board won) people leaving Wellington through big eanur|Uake).

C'oriiclin, culler, Baring Head, August ->, 181)7; lost.

Affiance, barque, collier, 3-lli ions, t-'itz-To.v Bay, November 3, 1867; lost.

Suppfy, cutler, fencanw Heads, December li, 1870; lost.

' Tell, barque, 302 tons, Steeple Hock, September 13, 1871; lost.

Uarl of South Esk. barque, 3:10 tons. Barrett's Reel', May US, 1574; lost.

Hunter, schooner, ii tons, Barrett's licet'. April 8. ISTti; lost. Kile, schooner, .Pencarrow Heads, May IS, 1576; lost.

Shepherdess, schooner, 38 tons, Barrett's Beef, July 10, 187G; lost.

C'arlotto, barque, collier, 310 tons, Vohcarrow Heads, .November 0, 1878; lost

.Mnlee. barque. Barrett's Eeof, July 25, 1SS0; got off. '■' Hannah Broomfield. brigantino, 129 tons Pencarrow Heads, October i. 16SB; lost.

Maggin Palersou. schooner, SI tons, Vencarrow Heads, July 111, 1881 (practically same spot as the. Devon); lost. Xapicr, Barrett's R-eef, December S, ISS2; got off. Tiii, steamer, Chaffer's Passage, November 1, 1880; lost.

Shag, 31 tons. Pinnacle Jtock, November 1, 1888; slightly .damaged. .Orei.i, steamer, Steeple Kock. January 17. 18SSI; later converted into a hulk in Wellington. Waitara, 13 tons, Pinnacle Kock, February 20, 1889; slightly damaged. William M'Lean, barque, 536 teas, Newcastle to Wellington, with coa.l, Steeple Rock, October 5 A ISS9; sunk in Worser V'innie, Pencarrow Heads, liny 13, 1892; lost. Halcione, barque, 843 tons, .bitzroy bay, Januarv, 1896; lost.

Clansman, schooner, Barrett's Keef, Oetober 0, 1897; got off. 'Velicity, ketch, 23J- tons, Penoarrow Heads, September .13, 1910; lost; same spot as Devon. ' Haupiri, steamer, Barretts Reef, Jlay 17, 1912; put back to Wellington and beached. Devon, steamer. Pencarrow Heads, August 26, 1913; lost.