BOATING ACCIDENT OFF THE SUSSEX COAST. TWELVE PERSONS DROWNED.

Evening Post, Volume XIV, Issue 49, 26 August 1876, Page 1 (Supplement)

BOATING ACCIDENT OFF THE SUSSEX COAST. TWELVE PERSONS DROWNED.

(From the Weekly Scotsman, June 17.) On Sunday, a little before twelve o'clock noon, a shocking calamity occurred at Eastbourne, by which twelve persons, nearly all young men belonging to the artisan class, were drowned. About ten minutes past eleven, in beautiful weather and a comparatively calm sea, the fishing lugger Nancy's Pride put off from the shore near the lifeboat-house with a party of thirteen on board, including the owner, Mr. Samuel Huggett, who was the only waterman in charge. The boat, carrying a foresail and mizen, took a south-easterly course, the wind, which was rather "choppy," being N.E. After going about three-quarters of a mile, a lull occurred, and the lugger coming nearly to a stand-still, one of the party remarked to the captain, "You've got no steam." Huggett rejoined, "When the wind is in the north, it's always puffy." A minute or two afterwards a sudden gust of wind came, and the boat heeled on one side, and shipped a little water. Instead of getting to the other side, most of the occupants, in the excitement of the moment, seemed to have rushed to the leeward of the boat, the result being that the craft was capsized, and the whole party precipitated into the water. A sad scene followed, the details of which are described by the young man Richard Dean, who jumped to leeward. The "captain" called out, "Keep back," but they seemed too confused to heed him. Finding the boat was going over, the captain made a leap into the water, and swam away. After going a few yards he turned on his back and floated, and seeing the boat had not disappeared, he swam to it, thinking it possibly might be righted. When he got back there the occupants were all clinging round, and he laid hold of the mast. Three or four others snatched at it also, and seeing it would not support him, he " slung off again," to use his own expression, and with some difficulty managed to get clear, though dragged under twice by others clutching hold of his legs. The boat almost immediately went down, and a mournful silence succeeded to the frantic cries of the drowning people. He laid hold of an oar, which another young man also attempted to reach, but before he could do so (as the witness says) his eyes rolled, his arms went up, and. he disappeared. Dean says that he himself kept afloat by means of an oar, and sitting astride of it, took off his shoes and clothes.

In the meantime a boat came up and brought him ashore. Another picked up the body of a little boy named Groves, four years old, who lay in the water with his arms extended quite unconscious, if not dead, as all efforts at resuscitation failed. The capsizing was observed by the coastguard watchman on shore, and several boats, including the coastguard galley, put off at once to render assistance. Most of the bodies were , recovered during the afternoon, and were removed to the Victoria Tavern to await identification.