THE SOPHIA R. LUHRS

Evening Post, Volume CXIV, Issue 38, 13 August 1932, Page 26

THE SOPHIA R. LUHRS

The following letter, has been received from Mr.. W. T, Young in connection with the reference in these columns to the loss' of the Sophia E. Luhrs: : "It was with much interest that I perused the references to the.Sophia E. Luhrs in the "Ships'and the Sea" columns of the "Post" of 19th December. At the time of her wreck in June of 1888 on tho North Spit of the entrance to.Kaipara Harbour, I was an indentured apprentice of the ship, and with all others of the crew successfully navigated the confronting peril. It is incorrect to assumo that the wreck was caused by the ship dragging her anchor, and equally incorrect to say that 6he was a barquentino. The night she was anchored off the Kaipara entrance the deck hands kept an "anchor" watch, I being on watch from 2 to 4 a.m., during which I took quite a number of casts of the lead and there was not a sign of the ship dragging her anchor. At 4 a.m. my relief arrived and I went below, and was reading in 'my bunk at.42s.when I felt.the ship bump, which caused me to rush on deck, only to find her on the North spit, an examination' showing that the cable had parted at the 15 fathoms, mark. She was of Portland Oregon, U.S.A. build, and an exceptionally fine turn of speed with a good favourable fresh breeze abaft the beam, and. had three masts, the fore and main square-rigged with foresail, mainsail, topsails, topgallant-sails and royals, the inizenmast having a nrizensail and gaftopsail, and she was therefore a barque. ' The May, which your | article also refers to, and which was commanded by my late brother-in-law |on a round voyage from New Zealand to China, had three masts, the fore only being square rigged,' therefore a barquentine. Captain Marks joined the Luhrs at Wellington on her fatal voyage, the ship being his first command, and to take charge of her. he left tho Chief Ofneership of the s.s. Eotorua of the U.S.S. Co. which also owned the Luhrs, having purchased her with other ships from the late Captain W. E. Williams in 1886. A number of the crew were housed under sails on the North Spit for some three weeks after the wreck saving what wo could from the ship, and then proceeded to Auckland and were accommodated at the Sailor's Home. Leaving the Luhrs, I desire to tender the "Post" unqualified appreciation of the historical record published in its columns respecting the watchdogs (lighthouses) of our rock-bound coastline and outlying Islands, and the casualties in their vicinity, prior to and after the erection of the mariners' comrades, and to say that while on a voyage from New Plymouth to Wellington in the s.s. Mahinapua I was one of a number to see Stephen's Island light at a distance of 42 miles the first night it threw out its warning of danger." Wheu the first reference was mado to the Sophia E. Luhrs in tho lighthouse series a correspondent."Old Yachtsman" noticed that through a. typographical error the wreck was ascribed to tho year 1887, instead of 18S8. In making certain of the date he turned up the newspaper files of the period, and noticed a reference to the ship dragging her anchors. This was not referred to in the article, and by Mr. Young's letter the reference in "Old Yachtsman's" letter is proved to be incorrect. The Sophia R. Luhrs was referred to in the original article as a barque, which is correct, although the newspapers at the time called her a barquentine, and this accounts for the information supplied by ."Old Yachtsman."