WRECK OF THE EMMA SIMS.

Feilding Star, Volume I, Issue 271, 21 May 1907, Page 4

WRECK OF THE EMMA SIMS.

THRILLING EXPERIENCES OF THE CREW. [PER PBBSS ASSOCIATION.! Wellington, May 20. The vessel ashore at Mana Island is the 6qhooner Emma Sims. It appears that during the gale on Saturday she sought shelter under Mana Island, but after lying there for a time the anchor parted, and she drifted broadside on to the rocks. Captain McDonald and the crew of four got ashore with difficulty. The Government steamer Hinemoa, which was sent out last night, brought the captain and crew to Wellington this afternoon. The stranded vessel is said to be full of water. Captain Bollons, of the Hinemoa, states that the wrecked schooner is in a hopeless position. The captain and crew of the schooner were taken o nboard the Hinemoa without difficulty, although a heavy sea was running. None of the crew suffered any ill-effects from their rough experience, though Captain McDonald is suffering from ague, a recurrence of an old complaint. The vessel was bound from Havelock to Lyttelton with coal. The crew lost the whole of their effects. The crew of the Emma Sims had a most difficult time in getting ashore. On Saturday morning, at 5.30, while it was yet dark and misty, one of the men named Munro endeavoured to get ashore. A lifebelt was put around him and a couple of lines were fixed so that he could be pulled back to the ship if in distress. He went over the side and immediately disappeared. Then a voice was heard entreating: "For God's sake haul ! me in !" and his mates lugged him j back to the vessel. After a rest, | Munro determined to make another attempt, though he was strongly counselled to remain on the schooner for a time. He pluckily fought his way to hard ground, and after half an hour's rest he was able to assist his mates to land. A line* was got ashore, and Munro made it fast around a rock, thus en- < abling the other three sailors to creep to a position of safety. The captain, however, stuck to his ship for many hours alone. Huge seas were breaking over the vessel but the skipper would not budge, while he considered a ray of hope remained. In the end, however, he too was forced to join his crew on the dreary island, where they had to shiver in their sodden clothes till the s.s. Hinemoa came to their rescue. Cap. Mac Donald lays some blame on the Government regulations for the present plight of the Emma Sim 3, as an auxiliary oil engine is installed. ; In consequence the vessel is required to carry a certificated mate, if it is desired to supplement the sails with that mechanical power. The master was detained in Wellington for ten days trying to get a certificated man, but none would come for the salary offered, which the captain considered good, £12 a month. One man did appear to take the position but vanished when he heard that the vessel was mainly worked by sail. Before the vessel left port this time, the Government officer sealed down the works, and later on the captain shipped the idle propeller, for it was serving only the purpose of catching weeds. This regulation and the belief that the sharboard cable snapped are held responsible by the master for the striking of the vessel. The master gives all possible praise to his men. He says that they behaved splendidly throughout a trying voyage and also in the final crisis. The lifeboat of the Emma Sims was stove in by great rollers. Captain Bollons, of the Hinemoa, which went to the rescue of the Emma Sims, says^ that the vessel is in a hopeless position, as she is ashore on a rocky bottom, broadside on to the south-eastern side of the island. The Hinemoa left Wellington for the scene of the wreck at 11.30 last night, and arrived off Mana Island at 4 o'clock this morning. After locating tho ketch, a boat was sent ashore, and the captain of the sailer, two seamen, and a boy, who constituted her crew, were taken on board the Hinemoa without difficulty. Since their vessel had been ashore the wrecked mariners had been made comfortable on the island. Her captain and crew lost practically the whole of their personal effects. Captain Bollons examined the wreck and found her bottom in a very bad way. He considered there would be no possible chance of doing anything with her, but a number of things, including gear, could be saved if prompt action was taken. A heavy sea was running at the island, and the vessel was working considerably at low tide. In two or three tides he does not think there would be much left of her. None of the crew suffered from exposure, but the captain's old complaint of ague had been somewhat aggravated.