GABRIELLA AGROUND

Grey River Argus, 3 October 1934, Page 5

GABRIELLA AGROUND

IN GREY RIVER Refloating Efforts Fail Fully laden with about SOO ()(*() feet of timber for Sydney, the s.s. Gabriella, in attempting to shift further down the Greymouth wharf. yesterday lafternoon. preparatory to her 'li:iter departure, which had been delayed since Saturday by bar coi.ditions, s'nek fast in the midd/e of the river, at a point opposite the Waterside Workers’ Shed. Strenuous efforts were made until after 7 p.m. to reflo'at' the vessel, but they were unsuccessful, and she remains stuck bard and fast. 'l’he mishap oenrred at about 4.55 p.m.. when an attempt, was made to shift the vessel downstream, past the Pool th, in order to give her a wider swinging space. Follow'ng on a fairly heavy fresh on Monday night, there was still a good run in Ihe river at the time, and the current caught the vessel and swung her further out into the stream than Iwas intended /and before the anchor could be dropped, she had stuck hard and fast, apparently (( n a bank of sit left by the flood. She was drawing approximately 18 feet aft and ]6 fvei fora rd.

Immed atelv, hawsers were :im from the ship to the wharf by members of the crew in one of th<» ship’s boats, and efforts were made to dislodge the vessel by her oh*n steam pulling on these hawsers, which, however. proved inadequate for the strain, several of them breaking. It was then decided to bring the Harbour Board’s tug to the vessel’s assistance, and she arrived on the scene at about 5.40 p.m., under the command of Captain Cox. The swift current in the river also made ’he handing of the tug somewhat difficult and she whs conenri ed m a mishap before reaching tin Gabrie la. In turning the current swung her bow around, and she bumped the rocks on the north side nf the yiivor. 'l’he impact was severe. lut no damage was caused, and she continued on her winy. However, the running of the tow rope aboard the Gabriella also resulted in a mishap the 'ug ramming the stern of the stranded vessel and denting one o 4 ’ her plates, well above the water lino. The impact caused the tug to saving row /I towards the other vessel, ami one of the paddle housing was temporarily caught under the stern, making the lug dip tn a severe angle on one s : do and causing apprehension anio> g Hie large crowd which had assembled on the wharf.

Eventually, however, the tow line was secured, and linos run from ’he <!ern and bow’ winches of tb° Gabriella to the. wharf in ord«" to secure a three-way pull. At h’eh tide at 6.15 p.m.. the main effort was made to move the Gabriella, by moans of the tncr. and her own prnre'lo'b* and winches, but she iwas- not made to move, and at 7.10 o in., she- cast off the tug’s lino it being hnr.c'ess In continue the efforts >n a fall rg tide. Tho tug then returned f o her berthage. Tn the meantime the Poolta which was berthed directly the Gabriella, sailed. o n the fu’l tide at 5.40 p.m., which also enabled the A'oxnrder to pass the si hi tided vosse-'. However in do?ng so, the also cont r'bul ed to the series of mishaps, she severely buiiqdng the wharf due no doubt , as in the other discs to the fast current The Alexander eventually sailed at. 8 p.m. whi’e the Kaimai entered port and berthed below tho Gabriella, at 9.35 n.m. A gang of men were called out "to coi tVnue the efforts on the GabHel a l a*-'t (‘veiling, but. after securing 1 nos from the ship to the wharf it whs decided that nothing could be done until high tide this morring. at 6.55 o’clock. It is not known what plan will be adopted then

Atuch of the iwork in connection wi’h the running out of the Gabriella’s hawsers fell on the shoulders of the three men i'n ihe ship’s boat, who gave an exhibition of how seamen can hiandfe a small boat, they go'ng backwards and forwards to the stranded vessel with rapidity, despite the strong current. Even they, however, were not omitted from the list of unfortunate happenings, breaking one of their oars when pulling upstream with a rope in tow.

The attempts to refloat the vessel occasioned much public interest and a large crowd assembled on the wharf, numbers remain'ng there gazing at the he'pless vessel, and comparing her plight' with that of the ill-fated Kaponga. wlrch stuck hard •and fast at the mouth of the river late in the afternoon of May 27. 1932. On that occasion, also, the efforts of the tug were unavailing, and the seas On Ihe ban swung the vessel on to the rocks before she could be freed.

The Gabriella is engaged largely in th' 1 inter-colonial timber trade, and is a Union Steamship Company vessel of 942 tons net. being not one of the largest type of vessel trading to Greymouth. She is under the comma’’d of Ctaptain Gardner. Captain Ostenfeld. who is usually in charge of the GabriV-la is at present on holiday leave. The Gabriella has apparently suffered no damage, not being reported to hnve made any water. Some misapprehension arose among the onlookers when the Poo’tn was moving from the wharf as one of her hempen hawsers from the bow io the wharf broke with a loud report. 'l’he Poolta, however, cleared the «tern of the Gabriella by qu'te ia safe margin, and giving the tug plenty of room to come upstream towards the stranded vessel, the Poolta soon crossing the bar on her way to Wellington. it was noticeable that the steamer Kiaimai, ’which had been iu the roadstead some t'me. remained facing the bar after the Gabriella grounded, the object evident’v being to observe the effect of the efforts to refloat, the lat’ten. At one stage, before the tug arrived or the Poolta

sailed, the Gabriella perceptibly moved astern, and then the hawsers from her bow to the wharf was shifted from one mooring pile to another further down. but thereafter the stranded vessel made no novo, and the hawser eventually snapped near her bow. Later, when another hawser had nearly been hauled from the bow 1o the wharf, the line to which it was attached broke inway in a. most disappointing manner. The three mon in tho Rout had thus a busier time of it than they otherwise wou'd have had. A capstan on the wharf was utilised to draw (up h.'awser from the shin to the shore.