Taken from the Sea.

Hastings Standard, Issue 451, 15 October 1897, Page 4

Taken from the Sea.

A SUNKEN STEAMER'S SILVER RECOVERED.

Advices have just been received by Messrs Siebe, Gumma and Co., submarine engineers, that .the diving operations in connection with the s.s. Sky re, which sai k in ov- r thirty fathoms of water off Cape Finisterre in April, 1891, have proved completely successful, the whole of the silver bars which were stowed in the cabin having now been recovered. Considerable interest has been evinced during the progress of these operations, by reason of the great depth in which the vessel is sunk. The Skyro, it may be remembered, sailed from Carthagena, bound for London, with a valuable cargo, including bar silver, valued at £9OOO. All went well until approaching Cape Finisterre in foggy weather, whw the vessel struck on the Mexiddo Reef, but passed over, and went down in deep water within twenty minutes, and about two miles off the coast. An expedition went out in the same year, but was unable to secure the treasure, and the ,vessel with her valuable cargo, remained untouched' until 1895, when Mr J. Iv. Moffat, of Bilbao, entered into negotiations with Lloyd's underwriters, and spent some time over the operations, which, however, had to be suspended owing to bad weather setting in. Last year another determined effort was made, with more powerful diving apparatus, and resulted in fifty-nine bars being recovered. The working depth for the diver was never less than 28|- fathoms —l7l feet—and it frequently exceeded this. To obtain these bars it was found necessary to blow away the deck with dynamite, which the diver did only after great difficulty, owing to the boisterous state of the weather. Work was compulsorily suspended in October, but again resumed this summer, with satisfactory results. When one takes into consideration the wild and exposed position of the wreck, which lies about nine miles south of Cape Finisterre, the strong currents that prevail in this locality, the rough weather that had to be contended with, the fact that the diver had to use dynamite to clear away a great many obstacles in order to effect an entrance into the cabin where the silver bars were stowed, and that the deck was collapsed to within 18in of the cabin floor on the starboard side of the silver, some idea of the dangerous nature of the undertaking may be realised. The diver reports that there is now no part of the wreck, fore and aft, standing higher than himself, excepting the engines and main boilers, it being just a heap of old iron.