LOSS OF THE SHIP ST. VINCENT.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 13, Issue 1025, 23 February 1869, Page 2

LOSS OF THE SHIP ST. VINCENT.

Fobtuhatbly it seldom falls to our lot to chronicle so-sad, a catastrophe as that of which intelligence readied us yesterday evening, tho total loss of the ship St. Vincent and her crew with the sole excention of two, on the Mokomoko rocks, on Sunday night. On the morning of Saturday last she lay iv our harbour a new, strong and noble vessel, well manned, and ably commanded, and destined ap. parently to battle successfully with the elements for many a year to come, and yet in a few short hours her scattered timbers were strewing the storm-beaten beach of Palliser Bay, From Mr. Stringer, chief officer of tho ill-fated ship and one of the two survivors whose lives were saved almost by a miracle, we have learned tho following particulars : —The ship St. Vincent, Captain James Barron, .bound for Lyttelton, passed the lighthouse at Wellington Heads on Saturday, the 13th inst., at 4-80 p.m., having on board, including the captain and one passenger, twenty- two souls; the wind was moderate from the N.W., the weather hazy and. threatening, the breeze lasted till about 7-30 p.m., at which time the ship was 17 miles from the light, house, when it fell calm with heavy rain ; at B'3o the wind came up strong from the southward with increased rainj the ship was thonput on the starboard tack, standing to the eastward, and continued so till 4 a.m. on Sunday ; the weather was thick and still raining, and the wind increased to a strong gale ; the ship was wore on the port tack, and stood co the westward until noon on Sunday, when Cape Campbell was seen distant 4 miles ; she then wore again tothopastwardj it was blowing terrifically, with a furious sea, the ship under two topsails; tho fore and main topmast staysails blew away, and tho foresail split in reefing j the woather was still thick, and no land was seen after losing Right of Cape Campbell till 4 p.m., when land was sighted on the lee-bow: uncertainty prevailed as to what land it was until 6 p.ni;, when Capo Palliser Bay was made out, bearing 8.E., and Taruikira Head, W., which placed the vessel in the middle of Palliser Bay j she was immediately wore round, And stood to the west ward in hopes of weathering the point and making Wellington; reefed foresail and mainsail were set. also mizen topsail aud reefed upper topsails, jib and spanker, the ship making very bad weather, driving bowß under, and driving fast to leeward. At 10 p.m. breakers were discovered close under the lee bow ; the wind being light, and the ship refusing to steer, she was thrown all aback and *?oth anohors let go, sixty fathoms of chain being run out. Shortly afterwards, she struck heavily abaft j all hauds were omployed attempting to clear away the lifo«boat, when a furious sea struck the ship, throwing her almost on her beam ends, smashing tho life-boat, and carrying away tho boatswain, who was seen no more. About this time the cables apparently parted, and she fell broadside on to tho rocks. The next sea threw her on her beam ends ; the next carried away masts, boats, and everything, completely gutting out, and leaving her a total wreck. The crew hung on to the main and mizen chain plates on the port side ; the night was awfully dark, but all continued to maintain their hold till about 3 a.m. on Monday morning, when tho chief officer and the sailinaker were swept away. Mr. Stringer does not know how ho reached the land; he was washed on the beach insensible, and on recovering consciousness about six in the morning, he imagined himself the sole survivor. On looking towards the vessel, ho observed she was about half-a-milo from the land; her after part was complotely smashed, and no signs of any of his shipmates were to be seen. He then made the best of his way to M'Kenzie's, where he discovered the sailmakcr. In the afternoon he rode back to tho scene of the wreck, and discovered tho bodies of Mr. M'Kay, a passenger, and one of the sailors, washed ashore; ho carried them 100 yards above high water mark, and laid them on a rock,

covering them up with oanvass. The toewh vu perfectly covered with wreok for about two miles. Mr. Stringer then started on horseback from M'Kenzio's, and rode to within flye miles of tho Lighthouse. Ho walked to Phillips's, wherehe procured another horse, which he rode to the Hutt, and arrived in town by the coach yesterday evening. Somo money and papers found on Mr. M'Kay sbody were by him handed over to the police. , He desires to express his gratitude to Mr. M'Kenzie, Mr. Phillips, and the Lighthouse keeper, for their kindness in attending to nis wants. . ... „ Such is the story of another struggle with the storm in whioh as usual the elements have Proved triumphant, despite the skill and courage of the little baud who have gone so suddenly toanunare all the names of the crew of the St. Vincent which we have been able to oollect. The vessel having cleared out coast ways, a oorreot list of them was not required at the Custom House, and as a good many of the original orew had left, ana others shipped hero, a list is difficult to obtain. It does not appear quite certain whether there were twonty or twenty-two, but those whose names we publish were certainly on board:--. James Barron. captain; John Stringer, chief .officer, saved; E. M'Kay, passenger ; George Harrison, ■William Patterson, Robert Mitchell, oarpenter; Charles Smith, John Sterling, AugustKanaski,.sailmaker, saved; William Smyth, Charles Richards, Riohard Griffiths, Alfred Kennedy., Harry dfi Costa. Alexander M'Kee, John Kirkpatnok, and William Smart.— Evening Post, Feb. 17. Mr. M'Kay, the only passenger by the St. Vincent, was, we understand, a young gentleman who had recently arrived from England for the benefit of his health. On the voyage, and since his arrival, he had beoome much better, and was on his way to Canterbury, with the view of seeing as muoh of New Zealand as possible before his return to Europe from Lytteltou. Ho was a married man with three children, and had for 14 years been in an insurance of. flee in England, from whioh ho had a year's leave of absence. He had only recently written homo to his wife of his improved state of health. —Evening Post, Feb. 17. FUBTHEB PARIIOVIiAES. Captain Henderson, of the Dawn, has just re* turned overland from the soene of the wreok of the St. Vincent. Seven more bodies have been washed ashore, making nine in all. Those of the captain, boatswain, second mate, and a boy, have been iden» tifled by the chief officer, the others were unrecognizable; all their clothing has been washed or torn off. An inquest was held on them yesterday, before Dr. Wilford, coroner, and a verdict returned that they wore drowned by the loss of the St. Vincent. The vessel seems to have struok about a mile on this side of the Mokomoko rocks, three-quarters of a mile inside Taourakira Head. She is as completely wrecked as it is possible to conceive, only a small portion of her remains where she struck; her masts and spars are broken in pieces, and fragments of sails, cordage, and miscellaneous wreck strew the beach for miles. With the exception of one or two coils of rope, there is nothing apparently worth removing; the anchors and chains are of oourse lost in deep water. Mr. Holmes, who has just returned, says that the bodies were buried to-day ; the seven last discovered were found two miles to the north* ward of the wreck, and all within a few yards of each other. Mr. Holmes informs us that Mr. M'Kenzie, the manager of the Orong Orong Station, rendered every assistance in his power in the search for the bodies and their subse- | quent removal and burial, and displayed the utmost hospitality to all who were engaged in the melancholy task. It appears zaost marvellous how the survivors escaped with their lives: they must have swam at least half a mile amongst rocks and broken water. Of three pigs which wore on board two came ashore alive, and are now at Orong I Orong. All particulars of the sad catastrophe of the wreck of the St. Vincent are now known; the bodies washed up by the sea have been buried, and nothing now remains of what was a few days ago a gallant vessel but scattered fragments of wreck, not worth collecting. Au official enquiry into the causes of the wreck will be held at once, but it will only be a matter of form ; nothing can be elioited to throw much additional light on the matter. The captain was a stranger, perhaps insufficiently acquainted with the set of the current which was carrying him on to a lee shore, but it seems extremely doubtful whether any amouut of experience or skill could have extricated the ship from her dangerous position. If he committed any errors of judgment he has paid the forfeit with his life, and to the last appears to have used every effort whioh seamanship could suggest to save the vessel and the lives of those under his oominand.— Evening Post, Feb. 19.