LIGHTING OF COOK STRAIT.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLIII, Issue 118, 17 May 1909, Page 5

LIGHTING OF COOK STRAIT.

[from our correspondent.]

WELLINGTON, Saturday. The controversy as to the best means of securing a further measure of safety for vessels navigating Cook Strait is raging in. the local' journals. There is considerable diversity of opinion as to whether a light on Terawhiti is really necessary. Mr Millar, Minister for Marine, recently expressed his opinion^ that a light on that headland was unnecessary, and that instead of being useful it would be otherwise., as there ' was a danger of confusiori. The Minister's dictum, however, is by n.p means generally approved by seafaring men. The Times quotes the Minister's statement that there are worse spots on the coast not yet lit, and adds: "Well, let them be lit too, if necessary, but the community will not tolerate having neglect of other places put forward to support two unsound reasons for leaving Terawhiti in darkness..".

Your Wellington contemporary has interviewed several mariners on the subject, and a condensation hi their yiews may be interesting. Captain Manning, who probably knows the Strait as well as any man in the Dominion, thinks that. a light on ■either Terawhiti or Tongue Point is absolutely necessary. ■* TEf at Terawniti, it should be a low level light, as tin bad'weather the top of Terawhiti is covered with cloud. The scaptain prefers Tongue Point as a site for the proposed light. As to '.'confusion," "there should not; be any difficulty in making its/flashes quite distinct in character from those on ;any other point in the Strait." Captain Bernech, of the Waikare, considers the Strait "fairly well lighted, and doesn't think a light at Terawhiti absolutely necessary." At the same time, ''the light would be another aid." > ,

Next comes Captain Vickerman, of the coastal steamer Alexander. . He strongly favours the proposal,; and considers Terawhiti the most suitable spot, as. there is deep water close in to" Terawhiti. The "confusion" theory he discounts by making the new light a 30-second flash (that at the Brothers is a 10-second flash). Nothing less than a second order light should be installed. - Captain Jackson of the Mana, while not prepared to say that a light at Terawhiti was indispensable for the safe navigation of the Strait, considered a light there would be a great acquisition. " ;' The first officer of a cargo steamer which frequently visits Wellington was very emphatic. "I don't care a rap what anyone else says," he declared^ "but I'm quite sure that a light is required an Cape Terawhiti J and very badly, too. A man navigating from Stephen's Island cannot see the land there in thick weather. The Brothers light is good enough under ordinary circumstances, but in a fog it cannot be seen when coming through the narrow channel between it and Terawhiti. , A light on Terawhiti would be a grand guide, but perhaps one on Tongue Point would be better still. I don't think such a light would lead to any confusion at all. They could easily arrange its flashes so that it would be impossible to mistake it for any other light- in the Strait."

An opinion practically identical1 with the one just quoted was expressed by another first mate well acquainted with the difficulties of navigation in the Strait. "When I read in your paper - what th&,. Minister for; Marine: said about the subject," headded, "ii made: me wild.' What; does he know about' it, any way ? JBfedoesn't have to bring ships through there in bad weather."

An original and, on the face of it, a suggestion worth consideration, is made by a correspondent of The Times, Mr Cozens. He agrees with Mr Millar that a light at Terawhiti is.not necessary, but he differs from the Minister when the latter 'says that "Cook Strait is well lighted." Oh this subject he says, inter alia: "The Minister's statement is calculated to be misleading also to the lay mind, which would be led unthinkingly to conclude that if we have four "corner" lights, and two in-between ditto^'to guide us in a run of 140

miles it ought to be' enough. But the course through Cook Strait is not along a straight line, but diverges in , several instances almost at right angles, and consequently a light may be only a few miles away, yet completely'shut in by high land. A case in.point is Tom's Rock and the lighthouse on Pencarrow Head, on -which is exliibited a first-order light visible 25 miles, but its rays will not penetrate through Sinclair Head which intervenes in the short eight miles between the two places. Now, I do not consider a light necessary on Terawhiti, because it is only thirteen and a-half miles (not ten, as the Minister says) distant from the Brothers light, and there is no intervening land between. The lastnamed lighthouse is also open m clear line with Tom's Rock, but—and this is a very large but—the distance between the two places is 18 miles, and it will readily be understood that it is too much to expect the rays or even a first-order light to penetrate anything but a clear atmosphere for that distance." But Mr Cozens suggests an alternative. This is that . the high level light at Pencarrow should be removed to Baring Head, three miles south of ■its present position. Mr Cozens says: "It will flash in unbroken line over ! Tom's Rock, distant only* nine miles, or just one-third of the normal range of this most reliable light. Leave the low-level light at Pencarrow in its I present position unaltered. A .vessel ■ two miles south of Tory Channel entrance would then have Baring Head '• light in range, and it would only 1 remain for her course to be altered as required to clear Tom's Rock, it • has for years been recognised that . Pencarrow light was wrongly placed. I There is no sense in placing a power- ! ful first-order light at the head of a t bay; such lights are only needed tor prominent headlands, and it has been demonstrated that this light in its present position was unsatisfactory by reason of its liability to obscuration by harbour fog. On account of this the low-level light was installed immediately below it some years ago, and has proved itself to be a sufficient guide at the entrance of the port, whilst'the removal of the high-level light to Baring Head would m no wise militate, against its usefulness as a guide to the entraiice, and we would have in addition to a clearing - mark for Tom's Rock, a light that vessels approaching from the <sast--1 ward would sight when abreast of Cape Palliser, instead of as at present having ,this light shut in until open of Turakirae Head." Mr Millar had estimated the'cost of a new light at £700p (for a lighthouse and three permanent keepers), but The Times correspondent alleges that "this alternative plan of the removal of Pencarrow light to' Baring Head could be effected for; between £2000 and £3000 with no additional after-expense for extra keepers, etc. Also," he adds, "I would like to remind the" public that last year the upkeep of our lighthouses, including all salaries, oil, stores, contingencies and the working expenses of the s.s. Hinemqa are tabulated at £25,182, whilst the light dues collected from, .shipowners during the same period amounted to £32,3/7. I understand that the'subject of "more light for the Strait" is to come up for discussion at the next meeting of the Wellington Shipmasters' Association.