THE MANAIA WRECK

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLVI, Issue 176, 26 June 1926, Page 2

THE MANAIA WRECK

CONTINUATION OF INQUIRY. Per Press Association. AUCKLAND, June 25. The hearing by the Nautical Court concerning the loss of the steamer Manaia on Slipper Island on the night of June 10 was continued this afternoon. . Captain Norbury, continuing his evidence, said tho rain squall was at its height about five minutes' before the ship struck. “Slipper Island should have been well in view, and we should have been well clear of it when I came on deck,” said Captain Norbury. Mr Meredith : The mate should have known the Slipper should have been in sight?—“Yes. When he said, ‘there’s the Slipper,’ naturally I thought it was Slipper Island, and that we were all right.” Captain Norbury admitted to Mr Meredith that he thought lie should have been called earlier, considering the mate had seen nothing. Mr Meredith : Did you leave it to the mate to judge as to whether he should call you when Slipper was not in sight when it should nave been ? “He had the chart before he left Tauranga, and he had the night orders, which were to call the master when in any doubt.” POSSIBLE EXPLANATIONS. Have you any idea as to liow the ship got there?—“There might be half a dozen explanations, each of them wrong. The ship may have gone off her course or inside her course, or there may have been a set. Then the compass may havo suffered an aberration. As a matter of fact, the compasses of the Ngapuhi went wrong on the next trip, and she had to be taken into Drunken Bay to swing them. I do not wish to conjure up a ‘set’ to suit the occasion. ‘Sets’ are liable to take place anywhere.” Did you set the course too fine, do you think? —“No, not a bit.” Did the mate know you were depending on picking up Slipper?—“Of courso he knew.” And when it was not picked up at the expected time, you consider you should have been notified ? Mr Moody : I take it you left it to the judgment of tho third officer whether lie called you or not?—“The instructions in the night book to call when in doubt are explicit.” After striking, said Captain Norbury, he instructed tho engineer to keep the engines going slowly ahead for fear the vessel might slido off the rocks into deep water, and he immediately set the wireless going. If there was a set in the current that night it was something against which he could not reasonably have guarded. Frederick Green Shirley, chief officer of the Manaia, said he kept the log and compiled it from information supplied by tho captain and from the bridge book. He was not on duty on the night of the wreck, and compiled tho log next day. The captain told him the course set was north-west by north by lialf-nortli, and when he looked in the bridge book later he found it to be north-west by north by quarter-north. Ho altered his ■ entry to quarter-north. Questioned by Mr Meredith, witness declared that lie knew more than had come out in Court. Mr Meredith. What do you know? — “I know that during the afternoon and evening thero was a very strong set toward land in the locality.” You say you were not on duty. How do you know? —“From information I have received since the possibility of a set in that locality is always present.” THE THIRD MATE. John Mare, third mate of the Manaia, said this was his first voyage on the Auckland-Tauranga run. He had instructions to call the master at 11.15 p.m. The log was read at 11.10 p.m., and he judged the vessel was then four miles from Slipper. Mr Meredith: I suggest that when you did not pick up Slipper at eleven you should have sent for tho master. -—“I did not see any necessity for that. We should have been six miles from Slipper then, and I could not see that distance.” Mr Meredith: I suggest you should have had some doubt, considering you had not been on the coast before? — “J had no reason to have any doubt.” Witness said that up until the time of the squall he could see about two miles, and then when it came, about one mile; he could not be certain, however. When tho captain came on to tho bridge he altered the course north-west by north by half-north, then north-north-west. He. had no sooner done this than the ship went np oil the reef. In reply to Mr Moody, witness said tho only thing lie could put the wreck down to was an abnormal set inshore. The courso set should have taken them well clear of Slipper Island. Captain McDonald (of the Northern Company’s Motu) said that on tho night of the wreck, his vessel was in the vicinity of Slipper Island, when he noticed a rocket sent up by tho Manaia. He set a course straight for tho direction of the rocket. HeSfound his vessel was going away from her course, and had to adjust it twice.

Mr Moody: What do you suggest was setting you away like that ? “There was no sea at tho time, and I can only put it down to a strong set inshore.”

Mr Moody said he had issued a subpoena for Captain Gash (of the Otimai) to be present, but he had been allowed to go away despite the fact that a subpoena had been issued. He had also evidence of three fishermen who would testify that there was a strong set in the locality on the evening of June 10. He intended to call one of these fishermen. He was due to arrive at Auckland on Friday, but ho would not be here until Monday.

Mr Ward said the subpoena was issued just as the Otimai was about to sail, and the company could not get another master to take his place. He would be back during tho week-end. Tho inquiry was adjourned until Monday.