TAURANGA: THE POSITION OF THE S.S. TAUPO.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XVI, Issue 5419, 31 March 1879, Page 5

TAURANGA: THE POSITION OF THE S.S. TAUPO.

j An ' £:re has been tn very much telegraphed to j Av • .aud rc tljc wreck of the Taupo, condemnj <o.- luptain Marks, pilot, as being the means of | :1c- jiaid wrec];, I have made a special trip to i ascertain and lay before your numerous readers I the actual position of the ship ami affairs f;ener:illy connoted with all parties interested. I U -ptai'i SelUrs, of tiie Rowena, stated in his • ►jvideuce before the Court of Enquiry that he | informed Captain Marks some months ago that t the outer black buoy was out of position. It ! has been published that this has not been | contradicted, but we know that no public can reply through the Press to auy accusation that may be made against him. Captain Sellars did say to the pilot that the buoy was out of position ; and the pilot did go to see if it was so, but found that the buoy was in its old position, and since then a survey has been made, which proved that the buoy wan in the same place as when Captain Marks was appointed pilot. So much for the black buoy. .Now for the actual position of the Taupo surrey, made by myself. The ship is bitting upright. The bows are elevated about four feet above her floating line, with the stern depressed about the same number of feet, and is in the same position as when she struck. I very carefully sighted from the poop, taking the two masts in a direct line, and I found that b-ul she not touched hero, her boats' port davits would have carried away the beacon. That would have been rather c*:»ae shaving. I may here say that the bows of th«» vessel are about one hundred and twenty yar.ta from the beacon. Standing again on the forccastle, and sighting again towaids the black buoy, I find that it about half a point on the port quartor, distance about a cable length from the stern. The measured distance, according to Captain Marks's evidence given before the Court of Inquiry, is seventy-two yards and two fe«-t from low water spring tides to the after-part of the fore-rising. The sailing diroetiors are; "Keep half a cable off (that is one hrudred and twenty yards) till the buoy bears c-a.:?- and by north, then haul up for the beacon ' Had this been and taking a line frher present position, the course would have beeu at least one hundred and fifty yards farther nut in ih-- channel. To my ■ mind it U evident tha*. .', -cidont has arisen ; rom one of two causes?; Fint, that the ship ti-pt q-jV. close to the buoy, and hauled up for the ucacon too quickly j or, the captain kept the sailing directions, arid it boing strong ebb tide at the time, tb.it the title caught her on thi starboard bow, and carried her inshore before she could answer her helm. I that I have been able to make the above plain to your readers. The editor of the B<i» „f /'lentil : Times has aluo stated that Canfrrin "Marks toad instructions to shift the buoya, intending to convey to the ininds of the public that they were the ones so much talked about. Lfc was not so. The buoys are ii.side the harbour, and in no wise connected with the Taupo enquiry. At high water the tide rises over , the main deck, and all the machinery is under j water. The saloon has about two feet of I water on the floor. The second cabin and foreI hold are quite dry, this being a water-tight i compartment. lam afraid there will be a difliculty in getting her off, as it appears there , are a great many holes made in the bottom since the first. Eren if anyone should be successful in floating her off, where can they ■ take her to for repairs? The rise and fall of tides here is only six feet; therefore nothing can be done by beaching, and even if the tide would allow, there v/ould be very great danger of straining the vessel, she being so long. If taken to Auckland, it must be between other vessels, and how are Uiey all to be got into Dock. It is rumoured that Mr. Ware has backed out of his contract to raise her for £5,500. The men have all left, having been paid off, so that nothing is beingdone at present. Auother attack upon Captain Marks was made again to-day by the editor of the Times, who seems determined to do his utmost to make matters unpleasant for him (Captain Marks), but, forgetting that while he is trying to pull down another man's house, his own is falling about his ears. The following is the attack, Captain Marks being in charge of the Tarariia at the time:—"As the a.s. Tararua was leaving the harbour on Sunday afternoon, her bow was caught by the eddy at Stony Point, and to thoso who were in boats round about, she seemed within an ace of grounding. What-a to-do there would have been if the Tararua had got laid up alongside the Taupo." I have made inquiries, and find that ouch was not the caße, but certain gentlemen in Tauranga arc determined to put a Btop to such nonsense, as Captain Marks has taken in a very large number of very largo ships—such as H.M. s. Wolverene and other man-of-war, —without the lightest accident or complaint. The Timet would now try to make it appear that there is very great danger in entering the Tauranga harbour. Is it trying to keep back enterprise and work iuto the hands of the Kowena Company, or what is the matter?—[ ! Correspondent. March 2G.] '