THE WRECK OF THE LADY ST. AUBYN.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 11602, 16 March 1901, Page 3

THE WRECK OF THE LADY ST. AUBYN.

MAGISTERIAL INQUIRY. I A' magisterial inquiry was held yesterday, j in the Magistrate's Court, before Mr. H. W. j Brabant, S.M., . assisted by Captains John j Adamson and Thomas Fernandez, nautical assessors, into tho circumstances surrounding : the wreak of the schooner Lady St. Aubyn, on tho North Spit entrance to the KaiparaHarbour, on the 25th lilt. The inquiry was j held on the application of Mr. Alex. Rose, Collector of Custom?, who conducted the examination of witnesses. The first witness called was Captain Alexander Macdonald, master of the Lady - St. Aubyn, who deposed that- on leaving Picton on the 21st ult., with 60 tons of ballast, for Kaipara, the schooner struck on a bank, owing to the dropping of. the wind. She was towed off by the s.s. Moss Rose, without damage, and all went well until the day of the wreck, when tho schooner crossed tho 1 tar at about eleven o'clock in the morning, '■ the wind being in the south-east. Witness ! led up to the Tory shoal, when the wind drew ahead and fell light. . He tried then to stay the vessel, but. there was not enough wind, and when ho tried to wear, the vessel would not come round. The tide seemed to catch tho schooner, and to prevent her coming about, and she was carried away towards the ixortn Spit. On their heaving tho 'lead, id found no bottom at 10 fathoms, but shortly after that the vessel bumped. Witness hauled the yards, trying to backhaul, out there was no wind, and there was a heavy swell on at tho.: time, which was setting on to the North Spit., the tide being at. the flood. He saw a signal from the signal station, which ho took to mean that he was to W VT 1 ' ,Th's was after Ihe had crossed the bar. Ho tried all he could to obey it when he was in mid : channol. On heaving the lead a second time he found a dentil of lift showing, and immediately afterwards tho Mhoonor touched ground with the heel over. ile Jailed the yards to keen the seas from coming aboard. Shortly after that the vessel struck heavily, and tho heavy sea carried her further on to the spit. When he found lie couid not manage the vessel, he did not drop alienor. , He hove tho lead, however, and with 10 fathoms of line could get no bottom. The chart, he thought, showed 20 fathoms at that place. He was doubtful whether the anchor wcukl have ; held if ho > had dropped it on failing to find bottom at 10 iatnoms. He did not drop anchor lest the vessel should go on top of it and have a nolo knocked in her. On the schooner striking witness hoisted a signal of distress, and the steamer-Sterling came out. The surf was too heavy to allow of a line being taken aboard the latter. On that day ebb tide was at about six p.m., when they were able to walk ashore from the schooner, which settled down about 3ft in the sand. The first tide after the vessel grounded she made no water, hut sho sot strained at next high tide, and filled with water, and at ebb tide the water flowed in nd out of her. Ho put an anchor and 40 fathoms of chain on the port quarter to prevent the schooner from going further on the beach. Witness stopped by the vessel for six days, finally leaving tho wreck on luesday, March 5, when witness considered she was, a hopeless wreck. The vessel was. very well found, and properly manned. Witness had only been master of the Tessel about two weeks. He had been at sea 40 years. He had held a master's certificate for competency from tho Board of Trade sincei 1876. Ho had been about 10 years on the New Zealand coast off and on, and it was about 10 years since he was here last. He had only entered the port of Kaipara once before.

To Captain Adamson: When the wind fell light he took no precaution against the vessel going ashore, beyond heaving the lead. From the time the vessel was in mid-channel until she drove ashore, about half-an-hour elapsed. He did not know she was going ashore so quickly. Ho did not think it requisite to drop his anchor, and did not think it would have hold.

To Captain Fernandez: It was two or three hours after the schooner struck when tho .Sterling came out to their, assistance, but they could do nothing for them. Re-examined by Mr. Rose: He had not a copy of the Now -Zealand Pilot on board, but depended entirely on Brett's Almanac. Mr. Rose hero read from the first-named authority to the effect that on entering the Kaipara Harbour with a light wind, with tlio sea driving towards the North Spit, masters of vessels should drop anchor. : To Mr. Brabant: Beforo crossing the bar he looked at the signal staff, but observed no flag flying from it. Captain Macdonp,ld produced his Board of Trade certificate, and Brett's New Zealand and South Pacific Pilot. The latter was what be had previously referred to as Brett's Almanac, and was the one lie had on board. He could not point out the instructions in this book as to entering Kaipara Heads. Ho never looked at the book, but had no doubt he would have done so if everything had not been clear. (Pago 149 of the book contains a caution as to being ready to let go the anchor). David Cowie, acting-mate of the schooner, deposed that he had been in and -out of t-ho Kaipara Harbour about a dozen times. Ho had been at sea since 1882.

To Captain Adamson: All hands were on deck working the ship when the vessel crossed the bar. To drop the anchor would have only kept the vessel in the surf. Alfred Whymark, assistant-Kghtkeeper and signalman"" at Kaipara Heads, deposed that when tho accident happened he was on watch at the flawstaff. The vessel came' in on tho lino of beacons, and carried the breeze until she about reached the buoy. Witness saw them - box-hauling about there, trying to get the vessel round., Witness did not then signal, as there was no occasion to do so, but when she was just inside tho red buoy in the channel, he put the semaphore up. The schooner went ashore about ha!f-an-hour after that. His signal meant to keep out, not to come in so near the,' shore, as there was no wind. The North Spit was a great place for vessels to go ashore. He did not think the accident would have occurred if the wind had not failed.

The evidence of the master and actingmate was corroborated by Edward Nielsou and Thomas Eadcliffe, ablo seamen, and Win, Hayers, cook, belonging to the schooner. * Addressing the Court, Mr. Rose said that lie did not wish to make a serious charge against the master, but it seemed to him that there was a tendency with masters and owners of these small vessels to neglect precautions by failing to provide themselves with such necessary r-ailing directions as the New Zealand Pilot, or other valuable charts. Tn this ease the master had charts, but he bad no recognised sailing. directions, and, moreover, what he had he had not looked at. In the New Zealand Pilot there was a. special caution, on page 251, to masters of sailing vessels entering the Kaipara Harbour, to be ready to drop anchor at any moment, is the wind was liable to fail at critical times. It was apparent from the evidence that there had been time to drop anchor, and that there was not such a ranq-e of sea as to prevent that being done. If there was any danger in dropping anchor under such conditions, he thought the New Zealand Pilot would scarcely advocate it being done. The ouestion was whether the master of the Lady St. Aubyn had committed an error of judgment in failing to drop anchor, or whether it wa.s too late to do any good by so doing. _ The Court withdrew to consider their decision. On returning. Mr. Brabant announced that the finding of the Court was that the master of the Ladv St. Aubvp had committed a grave error in iudarmont in not lettintr sro his anchor when his vessel was drifting towards the North Snit, but the error in judgment was not. considered crave enough to necessitate interference with the master's certificate. The master was ordered to pav half the costs of the inquiry, the proportion to be paid by him not to exceed £5.