RONA REFLOATED.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 18130, 30 June 1922, Page 9

RONA REFLOATED.

BEMAKKABLE PEAT VESSEL BUSS'S ON ROCKS. NO FrBTHER DAMAGE I>O"SE .PISOHABGDiG AT CHELSEA. POMES CXPER OWN STEAM. Aft«r clinging like a limpet, to Flat Eock for two and a-hal: days, the steamer Bona was Boated o5 yesterday morning, and. escaping an unexpected danger through bumping on an unmarked rock some ZOrii. off tie isles on which she te~t to grit;!, was able to proceed withc/.i j*ssistance to Auckland, berthing at the Cheisea 'VThrrf at A pm. It was * remarkable salvage fast, ac.h» T (?c through hard work, Sne jndgcent r.r: SflimaTiship. and grciat coed luck ir. rest-eet of weather. At any time a storm probably would have made the task 3 hopeless «&«=. The fresh breeze and lumpy sc-» of Wednesday night gave rse tc m_:h anxiety, the forefoot of the vessa grinding in the. wedge the nesting bulk of tne steamer was against the wind by s tug steadily straining at a hawser. The obstacle -chisn the Boca had been treed from the grip of the rocks might have destroyed bear, but again the luck held p-od. Whatever fresh damage was done, j: did not oa;:se a fresh inflow of water, the made pen. Removal cf the Cargo. Ir. calm, clear weather on Monday evenir.z the Rona crashed into Flat Reck, and came to a dead stop with her bow close to the lighted beacon on a concrete pillar about -nTr- high. Little more than 20ft. or 3Dft. of the fc-refoot rested on the recks, hut the engines were kept running and -"- e held. Subsequent inspection - ahc-s-ed that the impact had doubled up and torn away the bottom, of the hull frcm the to th* middle of No. 1 j held, a distance of over 60ft., the damage j extending upwards seme £o"t- from the j kt-eL Tie damage would have boen rnosre exterstve but for the recks beini; above j b^cli-wax«sr mark. Tuns the vessel stopped : almost at the moment of impact, tne whal? of the k*sl abaft No. 1 hold flea:io. c*ep ■«;«•. In this plicfat she rentiaire-i when plans | fo? her salvage weie mada It was not considered advisable to attempt to re3oat ' her ;iint3 a large amount of the cargo | bad been removed from her forw.iwd hatch and Na 1 bold made se-.ure against any inrush of wat*r which might- be expected j when she moved frcm her position. Ail speed was made to discharge the j balk cf* the cargo from No. 2 hatch, j Over -iO men frcm Auckland, as well as | aha Bona's crew, worked almost cootiau- j oualy the sugar into vessels alongside, c-Tily short spells being taken by the mec for sleep. The stevedoring was £2 'charge of Mr. Simmons and Captain* Campbell and McCrone, of the firm of Messrs. Dingley and Company, and to them and their men the highest credit is cz». . Inspection by Dirsrs,, While this work was going on the fullest possible inspections were rcade of the condition cf the damaged portion of the hall, and the nature o: the recks beneath it. On Wednesday morning cne of i the divers of H-M.S. Philomel went down on the pert side, but his inspection had not been completed when the fall of the tide made it impossible for him to continue. At high-water en Wednesday night the Harbour Board's diver descended on the starboard sid?. and after inspecting ihe hull, he investigated the rocks. Finding no indication of there bein's any iagced pinacle that would have made it impcssible for 'tie vessel to be hauled back into deeo water, it was decided by those in charge to make an attempt to refloat her a,* 10 a-m. yesterday, the hour of high water. Fight of Great Amiety. The night was one of considerable anxiety, owing to the threatening weather and the fact that the Rona had begun to show unusual buoyancy, as a result of the removal of a large amount of her cargo. After a day of ideal weather lor salvage ■work, a light wind sprang up from the east. After dark it freshened CKteiderably, and veered to the northThe stream anchor, which had been attached to a wire from her port quarter as a protection against aa easterly wind, was now of no avail, and to preveat the wind blowing her out of position, the tugboat Young Bungaree was made fast to a tow Kne from the ixarboard quarter, and with her engines running continuously the line was kept taut. Eventually, owing ti the threatening conditions, it was decided to tow to port the hulk which was alongside, the Young Bungaree being selected for tie duty, the Te Awhina taking her tAace, and throughout the night she steadily tugged on the line to windward. Ina , B4*ing Wind and Sea. After midnight there 'fame rain with increasing wind, and a n-isiy se& rose. The Northern Shipphig Company's auxinarv vessel Paroto, which was loading sugar on ths weather side, was severely buffeted against the steamer's side. With great difficulty rhe wgs kept alongside until 2.30 a.m., when she completed loading and left for Auckland. The Tuhoe on the port side was able to under better conditions. By 4 a.m. she was loaded fced it was then considered that sufficient carco had beea removed. Half an hour later the wind began to moderate and the raiu "-eased, and by daylizht the wind had died away to a light breeze, but a lumpy swell was running in from the north. During this period the Harbour Board's large pulsometer pump was being fitted up in No. 2 ho'd by the Rona's engineers. The work went ahead with expedition, and soon after 7 a.m. it was in position and ready to cope- with any inrush of water. Commencement of Towing. It had been arranged to make the attempt to float the steamer at 9 a.m, but bv 7 a-m. it became apparent that the effort should be made at the earliest possible moment, for the lightened ship was becoming more and more buoyant, hftin? and grinding in the rocky cradle. The movement increased as the tide rose bizher. and it was feared that further damaz'e would be done to the hull, ft was decided to wait no longer. At 7.20 a-m. ti© two tug boats got into position astern, the Te Awhina taking the line from the starboard quarter and the Ly'-teiton that from the port quarter. Now cime the moment for which everyone had worked and waited. The signal was given, and as the Rona's engines reversed and started "lull speed astern.' the propellers of the two tug boats began to churn the water into foam and the heavy hawsers under their harden. Breathless those on board waited j pressmen being the oalv "passengers." A minnte went by and then another and still the steamer clang to the rocks which bad been her undoing- Another minute ricked away, and yet another, and still there was r;o movement. Then she moved slowly, but not straight astern although there' lav deep water, and from there came the" strain. The bow swung to the west as if the vessel rested on a pivot. Sh<? seemed to be clear of the rocks yet this movement continued, and before she responded to the tugging hawsers she wsj> Ivina: at right angles to the lines. The danger was not yet ovrr, however, for when she was about '300 ft. off Flat Bock, which was on her port beam, ehe

began to bump heavily on eoma j obstaoctioa which appeared to be cider 1 the after part cf the bridge, although tbe- j dart indicated that there was 21 fathoms I off 'waJer on the spot. Half a dosen 1 limes tie vessel bumped on what doubt- j kw is a, patch of rocks iiad then she s»cag clear. It was soon evident thai ft? bumping j had not ■'•,>"- i '-i aay hote !-,, ['$:■ bottom,,' for no waJ\-»- was icsa-cie. Tire j taken to psevtsa* an inrush of water from the damage forward proved to be quite j eseetrre. The 'tween deck batches is No. j 1 beM had been weighted and no water: found its way into the other holds which j tie vtsssel's own engines could not cope; with. Tbe remoxaJ of 1600 tons of sugar j from No. 2 hold and the jettisoning of 600 tons of molasses from tha forward end of the topside tanks in tb» wings, appar- J ently counter-acted the weight ©I water | in the- forepart of the ship, $o* her draught, forward was about 25ft., and she was in aboot the sans* trim as when she j left Fiji. Bona Berths si Chelsea. Tbe absence of danger to the holds j fioodins made it possible for the Rona to I proceed to Auckland under her own I steam. The tag Lyttelion was sent on with the stevedores and men. bat the Te j Awhiiu sf «<srned behind the Rons in case her services should be required. The vessel berthed ax Chelsea Wharf at fear o'clock and commenced discharging iro- I mediaitelv, work being continued until 9.30 p.m. After completing discharge she will ! go into deck. A wireless message, having been re- j ceived in Auckland stating that the Bona | had beer, refloated and was en her way to I port, a large crowd gathered on the j wharves 'to see her. With Sags byinc she steamed slowly up the channel, an 3 to all outward appearances tiers was j nothing to indicate that she had crashed ; into a rock at full speed, had lain in peril for two days and s-half, and that hex bow was trimmed, not by a proper distri- i button of her cargo but by many tons of water., SALVAGING THE CARGO, j BLUEJACKETS' ASSISTANCE. WORK OF PROVIDORING. The diving F srl y va * under Commissioned Gunner Tregilis. who had two naval diveni and the Auckland Harbour Board diver with hint, as well as a number of j bluejacket*. The latter were of great heho iin the work cf salvaging tie vessel, for'hHssides attending on the divers they ] were called or. to do a great- amount of j other work. The cooks and stewards on the Rons, nnder charge of Mr. S. Russell, the chief steward, had s busy time catering for the iarire number of people who had been on board. Food for 60 additional people hsd to be served up at all hours, day* and night, in addition to providing for the ship's crew of 50 all told. So j well was tie providoring carried out that Mr. Russell was congratulated on ] the work of his staff. Captain C. E. Hood, the Colonial 5-ugar j Comr-anv's marine surveyor, left Auck- , land "for the Rona on Monday right, and j remained on the vessel all the time, as- j sistong Captain Waiiis with the work ot salvaging the vessel and cargo.