SINKING OF A SCOW.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18657, 13 March 1924, Page 9

SINKING OF A SCOW.

STRUCK BY A SQUALL. RESCUE OF THE CREW. MEN CLING TO RIGGING. [BX TELEGRAPH. —OWN CORRESPONDENT.] WHAN AKEI. Wednesday. A locally-owned scow, the Ngahau, sank at about four o'clock yesterday afternoon, within half a mile of the Frenchman, in the fairway outside Whangarei Heads, but fortunately no lives were lost. The Ngahau, in tfharge of Captain Harry Carey, was outward bound, empty, when the accident occurred. Men on a launch who were down the harbour yesterday ■ afternoon state that there , was not a heavy sea running inside the harbour, although there was a heavy swell outside, but electrical storms and violent squalls • were frequent. That which caused the Ngahau to sink was a particularly fierce one, although not of very long duration. ' While it passed over •it raised so much spume, as the wind lashed the wavetops, that it was impossible to see 20 feet away. This squall struck the Ngahau as she was under sail, about half a mile beyond the Frenchman, in a line with Sail Rock. The full fury of the wind caught her and heeled her over to such an extent that she was gunwale under. She filled rapidly and settled, sinking in a depth of seven fathoms in the fairway. Captain Carey and the three members of the crew were thrown into the water, but when the scow had - settled .on the bottom they managed to cling to t'ho upper rigging, the masthead of the scow being some five feet above water. Fortunately fo them, when the squall had passed they were sighted by a fishing launch, the Mimi, which was in the vicinity. 1 .It went to the rescue immediately, and the shipwrecked sailors • were taken aboard, little the worse for their immersion. Notice of the accident was telephoned to the police at Whangarei, and immediately steps were taken to warn all shipping of the obstruction caused by the sunken vessel in the fairway, while the launch Karoro was despatched from McGregor's Bay to the scene to act as a lightship and to warn the steamer Claymore to keep clear, there being no other means of advising the captain of that vessel of what 'had taken place. The Claymore passed in the evening, but the captain was unaware of the mishap until he arrived at the Whangarei town wharf. The launch Eva was despatched from Whangarei with salvage gear on board, and this morning she was joined by the Lady Eva, bound for.port from the North. In conjunction they managed to get a rope attached to the sunken scow, .and on the rising tide they were reported at mid-day to be towing the submerged vessel toward the shallower water in Urquhart's Bay. Once there, it is considered that there will be little difficulty in refloating the scow.