THE FATAL ACCIDENT AT PORT CHALMERS.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 4118, 1 June 1874, Page 3

THE FATAL ACCIDENT AT PORT CHALMERS.

Wo take the following particulars of the recent fatal accident at I’ort Chalmers from the “Otago Daily Times,” of May 20 ; —At about four o’clock yesterday a report reached Port Chalmers that a boat had capsized above the Quarantine Islands, and that four men had been drowned, and three saved. It turned out to be too -correct, and from one of the survivors we obtained a disconnected account of the catastrophe. It appears that a green boat, recently purchased from Mr Mercer by the four unfortunate fellows who were drowned, had left Dunedin to proceed to Port Chalmers. There were seven persons in hei-, throe of them named respectively Gottfried,-Strongback, and Davis, being sailors, whilst the remaining four were employes of Messrs. Brown, Ewing, and Co., and named respectively Andrew Skene, Frank Cassell, Frank Butterfield, and William Linton. The boat run well enough till she was near the black buoy in the cross channel, and then a heavy squall striking her, she broached to and capsized. , Luckily she had loose boulder ballast in, and as she turned right over this fell out and the boat floated keel uppermost. So far as wo can make out, three of the men or rather two men and a hoy, sank very, shortly to rise no more, whilst Strongback and Davis clung to the boat and managed to get astride her keel. Gottfried and Skene struck out for the shore and the former succeeded in reaching it, but the latter when almost within reach of land was swept away by, the tide and drowned. Meanwhile the accident had been observed from the shore, and a boat manned by a Chinaman and a man named, wo believe, Hoskins, put off to the rescue and saved Strongback and Davis, The three saved men were taken on to the port by the first train. They were very much excited and unable to give a detailed account of the catastrophe. Davis, one of them, is engaged on board the old Galliot lighter. The other two are employed at Dunedin. We hear that the unfortunate man Skene was married but bad no family. The same journal of the 27th says ;—The heavy weather of yesterday precluded any attempt at dragging for the bodies of the drowned men, but as soon as the gale moderates a well organized attempt to recover them is to be made by the police and others. We have obtained further particulars respecting the sad event from Ernest Gottfried, one •of the survivors. He says that the boat, which was about 19 feet long, belonged to the men who were drowned, and that they had engaged him to take charge of her during the trip to and from the Port. He was helping to moor a yacht, when she started and was taken on board as she passed the vessel he was in. He then found two other sailormen in the boat, making seven all told. The men were in the boat, her owners being teetotallers to a man. The boat was run before the gale under the wing of the spritsail and foresail, and did very well until she arrived off Mussel Bay beach, just past the cross channel. Sho was then running with the sail boomed out with* an oar on the starboard side. Suddenly the oar snapped in two, and three of the men made a simultaneous dash at tho part of the oar which fell overboard. Their united weight caused the boat to lurch heavily, and at the same moment the sail jibed. Unfortunately, the sheet had boon knotted at a place where it had been broken, and this knot produced the melancholy catastrophe, for when the sail jibed the slack of the sheet was gathered in, and tho knot brought underneath the sheet-cleet aft. As the sail jibed the throe men threw themselves back in tho boat, and at the same moment she came to a little, was struck by a squall, and the sheet jamming in tho elect at tho knot, could not be paid out, and the boat capsized. All hands clung to her keel, but as she twice turned over, two of them were washed away and drowned. Of the others Gottfried and Lentou struck out for the shore, which was, however, only reached by the former. Lenton is described as being a splendid swimmer, but made a mistake in swimming against tho tide to try and gain what was the point of land nearest to them. Gottfried advised him to make for the shallow water of Mussel Bay, and swam in that direction himself ; but Lenton paid no heed, and pursuing ids own course, became exhausted, and, uttering a loud cry, sank. Gottfried reached soundings, and, whilst leading for tho beach, was picked up by tho boat which put off to assist. AVith her, lie returned to the capsised boat, and found only two clinging to her, the third man having lost his hold, and was drowned. Davis, one of the survivors, asserts that he stuck to him until ho could hold him no longer. Tho capsized boat floated down with the tide, and was subsequently picked up at limos’s fishing station.