THE CAPTAIN'S STORY.

Otago Witness, Issue 2762, 20 February 1907, Page 33

THE CAPTAIN'S STORY.

Captain Georges Tatterin has remained near the scene of the wreck, and is now lodged in a small house about 200 yards from the beach. Tho captain is in the unfortunate position of not being able to speak a word of English. When standing on the beach on the 18th gazing forlornly on fhe wreck or seeking consolation in walking along the sand, ho was frequently approached by probably well-meaning people, who plied him with such questions as " Are you going to get your ves=ol off. captain?" or '"Is she badly damaged?' and co on ; but the questioners either met with a "Jc ne comprends pas'." or more often a stony and incomprehensible stare. The average person does not boast of sufficient French Jo warrant his attempting a conversation in that language. The task of our representative, thus placed, was however, made particularly easy by the 'kindly proffered assistance of Mrs H. Pcarce (of Milton), who visited the scene of the wivsek, and after formalities and expressions of regret with the captain at his unfortunate position, acting as interpreter, managed to draw from him, reticent though he was, his story of the wreck and what led up to it. "Our barque, which is of «teel, with a net register of 1732 tons, left La Rochelle, France, on November 6of la->t year. I had a cargo comprised of merchandise, charcoal, and ballast. My destination was Tahiti. I reached Hobart on February 4, and left two days after, the 6th. Almost immediately after leaving Hobart we ran into a dense fog, and remained in it for about seven days. About Wednesday last we passed the Snares, which we sighted and recognised. I then took my bearings, and that was the last land I saw until we struck on the beach here. After parsing the Snares the fog became even more dense ; in fact, it was such that -we could not see the sun, and accordingly were unable to take observations and learn our exact position. Accurate navigation was practically impossible. To make matters worse-, during the last few days of our voyage prior to striking very heavy weather 6et in. We had no idea we were in so close to the shore, nor did we think we had made so much progress. We expected to have been much further down the coast. Our striking the

coast was without warning of any kind. We saw and heard nothing- to indicate where we were. At tho time of striking there was a gale blowing with great force, and, with the heavy eeas, the vessel was for a time rolling and pitching frightfully. "Wo could not distinguish the roar of the breakers above the wind and heavy seas. The ve=sel was under fairly easy sail when we were driven in. Not knowing our position, .and thinking we may ha\e been on the rocks, wo immediately made preparations to get ashore after ascertaining that we were only about 30 yards out. But to get ashore was a frightful task. The mate essayed to take a lino to land, but was buffeted and knocked about, and practically ■tossed ashore. The first boat was then put out, but the line snapped and the boat was capsized, and the men hurled into the sea. They managed, after a hard struggle, to get ashore. A second and a third boat were put off, but on both those occasions the new lines thrown out again broke. I was the last to leave the ship, and when I was thrown out of the boat on its capsizing I received a blow on tho back of the head. Altogether we were four or five hours trying to get ashore. We have left all our personal effects on board, and are heavy losers thereby. I think it is too dangerous to attempt to get back to the boat. We had plenty of provisions on board. We managed to almost furl the sails before leaving the ship. There was considerable water in it on Sunday. I have been for 15 years on the seas, and this is the fourth boat I have been master of, and my third charge with the present owners. I have never yet in all that time had an accident of any kind. This is my first. If there is a good deal of wind and the heavy seas continue I think the ship will break up entirely. She must be full of water. We wore going very slowly when she drifted on to the beach. I thought I was much further south. The dense- fog and then tho heavy weather were the cause of our mishap."