SAILING DIRECTIONS FOR ENTERING THE PORT OF INVERCARGILL.

Southland Times, Volume III, Issue 5, 18 November 1863, Page 2

SAILING DIRECTIONS FOR ENTERING THE PORT OF INVERCARGILL.

From the Provincial; Geoermnetvt Gazette, Aug. 7 : Vessels bou»d for New- River should steer for theiferth end of Point Island, "around which, to witbin a cable's length, there is not less than five fatkoms Swater. .A small patch i« said to «ist iVout » q»a>t«r of » mile off in a westerly but tfje pilots have not been able to find ]€ii tli an fi*e fathom* water «n it, hard sand bdttoin.' bulsidethe Bar, in six fathoms, is . moored a spJraVshaped black >tioy, bearing from the nprtl»:end of the Island north, half a mile. Steer for this buoy, and as you approach it the leading beacons, painted white, will come on with each other bearing from you B. \ S. Keep the beacons in one, leaving the black buoy on yoar port hand, Which will lead you over the bar w fifteen feet *t L»w water, spring tides. The breadth at the bar •« tWt a good cable's length, and in»He of it, in four fatbome, is a spiral-shaped white buoy, marking the south lite of ,tk* «jhatinel. -'■ _■ The: coiitse> from this buoy, to about two cables' le«gA above the Pilot Station, is E £ Kj aiid from'tlienee, to about four cables* length fartUr up, Eby JS. The channel then gradually beiidi to the northward uptil past the Bombay Rock. -The : Pilot Statian is «itu&te4 between the leading beaeonsiiaad, except in" keavy gales, a pilot will board the ireMel abreast of the station but, ifcouU the wind *nd seabe too strong for him to put off, the shipmaster by attending to ' th« following directions, may be able himself ■'" to aouduet his vessel to a place ofsafety : — The channel is marked by white buoys on the ■Urboird or south side, and by black buoys on the portor north side^; Keep midway between ; : Hie, hUckaiid white buoys. About three cables* length below the Bombay a small rock called the "Guiding ■-■i Stir Bock,'' liiA only four feet water over it. A white buoy ha* been placed oa the west side of tbttT-ockV iiT'tweWe feet water The Sand : Bi»it£on.thje opposite side of tJbe CJbannel, has - been into it during the last six months, and at present the breadth of the passage between the Spit and the rock is so narrow v>tn»t it would not be prudent for a stranger to " run through. <> It would be -safer; to •anchor abreast of the »eeofid>blackf?buoy, -aboire the Pilot Station, vesßel With! good ground tackle could ride in comparative safety. The leading mafk to pass midway between the ? rock *iftl4he 6pit is:— Keep the high hummock in „the extreme >iend. of, Sandy Point a Mil|s -breadth open to the, eastward of the iron white "beacon pn^ombay:Rock, bearing N B J N. i "When abreast of the^ white buoy, keep off a " iiftte, w tsnotto shave; the poiiat, of the Spit ;ft too close; aN by E half E course will then - l«ad you through between the Bombay Rock and

the black buoy, on' the Opposite vide ."'of the channel. „ "„' ' > T* * On the west' side of Tthe Bock is placed an iron beacon, surmounted by a barrel painted white. "The top ofthenbeacon is^fifteen feet above low water mark, and the rock, projects from the beacon twenty feetW N W into the channel ; immediately beyond there is eighteen feet water. The course from abreast of this beacon to the second white buoy a« you proceed upwards is N £ by N, and front thence to the third white buoy N - E, but allowance must be made for the set of the tide, which runs through the blind channel and strikes across the ship channel, between the Bombay Rock and the first white buoy above it. The ftood-setting»eastrthe»ebb west. The best anchorage (or a stranger to take is abreast of the third whiWbuoy from the Bmnbay Rock, lettiuggo the »acW» r ßearest *a the S W aide, nit is pretty? -steep, too: The depth of water v near,, the shore is three, and, in midchannel, five fathoms — good holding ground. ' It is high-water fall and change at the Pilot Station at 12h. 30m., and the rise of tide from sir to eleven j feet, according to the winds and state of 'the tides {'westerly winds setting the tides up. • - A flagstaff has been erected <on Steep Head, on which will be hoisted, on' and -after the 15th August, 1863, tidal signals, nearly the same as shown at Lonsdale Point, Port Phillip, viz.; — ■ BETWEEN SUNRISE AMD SUNSET. During the first' quarter flood, a blue flag half-mast high. During the second tjnarter flood, a blue flag at the mast-head Duringthft third quarterflood, No 7 Marryatt's, : naif-mast high. During the last quarter flood, No 7 Marryatt's -at - the mast- head. EBB TIDE, During first quarter, a blue flag half-mast high, with a ball underneath. During second quarter, a blue flag at mast-head, with a ball underneath. '"-I During third quarter, No 7, Marryatt's, halfmast high, with a ball underneath. Last quarter,!No 7, Marryatt's, at the masthead, with a ball underneath. ' ' When the sea is high on the bar, a black ball will be hoisted at the north yardarm, in addition i to the tidal signals j but, when it is unfit for a. tesseUo enter the havfoot, the tidal signals will not be shown, but two black balls will be hoisted at the north yardarm. Communication may be had with vessels at sea, by. means of Marryatt's signals, at the south yardarm. Marryatt's signals, at the nortKyardarm, will be intended for the pilots at the station. ii Masters of vessels should not run for the 1 harbor during the ebb tide, unless with a good I commanding breeze, smooth water, and with a vessel easily steered. ; The bearings and courses given are by compass, and the soundings at low water spring tides. J. B. GREIG, Harbor Master.