PORT OF LYTTELTON.

Southland Times, Issue 1049, 2 November 1868, Page 4

PORT OF LYTTELTON.

I. ■ ABBIVKD. Oct. 30 — Blue Jacket, ship, from London. Oct. 31 — Rangitoto, s.s., from Wellington. Oct. 31 — Gothenburg, s.s., from Dunedin. SAILED. Oct. 30 — Storm Bird, s.s., for Timaru.

The brigantine Kaeer has finished discharging her inward cargo from London, and will Bail immediately for Valparaiso in ballast. -The P.N.Z. and A.R.M. Cos. s.s. Lord Ashley, left Port Chalmers on 25th inafc., at 1 p.m.; experienced favorable weather along the coast j arrived at Bluff Harbor wharf, at 7 a.m. on 26th; The Macquarie, Captain Young, sailed from Adelaide on the sth inst. for Invercargill, and carried strong gales with a very heavy cross sea ; wind from If .W. to S.W., attended with thunder and lightning and much rain at intervals ; on the 15th, when fifty miles west of the Solanders, the barometer fell rapidly to 2815, the wind then blowing with hurricane force, and a fearful high sea; the vessel hove too, head N.N.E., with a tarpaulin in main rigging, not being able to carry a stitch of sail. Cabin and sky-lights battened down; at 8 p.m. blowing a fearful hurricane — the ship laboring very heavy and shipping large bodies of water, washed away the bulwarks on port side forward and smashed the boat ; midnight, wind and sea increasing ; 2 a.m., wind veered into S.W., blowing fearful; 8 a.m., flighted the West Cape, when the gale broke a little ; at 10 am., set the close-reefed fore-topsail and fore-topmast staysail, and run before the gale for Foveaux's Straits; at 8 p.m. rounded Saddle Point and bore away for Port William ; cleared away the cables and got all ready to come to an anchor when the gale recommenced again with renewed force, and thick weather with violent squalls — could see nothing so was compelled to heave her. too, with her head to the W.N.W to allow her to drift clear of the reefs and islands in the Straits, being impossible to take shelter; at 3 a.m. on Saturday the gale increasing and being driven through the Straits, had to bear up for Molyneux Bay, where we lay until Thursday, 22ad inst, when the weather moderated ; got under weigh and beat back to . the Straits and entered the New River, on Sunday, at 7.30 p.m., having crossed the bar with a very heavy sea rolling in. Captain Young states that in all his experience he never witnessed such a fearful gale, and that if the Macquarie had not been a thoroughly tight and staunch ship, as well as a good sea-boat, she mast have foundered in the gale. , The clipper barque Japan sailed from the wharf this morning at daylight, bound for Newcastle, New South Wales, in ballast. A somewht remarkable occun once took place at MillwaU, on Thursday, July 2. A large ironbuilt ship, called the Conflict, 1160 tons register, has for some time been in Messrs Carter's dry dock, T undergoing painting and repairs, preparatory to taking out emigrants for the Government to Australia. On Thursday, at high water, preparations were made for towing the vessel out into the river, and a steam-tug had a tow-rope secured to the ship for that purpose. She towed her out about iorty feet over the sills of the dockgate, when the ship showed signs of being topheavy. She gave a great list to starboard, and all of a sudden she capsized, and fell with a great crash on the aide of the dock, while the yards drove through the roofs of the worksheds on the quay. Fortunately the riggers on board the vessel escaped without injury, as also did the workpeople connected with the yard. The force with which the vessel came down on the edge of the quay was so great as to stave in some of her plates, when the vessel immediately filled with water, and settled down in the dock on her beam ends, apparently a wreck. Gangs of laborers were immediately employed to unrig the ship of her yards and upper spars, so as to lighten her ; and as the tide went down, workmen could get to the stove plates in the bilge to patch the holes up and made the ship buoyant. At the next flood the ship floated, and she was hauled back into the dock, where she was subsequently, by removing her ballast and strains, .put on her masts, brought upright ; but it is needless to ; say that the ship ia supposed to have been milch ■strained, besides the damage to her starboard side. It is aaid that the cause of her capsizing was substituting 250 tons of coal instead of 200 tons of stone. The coal having been shot in formed a pyramid in,the centre of the vessel, and was allowed to remain in that condition without precautions being taken to trim it. The result \ was,, that "when the ship commenced^ moving the coal L shot .down,. the : starboard side,; and .thus caused her to capsize. It js fortunate the casualty occurred in the dock ; for, liad it happened in the j river, the vessel would have been totally wrecked, j —•Dally Telegraph.' I