THE STRANDING OF THE SHIP WAITARA.

Southland Times, Issue 3977, 25 March 1881, Page 2

THE STRANDING OF THE SHIP WAITARA.

An official enquiry into the stranding o£ the ship Waitara at the Bluff was held at the Police Court, Dimedin, oa Wednesday afternoon before Mr I. N. Watt, R.M., and Captain Thomson and Captain Grey, nautical assessors. . • ; ; ; 7 Thomas Edward CoweU^jnaster of the ship Waitara, deposed : The ship left thp wharf at JJliiif -- at *• 1 p.m. on the 11th March, in charge of P-ilufc George Th.Qin* son, h witli all sail Bet. ■ The wind was W,N.W. — a moderate breeze. After w© had gone from ten minutes t^ quarter of §a hour- the wind fell calm. We saw it was no use letting go the anchor, we ■were so, plo.se ft tlifu-Qsfesj had. we dotjg sq

the ship "would have Vwung round' and become a total wreck. The tide carried us . over the rocks, touching \as _?we went After we crossed the 7eac'i we Anchored off White Rocks/in the middle anchorage. We Bounded the pumps am] found the ship was making no water. Wp sent for two surveyors, who* recommended _*th»t a /liver shou'd be employed to sco vYwl»at damage was done to the bottom. I employed, a diver, Jacob Steinman, »pxt .day. .In consequence of his .repmt I I /intended to go, back to the -wharf at the -„ Bluff, and .engaged a steamer tq low the r ship. The wind was then blowing too . strsnjj from- the S.W. .and was fair t'ur Port Chalmers, and. so I decided to run for Port Chalmers; and' arrived therein Sun- '• day, the 13th. • I discharged between jCO And 6UO tons of cargo, und-went into the ■ dock on Friday, the 18th. ' The whip was " ' repaired in the dock, and is now reloading. ' ' She'tnirbe fit for sea on Thursday night ,or oh? Friday morning Thero was no tug .?, , to take'at the Biuir. The crew were all at '*.;' their stations at the time of the acciiU-nt, ami everyone on hoard, was perfectly "', sober.- I 'do not think the pilot was in default, or that he could have adopted any other course". * J William C. Wo!laston,'the chief mate on '" board 1 too Wnitara, and Thomas Farrell, ■ ! i'uc at the wheel at' the time of (he J\ u».'< '• , corroborated the' evidence given -„ • ....muster of the vessel. Ueorf e jThomson (acting harbormaster and pilot at Bluff Harbor) deposed : I hud charge- of the Waitara when she left the wharf on the ttth inst: We left with a commanding breeze and aIL sail set. As soon as the ship was clear of „llie. " wharf I put^the helm hard-a-starboard, ' and braced tho after yaids a little to bring her up to thel wind. When' we got now the lightship the wind fell Might, came right aft, and then chopped round N.N.E. ■ and took, her aback, and the ebb tide bwept her dowiron the rocks. •To Captain Thomson : It is customary to take ships to sea of that tonnage on a strong ebb tide. On two occasions before the wind fell suddenly in;the same manner, but the vessels did not suffer. I did not ; start at flood 4ide, . though I should have preferred doing so, because the vessel was notreauy. I did not like to wait until next tide — the papers would have been down nn us. ■'■■■■'■.- ' : Mr "VV att said that the witness was in a responsible position, and ought not to have been influenced by what the papers might say. . ; WiihcßS ; (to Mr Chamberlain) : I ant licensed as ,a senior pilot by the Bluff : Harbor Board, I also hold a master's extra certificate of competency from the Board of Trade, London. In my judgment, with the breeze at the time, it was quite fc.ife to leave the wharf. . To Captain Thomson : The accident, would' probably not have happened if we had had a tug towing the vessel. There must always be great risk in manoeuvring a large vessel in that harbor, without a tug. Jacob Steinnian, the diver, and William Sutherland, the carpenter, gave evidence of the injuries caused to the Waitara by the stranding, which were of a trifling character. After a short consultation, Mr Watt deliTered.the judgment of the Court, which was as follows :— "The Courtis of opinion that no blame whatever attaches to the officers in charge of the ship — the captain or the mate, and their certificates are returned. If any blame attaches at all to anyone, it is to the pilot. The Court is of opinion that large ships under sail, unless with the aid of a tug, should not be taken out in any other state of the tide than the last quarter flood and with a commanding breeze. The pilot's evidence seems to point to the fact that he was delayed beyond the proper time for going to sea, and that fear of censure prevented him waiting till next tide. So far as that we consider he is blamable. That is the decision of the Court."

-. -;ar-- ■A*..'--: ■■■■ _iarcn__.- -• - - 'Water -^- Bluff, ~ 8*24 a,m.; .9 , >" Iw-roargiil f Jetty, <®m*,*fr '^Vfi l Eiterton, 7.2* _.m. rB.B p.m. ,