AN EXCITING VOYAGE.

Samoa Times and South Sea Gazette, Volume 4, Issue 187, 26 February 1881, Page 3

AN EXCITING VOYAGE.

m MM I ~i Jno barque Gmauiere, 4!Jo torn a | | Captain J, 11. Sharpo, which arrive '| ( in Newcastle direct from London fa lr Messrs. J. ami A. Brown's consignment on January :!, appears to have niulorgotu ~ a series of .squalls ami hurricanes, att. tended with great danger ami risk ol g J total loss. Slio left London Docks ou it thu night of September S, reaching this •o port on tho night of the 3rd instant, i- Captain Sharp.- reports that he loft hi, "''pilot oil' the Isle of Wight on the Hth ''• September, proceeding down channel "' with light S.W. winds. On the 14th a jj S.W. gale sprang up, shifting to S.W. , 0 with a very low barometer, eonti- : nuiug throughout the whole of next t, | day. Similar weather continued, with ,1 I.strong S.W. and W. gale, as far down ;0 as Cape Ortegal. Thence they oxpje , noticed light, variable weather, and were .' unfortunate in falling in with no N.E. ■' j trade winds whatever. Crossed the 0 I equator 47 days out, with strong S. to 0 j S.S.E. wind, in i~>. W. Like winds eon--1; tinned uiitill oil" tho island of Trinidad, ( j with very heavy squalls at intervals, u when moderate and fresh S. and S.W. „i winds took up, continuing to the menis dian of the Cape of Good Hope, which it wus psissod in hit. 40 S. on 2)lh No.em- ; - her. Kuiiiiing her easting down in I- parallel 41 S., on December Ist and '" 2nd, til' vessel encountered a very strong £ S. to S.E. gale, lying under lower main j 1 topsail, owing to thu violence of the wind. ' s On the .'ilb liiev were nut with a violent ~ N.W. gale, with blinding -q nil's, and a n nioiiutaiuoiis sea running, which lasted during the lith, 7th, and Nth of the sum i 0 inoiii.li. tic v— •! iH.Mutiiuo labouring -. very heav;'■;,' A heavy -oa i,leaking ou ll wnrks, thu b in! oil' t.,e main hatch, and '" a greater part of the starboard lower . bulwarks. The mizzen stay and sail ~ were carried awav. the sea making ;'. heavy breaches over the decks, doing ,'. i.inch damage. The weather finally a abated slightly and on the !)th were able e to continue (heir course, with strong W. i- und W.N.W. winds, freshening on the s 11th to their former violence. "On that " day, about o a.m., a heavy sea curled s up to the mainyard, and crashing down '" amidships deck stove in the main hateli, , s and Hooded everything. Secured the .. damaged portions with much difficulty if by means of spare spar-', canvas, and iv up from below. From that time the <• weather continued verv stormy gruduh ally settling down to fresh N.W. and W. 11 breezes, until the 27th December. On j that dale, when in latitude 44.11 ami longitude 117..'10 K., encountered another furious gale, with furious squalls and a tremendous sea from the N.W. !; Hove the vessel to under lower main if topsail and reefed mizz-n staysail. At .1 :l p.m. on the 27th the wind'rose with e hurricane force, blowing-away the lower i- main topsail and doing other damage. It , v was found necessary, as n last resource, i( to fix a tarpaulin in the niizzen rigging. : und lay to, weathering the hurricane out , under bare poles, with violent .squalls t incessantly, and crew sfaading by with .. uses ready to cut away ma-t- an 1 rig- ,, ging, the vessel incessantly shipping 1 ti-milt anions seas and -Lr i.. in. hj avi', ••■ At 2 a.m. on the 2-itli u heavy'sea broke ■t abroad, filling thu decks fore and aft, -■ parrying everything before it. The . v port bulwarks were washed away, to- '" gether with several stanchions and pig- '" house, smashing the galley and washing overboard most of the cooking uteu.sils, ,j harness cask. a.nd several of'the well- ,, secured planks and boom, protecting the s main hatch. The break was made'good . a, soon as possible, the crew lashed toil oelher getting along the deck between n the sens, and' a sail lashed over the < repaired bulwarks. The great force of v water running shoulder high along the " decks made any attempt at work most ',' dangerous, tho crew being constantly in ,', danger of getting washed overboard. ! Finally, on the gale abating, strong un,l settled' weather, with S. and S.W. wind-, - was experienced up to the date of aie rival as above stated.—.Vi'imn* l/eni'J, r January o. '