THE KETCH RELIANCE.

Colonist, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 8246, 13 May 1895, Page 1 (Supplement)

THE KETCH RELIANCE.

A NARROW ESCAPE AND SUFFERING CREW. On (he 20th o* April a ketch was sighted coming up tbe bay flying a signal of distress, End on the steamer Mawht-ra nearing the fcetch a line was given the later, and she was towed into pot and bertbed alongside the Commercial Wharf. The ketch in question proved to be the Reliance, of 65 tons, Captain McQuillan, and owned by Messrs Cook BroE., of Lyttelton, She left Greymouth on Wednesday, the 3rd April, with a cargo of timber for Lyttelton, a portion of her oaigo being carried on deck. She met with a south west gale off Rocks Poiut, and the wind bad increased so eevcrely by the tin c she wns off Cape Farewll that she was compelled to heave to for 24 hours in order to Eave the deck cargo. After that she made her cours*, but at G a.m. on the Bth she met a fresh gale from the southward, the vessel then being in the vicin ty of the Brothers, a_d she put into Queen Chariot c fcound for fh-lter. She proceeded on her voiag^ on Thursday the 11th, but on tbe following Saturday when she was only 60 miles from Lyttelton, leing 25 miles off the land, a heavy southerly gale was encountered, and .he gale was accompanied by blinding rain, and a dense fog, which lasted three days. Ihe vesgd was ogam hove to, and a sea anchor was put out, but for three days she drifted, tnd neither land nor vessel was s ghted. During this time Captain McQuillan and his crew were in very sore Btraits. It was impossible so asoertain their peshion with aDy degree ot accuracy, and the probabilities appeared to be that they were drifting into Palliser Bay, where many a good Ehip has left her bone?. On Saturday, the 13th, her forestry carried away, end on the bucceeding day her deck cargo was washed overboard, whi'e her starb; ad f .re rigging and shrouds with a couple of stays and gome of tbe port rigging, w,ere carried away. Next day, the 15th, her boat was smashed up, her poit rail from the knight be*d to the cat head, together w-th the cat head, was carried away, while the galley wi h all its contents was washed verb?ard, as w 1 as pirt of tbe centre cafe. Tfce maimail, although close nefed, was caried away, and so was one of j the jaws of the mizzen gaff. During all this time tbe seas were simply fearful, and those on board s*y it is imposTole to describe! them. All hands, the vestel carries four all told, were continuously on duty striving to Bave the ship. The Sf as were breaking half way up mr masts, ard the deck was almost continuously three or four feet ucder water, while, with e\ery precaution taken, there was about a foo 1 . of water in the cabin. When the boat waß smashed, a raft wub cons'ruo ed ol 60m9 spars with a lifebuoy at ore end and a small cask at the other, but happily the ere v had not to depeud on this. On Tuesday last the weather cle%r d a little, and getting a far from dißtinct bight of the bun, the captain wbb able to locate his position as north of the 40th parallel, and he tfcen knew that he had drifted clean through Cook Strait. His position Bhowed indeed that the vesse bad, with her sea anchors out, driven 2101 miles in 64 houra. When the galley went overboard all the cooking utensils were lost and all the water on board w«s : poiled, so that tbe cr^w, who had beenin a sore plight since tbe beginning of the gale, wereibea

left in a very Beriouß position. They had no'hing to drink, and only uncooked salt meat to eat, bnt en the weather moderating they got up an oil drum, in which they, lighted a fire, and mixing flour with salt water they fried something in the nature of pancakes on the top of the oil drum. Some of these cakes (?) ate still on board, and their appearance is something between badly dried fun and leather. The orew who hart long been exposed to bad weather, suffered considerably from want of water and th« poor food. On Thursday last at noon the vessel wag 45 miles n rth-weßt of Cape Fart well, but with a south-wes* bretze she reached obreßßt of tbe Spit by midnight. F< r the sake of the men who were Buffering severely in fcealtb for want of proper food, and for the Feouri'y of the vessel a course waa sterred for Nelson, but it took all Friday and Satnrday to eail up the bay with the little sail tha remained. In addition to the damage mentioned, her bulwarks aft were broken from the stanohions, and some other damage was done. During the height of the gale two sea anchors carried away, but a third held, and she drifted helplessly, though fortunately she went clear of the land. On nesrirg the Lighthouse she hoisted signals of distress, as being without a boat, and having lost her Bails, Bbc needed the pilot, who made necessary provision, and she was towed into harbor by the s.b. Mawhera. Fortunately the Reliance proved sound in bull, for as it was she evidently had a very narrow escape.