THE NAUTICAL INQUIRY.

Colonist, Volume LI, Issue 12471, 23 February 1909, Page 3

THE NAUTICAL INQUIRY.

-Wellington, Feb. 22. The inquiry into the wreck • of the Penguin was resumed to-day. .. " . ■ Captain Naylor, in his evidence, stated that before leaving Picton at 6.40 p.m. on the 12th he could not tell what the weather was likely to be outside. The average speed of' the Pengun was about 12£ knots. On coming out of Tory Channel there was very little sea ,and the weather was over- . east, the wind being from the southwest. Currents at the head of Tory Channel ran r&pidly, as.a jrule from one to three knots. . When the boat emerged from Tory Channel witness set a south-east quarter-east-by-east > course till 8 o'clock. . At 10: past 8i he went 'south-oast by east again and stood on that course until twenty minutes to ten. The ship by that time had steamed 22 miles. . - He reckoned she. had done 18. It was . 173 miles from the Heads to Tom's ■Rock. Witness, in his calculations, ■ had made allowance for currents. According to his reckoning he y .y-v>uld have just s been t>ast Tom's Rock: at 20 minutes to 10." At 9it was raining heavily, and squalls continued. Between 9.15- and- 9.30 it became very dark. He did not alter his course until 20 minutes to 10, nor did he take iany soundings. He noticed the 'tides in Tory Channel wore not according to the book. The tide was running in on the south and out at the north. Wit-, ness had expected slack water. ' To meet this difficulty he had steered a south-east by east course. This would keep the beacon in line, and So enable him to clear Tom's Rock. He considered he was on a good safe course. At 20 minutes to ten he reckoned he had passed Tom's Rock, and was a good three miles off it. At that hour he altered his course east By south, and ran her for' 20 ■ minutes. This should have put him past Sinclair Head. He could practically. see nothing in shore. --..-' Counsel : I put it to you that soundings should have been taken. Witness: To take soundings with the lead I should have been courting dan- . ger, because I would have had to stop the ship, and that would have' been 'dangerous. . „ ■, '■: For the same reason witness said he ' did not slow down. . Counsel: I put it to you that after you came out of the Tory Channel and lost the Brothers you did not knotv where you were ? _ ' -Witness: I set a course that would have made me absolutely safe under normal conditions. '. Continuing, he said the ship struck at 2 minutes past 10. At that moment .he was putting the ship's head out to ■ sea. - He did so because if he ran . on much farther he would be at the Bar"ring Head. He had never' experienced .'such a "set-in" in the current as he > did -that night. . . . Captain Naylorj continuing; ? said the boats and gear were in good order,and four boats would have been ample if no damage had ' occurred. The last time boat drill was held on -the ship was at Picton on 13th January. In reply to questions, Captain Naylor said he was off the bridge for five minutes_ to get his water-proof, and he was just near the bridge when tl>e ship went down. Good order prevail- • ed, barring the excitement of . two pas- ■ sengers and a member of the crew, who let No. 3 boat out of the falls. Witness drifted .ashore on an upturned Jboat. . . Eef erring to the statement that masters frequently lost all lights in -the Straits, counsel asked : "Is it pracvticable under these circumstances in .going through the Straits for masters .to go on their course?" Witness: Yes; because all masters : ..set a safe course and continue. on. Counsel : here read regulation 33, which specified that should.- foggy weather set in when a steamer was coasting or in the neighbourhood of land a captain must take charge of the ship ,the lead must be frequently used, and if soundings suggest the slightest doubt of the course the ship is running her head must be turned ■-: away from what is considered the.di- '•• rection of the land, and her progress stayed until her exact position is ascertained. Counsel asked witness if it was not his duty under the regulations to put his ship away from the land after 9.15 p.m. "I did not consider it so," replied the witness. "The course I set should have taken us clear." In reply to Mr Myers, witness said that the depth of the Strait varied so much that soundings would have been of little value. He had done everything he couM possibly do, and the cause of the disaster was the 'abnormal flow of the tide through Cook Strait that night. To Mr Levy: The boats were fully provisioned; There was ample to comply with the requirements of the Government. The cards assigned to the crew places and duties in the boat drill. Counsel put in as evidence cards issued by the company over the last 12 months. Cross-examined by Mr Myers, witness said the majority of the Union Company's boats, at all events those he had been on, were, not with patent sounding' apparatus. It was said that soundings could be taken with a patent apparatus when, a ship was going full speed. Witness denied the correctness of certain in? formation provided in "The New Zealand Pilot." ' Referring to the statement that masters frequently lost all lights in. Cook Straits, Mr Myers asked, is it the practice .then under these circumstances in going through the Straits for masters to go on their course? — Witness: Yes, because all masters set a safe course and continue on. Mr Myers : Then I shall ask the Court, if necessary, by adding a question, to make a general recommendation in respect to this matter. Mr ' Herdman interjected that the matter was not within the jurisdiction of the Court. Mr Myers held that it was. Mr Myers: I. put it to you, Captain Naylor, floes this not mean navigating by guess work? — Witness: It is so in all places at night time.Mr Myers:' Very well, your Company furnishes its officers with regulations? — Witness: Yes. - Mr Myers: Was it not your duty under wour own regulations to put the ship away from land after .9.ls p.m.? . — t did not consider it so. The course I set should have taken us clear. The witness added that it would not be impossible . to follow the regulations implicitly, but a master might be on the bridge from the time he left Wellington till he returned — a matter of 48 nours. ■ Mr Myers: Have you to run td a timetable?— Witness: No. You must consider the safety of the ship, and nothing is said if you are lateV ..That is the Company's rule. Mr .Myers:' Seeing that there was a difference between the conditions and what you expected, do you... still, consider it was unnecessary to-take . any- bearings; of ■ the Brothers? — Witness: I lost the Brothers -about 8 p.m.* or shortly, afterwards. „ ' ■'. But you> knew you were going to.lose; the light?— Not in rain squalls, yoli might pick it up again. . In answer to other questions witness said: He could have taken proper bearings by altering the ship s course a point or two. On the course he was steering he should have opened out Pencarrow light at 9.15, but he did not do so because, cause there were rain' squalls over the' land in that direction. Although he did not open out Pencarrow light be continued" at full speed. ■ Mr Myers: Where did you think you were at 9.15? — Witness: I reckoned I was too far out to seethelight. ";;■■ ».'■''•■" • v v When did it occur to you that you

were shut in by Sinclair Heads?— lt did not occur to me at all. Where did you think you wer.e at twenty to ten ? — I reckoned 1* had passed Tom's rock, and was a good three miles off it. Didn't it occur to you then that it >vas strange that you' had not picked .•p Pcncarrow light —Not in the squally state of the weather. What did j r ou do at twenty lo ten o'clock? — I altered the course cast by south, and ran for 20 minutes. This should have put me past Sinclair Head. „ : Do I understand you. to say that at 20 minutes to ten you were three miles* off Tom's rock, and past Tom's Rock?— Yes. Proceeding, witness said that at a quarter to ten it was raining heavily, and ho rung "stand by" on the en-, gine. He did not slow down. You could see practically nothing? (asked Mr Myers)— Witness : Not inshore. So you had .nothing to guide you, but your own judgment?— Yes. . ; I put it to you thatsoundings should have boon taken ?—^To take soundings with the lead I should have' been" courting danger, because. I would have had to stop the ship, and that would have been dangerous ; for the same reason witness did not slow down. , • = ■ - Counsel put it to the witness that he should, have put out to sea.—Captain Naylor said he wanted to clear Sinclair's Head. .]:.-' Mr Myers: I have, to put it to j'ou that after you came out of Tory, Channel, and lost the Brothers, that" you did not know where , you weiV— ■• Witness: I set a ; course that would, have made me absolutely safe under normal conditions . ' ; ' When the ship struck witness told the chief steward to call all the passengers, and to provide them witli lifebelts. Then he did not think there was any danger. He also ordered soundings to be taken, and sent the third officer down to the engine room so that the pumps could be put on if the vessel was making water. Three minutes after the ship struck she was making water in the " forward hold. He rang "slow" when he found out that the, water was "making" on the pumps. He ordered the women to ba put in the lifeboats. . At this time the bo,a.ts had been lowered to the rails of the vessel. While the boats were being handled, . the Chief Engineer said he -could do nothing^ with the pumps, as the water gained too fast. The No. 2 boat was sent away in charge of the second, engineer, with orders to keep well out to sea, -and so drift round Terawhiti into 'smooth water Hesaw No. 2 boat lowered into the" water, and cleared aw,ay from the ship. He did not see Np_: 4 boat lowered. No. 1 boat was being lowered, when a sea struck it, and overturned it. He understood that No. 4 boat got away round the stern of the shipi He did not know who was m charge of it. The boats and gear were in good order, and four boats,: woukl have been ample if no damage had occurred. The last time boat drill was held on^the ship 'was at Picton on the 13th. January. ' ■ ' , -,'■.-.■ Mr Myers: Have you ever nad boat drill at sea?— Witnes s: No. - Is it' a practice to have boat drill at sgap—No. Not if you can have it m Would it not be preferable to have it at sea?— lt is preferred.to hold the drill in port, because -you gett airtne boats in the' water, and then you can have all hands taking part. Witness was asked if the vessel carried a sufficient crew to man the boats ?— Witness : . The crew could have provided five oars for each boat. Th* men belonging to the crew who ebt' ashore' on the rafts were those who had stood by. and had given up their places.. Each member of the crew was furnished with a card setting out boat drill duty. On the occasion of the fatal trip witness said he had- allowed more than usual for the currents. On previous occasions had always taken a» bearing of the Brothers light, but this time it was suddenly shut out by the. thick weaSmith also questioned the witness, who said he steered a compass course from Pic ton. Q+ The compasses were adjusted on 29th December. There' were -two compasses There was no patent .deep sea soundmachine on board. The case, had been broken off years ago, .when he was mate on board of the vessel. To Mr Herdman-: Witness was -oftthe deck for five minutes to Mf™ waterproof coat early .m the nignt, and he was justoiear the bridge wiien the ship went down .There was nothinn- exceptional in the 'weather ■ altar leaving I'ory Channel. The .weather ontlie Tory Channel -side of the Straits was much finer than on ; the Terawhiti. side. : The. record ot^the tides was contained m- the Government almanack, •and- the published chart. The chart was compiled from a surVey in 1849. Correctors had been made since, but no systematic survey had been made so far as he knew "since 1849. He had never been driven out of his course before by the current. It was a common thing, however, to be driven out of a oourie to the extent of a .co.uple of miles The tide after leaving lory Channel was against witness instead of being with him. . When witness lost the Brothers light he could still see the Tory Channel lights because the squall cleared. Then the Top Channel lights. were of more use to him in guiding his ship .than bearing by the Brothers light would have "been. It was not an uncommon experience to lose all lights in the Straits during squalls." Mr Herdman: Do you consider there was any necessity .to put out" to sea as suggested by Mr Myers, in these circumstances ?— Witness : No, because you would be always putting out to sea. '..- ; . ■,!-''.'. Witness stated that the, lifeboats on the Penguin were five years old. Oil was supplied to the boats in a copper drum. He could not say whether any was used Or not. . No. 1 boat had a rudder and a steer o.ar, the otherfour boats had only a rudder. In a heavy sea there was no dpiibt a steer oar was the thing to" guide a boat.; Personally, he thought it would be well to have all lifeboats fitted with a steer oar, as well a- a rudder. There was a man named Henderson in the ship's crew. He did not know, as counsel suggesed, he was the only man in one of the boats. As far as he knew, or could learn. Henderson went over the side of the .ship and was pulled aboard again. In the fifs-lf boat that got away there were five or six members of the crew. No. 5 boat had seven .or eight f men in it to manage it. " The deck hands of the vessel numbered eight, six. A.B.s, a boatswain, and an ordinary seaman. Did you put your position down?. — No. ■.'•:■ - - "...■:" ...... ■ ■. Dr McArthur: Did you at any time between Tory Channel and Terawhixi put your supposed position on the chart?— No. After I left Tory Chainel I i-uled off a course. . , I. Dd you put your position ddwnr — No." Was there any means 'of coinmunicatipn from the bridge to the engine room ? La.sk this question because you say you sent a message down to | the engine room by. a man not. on the Penguin. When the vessel struck, where did you think.-you w^re? Did you fbrnr your idea after \sheV struck? Witness : About a quarter of an hour after she struok^ l knewl must have struck between Sinclair's .Head and Karon rock. Before you turned out . had you formed an idea of where ybu were? — Yes. ■ • ' .. .■..,■;,;:.-:■ •■ ■ T Where did you think you were P— l reckoned that I was past Sinclair Head, and about three or four miles off it, and- about seven miles off Pcncarrow light. ; , •/ T : ; ' That was the idea you;had r before she struck?— Yes. : :-:i vt - Then after she Struck what idea did you form?— l came to the conclusion* that she must have i struck Tomi's rock, ■ ; . " ■ . ■ ■..■/.:.■ ■•.•; : " -.-

.*/■'* ■ \ Dr- McArthur pointed out that steaming from ten' to eight to two minutes past ten, at 12i knots, would have, carried the ship 27^ miles.' The distance from Tory Channel to Tom's rock was 17 %- miles: Did these figures not suggest tHat there was • something wrong?— " Witness said he allowed for two knots against the' ship owing to the currents, and' reckoned that the ship had really done 21 or 22 miles ''good." evidence occupied nearly the whole day. The Court rose until the next day. ",