NAUTICAL ENQUIRY.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1523, 24 June 1886, Page 2

NAUTICAL ENQUIRY.

(Before J. 8, Beswiok, Esq., K.M., and Captains Thomson and Milton, Nautical Assessor?.) The official enquiry into the wreck of the ■hip Lyttelton at Timatu commenced on Tuesday afternoon. Mr Hay appeared on behalf of Mr 0. E. Cooper, Collector of Customs, and the Customs Department; Mr White for the owners, nnderwriters, a 1 d captain of the Lyttelton; Mr Hamersley for Captain Storm, the pilotj Mr C. T. H. Ferry for the Timaru Harbor Board; Mr Aspinall for the captain and owners of the Grafton, Mr A. Spalding (Lloyd’s agent) and Mr D. Craig (manager of the New Zealand Insurance Co., Christchurch), were also in attendance. - Mr Hay briefly stated the object of the enquiry, after which F. W. Merchant, Engineer to the Timaru Harbor Board, was called, and he produced a plan showing the position of the various harbor works, the buoys, etc. Herbert Wild Boorman, master of the Lyttelton, was next examined, and the following is a condensation of his evidence He deposed that he had sailed in the Lyttelton for two voyages previous to the wreck. He arrived in the port on the 23th May, and completed loading about the 9th June, when he spoke to his agent, Mr Spalding, about getting his vessel towed out, and said he wanted the harbor master and the harbor tug to take him out. He did not get (he tug, and the steamer Grafton towed the vessel out, He once saw the Grafton tow the Lady Jocelyn out of Wellington—a vessel twice the size of the Lyttelton. At 7.15 a.m. on the 18th his men commenced to unmoor from the shore side. He could not say what happened immediately afterwards, as the pilot was aboard and he (the witness) was aft looking after other matters He did not consider the tow rope was properly placed. He considered the way the rope was put undue pressure on the tug’s stern, and would slew her round as soon as she tightened up the ropes. When he noticed how the tow line was attached he made no remark. He was away aft: not on the fo’oastle head. Pilot Storm was on the fo'castle bead. He might have given orders about the rope. The pilot came on board early in the morning to let go the moorings. He could sea they were out of the course that ships generally take going to sea. The course is—get two ships’ lengths dear of the breakwater, and then head about east. He did not lay out her course, the pilot laid the course. They were heading in shore almost due north, and the Grafton was heading more in shore, about N.W. by N three points on our bow. The relative positions remained much about the same till we bumped—the steamer was never more than three or four points on our bow. He called the pilot’s attention to the way they were heading, but did not remember his reply. He (witness) waved his arm to the Grafton to keep more to the eastward, and he after? wards asked the pilot if it was not advisable to loose the square sails on the foremast. There was a very light air off the land, and if the ship had had all sail set the would have moved away at the rate of 1 knot to 1} out ,

to tea. Th* pilot, in reply to hii question, •nag out “Loom the square tails on the fore,” and some of the hands were eent aloft to do eo. Shortly after the men were told to go aloft the veeiel bumped. It wac not a very violent bump, but the witneit felt it distinctly. After the bump he called the eeeond officer to make a cast ef the lead. There was a natty swell on. He could not give any idea of the depth of the wave from crest to base. With the oast of the lead ha got 26ft of water. The ship was drawing 17ft 2in forward, and 18ft Sin aft. He remembered the anchor being let go after they had looeed the sails, and after she had bumped. He did not know the exact minute the anchor was let got. He did not hear .the chain let go. He wae not aware the anchor wae lot go when ehe bumped. Ike anchor wae np to the hawse pipe when the ship left the wharf. He did not know if the anchor wae clear at the time it was let go. The anchor was not let go until the vessel bumped. The pilot was aft, and witness was informed eang out 11 Let go the anchor.” Ho oould not tell exeo'ly where they were when they let go. He considered she went two chips' length! from where the first bumped to where ehe went down. He did not hear any one say “Let go the anchor.” After sounding he asked the pilot what he was going to do. He said, 11 Let go the anchor.” Witness said “I do not want to put a hole in her.” The pilot said “ She’ll only drift on to the shore, or on to the rooks,” The vessel had stern way on, and appeared to be drifting in shore then. The O-rafton had to out off her tow line, and had just commenced to tow again when witness noticed the vessel had commenced to fill. A man named Bobbins, who had been in the chain locker, osmc op and said ” Water is running in somewhere.” He went down, and oould hear an immense rushing of water. He then went on dcek and ordered the boats to be got out, and ran into the oabin and got the chronometer and brought them out and handed them into a boat alongside. About a quarter of an hoar elapsed from the time she bumped till the time the settled down. He did not think the harbor a difficult one for ahipato bo towed out of. He attributed the difficulty in the case of the Lyttelton to the absence of the harbor tug and the harbor master. The Board have proper appliance* for towing, but they were not available on this oeeaiion. If the tow line had been placed differently the wreck never would have happened. He oould not say if the “ act ” of the sea north* ward had anything to do with the accident. He made no objection to the pilot taking the vessel out in the absence of the harbor master. He thought the vessel wae about half a mile out of the usual count (or ihip* when she struck. Ho wae of opinion the hole is In the port side. The Court then adjourned till the follow* ing morning.

On the Court resuming yesterday morning, it was arranged that the cross* examination of Captain Borman should be deferred until after the evidence of Captain Hill of the s.s. Grafton had been taken, to enable the latter to get away. Henry Edward Hill gave evidence to the effect that he had been master for seventeen years, and had command of the Grafton for two and a half or throe years, and had done a good deal of towing at Wellington and West* port. He had visited Timaru three times at long intervale. When ho arrived at Timaru on the 12th January he was instructed by his agent to tow the Lyttelton to sea, and at oace proceeded to do se. [The witness detailed at great length the course taken in towing the vessel out.] He thought when be made fast to the Lyttelton that her anchor was down, as they were working the windlass. Before starting he got no instructions from the pilot as to the course he was to take. The first instructions from the pilot was on his ' asking whether he could go inside a certain buoy, when the pilot replied “Yes, go as you are ;’ he could not say whether the anchor was then up or down, but he thought it was down. When he went ahead it was in a northerly direction about N.N.W. The head of the Lyttelton was directed more to the northward than that of the steamer. He proceeded full speed ahead with the port engines only, and the helm hard aport. To his surprise he found the {ship slewing outside the buoy. The hawser was made fast to the ship’s port bow. It was the ship’s rope he towed with, and it was fastened on the steamer’s port quarter, by his own instructions. Looking at it from a sailor’s point of view it might have been better to have attached the rope to the steamer’s starboard side. He would not deny that the tendency of putting the rope where it was would be to slew the ship’s head towards the land and the steamer’s head toward the sea. The position of the steamer was so far inshore at this time that he did not think it would have materially affected the relative position if the hawser had been on his {starboard quarter, as his port engines were only at work. He put the hawser on the port side because he anticipated a straight tow. He went on the inner side of the buoy, and the ship went on the outer side of the buoy. When he found the hawser fouling the buoy he slopped the engine, and the pilot sang out to him to go on. As they proceeded the course was not materially altered. He towed the vessel til! he considered she had steerage way, when he let go. He was requested to take another rope and ha did so. At this time he was going easy ahead on the port engine only, just keeping the port tow rope tight sod the steamer in position, while the Lyttelton’s anchor was got up. He found her anchor was down when be got ahead of her . before making fast the second time. At, the time the captain asked him take the second rope he did not know his anchor ■- was down, or that he had lost his way. He then kept his steamer going easy ahead, just keeping her in position and ahead of the ship, while they got their anchor up. He remarked to MrCuthbert (the Shipping Clerk) that they did net make the hawser tight. The pilot then came on board the s'eamer, and told him the Lyttelton had “ holed.” Up to then he had no idea any accident had happened. From making fast the second time be could not say if he moved the Lyttelton. H During the time he was towing the Lyttelton out he could see no sign of her being injured. He was not aware that f ! ere is any course laid down for going out of the harbor. Ho was under the command of the pilot, and that was (he reason why ho did not order the Lyttelton to drop her anchor so that he might take a fresh start and go in a more, easterly direction. He thought it was no p'utof his duty to make such an. order. If the captain had been in charge of the Lyttelton he would have taken mope responsibility on himself, as he had done in other cases. The reason why he waa nevef straight ahead of the ship was that lie did not know what course he was to take till he got out. His screw was never fouled, and he did not think it was

difficult to tow a vessel out of the Timaru harbor, even with ft screw steim r of the character of the Grafton,