TELEGRAMS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 626, 26 May 1870, Page 2

TELEGRAMS.

Pobt Chalmers. — May, 26, 11.50 a.m., Airedale from Lyttelton. . The following notice to mariners, of dangers in the Bay of Plenty and East Cape passage, is published in the New Zealand Gazette of May 17 :— Bay of Plenty:—!. A dangerous rocky patch, extending N.W. and S.E. about two hundred (200) feet, with about five (5) feet at low water spring tides, has been discovered off Motiti Island, in the fairway of vessels bound from the Eastward to Tauranga, when passing between Aihohake Eeef and MotitL The following are the bearings and distances : — Mongonui Hijl N. 60° 15"— distant 9| miles. Northern point of Motiti N. 78° 30" W.— distant 2£ miles. 2. A dangerous sunken patch, bearing from the Schooner Rock about N. by E. i E. — distant about fof a mile — has been seen breaking. Mariners are therefore cautioned against passing within a mile of this rock on that line of bearing. East Cape : — The following dangers have been discovered in or near the passage between East Cape and East .Island (Whanga OkenaV 1. A sunken rock, with only sixteen (16) feet of water, bearing from the northern extreme of East Island W. by N. J N.— distant fivesixths of a mile. The extreme of Matakana Point in conjunction with the extreme of Horoera Point leads on this rock. 2. A shoal patch, with twenty (20) feet of water, bearing from the northern extreme of East Island N. W. £ W.— distant two (2) miles. The extreme of Horoera Point in conjunction with Iron Point leads on to this danger.

Wkeok of the Challenge. —An inquiry, under the Inquiry into Wrecks Act, was held yesterday, before Captain Symonds, R.M. ; H. N. Brewer, Esq., Sub-collector; and Archibald Kennedy, Esq., of the s.s. Airedale, Nautical Assessor. — Joseph Hobbs deposed : I was master of the schooner Challenge, belonging to the port of Lyttelton; her tonnage was 56 tons. I produce the log-book of the schooner, which was kept by the mate. I cleared at the Customs on Tuesday, the 3rd of May, and proceeded to the Huia, where I took in a cargo of timber. On the 13th of May I weighed anchor at 7 a.m., with the wind northerly and moderate and slack tide. I signalled the pilot-station to ascertain if the bar was safe, by Marryatt's code, and received reply " Bar safe ;" also the signal to take the south channel. I then got under weigh, and ran down to the bar. I could see the channel plainly with no break on it. After getting well out, the wind suddenly died altogether away ; the ebb tide had made. I was going out by the signals, and was then abreast of the black buoy. The swell of the sea drore the vessel across the Tranmere shoal, when the wind failed. The sea then broke over her and swept , the decks. Her squaresail and headsail were split, and she became perfectly unmanageable. The hatches were battenod down, and the boat lashed over them. I hove the lead while we were driving across the Tranmere shoal, and found three fathoms. We drove through the break for some distance on to the beach, about a mile below the signal station on the south head, and she ■ became a total wreck at 10 o'clock a.m. Captain Wing, the Harbourmaster, was on the beach shortly after she Btruck, and by his advice I got all we could out of her and abandoned her. I sounded the pumps, and found two feet of water in the well. Next tide, I visited the vessel again, and found her breaking up among the rocks. I had- an Admiralty chart of the Manukau on- board; the vessel's draft was 6ft. I was steering her by the semaphore arms. lam not exempt from pilotage for the Manukau,' and did not apply for a pilot, and could not have got one if I had. — David Bisset deposed : I was mate of the Challenge. We left the-Huia Bay at half past seven o'clock a.m. on the 13th instant. We signalled the Pilot-station, and got a reply, "Bar safe ; "• and also to take the south channel. We -got on all right till between the Emma and Tranmere Shoals, when the wind suddenly dropped ; the sea commenced to break over her ; the square-sail and flying jib were split, and the decks swept. We drove over the Tranmere Shoal. The crew took to the rigging. The vessel would not steer; she was -driven on shore through the breakers, about two miles south of the Signal-station. We ran out an anchor after Bhe struck, to keep her from drifting on to the rocks, but it came home, and the next tide the vessel broke up. — Charles Fairweather deposed : I was part owner of the schooner Challenge ; the captain owned one third. She was insured I think, for £800 in the Pacific Insurance Company. — Thomas Wing deposed : I am Harbour-master and Pilot at the Manukau. I was at the • Heads when the Challenge attempted to go out. The signalman had signalled " Bar safe." The vessel was going all well till suddenly the wind died away. She became unmanageable, and the tide and swell set her across the Tranmere Shoal and through continuous breakers on to the beach below the signal-station. I sent a note by one of my men through the surf, advising the captain to save all he could and bring his crew ashore. Had he not done so I believe there would have been loss of life. I consider the loss of the vessel quite unavoidable. — Hugh Evans, signalman at the Heads, gave similar evidence. — Captain Symonds said the Court would forward the evidence and their report to the proper authorities. The accident appeared to have • been unavoidable.— Southern Cross, May 18. The " Anglo- Australian " in the European Mail says : — The Ramsay was fixed to start for Canterbury on March 23, with about 150 emigrants. It is useless to conceal, what is sufficiently notorious, that she was refused' by the Queensland agency authorities here as an unsuitable vessel* on the ground that she is a wet ship, although a very healthy dn». I have- made inquiries, and, putting

aaidethe fact that Bhe has ' v been declared, after a strict Government official survey, a proper vessel for: emigrants, I have every reason to believe that there is not the slightest ground for alarm in respect to her.