THE BARQUE CAMBUSDOON.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 9522, 21 April 1909, Page 4

THE BARQUE CAMBUSDOON.

* THE QUESTION OF INJURY. Last week the Cambusdoon arrived in Lyttelton in distress. She was bound from Sydney to Falmouth, with about 3000 to'us ot wheat, and out of Sydney she met with very rough weather, in which she laboured so heavily that 200 tons of cargo had to be jettisoned. During the height of the storm one of the tremendous seas which broke over her washed one of her seamen off the top of the forward deckhouse, and he was lost. According to the information available, the crew were so strongly, of opinion that the ship was strained in the stormy weather that they declined to go past New Zealand, and the master was compelled to put into port. On Saturday the barque was inspected by the representative of Lloyd's, and it was reported that no damage could he found. The vessel was, however, about a foot "by the head." or deeper in the water forward than aft. and she was ordered into port, to enable the cargo to be trimmed. Yesterday afternoon work was commenced, and a quantity of wheat was transferred from the forward to the after part of the vessel. As far as can he seen outwardly the Cambusdoon is in the best of order. She is described as a big, square-bot-tomed vessel, and has a big beam and heavy spars, spreading a great deal of sail. The actual condition of the hull, though pronounced good by the surveyors, and therefore to be taken as such, is still regarded dubiously by many of those on board, and it is considered possible that further investigation may show that the barque is not asi she should be. The men say that her behaviour in the storm, after a certain point, was very different from her behaviour earlier. According to one account, the Cambusdoon shipped sea after sea, as she was-bound to do in such heavy weather, but easily shook them' clear, and behaved as any wellconducted ship should do. showing a proper buoyancy and feeling well underfoot. Some days after the storm commenced, she left her course for a while, to clear another, vessel, and in that less advantageous position relative to the seas, caught -the full force of two enormous seas. From that time she was a different vessel. Instead of rising well under the shipped eeas, she behaved sluggishly, arid carried the water heavily on deck, rail down to the sea. At times she did not even roll for so long that sleeping men, used to the oscillation, were awakened by the stoppage of the motion. It is also stated that while nothing of the sort- was apparent when she left Sydney, the after part, of the barque trembled " like a leaf " under the impact of the , seas, and the suggestion is that the hull is strained so seriously as to constitute a source of danger if the vessel meets bad weather again. Although ! th© men are content to accept the) opinion of the surveyors that the barque is sound, some of them do not ! appear over-eager to^ continue the voy- i age, with the rounding of Cape Horn I in front of them.