THE BARQUE WAIMEA

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume XXXVII, Issue 11847, 21 July 1893, Page 3

THE BARQUE WAIMEA

Disastrous Explosion. A Special Account. (Littelton Times) The following letter, containing a graphic narrative of the unfortunate disaster on board the \vaimea, haß been kindly placed at our disposal : — Considerable excitement was caused here on Wednesday, May 10, by the I unexpected arrival of the Now Zealand Shipping Company'? barque Waimea, Captain M. M. Re3ton, commander. Although, aa is well known, the steamers belonging to the Company call here regulaily on their homeward route, this is the first of the Company's sailing vessels that has ever put in an appearance at this port. Hearing that her arrival here was due to an accident, I went on board to inspect and make enquiries ; and although kindly received and courteously treated, I had great difficulty in getting any great amount, the captain and hia officers seem to prefer silence on the subject of the disaster till the enquiry is over. However, by various meanß I managed to elicit the following reliable information concerning the Waimea and many of the principal facts connected with the accident:— * THB BASQUE WAIMEA. The last two voyages the Waimea has been commanded by Captaia M. M. Reston, a Lyttelton native, who has associated with him as officers Mr James Alexander, of Auckland, and Mr Ben. H ! Aehford, of Christchurch. The information I obtained concerning the accident is aa follows-.- The Waimea finished loading in Wellmpton, New Zealand, and proceeded from that port >vith a full cargo of dressed flax for Boston, U.S.A., on April 21. After » few days' light and j baffling winds, Bhe picked up a moderately strong westerly wind ; and after the usual shifts of wind and alterations in the conditions of the weather, she rounded Cape Horn on the twenty-sixth day out, the day previously having spnkon to the barque Akaroa, Captain Murray, from Lyttelton to London all well. The following Sunday Six ICEBERG'S were sighted, the largest being four or five hundred feet high. Thiß was not altogether unexpected, as ice was seen much farther to the northward last year at this time. And in fact for a fortnight prekvioußly a look-out had been kept for ice Pnight and day. After being in company with several bergs during the next three days, she finally got clear of their tracks. On Wednesday, April 26, at about halfpjftst ten in the morning, those on board received a fearful and totally unexpected shook. The ship was going' steadily along, with a pleasant breeze and all sail get, the watch on deck working at various jobs in the forward part of the ship, the look-out man pacing the forecastle head. Not a sound broke the otillness of the morning sa v e the splashing of the waves 88 they leaped up the ve&sel's side, and the Blight rustling or lapping noise produced by the lighter'saiis, a 8 the vessel rose and fell upon the water. Suddenly a sound of a nature at first ssarnely possible to analyße, startled the officer of the watch and the men, causing them to drOT) the work they were engaged upon and gaze anxiously aloft to see if anything was adrift and going to comedown by the run as they graphically express it-. About twenty seconds elapsed, and heforo the ■wonderment bad faded oat of tho faces of / the crew, A TERRIBLE EXPLOSION Occurred, shaking the ship from stem to stern, and causing a general cry of '• she's struck ice." So terrific was the explosion that it shook the ship till it seemed as though the mastß would go over the side. Aery of "Jay aft all bands," from the second mate, who had charge of the -natch, brought all hands aft in less time than it takes to write it; and there a fearful scene of wreck and disaster met their astonished gsze. The whole poop deck was blown up, the front of the saloon blown ont, the interior of the wrecked cabin presenting a chaotic appearance that was simply indescri '■able. At fchia moment Captain ltesron Btaggered on the quarter-deck, presenting a spectacle that was fearful in the extreme. His clothing cut, torn and burned, hail, eyebrows, beard and moustache singed short; his face blackened and streaming with blood, hands torn and bleeding. Thß skin hanging from bis bands, tace and neck in shreds. The eight will not soon be forpotten by those v*bo witnessed it. " Kig the force-pump, rig the force-pump; hurry up, now," he shouted, never for one moment losing his presenca of mind, alL though the pain of his injuries was enough to drive him frantic. His commands were obeyed with the alacrity the occasion demanded ; and while part of the crew were getting the ship under manageablo sail, as she wonld not answer her helm, the rest poured waler into the scene of the explosion (the lazarette. a lower compartment aft, where the stores are kept). By this line the spcond mate bad torn up part of the poop declr, to free the steering-gear, and was thus able to get the Bhip off before the wind again, and found that fortunately the steering-gear was not damaged. In about an hour, all signs of fire being Buppresred, the pumpg sounded and -the ship tound to be making no water, the crew, tinder the direction of Mr Alexander, commenced clearing up what a short time previously had been a clean, well-appointed, comfortable saloon; now, as I saw it this morning, aiinply A BLACKENED PUIN. Having in a measure succeeded in making things secure, they repaired as well aB possible the huge rents in tha deck with wood from the cabin fitting?, over all placing sails, battened down aud lashed across with a perfect network of topes to keep them secure. A great deal of damage waß done on deck, the wheel r> being shattered, Ihebinnacle and compass i blown overboard, the spanker boom unshipped, and the gaff broken, besides other damage of a similar nature. A sailor is undoubtedly possessed of coneiderable ingenuity — perhaps the instinct becomes educated in 1 he,, pursuance of their arduous vocation, and at 8 p.m. the ship had altered her course for Eio de Janeiro (to obtain med'cal assistance and have repairs executed) with a lnalssshift compass, binnacle and binnacle light, and unable to set any after canvaa. THE SADDEST PART OP THE STOBT, however, remains to be told. It seems as far as I have been able to ascertain, that an American lad named Frank Clements h^d gone below into the lazarette to get up some tins for the steward. A few minutes afterwards the Captain, who was not aware that anyone was below, heard a sort of hissing noise, as though a rocket had been ignited. He at once rose from the table at which he bad been writing and rushed to the lazarette, from which wreaths of smoko were ascending. He shouted down below instructions to smother it, and was about to jump below "~ himself when, before he had time to either advance or retreat, the powder magazine exploded, throwing him tome distance, and burying him beneath the debris of the wrecked saloon, besides inflicting the injuries already mentioned. As soon as posßiole several attempts were made to pet into the lazarette, but were at first rendered futile by the dense volumes of smoko and the overpowering fumes of the explosives. Finally, a pro. tracted search was made, but not even a shred of clothing belonging to the unfortunate lad was found. It is conjectured that be must have started to reach the ladder and been blown through thehatel or deck and overboard. In fact some o) the crew surmise that his body broke the gaff end as it ascended. The real CAUBE OF THE EXPLOSION 13 not, nor never will be, known. Th< theory advanced is that the lad, while inspecting the rockets, caused one of then to ignite, thus setting the remainder oB and finally exploding the magazine, eon taining a.out 251 bof powder. An ablf ~f seaman named Wilson, who was immediately ' diately above the scene of the explosion seeing smoke arising ran up on the poo] and tried to make his way forward. Thi force 3f the explosion threw him off thi poop and down a ladder, causing seven

internal injuries, for which lie is now in the hospital undergoing ui.idie i treatment, but it will be a long I ■me b fore be recovers, and he will proWih feel the effects ot' his accident as lon «■» he lives. The man at the wheel had a vurv narrow escape indeed, the wheel being shattered in his hands, his hat blown off, his hair and eyebrows singed ; and he himself thrown eight or ten feet away from the wheel. In fact it is a souice of wonder to everyone that more persons were not icjured. The chief officer was asleep at the time, and his room being farthest away from the lazarette he was uninjured, though his room was wrecked, still not so completely as the rooms occupied by the captain, second mate and steward. The second mate, Mr Ashford, was mounting the poop ladder when, hearing a noise as of something falling, ho stopped and looked aloft to see what was coming down. This probably saved him from serious injury, as a few seconds afterwards the poop deck was blown up. The concussion bounced him off the ladder and landed him on the qunrterdfck, uninjured, but considerably surprised. Next morning a further clearance was effected amongst the ruins, and the captain's room fixed up as well as possible to accommodate him, he being by this time totally blind, and unable to use his hands, which were swollen to an alarming extent, rendering it impossible for him to in any way assist himself. As if to verify the old adage that MISFORTUNES NEVEB COMB BINGLY, the wind, from being fair, veered round to dead ahead, and blew with hurricane force, the sea rising to a mountainous height and breaking over the ship in huge quantities. The masses of watpr thus shipped deluged the empty and desolate cabin.and poured down in poi f< e'eascadus upon Captain Eeston, who had to be 1 shifted out of his room to some sails that were heaped in the driest corner of the saloon, and a bed roughly prepared for j him and the injured sailor, • B>rt of tent was rigged overhead to protect them 'as much as possible. There, swathed in blankets and oilskins to keep the water out, they remained, bearing their sufferings aB best they could. Giilo succeededgale with unparallelled velocity, until at last the ship was hove to uutil the weather moderated Slowly and Bulkily the wind died away, as though loth to let tlnj chip escape without further injuiy, and finally, after a few days of fair winds, succeeded by light and baffling ones, she arrived here at the time stated. The repairs, I believe, are to be executed by Messrs Wilson and Sons, of this port, and will occupy a period of about six weeks. CAPTAIN RESTON speaks very highly of the conduct of his I crew at the time of the explosion, and also during the heavy gales that followed. It was at first supposed by those on boatd that the vessel's stern had blown out, or, at least, keen started, and that the steering gear had been carried sway ; fortunately it was found that neither disaster had happened. If the former had been the case there would hay» been little chance of saving the ship at the time, and during the gales latei on, none. It would then have been a case or taking to the boats, of which she carries three in good order and condition, a state of affairs very creditable to captain Beaton and the company he serves ; for in very many cases this most important part of a ship's equipment is not cared for as it should be. Were b^ats better built, better cared for and generally looked after b? those in charge of them, the British mercantile marine would have less deathsto chronicle every year than at present. If the steering gear had been carried away it would not have been quite so bad, although dangerous in the extreme. Still, in time there is no doubt that the ship would have been, fitted with some rough, but handy contrivance, whereby she would have been enabled to safely reach port. Captain Ueston and his officers had a large quantity of clothing damaged, and also many valuable little knick-naeks wherewith sailors love to decorate their rooms, totally destroyed, besides having many valuable books,oharts and other articles of great use to seafaring men so badiy damaged as to be of httJeor [no uso to the owners. Captain Eeston is at present recovering as well as can be expected from bis accident, and seems to think himself extremely fortunate in being alive. The repairs to the ship will doubtleas cause the Company considerable ex. pease, but the exact amount I have not been able to ascertain.