Other formats

    TEI XML file   ePub eBook file  

Connect

    mail icontwitter iconBlogspot iconrss icon

White Wings Vol I. Fifty Years Of Sail In The New Zealand Trade, 1850 TO 1900

The Loch Ken — Astray In Hadraki Gulf.

The Loch Ken.

Astray In Hadraki Gulf.

Aground Off Thames.

the Loch Ken, a fine little barque of 590 tons, built in 1869, made some very excellent runs for so small a vessel. On one occasion in 1882 she ran out to Lyttelton in 77 days from the Lizard and 80 days port to port. The barque was not so fortunate on the voyage to Auckland in 1883. She left London on the 7th February, but was compelled to anchor at the Downs until the 16th. She had moderate winds to the Equator, which was crossed on the 24th March, and the Cape rounded on the 60th day out. Tasmania was passed on May 17, and thence to the Three Kings very dirty weather and two exceptionally heavy S.E. gales were met with. Not withstanding the barque reached Auckland 99 days out from Gravesend.

the Loch Ken loaded at Auckland and sailed for London on the 19th July. An astounding mishap occurred a few hour after leaving port. The barque was under the command of Captain Wilson, who was familiar with the port. The pilot took her outside of Rangitoto Reef, and a course was shaped for Cape Colville. The following day the Thames steamer Rotomahana (Captain Farquhar) brought up the barque's chief officer, who reported that the vessel was on the mud at the head of the Thames Gulf, and that he had tome up to town to see about getting her off. When the Rotomahana returned to the Thames on the 21st those on board, Mr. Williamson (chief officer of the barque), Mr. Clayton (Lloyd's agent), and Captain H. F. Anderson (representing the insurance companies), were rather surprised to find the barque riding safely at anchor off Tararu.

The story of the Loch Ken's skipper (Captain Wilson) was an astounding one. At two o'clock in the afternoon of the day he left port he was off Kawau. He then ordered the course to be E.N.E to take the ship out through the channel between Cape Colville and tile Great Barrier. That night the weather was thick, and at 8.20 p.m. the ship ran aground at the mouth of the Piako River, about six miles off Graharnstown. The captain explained his position by saying that he mistook Waiheke for Channel Island, off Colville, and said that when he had passed it he bore away south. The explanation is incomprehensible. Waiheke, is no more like Channel Island than Queen Street is like a blind alley. What he probably said was that he mistook Gannet Island, off the end of Waiheke, for Channel Island. That would be quite understandable. As the night was thick he would probably not be able to ace the Coromandel coast, and naturally, thinking himself outside the peninsula, he would head off south.

Anyhow the mishap had a tame conclusion. After the chief officer left the Loch Ken to come up to town by the Rotomahana for help the Thames harbourmaster (Captain Bayldon) went aboard, and the wind coming out of the south he was able to drive her off the mud into deep water, and eventually he came to an anchor off Tararu. No damage was done, the barque sailed away from the gulf without coming to town for a survey, and made a very good passage Home of 83 days. The old hands said her grounding "must have scraped some of the barnacles off."

page 309

Captain Gibbons, now harbourmaster at Onehunga, was one of the crew of the Loch Ken when Captain Farquhar went to her assistance in the Rotoma-hana, a steamer that Captain Gibbons afterwards commanded for a number of years.

The passages made by the Loch Ken outwards were:—

To Auckland.
Sailed. Arrived. Captain. Days.
Feb. 16 May 27, '83 Wilson 107
To Wellington.
Mar. 1 June 4, '79 Cummins 95
Dec. 1 Mar. 7, '84 Wilson 96
To Lyttelton.
Dec. 2 Feb. 20, '82 Wilson 80

Another amazing error in the gulf was the escapade of the Italian ship Eurasia, which brought a cargo of tiles to Auckland from Marseilles in the year war broke out. She lay in the harbour for a very long time, but no outward cargo offered. At last she got a charter from Monte Video to load wheat, and left Auckland in ballast. She was towed out on the morning of February 4, 1915, and when the tug dropped her she went off with a fresh westerly behind her. The last seen of her was the same afternoon, when with most of her sails set, she was bowling along for Cape Colville. It was thought she was not heading quite high enough to clear Colville, but no one dreamt for a moment that this indicated anything wrong.

The next heard of the big foreigner was a message from Thames to say that she was aground on the mud, about six miles from the township. The master came up to Auckland by the Thames boat and arranged for the Auckland Harbour Board to send, down the tug To Awhina. This was done, and after about three-quarters of an hour's work the ship slid off the mud and was towed to Auckland.

A survey of her hull was made and it was found that she had not sustained the slightest damage, the ground on the top end of the Gulf being all soft mud. Being a foreign ship and being undamaged the New Zealand authorities had no authority to order an inquiry. The captain's explanation of the ship finding herself in such a queer position was that Ms compasses were defective. He said he steered N.N.E., and did not discover until too late that he was too far to the south.