Wreck Report for 'Harriet', 1879

(No. 406.)

"HARRIET."

The Merchant Shipping Acts, 1854 to 1876.

IN the matter of the formal Investigation held at Westminster on the 3rd of October 1879, before H. C. ROTHERY, Esq., Wreck Commissioner, assisted by Rear-Admiral POWELL, C.B., R.N., and Captain NICOLAS, as Assessors, into the circumstances attending the stranding and loss of the sailing ship "HARRIET," of London, at the mouth of the River Volta, West Coast of Africa, on the 2nd of August 1879.

Report of Court.

The Court, having carefully inquired into the circumstances of the above-mentioned shipping casualty, finds, for the reasons annexed,-

1. That the stranding and loss of the said vessel was due to her having been laid, when off Addah, on a S.E. course, instead of with her head right off the shore.

2. That there is no reason to suppose that the "Harriet," when she left Cape Coast Castle, was not in good and proper condition, well found, and sufficiently manned, or that the master did not make every possible effort to set his chronometer going after it had stopped.

3. That it is not proved to our satisfaction that, during the time the vessel lay at Cape Coast Castle or thereafter during the voyage, the master was under the influence of drink; but that whether he was so or not it in no way contributed to the casualty.

4. That either the master did not, on approaching the German barque, take proper steps to ascertain his position, or that if he did then learn his position he did not lay the vessel on a proper course afterwards.

5. That the vessel was not navigated in a proper and seamanlike manner.

6. That the master is alone to blame for the casualty.

For these wrongful acts and defaults the Court orders that the certificate of William Pape, the master, be suspended for six months from this day, but recommends that during the suspension of his master's certificate he be allowed a first mate's certificate.

The Court makes no order as to costs.

Dated this 3rd day of October 1879.

 

(Signed)

H. C. ROTHERY, Wreck Commissioner.

We concur in the above report.

 

(Signed)

R. ASHMORE POWELL,

Assessors.

 

"

B. G. W. NICOLAS,

 

Annex to the Report.

This case was heard at Westminster on the 3rd October instant. Mr. McConnell appeared for the Board of Trade and Mr. Hilbery for the owner. The master was not represented. Four witnesses having been produced by the Board of Trade and examined, Mr. McConnell stated that the Board of Trade desired the opinion of the Court upon the following questions:-

" 1. What was the cause of the stranding of the vessel?

" 2. Whether, when she left Cape Coast Castle, she was " in good and proper condition, and well found and " sufficiently manned? and whether the master made " every possible effort to have the chronometer set right?

" 3. Whether, during the time the vessel was at Cape " Coast Castle, or thereafter during the voyage, the " master was under the influence of drink or neglected " his duty? and if so, whether such conduct in any way " contributed to the casualty?

" 4. Whether, on approaching the German barque or " afterwards, the master made proper efforts to ascertain " his position, and acted properly or made a proper course " afterwards?

" 5. Whether proper courses were set and steered after " leaving Cape Coast Castle? and, generally, whether the " vessel was navigated in a proper and seamanlike " manner?

" 6. Whether the master was in default?"

Mr. McConnell further stated that "the Board of Trade " were of opinion that the master's certificate ought to be " dealt with."

The owner and a witness for the master having been called and examined, Mr. Hilbery was heard for the owner; and Mr. McConnell having replied, the Court proceeded to give judgment on the questions on which its opinion had been asked. The circumstances of the case are as follow:-

The "Harriet" was a brigantine, belonging to the Port of London, of 152 tons register, built at New Shoreham, in the county of Sussex, in the year 1843, and at the time of her loss was the property of Mr. Francis Hilbery, of 96, Leadenhall Street, in the city of London. She left London on the 17th April last, bound to the West Coast of Africa, with a crew of eight hands all told, consisting of a master, a mate, two able seamen, one ordinary seaman, and three boys, and having on board a general cargo, consisting for the most part of gin, matches, and gunpowder. Before reaching the coast the chronometer stopped. She proceeded on her voyage, and after calling at a place called Half Jack arrived safely at Cape Coast Castle, where the larger part of the cargo was discharged and sold. Whilst lying at Cape Coast Castle the mate and one of the able seamen were arrested and sent to prison for broaching the cargo. On the 1st of August she continued her voyage down the coast, but without one of the boys, who had been left in hospital, and the A.B. who had been sent to prison, taking however in their place two natives from the coast. The mate, it seems, was taken out of prison, and put on board just before they started, but refused to do any work; and on their putting in at a place called Salt Ponds a few hours after leaving Cape Coast Castle he absconded, and has not since been heard of, and one of the seamen was appointed mate in his place. In the forenoon of the following day, the 2nd, they were off Accra, and the voyage was continued along the coast, keeping about four miles from the shore, and as nearly as they could in 20 fathoms water, the lead being kept going for that purpose every half hour. At about half-past 6 o'clock the same evening a barque was observed at anchor about a mile from the shore, upon which the course of the vessel, which up to that time had been about E. 1/2 S. to E. by S., was altered with a view to speak her. Having passed inside the barque they hailed her, and inquired where they were. She proved to be a German barque, and the master told us that he could not understand what answer was returned, but the mate and a very intelligent lad named Collier said that the answer was that they were off Addah. Thereupon the ship was laid with her head off shore, steering, according to the master, a S. by E. course, but according to Collier, who was at the wheel, a S.E. course. In about half an hour they found themselves amongst the rollers. They still continued their course, and in about another half hour the vessel struck on the breakers at the mouth of the River Volta. There she lay, being unable to launch any of their boats, until about half-past one, when a surf boat came out, and, having taken them on board, landed them safely at Addah. By the following morning the vessel had broken up, and was lost, together with the whole of her cargo, the only thing saved being the master's chest, which was taken ashore in the boat.

Now, the first question to which I propose to address myself is, whether, when the vessel left Cape Coast Castle, she was in good and proper condition, well found, and sufficiently manned it appears that the vessel, which was 36 years old, having been built in the year 1843, had been purchased by her late owner, Mr. Hilbery, about six or seven years since, when he gave 710l. for her; and she had since been employed principally in the trade to the West Coast of Africa. Her last voyage from the coast was in the month of November 1877, when, having landed a cargo at Marseilles, she proceeded to Yarmouth, and in crossing the bar sustained some considerable damage. She was accordingly repaired at an expense, we are told, of between 500l. and 600l., and in July 1878 obtained a class in American Lloyd's of A 1 Star, for four years. She then sailed to Newcastle, and having there taken in a cargo of coals, proceeded to Antwerp, where a quantity of gin was put into her, with which she returned to the River Thames, arriving there in November 1878. There she lay in the West India Docks until the 17th of April last, when she proceeded upon her voyage to the Coast of Africa. Now, although the master was very anxious to show that the vessel was in very bad condition, and was insufficiently found and manned, we are bound to say that there is nothing in the evidence to lead us to think that this was so, either when she started from this country, or when she left Cape Coast Castle. The fact that she went to pieces soon after striking on the bar is, in our opinion, no proof at all, for even a strong vessel would soon go to pieces amongst the breakers at the entrance of the River Volta. The statement, too, of the master that she had neither a deep-sea line nor a log on board, was distinctly contradicted, not only by the owner, but by the witnesses from the vessel. As regards the log, the master stated, and with great particularity, that there was only one broken reel on board, and that even that could not be used, as they had no line except a pitched line; whereas the mate told us that there were two logs on board, and that it was his practice to use one of them every four hours, and in this he was confirmed by the witness Collier. The master, therefore, must either have been extremely inattentive to his duties, or must have been saying what he knew to be untrue, when he said there was no log line on board. Again, as regards the number and character of her crew, the assessors are of opinion that, although there were a large proportion of young hands, she was not insufficiently manned for a vessel of her size. It is true that at Cape Coast Castle she lost her mate, an A.B., and one of the boys, but their places were supplied by two Kroomen from the coast, who make very good sailors, so that we have no reason to think that, even when she left Cape Coast Castle she was not sufficiently manned. As regards the chronometer, which is one of the questions on which our opinion has been asked, we were told by the master that it stopped on the 31st May, previous to their arrival on the coast, and that he had done everything that he could think of to set it going again, but without success. It is clear that there would be no one at Cape Coast Castle who could put it to rights, and in the absence of any information as to what was the matter with the chronometer it is quite impossible for us to say that the master was to blame for not having set it going again.

The next question upon which our opinion has been asked is, whether during the time the vessel was at Cape Coast Castle or thereafter during the voyage the master was under the influence of drink or neglected his duty? and if so, whether such conduct in any way contributed to the casualty. It is admitted that, whilst the vessel was lying at Cape Coast Castle, the master remained on shore for some four or six days; according to the master he was during all this time suffering from fever, and was too ill to come on board, and there is no evidence that he was not so. As to the charge of drunkenness, we were told by Collier, the ordinary seaman, that he had seen him on several occasions under the influence of drink, and Coupa the boy said that he had seen him once in that state on his returning to the ship after being several days on shore. On the other hand the mate, who gave his evidence in a very straight forward way, stated that he had never seen the master the worse for liquor. But whether he was or was not under the influence of drink at any time during the voyage no one pretends that he was in that state when the vessel went ashore; and consequently it would have had nothing to do with this casualty.

I now come to the question, whether, on approaching the German barque or afterwards, the master made proper efforts to ascertain his position, and acted properly or made a proper course afterwards? I have already stated that the master asserts that on hailing the German barque he was not able to understand what answer was returned. On the other hand, both the mate and Collier say that the answer they heard was that they were off Addah. Now if the master could not, as he tells us, make out what the answer was he might have learnt it at once either from the mate or from Collier; but we are strongly inclined to think that he did know what answer was given from his saying that he at once ordered the vessel's head to be laid off shore. And if he knew that she was off Addah, he might have seen by looking at his chart that he was very near the mouth of the River Volta; and that it was necessary to lay the ship's head right off the shore to avoid being carried by the easterly current, which runs along the coast, on the breakers formed at the bar of that river; and this indeed the master says he did. He told us that on leaving the German barque he laid the vessel's head on a S. by E. course; but according to Collier, who was at the helm at the time, the course steered after passing the German barque was S.E. Both the mate and Coupa, the only other witnesses examined from the vessel, were not able to say what course was steered; so that we have to choose between the master and Collier as to which is entitled to the greatest credence. Now, if a S. by E. course were made from the spot where the master has placed the German barque, and which is immediately off Addah, it is difficult to understand how the vessel could have got on the breakers; on the other hand a S.E. course, allowing for the easterly set of the tide at the rate of 1 knot an hour would inevitably set her on them. The probabilities therefore are in favour of Collier's statement, that the vessel was steered, after leaving the German barque, on a S.E. course. But the case does not rest here. We were told by the master that after rounding the German barque they laid the vessel on a S. by E. course without bracing up the yards. Now, it must be remembered that before sighting the German barque the "Harriet" had been running under all plain sail with her yards squared, steering an E. 1/2 S. to E. by S. course, and that she had borne away to go inside the German barque; and the assessors are of opinion that, although she might have been laid on a S.E. course, she could hardly have been put on a S. by E. course without bracing up her yards; which so far confirms the evidence of Collier that the course steered after leaving the German barque was S.E. and not S. by E. But as I have already shown, a S.E. course from the place where the German barque was lying would with the easterly set of the current inevitably take the vessel amongst the breakers.

In the course of his examination the master was asked a good many questions as to a sum of 83l. 15s., which it appears was saved in his chest. He stated that it was part of a sum of 90l. which his father-in-law, whom it seems he did not very often see, had lent him to trade with on the coast. On the other hand, the whole of the money belonging to the owner which the master had on board was said to have gone down with the vessel, whilst this 83l. 15s., which the master claimed as his own had been saved. The case was not altogether free from suspicion, the master not being able to mention a single article except parrots which he intended to purchase with this 90l., and having omitted to communicate with his owner until some time after his return to this country. Had the question been whether the vessel had been wilfully thrown away these facts might perhaps have had a very important hearing on the case; but it is not contended that she was wilfully thrown away, but only that she has been lost by gross mismanagement, and by improper and unseamanlike navigation. The very gross mis-statements too which the master made in the course of his examination with a view to shield his misconduct have not tended to raise him in our estimation.

For the very careless and negligent way in which he seems to have navigated this vessel, which resulted in her total loss, accompanied with imminent risk to the lives of all on board, we were of opinion that the master's certificate should be suspended for six months, but at his request we agreed to recommend to the Board of Trade that during the suspension of his master's certificate he should be allowed a first mate's certificate.

No application and consequently no order was made in regard to the costs.

 

(Signed)

H. C. ROTHERY, Wreck Commissioner.

We concur.

 

(Signed)

R. ASHMORE POWELL,

Assessors.

 

"

B. G. W. NICOLAS,

 

(No. 483.)

L 367. 177. 100.-10/79. Wt. 47. E. & S.