Wreck Report for 'Alice Vivian', 1887

(No. 3153.)

"ALICE VIVIAN."

The Merchant Shipping Acts, 1854 to 1876.

IN the matter of the formal Investigation held at Cardiff, on the 9th of February 1887, before H. C. ROTHERY, Esquire, Wreck Commissioner, assisted by Vice-Admiral PICKARD and Captain COSENS, as Assessors, into the circumstances attending the supposed loss of the pilot cutter "ALICE VIVIAN," of Newport, and her crew of 3 hands, on the 15th of October last in the Bristol Channel.

Report of Court.

The Court, having carefully inquired into the circumstances of the above-mentioned shipping casualty, finds, for the reasons annexed, that the "Alice Vivian " was properly constructed for the service upon which she was engaged; that, when she left Falmouth upon her last voyage, she was in a good and seaworthy condition; and that her loss was in all probability due to the violent gale which she encountered during the night of the 14th—15th of October last,

The Court is not asked to make any order as to costs.

Dated this 9th day of February 1887.

 

(Signed)

H. C. ROTHERY,

Wreck Commissioner.

We concur in the above report.

 

(Signed)

BENJ. S. PICKARD,

Assessors.

 

 

WILLIAM COSENS,

 

Annex to the Report.

This case was heard at Cardiff on the 9th of February instant, when Mr. Howard Smith appeared for the Board of Trade; a son of the late owner of the "Alice Vivian" was present, but was not represented by either counsel or solicitor. Five witnesses having been produced by the Board of Trade, and examined, Mr. Howard Smith handed in a statement of the questions upon which the Board of Trade desired the opinion of the Court. The circumstances of the case are as follow:—

The "Alice Vivian," which was a small pilot cutter of about 20 tons, belonging to Mr. William Webb Jukes, of Newport, Monmouthshire, left Falmouth on the 11th of October last with a crew of three hands, consisting of the owner, Mr. Jukes, as master, a man, and a boy. The next that we hear of her is from Mr. William Richards, a licensed pilot of Cardiff, who told us that at about 10 p.m. of the 14th of October last he was in his pilot cutter about 4 miles above Hartland Point, on the north coast of Devonshire, lying to with his head to the S.W., the wind being S. by W. 1/2 W., when he observed a pilot cutter coming in from the westward, which passed under his stern, and then rounded to and brought up with his head in the same direction as his was. On asking what vessel it was, he received for answer that she was a Newport boat, and belonged to Jukes. The wind then began rapidly to increase, and at about 11 p.m. it was blowing a whole gale, and at half-past 12 it began to rain so heavily that they lost sight of her, but at about 1 a.m. they saw a boat near them, which they took to be the same boat, and hailed her, but got no answer. At about 3 a.m. Mr. Richards went to the cabin to light his pipe, and whilst there felt the boat go off, upon which he at once came on deck, and found that the boat had gone off some 3 or 4 points, and that there was a light on his port bow. He passed close under her stern, and saw that she was lying to on the port tack, and was shipping large quantities of water, and appeared to be very dead in the water. He took her to be the same boat as he had seen before, as she was showing a pilot's light. Having got round on to her weather bow he lay to, and at about 3.30 a.m. he suddenly lost the light, and it was not seen again. Some few days afterwards some wreckage was picked up on Hartland Quay, part of which has been identified by Mr. Jukes' son as having belonged to the "Alice Vivian;" and there can be little doubt that she must have foundered during the gale which prevailed on that coast in the early morning of the 15th.

These being the facts of the case, the first question upon which our opinion has been asked is, "Whether " the 'Alice Vivian' was so constructed as to be fit for " the service upon which she was engaged?" and with it I will take the second question, "Whether, when she " left Falmouth, she was in all respects in good and " seaworthy condition?" It seems that she was formerly called the "Emma Jane," and having been wrecked on Breaksea Point in November 1881, she was purchased by a gentleman, who repaired and practically rebuilt her, and after using her for some time as a yacht, sold her in April 1884 to Captain Jukes for the sum of 195l. Mr. Homfray, the clerk to the Newport Pilotage Board, told us that it is the practice of the Pilotage Commissioners to survey every year all the pilot boats belonging to Newport, to see that they are in a fit state for the service on which they are engaged; that on the 18th and 19th of July last they surveyed this as well as the other pilot boats on the first day in dock, and on the second day under sail, and that the "Alice Vivian" was then found to be in a thoroughly efficient state, and was so reported. It seems also that in February and March 1886, owing to damage which she had sustained, she was put into the hands of Mr. Williams, a ship and boat builder, at Newport, and had a new anchor and chain, new main sail and oars, besides other repairs; and we were told by Mr. Williams, as well as by Mr. Cook, who surveyed her after the repairs were done, that she was then in a thoroughly good state of repair. In answer, therefore, to the two first questions, we can only say that she appears to have been so constructed as to be fit for the service on which she was engaged, and to have been, when she last left Falmouth, in all respects in a good and seaworthy condition.

The third question which we are asked is, "What " was the cause of the loss of the vessel?" Her loss, no doubt, was due to the extreme violence of the gale, amounting almost to a hurricane, which prevailed on these coasts on the early morning of the 15th. I should add that the vessel, we are told, was not insured.

 

(Signed)

H. C. ROTHERY,

Wreck Commissioner.

We concur.

 

(Signed)

BENJ. S. PICKARD,

Assessors.

 

 

WILLIAM COSENS,

 

50022—64. 200.—2/87. Wt. 12. E. & S.