THE PENGUIN ENQUIRY.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2433, 23 February 1909, Page 5

THE PENGUIN ENQUIRY.

CAPTAIN NAYLOR’S EVIDENCE

(PiiESfi Association.]

WELLINGTON, Feb, 22. The Magisterial inquiry . into the wreck oi : tlio steamer Penguin was resumed to-day before Dr. McArthur, S.M., Captain AV. J. Reed, of Auckland, and Captain Charles McArthur, of Wellington. The Marino Department was represented by Mr. Myeu;, the Union Company by Mr, Levi (in the absence through illness of Air. Wilford), and Captain Naylor and Air. Luke (second engineer) by Air. Hcrdman.

Captain 'Naylor, in his evidence, stated that before leaving Picton at 0.20 p.m. on the 12th be could not tell, what the weather 'was likely to l)o outside. The average speed of the Penguin was 121 knots, On coming out of Tory Channel there was very little sea, and the weather wrr overcast, the- wind being from liV south-east. The currents at the head of Tory Channel ran rapidly, as fast as from one to three knots. When the boat emerged from Tory Channel witness set a south-east a quarter east by cast course. From 8 o'clock be went south-east by east again, end stood on that course till £9 minuter; to 10. The ship by that time had steamed 22 miles. He - reckoned she had done eighteen. It we; 17% miles from the Heads to Tom’s Pock. Wit ness iii his calculation had made allowances for currents. Acco ding to li is reckoning lie would have been past Tom’s Rook at two minutes to ten. At nine o’clock it was rai ding heavily, and the squalls continu d between 9.L5 and 9.80. It becaß very dark. He did not alter the c mrse till 20 minutes, to 10, nor did he take any sounding. He noticed that the tide.in Tory Channel wore not according to the book. The tide was running in on the south and out on the north. Witness had expected slack water. To meet this difficulty he had steered a south-east by east course. This would keep the beacons in a dine, and so enable him to dear Tom’s Rock. He considered he was in & good salt course at 20 minutes to 10. hie reckoned he bad passed Toni’s Rock, and was a good three miles off it at that hour. He altered the course to east by south, and ran her for 20 minutes. This' should have put him past Sinclair Head. He could see practically nothing oil shore. Counsel: I put it to you that soundings should have been taken. Witness: To take soundings with tlm lead I should have been courting danger, because I wo:del have had to stop the ship, and that would have been danger.- us. For the same reason witness said he did not slow down.

Counsel: I put it to you, after you eamo out of Tory Channel and lost The Brothers you'd:.l not know where you were ? Witness: I * ?t- a course that would have made me absolutely safe under normal eonditi, :is.

Continuing, pijness said the ship struck at 2 minutes past 10. at tin moment he was putting the ship 7 ? head out to ecu. He did so because if he ran on much further he would be at Baring Head. He bad nevei experienced such a <; set- in' 7 in the current as he liad that night. Captain Naylor said that- the boats and gear were in good order, and four would have l)een ample if uc damage bad occurred. Last time boat dr.il was held on the ship was at Picton on the 13th January.

Continuing his evidence," in reply to questions. Captain Naylor saia that he was off the deck for five minutes to get his waterproof, and ho wa; just near the bridge when the ship went down. Good order prevailed barring the excitement of two passengers and a member of the crew, vrho let No. 3 boat out of the fads Y itness drifted ashore on an upturned boat.

Captain Naylor stated that if he had attempted to take soundings on the way .across from Tory Channel lie uould have had to stoo the vessel. The depth of the Strait varied so much that soundings would have been of little value. He had done everything he possibly could, and the cause of the .accident was the abnormal flow of the tide through Cook Straits that night. 1 o Mr. Levi: The boats were fully provisioned, and wore ample to comply .with the requirements of the Government.

The cards supplied to the crew assigning places and duties in boat drill were produced. Counsel put in as evidence cards issued by the company over the last 12 months. Cross-examined by Mr. Myers: The majority of the Union Company’s boats, at all events those he had been on, were not provided with patent sounding apparatus. It was said that soundings could be taken with a patent apparatus when a ship was going full speed. Witness denied the correctness of certain information provided in the ‘'New Zealand Pilot.” He considered it was prudent to go through the Straits on a safe course. The beacons, if he had them in line, would have put him on a safe course after leaving Tory Channel, but as lie had the beacons “opened up” from the south, lie considered he was on a perfectly safe course.

Referring to the statement that masters frequently lost all lights in Cook Strait, Mr. Myers asked: Is it the practice then, under these circumstances, in going through the Straits, for masters to go in their course ?

Witness: Yes, because all masters set -a safe course and continue on. Mr. Myers: Then I shall ask the Court, if necessary by adding a question, to make a general recommendation ip respect of the matter. Mr. Herd man interjected that the matter was not within the jurisdiction of the Court, but Mr. Myers held that it was.

Mr. Myers: I put it to you, Captain Naylor, Does this not mean navigating bv guess work? Witness r It is so in all places at night time. . Mr. Myers: Very well. Your company furnishes its officers with regulations? Witness: Yes.

Mr. Myers: Regulation 33 -says: ; “Should foggy weather set in when | the steamer is coasting, or in them neighborhood of land, the captain® must take immediate personal charge of the ship. The lead must be frequently used. and if soundings suggest the , slightest doubt of the course the .slim is running, her head must he turned away from what is considered the direction of land, and her progress

stayed until her exact position is ascertained.”

Air. Herdman objected to the 'use of the regulations. These were issued privately by the company, ho said. ; Air. Myers: lam here in the pub- ; lie interest, and the public interest involves the safety of people at sea, including the-crews on the vessels. AVe are here to ascertain whether, the wreck could have been avoided.- It is my duty to see whether there have been breaches, and I don’t say there have, of the regulations, which tho company itself issues, for the safety of the travelling public on its ships. Dr. AloArthur : I consider you would have been neglecting your duty if you had known such regulations were in existence and had not put them in. Air. Myers (to witness): AVas it not your duty under your own regulations to put the ship away from land after 9.15? AVitness: I did not consider it so. The course I set should have taken us clear. The witness added that it would not he possible to follow the regulations implicitly. A master might be on the bridge from the time ho deft AA r e!flington till he returned, a matter of -18 hours. Air. Myers: Have you to run to a time-table ? AA r itne.ss: No. -You must consider the safety of the ship. Nothing is said if you are late. That is the company’s rule. Captain Naylor stated that the lifeboats on the Penguin were five years old. Oil was supplied to the boats in a copper drum. He could not say whether any was used or not. No. 5 boat bad a rudder and a steer-oar. The other four boats had only a rudder. In a heavy' sea. there was no doubt a steer oar was the thing to . guide a boat. Personally, he thought it would be well to have all life-boats fitted with a steer car, as well as a rudder. There was a man named Henderson in the ship’s crew. He did not know, as counsel suggested, that he was the only man in one of the boats. As far as he knew or could learn, Henderson went over the side of the ship and was pulled aboard •again. In the first boat that went away there were five or six members of the crew. No. 5 boat had seven or eight men in it to manage it. The deck hands of the vessel numbered eight. Six A.B.’s, a boatswain, and an ordinary seaman. Dr. AloArthur: Did you at any time between Tory Channel and Terawhiti put your supposed position on the chart? Witness: No. After I left Tory Channel I ruled off a course. Did you put vour-positiou down? No. _ AVas there any means of communication from the bridge with the engine room? I ask the question because you say you sent a message down to the engine room by a man. Not on the Penguin.AVlien the vessel struck, where did you think you were? Did you form your idea after she struck? About a quarter of an hour after she struck I knew I must have struck between Sinclair Head and Karori Rock. Before you turned out had you formed any idea of where you were? Yes. AViiere did you think you were? I reckoned that I was past Sinclair Head, and about three or four miles off it.' and about seven miles off Pencar row light. That was the idea you had before she struck? Yes. Then after she struck what idea did you form? I came to the conclusion that she must have struck Tom’s Rock, jjfc Dr. Ale Arthur pointed out that steaming from ten minutes to eight to two minutes past ten at 12j- knots would have carried the ship 27 mite. The distance from Torv Channel to Tom’s Rock was 17f miles. Did these figures not suggest that there was something wrong? AAitness said he allowed for two knots'-against the ship (current), and reckoned that the ship had really done 21 or 22 miles “good.” After further evidence the Court adjourned till next day.