THE CAPTAIN WHO DID.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2530, 17 June 1909, Page 5

THE CAPTAIN WHO DID.

STORY OF THE WOOTTON’S BREAK-DOWN. FINE SEAMANSHIP. Capt. W. G. Scott, master of the Wootton,' which reached Lyttelton on Saturday week last after a trying experience gave an interesting account of the steamer’s voyage to a “Press” representative. He stated that the vessel left Ivaiapoi on Tuesday afternoon with a- full cargo of produce for Fox ton. About 6 o’clock on Wednesday night while conversing with the mate, on the bridge, he was startled by a loud report and crash from the engine-room. He made his way below at once. The chief engineer, Mr. J. M. Arthur, was on the spot, and had shut off steam A and an examination showed that the connecting rod of the low-pressure cylinder had broken in the collar coupling it to the piston rod. At the moment when the. rod broke, the inflow of steam forced up the piston, and blew the cylinder cover dean off. The cover flew up with great force, and struck the engineroom ceiling, and

then fell bade on the platform round the engines. Tlic motion of the engines had thrown the broken rod against the guard of the engines breaking it away. The engines being disabled, the fives were drawn from the boiler, and steam let down. The vessel was then drifting on to a lee shore, but Captain Scott made all sail, and headed the vessel out into the Strait, and was soon out of immediate danger. Shortly after dark Captain Scott saw the lights of a steamer and fired rockets and burned blue lights to attract her attention. The steamer bore down on the Wootton, and proved to be the Blenheim, bound from Blenheim to Wellington. She came close along side, and after considerable difficulty

got a lino aboard the Wootton, aud by 8 pan. the latter vessel was under tow, with about 15 fathoms of her own cable shackled on to 60 or 70 fathoms of wire from t,he Blenheim. 'L’he Blenheim with her disabled charge, headed for Peucarrow in the teeth of a north-west gale and heavy sea, and got within about fifteen miles of the lighthouse. The wind was freshening and the sea increasing, and the Blenheim, being unable, to make Ponearrow, headed for Pallisor Bay. Captain Scott stated that the two vessels were going to leeward all the time, and that finally, at 6.40 a.in. on Thursday, the Blenheim after blowing four blasts of her whistle, cast off the tow line and headed for Wellington, leaving those on board the disabled vessel rolling and pitching in the heavy serf, to get the. whole* of tile heavy cable and wire hawser aboard as best they could. Capt. Scott said he hovo the "Wootton to for half an hour,' while the. tow line was got aboard with great difficulty, and then,, after getting the vessel before v thc wind, squared away for Ivai-koiu-a, Under all sail the. Wootton made fast time southwards, and aveta< v ed about seven knots an hour. "Meanwhile the chief engineer and his staff were hard at work on the damacred engines, The low-pressure cylinder. was ba|ly cracked, but it was put

back into its place, and, after many hours of toil, steam was raised and the engines working with the high-pressure cylinder only, were got going “dead slow” about nine o’clock on Thursday night. The engines, however, were a sorry job at best. There were great difficulties for the engineers, and the passage down the coast was a very anxious one for Captain Scott whoso great fear was that a strong southerly blow would be met with. The wind, however, held from the north-west until Double Corner was passed at eleven o'clock on Friday morning. It then began to blow from the southward but by “nursing” the engines and keeping tho steamer under sail close in shore round Pegasus Bay. Captain Scott succeeded in getting his vessel safely into Lyttelton, where ,-be was congratulated on the good seamanship lie had displayed in extricating the Wootton from an exceedingly dangerous position in storm-swept Cook Strait, and bringing her down tbp coast under great difficulties.