The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1885-03-10 00:00:00

THE COLLISION BETWEEN THE DON
AND THE VANESSA.

The collision which took place off Anvil l' jet ie
November lea, between the Royal Mail Steamship
Dm and the racing yacht Vanessa was the soil .ct of
a long enquiry held before two PoloMagidrates (Mr.
W. U. Dugdale and Mr. W. N. We .tern) n Monday.
The claimant Wll Ro'crt Brown. of `twanago, who
sued the owner of thr Vanessa f tlOO in a Ova..e.
Mr. H. S. Dickiuson appol.od fr the c'aimant and
Mr. V. F. B rdr, barrister, indru.ded by Mr G. 11.
Aldridge, for the owner.
. . . .

The first witnees call,' was It ebert Brown, lilt, ro
man of Swatiege, who alli 00 N.eyomber 10th, he was
in bin garden about 100 yule from the beach, whou
he heard cebs of diatrosa. an I a yoke " We arosinking,
being • bout." lie launched a boat A ith four men and
went alongaide, when he (bind it was the yaebt
Venues, laying on a lee chore In • foot of crate-,
her pnaltlon being olf the Lathing msehines. She
draw Bfl. Gin, awl be in-ant she bad • foot of water
under her. The coptain sal 1 they had been in
collision with • steamer, and wee in • sinking
c 'whiten, and had loot their boot Witness said
" We had bettor run her woloore on a sandbank,'
but the captain said "No, keep her all .at if you
can, I wwit to save her." Witcees then geld they
mnot got her on some tne.ariceja near the Pier head.
liimaelf awl the four men g it on boar I ant ran ~,it
an anchor awl a warp Iron the yacht', deck. Tao
co latgnari men came al, agsirle 20 minutes after
he got on board, and asked if they could owlet. lle
said thee could, certainly, and they did no. The coact-
gnarl otfi ler wanted to run her whore, hut witooos
Gehl they were going t, get heir on them :erica*. The
coastznarrissfterwards went away with L 'r.l ileavargh
and di 1 not retern for an h nor and • lealf, a 1.1 then
the chaef officer did not come back. 'they worked
hard At the pampa and remained oo board all night,
witness being In charge, tbe captain lying in the locker,
and the crew going be or. They diii all they cull
to render the vewel safe—shifted come of the lea 1,
nailed • piece of can•an ov.or the atone, and other
things. Witness farther 11e4crihNi the nature of what
was done to nave the cocci, showing that a great
deal of very bard work awl very danger us work ha I
to be done. The c evitgu iris cam back oh out .oven
or eight next morning. W.tneoa rein 'in, I n b .ard
during the Ilth—day and night— owl up till five p.m.
on the 12th, when they eot the yacht to Poole. The
agent canoe 'hewn we the 11th, anti Rake I witnesa ti
take the yacht t ,10, with • bat, hut no crew.
lie said "Where I my crew go," whereepoo the
agent said the coast.mard had o if -owl to lend him •
private boa', and witne es ha I better go whore. II
cell he wow., go sah,re if he w mid gu trantee he s'buld
he pal I, and off.red to Hie £2B, without prejudice.
The agent said be meat go ••h ere, or he well have
him rerwyed,an w,toeil Tanned —" Then ru',l have
to throw me overboard. The ranee I. not sofa until
she is along-ide Poole Q lay." WOtleas took tw, men
w:th hi:n and came on lei Polo. When about half-
way up the harbour the agent went below, con, no
ant ea. 1 the vessel lead sinking, ordeeia, the in It to
cc to the pump., which they did. When they get to
the Poole illay b oth the agent and the cap•ain
direct • 1 him to put the yacht in a safe berth. Sobs
days afterwarda witne,, Wad in a rilliliChntive at
Swanaga and the captain of the V..n.0.0a wee there.
Thee onpany Were ci nversing about the yacht, and
the carafe) came t him, tapped him wo the shoulder,
and a dol—" It it hat not been for my friend Brown
we should have lost the yacht, and very likely we
'dental have been where my neer boy id." (The
ceptateee boy dr.eart el.) The coastgnarda had
been paid £l.O to' their @eerie..., and they worked
six hour, • witness had been off areal (8 for hia men
and himself.

Septiums Bart, who woe one r I the rnen who went
out with Brown, gave similar ovi fence.
Frank Smith, miller mariner, Swansea, add he
arrived at the Valeva in hid boat juet, as the coast-
g lards came alongside. Brown out hie men were
then on beard. Toere was s great deal of danger in
the work that woe done ant Brown gave the r 'erg.
Witness wag only on board up to midnight of the
Ithh, when be had to leave to attend to his own
I. The coastguards went ',deo le with Lard
flava.gh during the evening and they left alt gether
at midnight. When they left the reseal she was
certainly in danger.
Frederick E iniunds. landlord of the White Swam,
Swans re, said the captain t.f the Vanes a and Brown
were ii his bar atoll after the accident to the yacht.
Teo 0 %dada pat his hand on Brown s ehoolder and
said If it had not been for my friend lir. Brown we
ehould have toot the veseel, and very likely I should
have beea wbe-e my son is now."
Henry Jobe Rix in, Lloyd's agent at 3 tranage, said
he remembered November 10 h. The wind wee in
the bay, the weather In b ant hie ,pini inwas
that if the vessel had been run ashore she would hove
been lat.
_ _

_
Thi+ w the f 4. the claimant.
Mr. Budge a idrelued the Bench. briefly conteni-
log thst this was merely a que.tion for to., C ty
Court and not one of ealvage. The ceptain never gave
charge of the yacht to Brown, who was simply there
to reader labour, He called