The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1876-04-18 00:00:00

TWO BOATS OREWS IN
DANGER.

THE LIFEBOAT AND COMMODORE TO
THE RESCUE.

On Tuesday morning a telegram was received from
Mews. Roberts and Co'a representatives at Portland.
to Mr. Fowler, of the Weymouth and Portland
Steamer C,onitany, to the effect that two boats full of
men were drifting towards the Race, and were in I
danger, and Mr. Fowler wan asked to send the Corn- I
motiore to the rescue. The intelligence was communi-
cated'to the Customs authorities, and, after making I
enquiries. Mr. Hamilton Price, H.M. Collector,
ordered the lifeboat to go out. There were difficulties '
about both attempts, for the lifeboat ie hardly adapted
for such services without the assistance of a steamer,
and it was well understood that when she was placed
here, she was to have the help of the steamer. The
Portland Steamer Company, on the other hand, had all
their hands fully engaged, the Prince steamer being
about to be hauled up on the new slip. In fact. she
was already half war up, and the affair might havebeen
entirely left to the lifeboat, and the Steamer Company
would have been justified. But intelligence was con•
veyed to Dr. Drew, and that gentleman, with his
tumid public-spiritedness and promptneas, at once de-
cided the Commodoreelionld go. Meantime MrFowler,
who knew the kindheartedness of his directors had
directed steam to be got up in readiness, an that there
wean° delay. flaying satiafied himtelf aa far as poesible
a. to the whereabouts of the boats 'in danger, Mr.
W. Smith, coxswain of the lifeboat, at rime summoned
his crew, and launched the boat. At the list, another
telegram was received to the effect that "the boats
and men are just off the Bill, and will escape the
Race; please tell Comas to get out the Commodore,
go right to the Shambles light ship, and steer west."
This furnished the required directions as well as re-
moving all fear of immediate danger to the crews.
About a quarter to 11, the lifeboat went out of harbour,
and was soon bowling down to the light ship, with her
two masts up, and three sails get, under a 'tiff
breeze. She rode like a duck, and took the
peas like a cork ; but the Commedere now
had her steam tip, her men had been summoned from
the ship, where other hands had to he hired and put
on, and off she went, at 11 o'clock for there were IWO
crews to be gavel. The people en the Quay sent
their gond wishes after lifeboat and steamer, anal soon
we were in full chase, the lifeboat having had a
quarter-hours start. She was ',pied mdng out of the
Breakwater opening, under all sail; but the Commo-
dore ploughed round the Breakwater enal. When fairly
outside, thelifeboat was seen, under thelee of Portland,
and the reason of their going so far that way was plain,
for a pilot cutter with her flag up, and towing a boat
astern was coming in from the sea, and as she passed
a man could be seen in the boat, and an extra number
of people on board. It was plain that W. No. 7, had
one of the crews on board ; but where were the other.?
Captain William Cavene continued his course towards
the lightship, the lifeboat following, and at length
Captain Mace exclaimed "Do you see anything astern
of the lightship?" He must have had particularly
good Rea eyes to perceive it at a distance, at which
the lightdiip herself looked to lanahmien hut a mere
epot ; hut Captain William and the 'sailors can
confirmed captain Mace's belief, and all were glad at
the hope that the other boat hail reached the lightship,
and that the crew were safe. Se it turned out, after
encounterieg a few biulicr Channel seas than usual.
which sent their .pray ,aver US, we approached
near enotwlt to see a man in the boat astern of the
lightship, and an evident addition to her OVA% The
queer old real %e.g.!, which flew her flag as a sign she
wanted to be "spoken," was soon borne down on, and
then came the enient " let a line over our sponson,"
"Two lines," and Captain Mare took one, a sailor the
other. Preparations were made to launch the Commo-
dore's boat, anal amid rapidly following orders,
mysteries to landsmen, we saw a boat alongside us
with five strangeletkin.: men, and deeply laden with
gear. The seamen at first divined they were Italians
or Spaniards, though little had been heard from them,
and Oldridge jumped into the boat to help. lip they
began to mend the gear; but shouts Captain William
"the men first!" and so they were soon on board.
Then were sent the oars, • chip's chest, many bundles
of clothes, messes tof cooked food, two conspanwe, and
even a lot of candles, showing that the endangered
sailors had made full provision before they left their
ship. Considering that the Comodore, lightship, and
boat, were being tonned all the time like corks up and
down, it might have seemed to landsmen a difficult
job to manage the rescue. But the captains and men
of the Portland steamers know the correct thing to do,
and all seemed to be accomplished with ease. The
lifeboat had meantime gone to the windward of the
lightship, and sailed partly round her; but, seeing
that they were not needed, her crew at once set their
mainsail and bore away towards the North Shore.
The men turned out to be a French mate, a French
negro, and two men and a boy, Italians. The mate
informed us that their vessel was the Ondine, of and
fer Marseilles from London, with 400 tons of pitch,
Petit Pain mutter. The five present were the remainder
of the crew, the other six having been picked up by
the pilot cutter. From the statements of the men it
was understood that a few days ago she ran on the
Owers, eastward of the Isle of Wight, that afterwards
she continued her course down Channel ; but leaked
so much that on arriving off Scilly, they were afraid
to face the Bay of Biscay, and accordingly ran back,
and beached the vessel in Lyme Bay, between two and
three o'clock this morning. It being dark, and they not
knowing exactly where they were, the two boats were
got out, loaded with everything they could get into
them, including instruments, and then they found the
ship had fift of water over the floor, or about 12ft. in all;
so the boats left her, and sailed across the West Bay,
and passed Portland Bill. We afterwards found that
the cutter riche, pilot Brown, while out cruising,
picked tip one of the boats with the captain and five
men, and took them into Weymouth, the other five
succeeded in gaining the lightship, whence they were
afterwards rescued by the Commodore, as described.
Great praise is due to all the 'salvors, and it must be
remembered that the Steamer Company accomplished
tneir part at considerable inconvenience and lota to
themselves, which, however, never causes an English-
man to hesitate where there is life to be leaved. We
are very glad also that the lifeboat put out, and
showed her fitness for such services; although she did
get the honour of saving a life on this occasion, yet she
was taken to sea, and chide at hand, and ready ij
required. The men were taken to the Sailor's Home,
where they were soon feasting on English provisions
with an appetite made ten times keener by the strong
cold wind and rough 11011. When the Commodore
steamed up Weymouth Harbour, with the red ensign
flying proudly, an a sign of having the other rescuedmen on board, a great crowd lined the Quay, and
concentrated in front of the Sailors' Home, where the
butt five men joined their mem:Dates, and were aeon
enjoying themselves in the same way. The captain
made his deposition at the Custom Howe, the same
afternoon. Monsieur Petit Pain, after describing the
first part of the passage, says that when he found the
ship unmanageable, in order Weave the lives of the crew,
he beached her with about Bft of waterin the hold. The
master and crew then took to the boat, and made for
Portland. being the neared laud favourable for effect-
ing a landing. At about 10 aut. the pilot boat Hebe
locked them up about three miles South East of
Portland, and brought the master and four men into
Weymouth at 1 p.m. The steamer picking up the
second boat with mate and four men, and landing
them at 2 p.m. the mine day. -The four pumps were in
geed condition, anal AN were the three looate. No
tic es were lost. The loss is attributed to the bad
weather, the Milli making too much water.
The barque Outline has liven picked up lay the
coastguard off Lyme, anal taken into Exmouth. We
underetand that the cargo was inetireal at Lloyd's.
It should be noted that the boats of the Ondine
were teen from Portland a Ion: time before assistance
ca aid be sent from Wyemanith. On account of the
high land of Portland, of couree anything in danger in
the We'd Bay or round the coast could le seen and
assisted much earlier front Portland than by means of
a lifeboat stationed at•Weymouth. Had the Onaline's
boats gone into the Race a whole fleet of lifeboats at
Weymouth could have made no difference. The
question is whether the boat had better not be removed
from a station where it has never been of any service,
to some point at Portland where it could go to the
help of any people in distress to the westward or
southward, leaving another lifeboat to watch the
North Shore