The Sun.
London, England, 1864-02-02 00:00:00

THE SCREW STEAMER REGINA,

OFFICIAL REPORT.

The Regina is a schooner-rigged screw steamer,
of 497-49 tons register, and 90 combined (estimated)
horse power. She is employed chiefly in trade to
the Mediterranean, from whence she was on her
return voyage to London, with a cargo of fruit,
when she met With the damage which was the sub-
ject of this inquiry. She arrived off Guernsey on
the morning of the 15th of last December, and
running up Channel, with a westerly wind and
moderate weather, about 10 p.m. made the light on
Dungeness, bearing E.N.E. Her proceedings after
this till she got ashore about 2 15 a.m. of the 16th
to the westward of Dungeness Light, are detailed
in logbook, of which the following is an extract,
namely :—" Midnight, arrived off Dungeness,
distant two miles. Put a light over the bows
for a pilot, and fired six blue lights at inter,.
vals. Hauled in towards the East Bay,
seeing no pilot cutter. At 1 a,m., Dungeness Light
bearing W.N.W., ported helm and-put ship's head
to the W.S.W., ship going quarter speed. At 120
Dungeness Light bore N.W., sky overcast and ,
night extremely dark. At 1 35, abreast of Dunge-
ness Light, dropped the lead in eight fathoms
water, and starboarded the helm to veer the ship
round to the eastward, intending again to seek for
a pilot, when in the act of doing so saw two ves-
sels running up close aboard of us, showing red
lights. Ported our helm to clear them, and, when
sufficiently clear, hard a starboard, and in the act
of corning round felt our vessel touch the ground,
but saw no land, when suddenly a man on the
beach appeared close to the ship, with a light,
who told us it was about high water. The light
of Dungeness then bore E. by N. 73,- N., but so
intensely bright was the light that nothing could
be seen around the ship, and we appeared full
two miles off it. At daylight our est;:nated dis-
tance from the lighthouse was about three.
quarters of a mile." The ship remained on the beaoil s
till the 9th of January, when, her cargo being
unshipped, she was brought to London, and put into
dock, where she was found to have sustained material
damage. The above entry in the log-book is stated
by the master and chief officer to be correct, with
the exception (as the master states) of the sounding,
which, he says, ought to have been 17 and not 8
fathoms. The latter sounding of 8 fathoms is, no
doubt, correct, if we may judge from the short time
that elapsed before the ship took the ground, as de-
scribed in the log, three-quarters of a mile fro the
lighthouse. To account for the stranding of the m ship
under these circumstances the most probable
supposition is, that, intending to run back
abreast of the light, and then come about and
make for Dover, the master was not sufficiently
particular in watching the exact bearing, so as
to know precisely his offing, meaning only to use
the light as a point of departure. Instead of being, as
he believed, two or three miles off, when abreast of
the light, he must then have been dangerously near
the shore, and being obliged to port his helm to keep
clear of the two ships coming up Channel, and hav
ing his attention entirely occupied with that object,
he did not observe how far aft he had brought the
light. The prudent course, therefore, would have
been either to have come about before he got
abreast of the light, or to have allowed more
searoom to meet the contingency which occurred,
viz:, having to port his helm when abreast of
the light. Giving due weight to this explanation
of the error, and taking into consideration the
master's high character for general carefulness
and ability, it was not deemed necessary to visit
the case with severity, and, under the advice of
the Nautical Assessors, Captain Bowen was strictly
admonished of his error, and his certificate was
returned to him.

Greenwich Police Court, Jan. 26, 1864.
We concur. JAMES TRAM.
HY. ItAnnts,
JOIiN )JO&WLTT•