The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1843-01-17 00:00:00

LOSS OF THE SCHOONER " VERNON."

At day-break several of the parties connected with the life-
boat at the Magazines, and others, were on the look-out for
any vessels that might be observed in danger, and the boat
was got in readiness to go to their assistance in such event.
In a short time they observed a vessel on the Great Burbo
Bank. George Atherton, Esq. immediately offered the use
of his steamer to tow out the life-boat, and the crew of the
life-boat went on board of the former to assist in weighing
her anchors. While they were so engaged the government
steamer Merlin, with the outward mails for Dublin, came
up, and, being hailed, her commander readily consented to
lend them what assistance was in his power.. He towed the
life-boat out to some distance to the windward of the Rock
the life-boat had reached the
tChannel,
wreck. It
that
t wtahse
thencre abo
o t considerednlne they
o'clock, cu.l could
andthence
the fetch
wind
was still blowing fresh from the. N.W. with a very heavy
sea. Shortly after, when
eastern end of the Great Burbo Bank, and about 11 mile
from the wreck, the Albert Steam-tug, with the life-boat be-
longing to the company in tow, passed the Magazine boat.
In a few minutes afterwards the latter was spoken by a
ring to take any notice of her.
fishing-boat, and informed that the crew of the stranded
rPtaelltied some doubt of its accuracy,
vessel had been rescued by a steamer some time before.
This information was rendered the more probable from the
y some persons in the rig-
circumstance of their observing the Albert pass the wreck
reireached the vessel, and
scuing five of the crew—
Ts hnooryt l
sytialflt,eiri,o
wweivtehro,uotntaep.
mate, and the cook hay-
and fortunately perseveringly rowed on towards the wreck,
by aheavy sea dashing her against
found necessary to take the weather
At one time the life-
ibgtonhi
ynnge
gngpo.errneaelarvyAit
inosteguuxhrsewavl
rylhitfyilboocpenhroesssnt_thswtetuohyacne: cheoc:eaudedpiletnddaci
idcnie,nct
overboard.thrhe
be that of the schooner Vernon, ne
thebo a life-
boat
wreck, it
it nearly
havings tov
be e
ei no,
side of her. The Liverpool life-boat was, however, pulling
about, outside the breakers, at some little distanc'e • anti
would, doubtless, have come to their assistance had such' a
casTuhaelt
wreck
Toecccku occurred.
proved
to
of the smallest of the fine line_ of traders of the line, 'that
run between this port. and Glasgow.
pm.dritt, sleet, She had long been
commanded by Captain Maclean, a man highly respected by
all who knew him, and whose loss will long be deeply y
de-
plored. The vessel sailed from the ;Mersey on Fridaymorn-
ing last, with a general cargo, the principal portion of which
all sight of the lights
Saturday morning, while.
was, we learn, cotton and pig lead. She had not made much
progress northward when the.gale commenced. During the
night (of Friday) the s
Aboutso thick
half-past hat those
tlr
coo on 0 , boardclock
olostrain, and haze became
thus uncertain of her course, and desirous to return to port,

she struck on some bank, not to them precisely known, but
supposed to be somewhere between the Bell Buoy and Burbo.
She did not receive much damage from this, and dragged
over the bank. She soon after, however, got upon Great
Burbo, and beat so heavily, the sea being tremendous, that
she almost immediately sunk. This was about half-past
eight o'clock. Shortly after she struck she shipped a sea
aft, which, filling the lower part of the mainsail, carried
away the main-boom, the rolling fragments of which struck
the captain and broke his legs. About eight o'clock
the same unfortunate individual was washed overboard by a
heavy sea. The crew, when the vessel sunk, took to the
rigging. The mate was soon after washed out of the fore
rigging, and also disappeared., The cook had taken
to the lee side of the main rigging. One of the men,
Thompson, continued through the trying occasion td en-
courage his shipmates to hold on as well as they could, and
not to despair of assistance reaching them. Seeing the cook,
as he thought, in an insecure position (on the lee side), he
asked him to thrust himself through the rattling, or endea-
vour to gain the weather side ; but when next he looked the
poor man was gone. The weather was extremely severe, and
the sea making a clear breach over them.
became at length so benumbed by the cold and ea,
to be nearly powerless ; and when Thompson was taken from
the rigging, he was holding on to one of the rattlings only
by his teeth! Another of the men dropped off t

just as the boat got along-si
boat-hook. The whole of th

The survivor

!, and was picked up wide a
hull of the vessel was under

water. The main rigging on the larboard (and lee) side was
carried away with the exception of one shroud—probably by
the sea that washed away the cook. The main topmast and
all the running rigging was also carried away. Three men
were taken from the fore and two from the main rigging.
At the time the life-boat left her part of the cargo, cotton,
&c., was floating out of her, and it is not possible that she
can be got off.
Soon as the rescued parties were landed at the Magazines,
they were taken to the house of Mr. Roberts, publican, who
had volunteered his services in the boat, in place of one of
the crew who was absent. Two of them were so much ex.
hausted that they had to be carried. One of these, indeed,
was in a state of delirium. The other three walked
with assistance. They were put into comfortable beds, and
every humane attention was paid to them. Mr. Dunlevie
and Mr. Baker, surgeons, of Liscard, were immediately in at-
tendance :—the former, indeed, happened to be on the spot.
The usual remedies were applied, and they were all soon in a
fair way of recovery. They are, however, a good deal hurt
and bruised, particularly on their hands. Their names are
Daniel M'Farlane, of Ellensborough ; John Galbraith, of
Loch Gilpie (Argvleshire); John Thompson; John M`Lellan,
of Glasgow; and Robert Kelly, of Greenock.
The following persons perished :—Captain Maclean ; Dun-
can M'Donald, Argyleshire, and the cook, whose name we
did not learn.

Great credit is due to the crew of the Magazine life-boat
for their perseverance on this occasion. Had they declined
to proceed, after the mistaken information they received
from the fishing boat, all on board the schooner would, in all
probability, have soon died from exposure and exhaustion.
Their names are—Thomas Evans, captain ; Henry. Evans
(who was captain daring the storm of the 6th of January,
1839) ; John Evans—all three brothers;—Williarn Whittle;
Thomas Whittle (his son); John Hughes; Samuel Dane;
William Bell ; John Hilliard ; Richard Sherlock ; and William
Roberts—who volunteered.

Mr. Scameral, constable of the township of Wallasey, was
also very active in rendering every necessary assistance.
The present Magazine Lite-boat was built by the corpora-
tion of Liverpool about six months after the great hurricane
of 1839. She is constructed on a much-approved principle,
and the site of the shed in which she is kept is well chosen,
to render her readily available in cases of casualty at the
mouth of the river. The Magazine life-boat has often been
highly successful. The boat in use before the present one
was commanded by Henry Evans, and in three years saved
the lives of no fewer than 98 persons. The present boat,
commanded by his brother, saved the crew of the Corsair,
of Halifax, 24 in number, in January 1840. About three
months ago, the boat of the government steamer Medina
took off the crew of the schooner " Cooner Baba," which was
lost on Great Burbo Bank : the boat, however, became half
full of water, and the Magazine life-boat took the whole of
the people out of her. We mention these facts with a view
to the merits of these men, which, as they do not live in the
town, are not generally known; and we trust the Shipwreck
and Humane Society, or other individuals who may have the

power, may be inducedto give them some reward a

of their approval of their past services, and an encouragement
for their future exertions for the saving of human life, at
considerable personal risk, from the frequent perils to which
it is exposed in the locality in which their services are so
immediately available.