The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-06-23
WENT DOWN ON TYBEE KNo Ii
The Steamship Gate City Collides with
DredEe No. 5 and Sinks Her.

The steamship Gate City while on her
way to sea yesterday afternoon collided
with Ross & Sanfords big dredge
No. and sunk it on Tybee knoll.
There were two dredges at work on and
around the knoll and oyster beds, and
three tugs in attendance on them, the
Maggie, w. s. Brewster and the Levi G.
Davis.
Dredge No. was dredging right
on the knoll with both spuds down
when the accident occurred. The Gate
City left her wharf about o'clock bound
for Boston. She was pretty heavily
| loaded, drawing something over eighteen
feet, and was under good Roadway when
she reached the vicinity of the knoll to
save the tide.
The channel between the dredge and
the shallow part of the knoll is not very
deep and hardly wide enough for a vessel
going out to give the dredge a very wide
berth, according to some steamboat men,
and as consequence, with the
wind and tide and a narrow channel the
steamer was driven on to the dredge strik-
ing her on the starboard qnarter stem, and
cutting her clean through She
sank within two minutes. The tugs
Levi Davis and Brewster took the crew
of the dredge off and Inspec-
tor Carter, making eight men, all told.
The Gate City, after clearing the
dredge, rounded to- for the pur-
pose of rendering any assistance,
but there being sufficient at hand she con
tlnued on out and anchored in the outer
roads She sustained no damage and
proceeded to sea after sending a report of
the accident to Gen. Sorrel by the tug
Cynthia.
The sunken dredge lies almost directly
on the knoll in about nineteen feet Of
water, and all that is visible Of her is the
top of her house and her A frame In her
present position she will be dangerous
obstruction to navigation, especially for
loaded vessels coming in or going to sea.
The dredge 1t is claimed by steamboat
men should be moved for vessels to pass
in and out over the knoll The tugs
are capable of moving the dredge,
but it is said they are 10th
TO do so, as it takes so much time for the
dredge to get back into position
superintendent Ely who has charge of
Ross q Sandford's work, was on dreuge
No Z, short distance ahead of dredge
No. 3, when the collision occurred. He
came up to the city last night in the launch
Edith, reaching here at II o'clock Mr. Ely
says the Gate City disregarded the flag
signal on hedredge which was to pass
TO the port side, where there was plenty
of water, and steered for the starboard
side The steamer did not signal, Mr..
Ely said, until within about 100 feet of
the dredge, when she blew several short
blasts. The next minute she struck the
dredge on her starboard stern
corner, cutting her through. She
sank intwo minutes. The steamer struck
the ground shortly after, Mr. Ely said,
but plowed through and came to anchor.
The men on the sunRen dredge were
quickly transferred to no z. The exact
cause of the accident will have to be
determined by an investigation. The
damage to the dredge, Mr. Ely
says, cannot be estimated vet.
She is the twin of dredge No and was
built about years ago at cost of $40
600. The wind was blowing gale on the
knoll last might, and nothing could be done
towards raising the vessel but the tugs
viii start work on her today.