Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1915-04-30
BY NJ QUAD

One day thirty years ago it was re-
ported to the Trinity board. which has
charge of all lights on the coast of
Great Britain, that n shOal had made
III the English channel about nine
miles due east of the Lizard. At the
spot indicated there had been thirty
fathoms of water ever since a British
ship went to sea. and the board, of
course. argued that there had been a
mistake. 1t was Il fishing craft which
had reported the shoal and found only
fourteen feet of water over it. and a
craft was ent out at once to make an
official Investigation. What had hap
pened was this: 1t was a bowlder
strewn bottom. and two or three old
wrecks had drifted together and piled
up on each other until a dangerous OBJ
struction had been formed. 1t was as
from the bottom. and the board must
guard against the danger without delay.
Thirty years ago the divers dress
was not what it is today, nor could
men handle explosives under water as
they can now. After two or three vain
attempts to clear away the wrecks the
work was left for a storm TO accom-
plish. and meanwhile lightship No 4.
under Captain Crox. was moved
around from Mounts bay and anchored
near the spot and notice given to mari
ners.
That night it was the captains
watch from s till midnight. A gale
had come up. 1t had come 10 o'clock
when Il sudden hail reached the light
ship. The captain was aft and his
mate forward. but he knew at once
that the hail came from seward. 1t
was not so dark but that one could
see a ship 300 feet away, even though
she had no lights aboard.
As soon as II port fire was ignited the
sea was lighted up for hundreds of
feet around in a CHASTITY way. and both
men looked for the craft they suppos-
cd to be near by. They looked in vain
till the signal was nearly finished.
Then a ships yawl, driving right up in
b teeth of the gale, hove into sight.
She was without a mast or sail or
oars, and the only figure in her sat in
the stern sheets, and his arms and legs
were bound around with ropes.
The man was bareheaded and dress
ed as a landsman, and as he drove past
within twenty feet of the rail they had
a look square into his eyes. and the
agony on his face made them shudder.
They started to throw him a rope, but
al the coil swung into the air they re-
membered that. being bound. he could
make no use of it. The yawl md the
man went straight to windwnrd and
in a couple of minutes We're out OF
sight. and the men found themselves
all a-tremble. Captain Crox was full
of Indignation over the crime of send
ing a man afloat in that and
of pity for the victim. when his mate
touched him on the arm and shouted
in his ear:
IF | was ashore. captain, all the
money in England would not bride me
to set foot ON this deck again.
whats the matter with your" was
called in reply. Its only a bit of shore
v~illainy that we must report"
ITS nothing that's happened ashore,
sir. Did you take notice that the craft
was driving right in the teeth of the
gale? 1t wasn't a live man in that
boat. She was going to windward
with a ghost. and I'd give the bit
have in the bank if I'd not seen It,"
1t was agfeed between them thatnoth-
ing be said to the other watch when
they turned out. and they went on duty
without knowing or ~suspecting that
anything out of the way had hap
pened.
While carrying the thing out with
pretended Indifference, Captain Crox
was. as a matter of fact, pretty thor
oughly upset over it and on turning
in found he could not go to sleep. He
had been lying on his bunk and turn
ing the thing over in his mind for an
hour or SO and the gale was still
bowling and the lighsship bouncing
about when he realized from the
movement of the watch that they had
Deeu Hdiieu. he WdS Oub VI Ills JUNK
and on deck just as one of them light
ed a port fire. and you can judge his
feelings when he saw the former scene
r~e-enacted. There we're the yawl and
the man. and the boat slowly forged
past them and disappeared to wind
ward.
There was no more sleep for any
body on board No. 4 that night, and
next day. when the gale broke and
the tender came alongside, all de-
handed that they be put ashore at
once. The captain was as badly rat
tied as the others. They were guyed
and ridiculed, of course, but they
stood so firm that the tender brought
Off another crew, and they were re-
lieved from duty. A new crew was
assigned. but the mar and the boat ap-
peared to them twice in n night and
drove them ashore, as they did the
others.