Avalanche (ship)

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Avalanche p1
Ship data
flag United KingdomUnited Kingdom (trade flag) United Kingdom
Ship type Barque
home port London
Owner Shaw, Savill & Company
Shipyard Alexander Hall & Sons Ltd.
Build number 285
Launch August 29, 1874
Commissioning October 22, 1874
Whereabouts Sunk after a collision on September 11, 1877
Ship dimensions and crew
length
66 m ( Lüa )
width 11 m
Draft Max. 6.43 m
measurement 1,210 GRT
Transport capacities
Permitted number of passengers 350
Others
Registration
numbers
Register number: 70632

The Avalanche was an iron three-masted sailor commissioned in 1874 by the British shipping company Shaw, Savill & Company, which served as a passenger and cargo ship to New Zealand . The Avalanche sank in 1877 on only its fourth voyage in the English Channel after colliding with another sailing ship, killing 106 people.

The ship

The 1,210 GRT large Bark Avalanche was at the shipyard Alexander Hall & Sons in Aberdeen laid on keel and expired on 29 August 1874 from the stack. The iron- built ship was 66 meters long, eleven meters wide and had a maximum draft of 6.54 meters. The Avalanche was built for the London-based shipping company Shaw, Savill & Company, which was founded in 1858 and later became the Shaw, Savill & Albion Steamship Company . It was specially designed for passenger and freight traffic from Great Britain to New Zealand. The Avalanche was built and equipped according to the most modern standards. It had three iron masts , nine patented fans and steam-powered winches for lowering and lifting the anchors . The carrying capacity of the ship was given as almost 2,500 tons.

The passengers' accommodations were designed for 350 people, including 30 in first class. According to the customs of the time, married couples, men traveling alone and women traveling alone were each accommodated separately from one another. The walls of the drawing rooms were paneled with teak and bird's-eye maple, while the white ceilings were decorated with gold leaf . The ship classification society Lloyd's Register of Shipping classified the Avalanche in its highest possible category, 1 A.

On 22 October 1874, the put Avalanche in Gravesend for their maiden voyage to Wellington , where they arrived on 22 January 1875th The first two voyages were in command of Captain Thomas Bishop, who from 1869 to 1873 had been the captain of the Halcione , one of Shaw, Savill & Company's first iron clippers. His wife named the Avalanche when it was launched. From the third trip he was replaced by Edmund Williams.

Downfall

On Saturday, September 8, 1877, the Avalanche cast off with 63 passengers and 34 crew members under the command of Captain Williams in London for her fourth crossing to Wellington. The 33-year-old Williams had a good reputation, but it was only the second time he has sailed the ship. The value of the cargo, which included, among others, glass and pottery, was on the then monetary value of nearly 100,000 pounds sterling appreciated. The passengers were almost exclusively New Zealand citizens from the cities of Wellington and Wanganui , including entire families. After a stop in Tilbury , the ship continues its journey into the English Channel .

On Tuesday, September 11, the Avalanche, under the guidance of a pilot, passed the Isle of Portland limestone cliffs on the Dorset coast 15 nautical miles to the south-west. The weather was stormy and rainy, the waves were high and visibility was very poor. The Avalanche made about seven knots of speed. She was in sight of the lightship Shambles . At around 9 p.m. , the red position light of the 1,488 GRT Canadian freighter Forest was seen starboard ahead. It was on its way to Sandy Hook with 600 tons of cargo and 21 crew members and was moving in the opposite direction.

The avalanche , which should have turned according to the applicable regulations, remained on its course. The green position light of the Avalanche was seen on board the Forest , but it disappeared shortly afterwards. Since Captain Ephraim Lockhart on board the Forest could no longer see the other ship due to the bad weather, he changed the course of his ship to reduce the risk of a collision . However, the Avalanche had meanwhile also turned and set her side directly in front of the bow of the Forest . Twenty minutes after the first sighting, the wooden Forest struck the Avalanche amidships and almost split it in two. The Avalanche was badly heeled and set within two to three minutes. Of the 97 people on board, only three crew members, the third mate Sherrington and the sailors Mills and McCarthy, managed to save themselves with a jump on the Forest .

The Forest was so badly damaged by the collision that the pumps could no longer handle the incoming water and it too sank about an hour after the avalanche . The 21 crew members of the Forest and the three men from the Avalanche were able to save themselves in three boats, but one of the boats disappeared without a trace in the churned sea and another capsized and was later found keel up on Chesil Beach. Only the third boat made it ashore at Chesil Cove. The twelve inmates, Captain Lockhart and eight other men from the Forest and the three crewmen from the Avalanche , were the only survivors of the accident. Two Isle of Portland fishing boats helped the survivors ashore.

A total of 106 people were killed in the collision and the sinking of both ships. Few bodies were found as most of the people were below deck at the time of the collision. The wreck of the Forest was made a short time later found and dismantled, but that the avalanche was not found until the 1984th

examination

From October 3rd to 9th, 1877, the judicial investigation of the accident took place under the chairmanship of lay judges L. Jones and GT Holt. With only three surviving Avalanche eyewitnesses , the situation was difficult to understand. The captains of both ships were equally blamed for the accident. According to the then applicable maritime law , the avalanche should have turned in good time to prevent a collision, which did not happen.

Captain Lockhart of the Forest was also accused of maneuvering his ship without knowing the exact position of the Avalanche and without knowing which direction the other ship was going. The court considered it proven that he had thus contributed to the collision. Taking into account his 26 years of service experience, his captain's license was not withdrawn.

Commemoration

Wanganui was particularly hard hit by the tragedy as many local families had lost loved ones. Several services were held and the town's shops were temporarily closed. Two important citizens of the city, Thomas Ballardie Taylor (1816–1871) and William Hogg Watt (1819–1893), merchant, shipowner and landowner, founder of the Taylor & Watt shipping company (Watt was also first mayor of Wanganui), lost in the accident one daughter each, Anne Jane Taylor and Margaret Watt (Thomas Taylor himself had died in a shipwreck six years earlier). The orphanage Margaret Watt Home, which was financed by her father's money and opened in December 1931, was named after Margaret. Every September 11th the flag of the building was hoisted at half-mast.

Among the dead were also Edward and Nelson Kenworthy, brothers of the British painter Esther Kenworthy Waterhouse (1857-1944), wife of John William Waterhouse . In the small town of Southwell on the Isle of Portland, a memorial church was dedicated on July 3, 1879 , to commemorate the disaster. The St. Andrew's Avalanche Memorial Church was designed by the architect George Rackstrow Crickmay (1830-1907) and still contains a salvaged anchor and parts of the pottery that was carried along. The apostle Andrew was chosen as patron saint .

On the centenary of the disaster, on Sunday, September 11, 1977, a memorial service was held at St Paul's Presbyterian Church in Wanganui, which was attended by more than 300 people. In addition to the Archpriest of the Anglican Christ Church, RB Somerville, and the Mayor of Wanganui, Ron Russell, descendants of the victims also attended.

The wreck

The wreck the Avalanche was 1984 by divers at the position 50 ° 26 '34 "  N , 2 ° 50' 39"  W coordinates: 50 ° 26 '34 "  N , 2 ° 50' 39"  W found. It is 48 to 52 meters depth upright with slight list to port on the seabed. The badly damaged bow is bent to starboard. The wreck is surrounded by champagne bottles and dishes.

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