Fourth Day, Thursday, February 14, 1895.
Evidence for the Plaintiff.—(Continued.)
Mr. Bicknell, cross-examined by Mr. Purves: Q.—Are you a pilot? A.—I am a coasting pilot and an exempt pilot for the ports of Adelaide, Melbourne, Newcastle, and all intermediate ports. I have commanded many vessels, steam and sail, in my time, and have a thorough knowledge of the Australian coast—none better. I have been on the Alert in the Bay, but never outside with her. I felt she would be a coffin for someone sooner or later.
Q.—Assuming the Alert started from Wilson’s Promontory with a south-easterly gale and a south-westerly sea, passes Cape Liptrap, and gets to within two miles of Cape Schanck, carrying, on the latter part of the journey, a trysail and a staysail, and shipping no water, would that be an indication to your mind that the vessel making that passage was sea-worthy? A.—It would not.
Q.—If Captain Mathieson was two miles off Cape Schanck, and if a south-easterly gale veered into a south-westerly one, was he a proper seaman to try and get an offing? A.—Yes, he was.
Q.—What is the most dangerous sea for a boat of small freeboard? A.—The most dangerous would be in the trough of the sea; when the lee side of it lifts over and falls on top of the ship in a mass.
Q.—Supposing I tell you that in the case of the Alert three tremendous seas coned over on top of her, would you say that was an uncommon occurrence? A.—Heavy seas generally run in threes—one, two, three,—and the third is generally the worst.
Q.—Would three tremendous seas one after the other have an appreciable effect on a sea-worthy ship? A.—No, I have often been in a ship with decks flooded. She would shake the water off her decks, and away she would go, as lively as ever. That is a good sea boat.
Q.—I presume you will admit that hundreds of sea-worthy ships have been overwhelmed by the waves? A.—Yes, some of the best ships that ever floated have gone to the bottom. In a heavy gale of wind a ship, even riding at anchor, often founders. She strains herself, and opens out forward.