Diving Stories

Regrettably, at least as far as shipping is concerned, the Island of Gobal Seghir (little Gobal) lies right at the very edge of the busy shipping lane which takes its name from the Island’s huge bro. The Straits of Gobal are discovered at that point where the north west Red Sea starts to narrow as it ends up being the Gulf of Suez. Approaching from the other instructions, it comes right at a time when Captains – from Suez, have the tendency to relax, believing that the more hazardous stretches of water are behind them – as lots of have actually discovered to their expense. Today, obviously, there are radar reflectors and solar-powered lights – but over one hundred years ago things were extremely various indeed.In 1887, the Suez Canal had actually been open for simply 18 years and the Red Sea still presented new experiences and brand-new lessons for many a skilled ship’s Master -the majority of whom had actually never ever seen such things as” Coral Reefs” which always seemed to hide menacingly listed below the surface. Even today, these are dangerous waters -imagine how treacherous they must have been at night with no kind of alerting light.On the morning of July 15th 1887, Captain Arthur Bremner paced the decks

of his beloved Ulysses just stopping briefly to study his pocket watch one more time. Above him, the tall structure proclaimed”East India Trading Company “in big letters and, although that Company had long ceased to exist, he often discovered himself loading at these same warehouses right in the heart of London. As soon as once again he inspected his watch and once again he studied the River. He wished to make the best possible usage of the ebb tide and, at last, the time had concerned depart. He barked a succession of orders and, as the mooring lines were slipped, he properly set sail-location Penang. The Ulysses was a smooth vessel with happy lines and, unlike much of the hybrid”cruise and steam” ships of the period, she responded well to either form of power-thus providing her a certain benefit when rivals were becalmed. With a following wind to see them safely from the Thames, none would have thought that this would show to be the last trip for this brave yet unfortunate little ship which, in the 16 years since her launch, had actually enjoyed a rather chequered career.Captain Bremner offered his personal attention to every element of running the ship and just when they remained in the large open stretches of the Atlantic and, later on

, the Mediterranean, did he enable the Officer of the Watch to work out total control over “his “ship. Just like numerous journeys, it was a long and uneventful journey to Port Said where, all of an abrupt, Captain Bremner was extremely much in demand as he took care of Customs authorities, Port Authorities and Pilots as he dealt with all the guidelines, guidelines and documentation that went with the task. Leaving Port Said, he then remained at hand to help the Pilot as they made the 100 mile journey to Suez.Once the Pilot was dropped, Captain Bremner took command when again and, practically instantly, he was negotiating the narrow boundaries of the upper reaches of the Straits of Suez. Perhaps, if he had trusted his more senior Officers things might have ended up in a different way, however as the numerous hours passed, this ship’s Master got little or no rest as he continued to study and check every detail of navigating his ship securely through such harmful waters. These numerous hours of unrelenting concentration required the greatest levels of physical strength and endurance till, at long last, the Sinai started to fall away to the east and the Egyptian mainland even further away to the west, as the Ulysses approached the broader and much safer shipping lanes of the open Red Sea. Lastly, pleased with his work, Bremner eventually turned over control to the Officer of the Watch and retired to his cabin. In the early hours of August 17th the Ulysses struck Gobal Seghir and within minutes, the Captain was awake and had actually taken control of the circumstance. His first task was to perform a comprehensive check -both internal and external, of each aspect of the ship’s condition and, at first it appeared that the Ulysses had actually sustained little damage and the pumps might quickly manage the small quantities of water being handled. Concerning the occurrence as absolutely nothing more than an unfortunate grounding, Captain Bremner chose to wait and seek help from any passing ship-something that was not long in coming.It was still before daybreak when the lights of the British Steamship “Kerbela”came into view and she quickly reacted to the rocket that was fired to attract her attention. Not able to render support himself-though he would certainly have saved the crew had it been needed, the Master of the Kerbela consented to make all rush for Suez and send support-which he did.The Times paper of August 18th 1887 included the following entry under the large heading WRECKS AND CASUALTIES:”Lloyd’s agent at Suez telegraphs that the Kerbela, British steamer, reports that the Ulysses, British cleaner, is ashore at Jubal Island, and is leaking a little. Assistance has been sent.”Barely a cause for issue need to anyone with an interest in either the ship, freight or team have checked out the product.

It would not be long, nevertheless, prior to that “leaking a little”was to end up being much worse. At daybreak, Captain Bremner evaluated the circumstance when again and duplicated the process at routine intervals throughout the day. The Ulysses was stuck quickly on a Coral Reef close to Bluff Point. Damage control still showed small dripping and nothing much had actually altered-apart from an aggravating in climate condition and a slight boost in the sea state. Still convinced his ship was not lost, Bremner chose against discarding any cargo overboard in the belief that the vessel would become pulled complimentary or perhaps, even drift off with the rising tide.Of course, by the time the Kerbela had actually reached Suez it was already late on the 17th and the Representative’s for the Ocean Steamship Company were not able to despatch that much necessary assistance until the following day. Up to now, Bremner, had totally undervalued the power of a Coral Reef to inflict damage on a steel-hulled vessel and had, for that reason, chose not to reject any freight. As the ship carefully pivoted on the Coral head that held her so strongly in location, the leakages slowly got worse and he had no alternative however to take appropriate action. He chose to reject part of the cargo in shallow water-from where it could be recuperated once assistance got here. No quicker was this done, however, separate celebrations of armed Arabs and Maltese arrived at the otherwise deserted island and began ransacking the jettisoned cargo. Deciding that say goodbye to freight would be removed from the ship for the time being, water levels were continually kept track of. What went undetected, nevertheless, was the sluggish, irreversible procedure of the ship gradually rocking to and fro in the increased sea state. This relentless process was deteriorating the hull of the ship and, without lightening the load -it was just a matter of time.Whether, through fatigue or basic error, Captain Bremner had made the eventful mistake -either by setting an incorrect course or by providing wrong directions, will most likely never ever be known. One factor that might have played a part in his thinking, nevertheless, was an instruction by the Company to make certain all cargoes reached their set aside destinations -on time and intact! In a way not uncommon among a number of fleets, the Ocean Steamship Business selected a”theme”when calling their ships. Their theme was Greek Folklore and names like Achilles, Ajax, Hector and, of course Ulysses ended up being the standard. After a period of effective trading, the Company broadened and ordered five new sister ships of roughly 2,000 tons each – all constructed in between 1869 and 1871. The Priam was developed by Scott and Co and the Hector, Menelaus, Sarpedon and Ulysses by Leslie and Co of Newcastle. The whole fleet, however, went through a period when they were plainly not as invincible as their names suggested – something that really almost brought the Company to it’s knees. In October 1875 Hector was lost outside Amoy Harbour. In March 1876 Orestes was also lost, this time off Galle and, the following September, Sarpedon fulfilled the same fate off Ushant. These combined losses to the Company-in regards to Freight and Vessels, amounted to well over a quarter of a million pounds-and all within a year. That, nevertheless, would have been more easily managed had the remainder of the fleet prevented additional accident. When freight after freight was lost through a succession of groundings, crashes and breakdowns, the Company unexpectedly discovered itself in the serious monetary predicament of needing to discover additional funds for repair works and replacement ships at a time of falling income.Within her very first year afloat, Ulysses went ashore in the Red Sea and was so badly harmed, she needed to return to England for substantial repairs. The Minutes of the Business’s subsequent AGM recorded a heavy monetary loss from that particular trip. The list below year, she let the side down once again-by losing her prop and running aground near Singapore. Then came a succession of damaged shafts with Ajax, Antenor and Agamemnon-the pride of the fleet, all having actually to be docked for repair works. Ulysses, however, selected the worst possible moment for such a breakdown and was very almost lost altogether. Such disasters continued to pester the Company up until Teucer was lost in 1885-also off Ushant, after which, the epidemic appeared to have passed. Whilst the Company

had actually been insured for the higher part-they had, nevertheless, withstood a duration of substantial monetary loss. Each Captain was, for that reason, aware of Company policy which needed him to deliver his whole freight in great order and in the most sensible time. On the other hand, nevertheless, the rivets slowly loosened up as the ship continued to be pounded by a moderately rough sea and the damage gradually increased till, on the early morning of August 19th, the Ulysses was down by the stern. At about mid-morning 2 Lighters with labourers gotten here from Suez and shortly afterwards HMS Falcon showed up to provide defense. Understanding the severity of the condition of the Ulysses, the Captain of the Falcon also provided a few of his team to assist with discharging whilst others were landed to secure that which had been jettisoned.It was a long, filthy and laborious job in the most testing of conditions-made worse by the intense heat which predominates in August. With the engines swallowed up and the pumps silenced, nasty water was now deep in the holds. The workers had to wade deep into this discomfort-at least up to their underarms, but often they also had to swim beneath. Without power, they then needed to carry the cargo out of the hold and into the sea where it was man-handled over coral reefs to the coast before finally being brought some one third of a mile to the Lighters. Throughout these lots of days of toil, two other passing ships belonging to the Ocean Steamship Business, hove to and offered support. By now, however, the Ulysses itself was passed conserving. Eventually, Captain Bremner could do nothing more than watch as his ship settled onto the seabed stern first -in a practically

leisurely style, with her bows and bowsprit still in view and pointing upwards at a sharp angle. Pleased, that nothing more might be done, on 6th September 1887, all celebrations returned to Suez. The Lighters were so completely packed that additional space had actually to be found on the decks of HMS Falcon for a considerable quantity of the salvaged cargo. On arrival, Bremner made his official report on the loss of the Ulysses-which was then officially noted as “Abandoned. “Bad weather condition then set in for a few days throughout which the paralyzed ship sustained considerable damage before finally vanishing below the surface permanently. No particular date for the final sinking was ever recorded.Back in England, there then followed 2 different and really complicated claims for salvage -both which were very unusual. The very first was brought by the Ocean Steamship Company in respect of the services rendered by the team of the Ulysses -uncommon since ship’s crews do not normally take advantage of the salvage of their own vessel, and for the services rendered by their own death ships. The second was brought by the Captain and team of HMS Falcon -uncommon for the team of any “HM”Ship to gain from the normal course of their tasks. The freight of the Ulysses was being carried under a bill of lading which exempted the Ocean Steamship Business from liability for loss brought on by neglect of the Master and team. The Company was, for that reason, stating that once the Ulysses was aground and it was established she would not be refloated, the duties of the Master and crew had concerned an end and they were as entitled to a share of salvage as any other party. The claim then mentioned that any such award to the Crew was, however, the home of the Company -in who’s utilize they were at the time. They likewise declared expenses in connection with their other ships which had tried to render help. As for the Captain and crew of HMS Falcon, their case was entirely different. All celebrations agreed that HMS Falcon was employed to secure the Ulysses and her cargo from plunder which no salvage was payable in regard of such responsibilities. At the very same time, nevertheless, team members had assisted with the salving of the cargo by getting it out of the hold and carrying it a considerable distance to the Lighters. Finally, a proportion of the salved freight had been carried back to Suez on board HMS Falcon. They claimed that they were entitled to salvage for those acts which were outside the normal scope of Naval tasks, On June 26th 1888, Sir James Hannen, encouraged by a board of Trinity Masters, presided over these 2 claims which had actually been integrated into a single action. Handling the claim submitted by the Ocean Steamship Company initially, it was clear that Sir James was unhappy with particular elements. In summarising the action prior to him, he referred to”a valuable freight estimated to be worth 60,000 carried under terms which exempted the Ocean Steamship Business from all liability.” He went on to state “I do unknown what circumstances brought about the stranding of the Ulysses however the result is that the Ocean Steamship Company treat the matter as though they were complete strangers who rendered a salvage service to their own ship and the cargo.”He duly referred that matter to the Registrar General of Shipping-charging him to assign how much of the salvage work undertaken by the crew of the Ulysses was because of the ship and what does it cost? to the freight and just how much to both activities. Turning his attention to the claim made by HMS Falcon, all celebrations agreed that particular components of this claim were outside the regular responsibilities of “HM” ships and he duly awarded the Captain and crew of HMS Falcon the princely sum of 1,000 -with the suggestion that, in view of the offensive nature of the work involved, the normal course of offering so large a percentage to the Captain must not be followed in this circumstances. 2 months later on, The Ocean Steamship Business settled their claim from court for an undisclosed amount. There are terrific diving holidays to experience particularly Indonesia diving and South Africa diving. To find out more please go to http://www.divingworld.co.uk/. 100

source http://creativedogtrainingonline.com/toy-dog-breed-category/diving-stories/