Plans to Refloat the Eurydice

The inclement weather of the week following the downing of the Eurydice hampered efforts to explore the wreck and proceed with operations that might lead to her recovery.

Some of the smaller boats on the Eurydice were recovered and a start was made bringing up the sails and removing the masts, a necessary step to take before attempts could be made to raise the wreck.

The action of the sea had also rolled the Eurydice from her side into an upright position, sitting on her keel.

Plans for raising the wreck were already being advanced: the proposed approach was to lash two other ships, the Pearl and the Rinaldo, to the sides of Eurydice at low tide, then raise her with the rising tide and move her closer to shore. Using such “lifts” to bring her closer to the shore, she could then be pumped out and floated herself on a rising tide.

Elsewhere, various events were already being organised locally to support a fundraising effort intended to generate alms for the widows, orphans and relatives of the deceased sailors; a national call for support had also been made through the pages of the Times . Reports had also started coming in from other ships in the vicinty of the Wight on the previous Sunday, including the captain of the Romulus.

There was also a mystery: a sailor’s straw hat bearing the Eurydice’s name on the ribbon, had been revovered with the name “G. Field” marked inside it. But no similar name appeared to have been published in the crew list. And an query: why were there no stimulants available on board the Emma, the unstated implication being that perhaps Tabor and Ferrier’s lives might have been saved had they been available.

THE FOUNDERING OF THE “EURYDICE.” - Wednesday, April 3rd, 1878

Hampshire Telegraph, 1878-04-03, p. 2

THE OPERATIONS AT THE WRECK.

The continued stormy weather during the past few days has caused but very slow work to be made with the wreck of the Eurydice. High winds, accompanied by a heavy ground swell, have frequently prevented the divers from going down to the vessel, and when they have been able to make a descent the difficulties which they have had to encounter have been so many that very little progress has been made. On Saturday there was a strong and piercing wind blowing all day from the North, which effectually put a stop to all attempts to renew operations. On the previous day during the height of the gale the Dromedary, lightship, which had anchored near the wreck to indicate the spot, was obliged to slip her cable and run for Portland. On Saturday, when the wind had moderated, one of the tugs went round and towed her back to the position she had previously occupied. On Sunday, of course, nothing was done, nor indeed was the weather at all favourable. Numbers of persons were attracted by curiosity to the shore at Ventnor and along the neighbouring beach, in hopes of seeing some traces of the wreck, but there was nothing to reward their search excepting a sight of the topmasts of the unfortunate ship. On Monday the wind had moderated considerably-at least it appeared so inside Portsmouth harbour-and hopes were entertained of a fair day’s work being done. The Grinder and Camel, tugs, went out early in the morning, taking the three divers, with all their necessary appliances. Outside the Isle of Wight, however, the wind blew freshly, and the tide threw many difficulties in the way. There was a considerable “swell” on, and although it was perfectly easy for boats to remain in position, it was not so with the divers whose occupation was rendered additionally precarious by the swinging about in the tide of the pieces of severed rigging, sails, &c. A few minutes after nine o’clock in the morning, when the tide began to slacken, the divers made a descent, but the effect of the swell was such as to render their labours particularly troublesome and hazardous. They, however, remained down until 11 o’clock; and at two in the afternoon, on the tide being considered again favourable, they made further search, remaining under water until five o’clock, when operations were suspended for the night. The result of the day’s work was to get up a part of the foresail, the studding-sail boom, and the fore topmast. A small skiff, about 14 feet long, was also sent up by the divers, and on reaching the surface one of the sides broke completely away from the other part of the boat. It is supposed to have been a small boat for the private use of some of the officers. Two of the ship’s pinnaces’ and cutters’ masts, with all their gear attached, were also disengaged and sent up by the divers, but nothing was done with the boats themselves. The various things recovered from the wreck were brought into harbour in the evening by the tugs, and were landed at the Dockyard, where they will be stored with the other spars and rigging recovered last week. The Eurydice has at times rolled in the sea very much, and has risen off her starboard bilge, upon which she was first lying, and the swell has brought her up on to her keel. Her position has altered in one point, and she now lies with her head S.E. by S. The weather will have to be very steady indeed to enable the working party to continue their operations with anything like success. It is not considered at all likely that the masts of the Eurydice will be removed before the raising operations are proceeded with, as such a course is not at all necessary to the success of the attempt. Yesterday another attempt was made to clear away the top-hamper of the wreck, but the wind was again so boisterous that nothing could be done. The divers certainly went down, but the swell was too great to permit of anything like successful work, and the Grinder, with the working party, returned early to Harbour.

[EXCERPT : BODIES]

[EXCERPT: PARLIAMENT : STATEMENT IN PARLIAMENT]

THE PLAN FOR RAISING THE WRECK.

The mode intended to be adopted by the Admiralty officials for raising the wreck is to lash the Pearl and the Rinaldo to the wreck by means of massive chains, The Pearl is a screw corvette, 2187 tons, 1300 horsepower. Stout shores, about 8ft. in length, are to be hung on the outside ports of these vessels for lashing the outer purchase blocks, and they have been specially ballasted, so as to enable them to resist the pressure which the raising of the ship will throw on their top sides. At low water these day’s vessels will be lashed to the wreck, one on either side, and as the tide rises she will be gradually lifted and drawn toward the shore, the chains being tightened each tide. About half-a-dozen of these lifts will probably be sufficient to bring the vessel as far up the beach as to enable the workmen to get the pumps at work while the tide is out, and in about a couple of hours it is thought that sufficient water can be pumped out of the vessel to enable her to rise with the tide and once more ride on the breast of the sea. The work of preparing the two vessels for the task has been rapidly pushed forward. Yesterday morning one of them, the Pearl, was brought alongside the Dockyard. It is intended that she shall be sent to the wreck today (Wednesday). The interior of the vessel has been fitted up so as to accommodate the men who will be engaged at the work, so that it will not be necessary for them to leave the spot until the completion of the operations to lift the ship. While the two ships are being got ready in the Dockyard to lift the Eurydice and float her into harbour, experiments have been made in the Dockyard with four models of vessels, with the purpose of determining the best method of swinging the ship. One of the methods practiced wa suggested by Mr. Brewer, the mate of the Camperdown(?), coal hulk.

MISCELLANEOUS.

On Friday, the 12th, a performance will be given at the Theatre Royal, in aid of the Relief Fund, when several well-known amateurs will appear. On Friday evening and Saturday afternoon next, performanceces will be given at the Portland Hall, by the Thunderer Minstrels, the proceeds beingr devoted to the Relief Fund.

With regard to the sad loss of life in the Eurydice it is curious to note that the schooner whose crew picked up a few of the drowning men carried no brandy or stimulants whatever on board. It is most strange that those who seek their fortune upon the deep waters should not carry such necessary articles in the medicine chest, be the captain and crew teetotallers for ever- Pictorial World.

Sad as all the cases of bereaved parents and other relatives of those on board the Eurydice are, there are some few which are inexpressibly so, noticeable amongst them and being that of a poor woman who lost one son in the Captain, a second through the explosion on board the Thundererr, and now a third through the foundering of the Eurydice.

The Admiralty has decided that Benjamin Cuddiford, A.B., and the other survivor from the lost Euryudice shall be formally brought to trial by Court-Martial, in order that the whole circumstances of the case, as far as can be gathered from their evidence and that of the divers who have been working on the ship, shall be sifted, with the view to decide whether the ship was sufficiently ballasted and properly handled. The two Admirals at Portsmouth and the Senior Captains at the port will sit upon this Court-Martial.

[EXCERPT : RELIEF]

The brig Romulus, which weathered the storm in which the Eurydice foundered, has arrived from Wales at Dover, and her master, Captain Stephens, reports his own observations of the squall which proved so disastrous. At the time of its occurrence he was about twelve miles astern of the Eurydice, off the Isle of Wight, and noting a fall in the barometer, accompanied by an unusual overcast appaearance of the sky, which seemed most threatening, ordered sail to be shortened and the hands ready to the halyards in case of emergencey. It was not long before the storm observed on the horizon suddenly swept down with all its might upon the ship, with a roar almost deafening. At the order ” Let go,” from the Captain, the halyards were released and the sheets loosened until the hurricane had moderated, and the Romulus proceeded, arriving safely at nine p.m. at Dover. Captain Stephens was, of course, ignorant of the awful calamity that had happened in his path, and regrets he did not make the other side of the island, as he might have been enabled, like the Emma, to have saved some of the Eurydice’s crew.

[EXCERPT : RELIEF]

The more the matter of the foundering of the training ship Eurydice is discussed, says the Times, the more necessary seems the holding of a naval inquiry, for the purpose of clearing up questions which were not submitted to the jury at Ventnor, and which only Court of professional and scientific experts will be able to fully appreciate. With reference, indeed, to one very important point, the Jury were clearly misinformed. The boy Fletcher, from what he had heard among his messmates, was under the impression that the ballast of the ship was principally composed of the water which was stored below for drinking and cooking purposes, and of the usual stores of the ship. At the end of the voyage, of course, the weight of the water and stores would be diminished, and hence, had they constituted the ballast of the Eurydice, her stability would have been greatly affected by their exhaustion. To rebut this evidence the able seaman, Cuddiford, was recalled by the Admiralty and he said that the ship had the proper amounto ballast for her tonnage, and that her lower tier of water-tanks was never disturbed. This was considered satisfactory by the jury, but it has been since discovered from drawings now in the possession of the Admiral-Superintendent that the ship was not fitted with a second tier of tanks. It is not, however, believed by professional persons at Portsmouth that the reduction in the weight of water and stores would seriously lessen the stability of the ship. The utmost difference which the loss during the voyaige would make in the draught of the Eurydice would be about eight or ten inches, the only practical result of which would be to make her a little more “lively.” In order to clear up the question of the amount of water in the ship at the time of foundering, Admiral Foley has instructed the divers to measure the contents of the tanks as soon as the are reached; but as they are not watertight, and will have been filled with sea water, it is not considered likely that their present condition will afford any guidance as to their state on Sunday, the 24th ult. The midship section of the ship also shows that the ports were just upon 6ft. above water-line and that the compaaratively small heel of 18deg. would bring the ports under water and prevent the vessel righting.

Fig. 20 Illustrated London News — Divers at Work on H.M.S. Eurydice, April 4, 1878

On Sunday, 31st March, a week on from the disaster, collections were made and sermons preached on behalf of the lost souls. Accounts of the severity of the storm that had downed the Eurydice but had been experienced elsewhere in the UK were also being reported in the Island news. A court martial to be held involving the two survivors was also announced.

Noting the classical tragedy of Orpheus and Eurydice, it was also observed that Eurydice’s “consort ship”, H.M.S. Orpheus had also been downed in not dissimilar circumstances 15 years previously, albeit on the other side of the world, on April 7th, 1863.

THE EURYDICE. - Thursday, April 4th, 1878

Isle of Wight Times, 1878-04-04, p. 5

At Sandown Church, on Sunday. the Vicar, the Rev. G. S. Kerney, preached special and collections on behalf of the relatives were made, amounting to £50 1s. At Lake Mission Church £3 10s. was collected.

Special sermons were preached at the Congregational Church, Ryde, and at Newport Parish Church on Sunday ; also at Portsmouth, and other places.

The Lords of the Admiralty issued an order per yesterday (Tuesday) directing that a reward of £2 is to be paid for the recovery of each of the bodies of the unfortunate men lost in the Eurydice, and the whole of the funeral expenses will be borne by the Admiralty.

The weather has prevented more being done to the Eurydice during the past week.

The Mansion House fund for the relief of the sufferers now amounts to about £1,000. It bee been pointed out that the Eurydice was a training ship fur ordinary seamen, not boys.

The Field gives its reasons for believing that Capt. Hare was bringing his vessel up Channel with the ordinary caution of a seaman, but scarcely with a full apprehension of what might be the outcome of the squally appearance of the sky. He began in time to make snug for hauling on a wind with a freshening breeze. When he found the wind freshened faster than presaged good, he ordered sail to be shortened by furling the royals. Before this could be carried out the ship was struck by a heavy squall, and ere an attempt was made to put her before the wind she was knocked down on her side, and, her ports being open, she filled rapidly with water, and went to the bottom. Thus the Eurydice was thrown on her beam ends because she was struck by a squall, and because she was not run off the wind before she got the full weight of it. She heeled so rapidly to such an extreme angle because her lee ports were open, and she sank so suddenly from the same cause. Of course it has been asked if it was a prudent thing to sail with the lee ports open. As events turned out, it undoubtedly proved to be a very imprudent thing ; but no blame can be attached to Capt. Hare for this. It is customary to have the ports open under such conditions– they probably would have been closed when the vessel was braced up after clearing Dunnose ; and if the ports were never opened because a ship might under the influence of a sudden squall, put her port sills under, it would show an excess of caution equal to that of a man who bought a steam launch, but never lighted up because he was afraid the boiler might burst.

A complete and searching enquiry into the lose of the ship is to be be made in the shape of a Court Martial.

No more bodies have been recovered.

The midship section of the ship shows that the ports were just upon 6ft. above the water-line, and that the comparatively small heel of 18 deg. would bring the ports under water and prevent the vessel righting.

[EXCERPT : BODIES]

A correspondent of the Times rises draws attention to the coincidence that a somewhat similar fate, under somewhat similar circumstances- for it was almost within sight of her destination — befel the Eurydice’s ill-fated consort ship 15 years ago—the Orpheus. In classic tale Eurydice was the wife of Orpheus. The Orpheus was entering the Manukan harbour, near Auckland, on a fine Saturday afternoon in February or March, 1863. Mistaking the channel she struck on the bar, about 40 only being saved.

The brig Romulus, which weathered the storm in which the Eurydice foundered, has arrived from Wales at Dover, and her master, Capt. Stephens, reports his own observation of the squall which proved so disastrous. At the time its occurrence he was about 12 miles astern of the Eurydice, off the Isle of Wight, and noting a fall in the barometer, accompanied by an unusual outcast appearance of the sky, which seemed most threatening, ordered sail to be shortened, and the hands ready to the haulyards in case of emergency. It was not long before the storm observed on the horizon suddenly swept down with all its might upon the ship, with a roar almost deafening. At the order “Let go” from the captain, the haulyards were released, and the sheets loosened until the hurricane had moderated, and the Romulus proceeded arriving safely at 9 p.m. at Dover. Capt. Stephens was of course ignorant of the awful calamity that had happened on his path, and regrets he did not make the other side of the island, as he might have been enabled, like the Emma, to have saved some of the Eurydice’s crew.

The loss of the Eurydice is a national calamity. In some terrible respect the catastrophe of the Captain has been repeated. Both ships were caught in sudden squalls near the coast— Spain in one mum, England in the other— and both foundering, drowning nearly all on board. At the same time, as thousands of ships, great and small, are continually caught in squalls, and very few indeed founder when there is sea-room, we must suppose that the fatal result is due, as it was in the case of the Captain, to some radical defect in the vessel’s trim. We have now lost about a thousand of our sailors from a cause which imperatively demands exhaustive analysis.— Brief.

The Hornet says:—“Eurydice is an unlucky name. One Eurydice hanged herself, another died of a serpent bite, and now a third goes to the depths in sight of the shores of the land from which she had long been absent.”

“It may interest some of your readers to know that the snow-storm of the 24th of March struck the Worcester end of the Malvern-hills from the north-west at 1 p.m., as the Priory church clock struck. It took threequarters of an hour to clear this end of the range. It travelled in a south-east direction, and arrived at the supposed position of the Eurydice, off the Isle of Wight, at 4.30 p.m. Its appearance was that of a ‘white wall’ bulging forward. There was no haze between my position and the advancing white wall, the distance of which I judged to be two and a half or three miles. With me it was sunshine ; I had not got 100 yards on my way down the hill when the storm overtook me. It travelled at a rate of 35 miles an hour, or a mile in less than two minutes. Assuming the distance to Dunnose, as the crow flies, to be 115 miles, the rate the storm travelled would be 32.7 miles an hour. The time the rear edge took to clear Malvern was three quarters of an hour; this would give a length of cloud 24.5 miles. Any one standing near an express train going at forty miles an hour knows the current which is produced, and, therefore, cannot be surprised at the enormous pressure a compact mass of cloud 24 1/2 miles long will exert on the place over which it passes at a rate of a mile in less than two minutes. As the mass of cloud was moving from N.W. to S.E. its length has been spoken of ; what its breadth may have been must remain unknown.”

In an attempt to encourage islanders, particularly fishermen, to help retrieve bodies of the deceased sailors, a two pounds reward was offered for anyone retrieving and landing a body.

HER MAJESTY’S SHIP “EURYDICE” - Saturday, April 6th, 1878

Isle of Wight Observer, 1878-04-06, p. 8

Two pounds reward will be given to any private person finding and bringing to the Coast Guard Station the BODY of any one belonging to the “Eurydice”.

Amongst the other observations in the following report is a note that the membership of one the Naval Lodges of the Good Templars, a fraternal organisation, accepting both men and women, that promoted temperance (which is to say, total abstinence of alcohol) was lost with the ship. It was also observed that the Emma was a “temperance craft”, where not even the medicine chest contained brandy or any other spirit. Such an omission was seen as a matter of concern in medical emergencies such as exposure.

A description of a similar tragedy, the loss of the schooner Pincher, along with 35 souls, on Sunday, March 4, 1838, along with the loss of the Mary Rose on July, 18th, 1545, were also provided.

At Devonport, similar scenes to those at Portsmouth dockyard were evident. Several tragic stories regarding relatives of several of the sailors are described.

THE LOSS OF THE “EURYDICE.” - Saturday, April 6th, 1878

Isle of Wight Observer, 1878-04-06, p. 6

A message from the Queen has been forwarded by the Admiralty to the relatives of the officers who were lost in the Eurydice, together with a letter conveying an expression of their lordships’ deep regret at the sad event.

On Friday morning a pilot lugger sailed into Portsmouth, and handed over to the Commander-in-Chief a sail, a boat’s awning, a bucket, several other pieces of wreckage, and four caps, two of which bore the ribband of the Eurydice, which had been picked up about 20 miles to the westward of the place where the ship went down.

[EXCERPT : RELIEF]

Saturday and Monday were blank days, so far as the clearing of the wreck of the Eurydice was concerned. The wind blew strongly and coldly from the north, and the dockyard tugs did not leave their moorings. During the previous day the Dromedary, which had been anchored near the scene of the wreck as a lightship, was obliged, in consequence of the violence of the weather, to slip her cables and make for Portland, where she arrived safely on Saturday morning. While the two ships are being got ready in the dockyard to lift the Eurydice and float her into harbour, experiments have been made in the yard with four models of vessels, with the purpose of determining the best method of swinging the ship. One of the methods practised was suggested by Captain Brewer, the mate of the Camperdown steamer. Captain Coppin, who succeeded in raising the Alpheta from Bembridge Ledge a few weeks ago, has also offered his services, but he has been informed that the dockyard authorities will themselves conduct the operations. The Rinaldo is not only being prepared to float the ship, but is being fitted with sleeping accommodation for the riggers and divers, to remove the necessity of their leaving the ship.

The more the matter of the foundering of the training ship is discussed the more necessary seems the holding of a naval inquiry, for the purpose of clearing up questions which were not submitted to the jury at Ventnor, and which only a court of professional and scientific experts will be able to fully appreciate. With reference, indeed, to one very important point, the jury were clearly misinformed. The boy Fletcher, from what he had heard among his mess-mates, was under the impression that the ballast of the ship was principally composed of the water which was stored below for drinking and cooking purposes, and of the usual stores of the ship. At the end of the voyage, of course, the weight of the water and stores would bo much diminished, and ; hence, had they constituted the main ballast of the Eurydice, her stability would have been greatly affected by their exhaustion. To rebut this evidence, the able seaman, Cuddiford, was recalled by the Admiralty agent, and he said that the ship had the proper amount of ballast for her tonnage, and that the lower tier of water-tanks was never disturbed. This was considered satisfactory by the jury, but it has been since discovered from drawings now in the possession of the Admiral Superintendent that the ship was not fitted with a second tier of tanks. It is not, however, believed by professional persons at Portsmouth that the reduction in the weight of water and stores would seriously lessen the stability of the ship. The utmost difference which the loss during the voyage would make in the draught of the Eurydice would be about eight or ten inches, the only practical result of which would be to make her a little more ” lively.” In order to clear up the question of the amount of water in the ship at the time of foundering, Admiral Foley has instructed the divers to measure the contents of the tanks as soon as they are reached ; but as they are not water-tight, and will have been filled with sea water, it is not considered likely that their present condition will afford any guidance as to their state on Sunday, the 24th ult. The midship section of the ship also shows that the ports were just upon 6ft. above the water-line, and that the comparatively small heel of 18’ would bring the ports under water and prevent the vessel righting.

On Sunday, at Portsmouth, reference was made to the sudden calamity in most of the pulpits, and in several of the churches collections were made on behalf of the friends and relatives of the seamen.

[EXCERPT : BODIES]

At a meeting of the Middlesex District Lodge of Good Templars, on Saturday evening, the Rev. E. Schnadhorst, district chaplain, referred to the loss of the Eurydice, and to the fact that one of the Naval Lodges belonging to the Order had gone down with the ill-fated vessel. A resolution was unanimously adopted, expressing sorrow at the foundering of the Eurydice, and the entire loss of a lodge of Good Templars working under the title of the ” Decoy Bird,” and sympathy with the relatives of the deceased.

In the House of Commons, on Monday, Mr. W. H. Smith, in reply to Captain Price, stated that the amount of ballast in Her Majesty’s ship Eurydice when she left England was 30 tons, the amount she had always carried, and there was no reason to believe any was removed. It was the intention of the Admiralty to direct a complete enquiry into the loss of the ship.

A writer in the Field (Mr. Henry Ligg) says: ” It is often remarked that history repeats itself ; unhappily, in this melancholy case it is so, for this ship is the second Her Majesty has lost from a similar cause within sight of the same spot. Her Majesty’s schooner Pincher, Lieutenant T. Hope commander, sailed from Sheerness for Portsmouth on Sunday, March 4, 1838, in company with H.M.’s frigate Volage, 28 guns, Captain H. Smith. On the following Tuesday afternoon, between 4 and 5 p.m., the schooner was observed standing in for the Isle of Wight to windward of the Volage ; the weather fine, but the wind at times squally. The two ships were working towards Spithead. It is supposed, for no one is alive to tell the tale, that a squall caught the schooner, threw her on her beam-ends, and, having a press of sail set, and a heavy gun amidships, with boats, soars, &c., on deck, she never righted, and all on board, about 35 souls, were instantly drowned. It is also said that when the Volage missed her, she made exertions to discover where she was ; and that, it being then dark, a blue light was burnt and a gun fired to denote her position, in case any of the unfortunate people should be able to get to her ; but beyond that nothing was done, for the Volage made the best of her way to Spithead, without keeping the sea all night and at the dawn of day causing a look-out to be kept for the wreck. It is also asserted that not until the following Saturday, in consequence of the rumours prevailing of the loss of the schooner, was any inquiry or investigation made, and then a sort of gossip was held at the Port Admiral’s office about her and her unfortunate crew. However, on Monday, the 12th — five days afterwards— two Cowes pilots called on the Port Admiral to state that they had seen the crutch of the mainboom of a vessel, supposed to belong to a man-of-war, floating about four miles and a half S.S. W. of the Owers light-vessel ; and the second Master Attendant of the dockyard, having been despatched early on Tuesday morning — a week after the accident — ascertained that the wreck of the Pincher was lying in about 14 fathoms of water, on her larboard broadside, with all sails set, and her head S.W. Measures were immediately taken to weigh her, but without success, in consequence of the tempestuous state of the weather and the heavy sea on the spot, and all returned to port. After several failures, it was not until June that the officers of Portsmouth succeeded in raising her and towing her into the harbour. A coroner’s inquest was held on ten of the bodies found on board, and a verdict returned, “Found dead on board the Pincher from suffocation, supposed to be caused by the over-setting of the vessel near the Owers Light.” The Eurydice and the Modiste were the construction of Admiral Elliott, C.B., and were different in two important elements of safety to any other vessels of their size in our own or the French navy. Of the Modiste, the Plymouth correspondent of the United Service Journal writes under date 20th of October, 1838 : - I fear I should fail in the attempt if I were to endeavour to describe to you the minute peculiarities of the Modiste. It may however be remarked, in a general way, that she appears higher above the water than other ships of her class, and draws less water.’ Of the Eurydice, the First Lord of the Admiralty stated in the House of Commons that the ship was 921 tons (about the same as the Modiste ; was built by Admiral Elliott ; that she carried in the place of her old 26 guns two 64-pounder guns ; that she carried the same ballast as in former commissions, and 117 tons of water as against 102 tons ; that her draught of water was 16ft. 6in. I may remark that I once owned a very fast merchant ship, of the highest class at Lloyd’s, 341 tons, and she drew 16ft. 6in. when in her best sailing trim ; and that our largest cutter yacht, of 111 registered tons, draws 14ft. This small draught of water is less by about 4ft. than is usual in vessels betweeii 900 and 1000 tons, which, coupled with greater height out of water, and the fact that both the ballasting power of the provisions and water for 300 men in a voyage across the Atlantic must have been materially reduced, are, I think, reasons why this fine ship should not recover herself when struck by so exceptionally sudden and so unusually heavy a squall, before any amount of human sharpness and skill could reduce the canvas, which was by no means in excess of what any seaman in the world, in such a ship, would carry under similar circumstances of fair wind and the fine weather that had prevailed all day until a few moments before the awful catastrophe, which the whole world will never cease to deplore.”

A correspondent of the Devonport Independent writes : ” I shall never forget the morning on which the news of the loss of the Eurydice was received in Devonport. The effect was truly awful. It seemed as if the Pagan demon Terror himself had made his appearance among the people. The hearts of men and women alike were stilled with affright and their tongues stricken dumb with pain. In such times of great calamity, and especially wheu that calamity is fearfully near us, the thoughts of most men mysteriously take a religious tone — are arrested by a deep and solemn conviction of the working of an Almighty and impenetrable Power above and beyond them. So it was with not a few persons in Devonport on Monday morning. There are many distressing cases of bereavement and suffering. In one a poor woman in Devonport, who lost a father, mother, and two children in 14 months, actually left the town early on Monday morning to be in Portsmouth to receive her husband, and only learnt the harrowing news on the road, when she returned a widow. In another case a young woman went round to be married to one of the young men ; she has been brought back in such a condition, from shock sustained to the system, that her life is despaired of. A third case is that of a poor woman in Devonport, who, four months ago, lost her husband in the Narcissus : whilst her husband was in that ship she lost and buried seven children ; and in the Eurydice has lost her only remaining child and only support. A hard-hearted act has come to my knowledge concerning this poor woman. She is fortunately entitled to £17 for the back pay of her deceased husband, and on Monday she went to a certain clergyman — a curate — and asked him to sign a certificate of her marriage, in order to get the money. Notwithstanding that she explained to him the distressing circum- stances in which she was placed, he demanded 2s. 6d. of her. She told him that she had not got the money, whereupon he refused his signature without the fee. The poor woman was obliged to borrow the money, which she obtained through a friend. Returning to the clergymen she purchased the certificate, but it was necessary for her to remind the rev. gentleman that he had to give her 6d. change to the 3s. she had tendered in payment ! ‘ And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves, for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.’ I am glad to learn, and the public will be equally so, that immediately after the catastrophe Mr. Metham resoived to mitigate its grievous effects by opening to at least some of the bereaved families the orphan refuge of the magnificent institution over which he presides, of which he is the very life and soul, and which is one of the finest testimonies to a loving sympathy and to a broad-hearted chariy that any nation ever possessed. An election of orphan girls to the Royal Female Orphan Asylum takes place in a week or two hence, but a special effort will be made to meet this exceptional and bitter trouble. Well done ! The crown of charity is the richest and brightest crown of all: charity to the orphan is the most Divinely blessed charity of all.”

Mr. J. G. Livesay, writing to the Times from Ventnor, says : ” Will you allow me to make a proposal through the ubiquitous columns of the Times, which, if adopted, will bring a large accession to the fund now being raised for the widows, orphans, and other dependent relatives of the brave men whom the nation has so grievously lost? It is that a simultaneous collection be made on Saturday next by employers throughout the country in their offices, shops, factories, farmyards, workshops, etc. The builders in this town have promised me that they will make such an appeal to their hands, and I am sure that it will meet with a hearty response. I believe there are few working men in the British Isles who would not on such an occasion cheerfully give a quarter or half of a day’s pay, according as the circumstances of their own families might permit. The head of every household should ask each of his servants for a trifle, and even our children may give their penny and upwards. A very erroneous impression is abroad, even here on the scene of the catastrophe, as to the probable number of persons who will require relief. Because the Eurydice was a training ship it has been assumed that nearly all her crew would be very young and unmarried But she was a training ship for ordinary seamen, not boys, and I have just been informed on good authority that a much larger proportion of the crew were married than had been supposed. Let no one be afraid of giving too much. Even if there should be a surplus after providing for the present sufferers, it might form a valuable reserve fund for similar cases in the future, just as the large surplus of the Hartley Colliery Explosion Fund has proved so useful for other contingencies of its kind.”

A correspondent to the Globe writes : ” The loss of the Eurydice has called attention to a matter of no little importance, affecting as it does the welfare of seamen. It appears that the master of the Emma the schooner which rescued the five survivors of the sunken vessel, when he got the men on board, could not apply the usual restoratives because his was what is known as a ‘temperance craft.’ That is to say, the Emma did not carry any stimulants for her crew, and, what is still more serious, the medicine chest contained neither brandy nor any kind of spirits. From these facts it appears urgently necessary for the Board of Trade to take immediate steps to prevent such omissions in future ; for, however desirable it may be to keep a crew sober, the indio- syncracies of the master of a vessel should not be allowed unnecessarily to imperil the lives of his crew, or of any one. In the present instance, if some brandy could have been procured on board the Emma, it is probable that the lives of more than two out of the five persons rescued from the Eurydice might have been saved. It will surprise many people to learn that from a mistaken notion of the necessity of protesting against alcohol drinking in any form the masters of some of our merchant vessels aro seriously endangering human life. A delay of half an hour, as in the present case, may, and probably will, cause death after such exposure as the five survivors of the Eurydice had experienced. Under the circumstances every one, whether a total abstainer or not, must lament this sad example of too much temperance.”

Another correspondent to the Globe writes : “It seems a strange coincidence in naval nomenclature that both the Orpheus and the Eurydice, almost in sight of port, under full sail on a Sunday afternoon, should have been wrecked with a loss of almost all hands on board. I do not for a moment imagine that either of these melancholy events has any direct reference to the other, but the connection in name and the similarity of many circumstances attending their fate strikes me as being at least passing strange. H.M.S. Orpheus was lost at Manakau Head, outside the harbour at Auckland, on Saturday, February 7, 1863.

The following extract from ” Hollinshed’s Chronicles” may be of interest: ” The Loss of the Mary Rose. — .. . After this, 18 Julie, 1545, the Admirall of France, Monsieur Danabutte, hoised up sailes, and with his whole navie came forth into the seas, and arrived on the coast of Sussex before bright Hampstead, and set certaine of his soldiers on land to burne and spoile the countrie… . Immediatelie hereupon they made to the point of the Ile of Wight, called Saint Helens Point, and there in good order upon their arrivall they cast anchor and dailie sent sixteen of their gallice to the verie haven of Portesmouth… . The twentieth of Julie the whole navie of the Englishmen made out, and purposed to set on the Frenchmen, but in setting forward, through too much folly, one of the King’s ships, called the Mary Rose, was drowned in the midst of the haven, by reason that she was overladen with ordinance, and had the ports left open, which were verie low, and the great artillerie unbreached, so that when the ship should turne, the water entered, and suddenly she suncke. In her was Sir George Garew, Knight, and foure hundred soldiers under his guiding. There escaped not past fortie persons of the whole number.”

A fortnight on, and mutterings were afoot on the Island, and elsewhere, about whether the accident had been preventable.

An intriguing question was also raised as to whether there might have been a bet in play about how quickly the Eurydice could make it back home to Portsmouth from Bermuda.

The Eurydice - Thursday, April 11th, 1878

Isle of Wight Times, 1878-04-11, p. 4

So far as we have been able to ascertain — and sounding very, very many, we have not met with a contrary opinion – Islanders are anything but satisfied with the verdict of the Ventnor Jury. Of course they agree with the former portion – that the unfortunate met met with their death by capsizing of the vessel during a squall; but they differ as to the latter– that no blame attaches to anyone aboard. – The boy Fletcher proven to have been the nearest to the truth after all – though Cuddeford was recalled by the Admiralty law agent of Portsmouth to rebut his words– in saying that the ballast of the ill-fated vessel wa her water and stores (both for use), and these lessened on the voyage. Cuddeford said the lower tier of tanks were never touched, but the fact is there was no lower tier ! and the crew using from the only tanks below lightened the ship. However, this ballast question to our mind is not the most serious one. We believe most persons are firmly of opinion that the ports ought not to have been open, and that so much sail ought not to have been carried, under the circumstances. The ports being only 6ft. above water it will be seen that a comparatively slight heel over -18 degrees only— would bring them under water. Of course they should be open in fine weather and when there is no probability of bad weather— but in this case there was more than a probablility of bad weather- no-one could tell how bad, and wisdom and ordinary caution must have dictated their closing. The port question is a more serious one than that of water ballast, but a more important one still is the question of sail. Old, experienced seamen at Ventnor, remarked to one another as the Eurydice passed that she was carrying too much sail and would have to shorten directly— they could see that something bad was coming, and this most have been seen by the officers, before they came to the Culver shield, which has been made to shield them. We had newspaper warning that a storm might be expected on or about this day— we do not know whether this intimation was conveyed to the officers by signal or not, but we do know that the barometer had fallen rapidly, indicating something sudden and sharp, and we do know that another warning was given in the clouds some time before the storm broke on the vessel– before she passed Ventnor and came to the “shield.”— There was no doubt an intense desire to get home— to the home within sight, and, being so close home, the dangers of the sea might seem to have been passed. ” Fly on my boys, she’ll stand it” would seem to have been the mental utterance— and there might have been a race on for a bet between this and a certain other vessel, when one would strain a point and run a risk, thought not certainly and knowingly run over risk to death. We give what the opinion at Ventnor was as she passed, and we must think that ordinary prudence and caution would have said– never mind a few minutes, never mind a £50 bet (supposing this to have been lain) the barometer has fallen and the sky is threatening— one doesn’t know how much these portend— it be be safer to close the ports and take in some little of the extra sail. The ports were not closed, and it was not attempted to reef till the full force of the squall was upon them and it was too late. It occurs to us that the fact of the ports being open may have been for the nonce forgotten, with thoughts of home, and so on, and a belief the sail would “stand the storm” enabling them to anchor “by and by”. No doubt sail ought to have been taken in and ports closed half-an-hour or an hour before, but we believe that had the ports only been closed, and had the vessel continued to carry her every stitch she would have righted, for according to Cuddeford she encountered a far heavier gale in the Bay of Biscay, and was “lively.” As we say a comparatively slight list brought the ports under water, and then tons of water pouring in were auxiliaries to the squall, and the tin effected their terribly fatal work. The captain of the “Emma ” did not shorten sail till the squall was on him, but he had no ports open, and had not been carrying so much canvas. We believe the Eurydice would never have gone down had the warning of Providence and science been heeded. We class the calamity as a preventible one, and should write more strongly on the matter but for the words “De mortuis nil nisi bonum.” Still, when we find one after another of our ships going down— may not the ships but about a thousand of our men– supposed to be commended by the cream of seamen— when we lose these at times when other seamen clse by are not lost, the interests of the country and of the relatives of our naval men demand that the press shall speak out and insist that the matter be not only fully enquired into, but that stringent orders be given that the officers shall run no risks, that ships shall be late, and that orders shall be disobeyed even rather than this losing game shall no longer continue. There is something radically wrong in our recent losses of ships and men. Whether naval men have become steamship hands and ceased to be sailors we cannot say, but certainly the matter demands the most minute enquiry, and more than that. Let us conclude with two quotations :

Weekly Times.– We fain would take a favourable view of the case. We are sure there will be a strict investigation into the catastrophe. This is due for the honour of the dead, as well as for the safety of our seamen afloat. We know how it came to pass that the Captain sank in the Bay of Biscay; a poet has told us how the brave Kempenfelt, in the Royal George, “went down with twice four hundred mem.” Did the Eurydice thus sink without any warning, or though the neglect of reasonable foresight? Did the barometer give no warnings, or were its warnings neglected because the ship was so near home?

Vanity Fair— We protest most emphatically against the questions arising out of this catastrophe being treated as though it were a matter concerning only the reputation of the poor fellows who have gone down. The question is not that, but a far more grave and serious one— namely, whether the vessels in the Queen’s service are to be handled in a prudent and seamanlike manner. We are convinced that the Eurydice was not so handled ; and to say that she was, in order to screen the memory the dead, or to spare the susceptibilities of the living, would be to give a public encouragement to carelessness and lubberliness not only in the Navy but in all other cases, and that at a time when those very defects are most seriously on the increase and likely to bring about disasters of greatly increased gravity.

Adverts announcing the two pound reward for recovered bodies were also still running.

HER MAJESTY’S SHIP EURYDICE. - Thursday, April 11th, 1878

Isle of Wight Times, 1878-04-11, p. 5

TWO POUNDS REWARD will be given to any Private Person Finding and bringing to any Coast Guard Station the Body of any one belonging to the “Eurydice.”

Via the Admiralty, a statement regarding the weather around the time of the accident provided by the steamship Badger, which had passed the Eurydice (presumably) on the port side, near St. Catherine’s Point, at about 3.30pm, half an hour before the squall hit, was released suggesting that the it could well have hit the Eurydice by surprise.

Various bits of wreckage were also found floating in the sea, or starting to come ashore, including a ship chest and several articles of clothing bearing the names of W. French, J. Kelly, and H. Scull.

Amongst the hearsay being reported was the likely erroneous claim that “no more than 15 per cent. of our sailors can swim”. Further biographical details regarding the crew were also emerging, such as that of Daniel Harley who had been a member of the Arctic Expedition that had reached “the highest Northern latitude ever reached by man, on the memorable 12th of May, 1876”.

More details regarding last dying moments of one of the officers rescued by the Emma were also revealed.

THE WRECK OF THE EURYDICE. - Saturday, April 13th, 1878

Isle of Wight Observer, 1878-04-13, p. 6

The Secretary of the Admiralty publishes the following copy of a memorandum received from the British steamship Badger, with regard to the state of the weather at the time of the loss of H.M.S. Eurydice, on the 24th ult. : ” London and Edinburgn Shipping Company, Bordeaux, March 28, 1878. Steamship Badger. — Sunday, March 24th,1878, about 3.30 p.m., St. Catherine’s Point, about N.N.W. five miles, passed one of H.M. ships on our port side. She was then under all sail, topmast and lower studding sails on the port side, the wind being about W. by N., fresh breeze and fine weather. The weather had been fine all day ; wind westerly, shifting from W.S.W. to W.N.W. Passed St. Catherine’s Point N.N.E. two miles, at 3.45 p.m. Then observed dark, heavy clouds to the north-west. About 4 p.m. the wind shifted suddenly to N. N. W., blowing strong, with snow, and continued about half-an-hour. I believe that the appearace of a squall coming on could not be seen from Her Majesty’s ship. I did not see it until clear of St. Catherine’s Point. It was low down, and clear over head, and also clear over Isle of Wight. Therefore Her Majesty’s ship would get the squall without any warning. — (signed) -Jno. Louttit.”

The Globe points out that this statement goes some way to lessen the responsibility of those on board the Eurydice for the loss of that vessel in comparatively fine weather. Two facts of importance are now in evidence. First, that, owing to the high land on the weather quarter of the Eurydice, the squall could not well have been seen from the deck of the fine old frigate until it was fairly upon her. In the second place, the surmise that there must have been a sudden change of wind is now corroborated, the master of the Badger staring that it shifted just about 4 o’clock from west by north to north-west. This change must have nearly or quite taken the ill-fated vessel aback, thus creating considerable confusion at the very moment when it had become supremely necessary to furl sail with the utmost expedition. So far, then, this new evidence tends towards the exoneration of Capt. Hare, but it still remains to be explained how he came not only to carry a heavy press of canvas, but to keep his lee ports open, when the barometer had been distinctly indicating bad weather for many previous hours. The record of the Badger says “the weather had been fine all day, wind unsteady,” a state of things which, in conjunction with barometrical warning’s, might have been expected to inspire some caution about carrying on. There is one discrepancy, however, between what was observed from the deck of the merchant steamer and what Cuddiford saw before the squall broke. Capt. Louttit deposed that “it was clear over head and also over the Isle of Wight ; ” whilst Cuddiford gave it in evidence “that he saw a dark cloud coming over the land.” This, however, was only at the last moment, a few seconds before the squall burst on the Eurydice ; and it does not, therefore, refute the suggestion made by Capt. Louttit that the gust struck the training ship without warning.

On Saturday the Camel, tug, proceeded out of harbour, and cruised about the Eurydice looking for bodies or wreckage, but returned into harbour without having found anything. On Sunday a violent gale blew from the eastward, compelling the Dromedary, lighter, to slip her anchors and go out to sea, but when the wind abated she was able to return and succeeded in recovering her moorings. On Monday there was a stiff breeze from the south-east, which prevented the executioun of arrangements made for the towing of the Pearl to her position near the wreck. During the day several articles of clothing belonging to the crew washed ashore, and a number of sailors’ serges, like those worn in the Royal Navy, were found floating at sea or were washed on the rock, all bearing names, amongst them being those of W. French, J. Kelly, and H. Scull. A ship chest was likewise washed ashore between Luccombe and Shanklin, and was handed over to the authorities. As the clothes-lockers were used as mess seats on the lower deck, it is thought that this indicates some motion below, but, on the other hand, it is stated that the covers of the lockers were loosely attached, and would readily float open.

Alluding to the period that bas elapsed since the unfortunate vessel went down, the Times says; ” Considerable dissatisfaction is expressed at the small progress which is made with the raising of the ship, and many naval men say that if the chain Cables were hauled the ship would be sufficiently lifted to enable a couple of tugs to drag her into shallow water, when the ports could be closed and the water pumped out.”

The Army and Navy Gazette says: ” Since the loss of the Eurydice the papers have been full of letters from correspondents telling their experience when : caught in a squall, and others advising the Admiralty as to the training of seamen. One states— though where he could obtain the information from is curious — that no more than 15 per cent. of our sailors can swim. As far as the seaman class is concerned, this would appear to be erroneous, for in all the training ships there are swimming instructors and the boys are taken to the bathing vessels fitted on purpose to give every facility for learning the art of swimming and to ensure the safety of the learners. Their lordships have not been unmindful of the advisability of having every boy taught to take care of himself if he gets out of his element, and the assertion of one correspondent that sailors thought it beneath their dignity to swim, as a horse soldier might object to walking is absurd. To be as much at home in the water as on his legs is a qualification by no means despised by the sailor, and he receives the admiration of his fellows for his skill as a swimmer and diver. What else but the keen competition and love of out-doing each other would otherwise tempt men to dive from the heights they not unfrequently do.”

A correspondent of the Whitehall Review says: “I hear that the widow of poor Captain Hare first heard of her sad loss when making the railway journey from the North to Portsmouth, whither she was hastening to meet her husband. Some people in the same carriage were expressing their regret at the loss of the Eurydice, of which they had just read in the papers, and thus the tidings of her terrible bereavement reached the ears of Mrs. Hare. She had every hope that her husband was saved, as the accident happened so near the land, and Capt. Hare was an excellent swimmer. Unhappily, however, that hope proved vain, and it is clear that only men of exceptional constitutions could have stood the fearful effects of immersion for an hour or more in such bitter weather as set in with that terrible squall.”

The Geographical Magazine for April pays the following tribute to the memory of one of the gallant seamen lost in the Eurydice: “We have to record the death of one of the gallant few which attained the highest Northern latitude ever reached by man, on the memorable 12th of May, 1876. Daniel Harley was born at Madras in 1849, he entered the Navy before the mast, was a seaman gunner, served in the Ashantee War, and was one of Commodore Commerell’s gig crew when he was wounded. In May, 1875, he was selected for the Arctic Expedition, and became captain of the foretop of H.M.S. Alert. He was away autumn travelling from September 11th to 14th, and suffered severely from the gale of wind and intense cold. But he soon recovered, and was full of zeal for the spring travelling, when he formed one of Capt. Markham’s sledge crew, in the northern division. Harley was one of the ten who planted the Union Jack in 83 degrees, 200 min. 26 sec. Attacked by scurvy, he still continued to struggle against the insidious disease, resolute to do his duty until he dropped. When unable to drag, he refused to be put on the sledge, and managed to walk over the ground. Out of all that heroic band, none displayed higher qualities than poor Harley. On his return to England, he joined the Eurydice, as a first-class petty officer, and was drowned when that ill-fated vessel went down off the Isle of Wight, on March 24th, 1878. Daniel Harley was a fine specimen of a British seaman. He was married shortly before he sailed for the Arctic regions.”

An idea of the cases im the three towns (ssys the Western Morning News may afford an illustration of what are likely to be the necessities of the fund generally. A personal visit to the majority of the cases has afforded some insight into the degree of loss sustained by those who were the most closely connected with the poor men who met death by this melancholy occurrence. The ship being a training frigate, the majority of the men were, as was to be expected, only 19 or 20 years of age, and it may perhaps be safe to take the Plymouth list as representing the general proportion of married to unmarried men. Three out of the 17 or 18 men who allotted their half-pay to relatives here were married ; but neither of them leaves a large family. The case of the widow of one of them is, however, peculiarly sad. She has experienced that
“When sorrows come
They come not single spies, but in battalions.”
Her father, her mother, and her child, and now, to fill up the cup of grief, her husband, have all been taken away from her within a twelvemonth. One poor woman is just expecting a child, who will never have heard its father’s voice. The other cases are nearly all those in which mothers have lost sons on whom they more or less depended. In one or two instances the bereavement is very hard. One poor woman, in particular, laments an only son, who was, as she puts it, ” the only real help she had in the world,” and whose half-pay it is very difficult to dispense with. Other cases there are in which one of two sons — jointly their mother’s stay — has been taken. In every instance the loss is irreparable; the husband, the supporter and protector of his wife now made lonely ; the son, the help and hope of the mother now rendered desolate, feels — and, from personal knowledge in this case, we know feels keenly — the small compensation any sum of money can buy. But, hard as it is, that is the only compensation they can receive, and that should certainly be rendered willingly and freely.

The Rev. W. H. Redknapp, incumbent of St James’s, Ryde, and hon. chaplain of the Missions to Seamen, sends the following extract from the journal of the missionary to seamen, which is under his superintendence, relative to the last moments of one of the officers who perished in the Eurydice: “March 25. I found that on boarding the Emma that the captain was gone on shore about the loss of the Eurydice. The mate related, with tears in his eyes, the sad sight which he witnessed yesterday afternoon. He said, ‘ I took the young officer up in my arms and as I was carrying him to the cabin the poor young fellow put his arms round my neck, and his face against mine, and I could not help giving him a kiss. I thought it was the last he would ever have. I wished he had lived. I tried very hard to revive him, but all my efforts failed.’ “

The following lines (signed “F. G.”) on the loss of the Eurydice, appears in the Baily’s Magazine for this month :

‘Twas on a bright and breezy day
A noble ship came sailing home,
Dashing from either bow the spray, And ploughs up the milk white foam.

For the last time the gallant band,
Close to “Old England on the lee,”
Had said their prayers for those on land
Who asked God’s aid for those at sea.

The sun is sinking towards the west,
Tinging with gold the belying sail; The sailors take their Sabbath rest,
And laugh and tell the oft-told tale.

The sister’s joy, the mother’s bliss,
The dream of meeting of old friends,
Of tight grasped hand, of lover’s kiss,
For all their hard-ships make amends.

No cheery-hearted coastguard fails
To point the ship to those who stand
Around– whose prayers are in the sails
Which waft her towards the friendly strand.

No wonder that the captain thought
With honest hope and pride of soul,
To bring the good ship, “smart and taut,”
Like a swift racehorse to the goal.

Mid life and hope the thick black clouds
Snow-filled that put the ship from view;
The fierce tornado strikes her shrouds,
She’s gone ! with all her home-bound crew.

The blood-red sun comes brightly back
And lightens up the evening sky,
And paints what was the vessel’s track,
As if in empty mockery

Alas ! for skill of human mind!
He from whom good and evil come,
Who rides upon the stormy wind,
Took the three hundred wanderers Home.

TO DO - find the Baily's Magazine original; Hathi Trust? archive.org?

It seems there might be some more sketches out there that I haven’t tracked down yet!

The Loss or the ” Eurydice.” - Saturday, April 13th, 1878

Isle of Wight Observer, 1878-04-13, p. 5

Several very good sketches of incidents following the loss of the Eurydice appeared in the Pictorial World last week.

Meanwhile, more information was coming in as to who might have been on the ship, and who might have not.

H.M.S. EURYDICE. - Saturday, April 13th, 1878

Brecon County Times, 1878-04-13, p. 6

The following telegram from the Commander-in-Chief, North America, was received yesterday, giving the names of certain men discharged from Eurydice before she sailed for Bermuda, and of men discharged into her for passage to England:— Ships Corporals—Charles J. Saunders. Ordinary seamen— Charles F. Butler, Alfred W. Walker, Peter Lamond, Wm. Russell, Hairy Underwoud, John Scanlen, Charles McDermott, and James Nara, discharged from Eurydice before she left Bermuda. Following discharged into her for passage from Terror Ship’s corporal—Henry Nye, Colour-Sergeant, R.N.L.I, Henry Gowler, private. Privates Alfred E. Howe, Alfred Russell, John Saunders, John Graham, John Young, William Hull, Edwin Parker, Frederick Thorne, Frederick Hibbert„ Henry Smith. From Argus—Ordinary seaman, J. Toser; late ship’s corporal, F. Derrick; late captain’s cook, Private R.N.L.I., James R. Clynes; domestic, H. W. Sapik. From Rover—Ordinary seamen Henry Maxwell and Valentine Wildson. From Bullfinch—Able seaman, William Larkin. From Plover, ordinary seaman, Edward Green ; from Zephyr, stoker, Edward Beale ; from Martin, ordinary seaman, William Shaston. Also following military passengers:— Royal Engineers— Captain Louis Ferrier: Corporals W. J. Curtis, J. Ewer; sappers H. G. Lairg, J. Stone, W. Lucas. 46th Regiment—Private H. Mausbridge.

As time went on, more details arrived regarding additional men who had been discharged onto the Eurydice in the West Indies.

Another of the smaller boats from the Eurydice also appeared to have been recovered.

And the salvage attempt was not going well - had somebody blundered in the planning?

THE FOUNDERING OF THE “EURYDICE.” - Saturday, April 20th, 1878

Isle of Wight Observer, 1878-04-20, p. 8

[EXCERPT : RELIEF]

A correspondent to Thursday’s Telegraph, writes : -—What has been done at the wreck ? is the question heard heard on all sides, and it was past 8 o’clock on Wednesday evening before any information was forthcoming, and then it was of the most unsatisfactory kind. The return of the three tugs and the lighters boded no good, and I regret to have to announce that everything will have to be commenced de novo. Without venturing to say who is to blame, there seems to be too much reason to fear that “some one has blundered.” The under-swell, it is said, has increased, and the tide runs with so much greater force that the anchors in use would not hold. Others of stouter calibre will have to be taken out, as the joining of the chain cables proved abortive, they were removed. But a flexible steel hawser having been swept under the wreck on Tuesday, it was expected that on Wednesday a second hawser would have been lowered into position, and that on Thursday the raising of the ship would be commenced. This, however, cannot be done, for it was deemed advisable to lift the hawser, and it has been brought into harbour. What will be the next move I cannot pretend to say, for confusion seems to prevail. Admiral Sir Houston Stewart, Controller of the Navy, who has appeared upon the scene, may be able to produce order. On Wednesday a life pinnace was picked up some 20 miles S.W. of St. Catherine, and is supposed to have formed part of the equipment of the Eurydice. She was brought into harbour, and handed over to the Admiralty authorities. There is now in the private dock at Portsmouth an iron vessel of some 1,200 tons, which, after having broken her back, was got off Bembridge Ledge by Capt. Coffin, who, in the course of the coming summer, will try to lift the Vanguard. It is said that Capt. Coppin offered to lift the Eurydice, but that his services were declined with thanks.

The Secretary to the Admiralty forwards a further list (received by telegraph from the Naval Commander-in-Chief on the North-American Station) of men who were discharged from and to her Majesty’s ship Eurydice before she left the West Indies for England viz. : Discharged from Eurydice to Rover - Walter Swindell, able seaman. Discharged to Eurydice from Rover- Charles Nicholson, captain of foretop ; James T Devine , ordinary seaman; and Robert Hiscutt, engineer’s cook.

From the Island, the salvage boats could be seen out in the bay, whilst dissatisfaction with the attempts being made continued to grow.

Battalion Drill - Scene and Thoughts at Nunwell - Thursday, April 25th, 1878

Isle of Wight Times, 1878-04-25, p. 5

…

Perhaps we never enjoyed the outlook more than we did on Monday, but to reverse the “silver lining to the cloud,” a dark cloud now marred this goden view, when we turned eastward. we saw some seven Government tugs and barges hovering round the spot (as it were almost beneath us, and within shot reach) when sank the ill-fated Eurydice, which now temporarily coffins a hundred or more gallant sailor boy bodies soon to be exhumed from the water and interred in the land. That is a ghastly picture that even away from the spot we care not to let our imagination turn to – made more ghastly by our belief that had the Steam Salvage Company been entrusted with the work of raising the ship, she would have been in a Portsmouth dock long ago, and her cargo of decomposing corpses consigned to their last resting place. We cannot but think that so much incompetency has been manifested by the dockyard authorities, as was manifested by those on board the ship when she sank. However, we must turn from the ship and view the Volunteers.

…

THE EURYDICE. - Friday, April 26th, 1878

Irish Times, 1878-04-26, p. 7

The unexpected delay which has occurred connection with the raising of the has, it is stated, evoked strong expression of dissatisfaction from the Admiralty, and it has been deemed advisable to call in aid the advice and assistance of the constructors’ department Portsmouth dockyard. The divers went out to the scene the wreck of the Eurydice yesterday morning, and from the activity shown the Government officials it was thought that the vessel would be moved. About eleven o’clock, however, strong breeze set from the north-west, and the divers came ashore about noon, without attempting descend to the wreck.

A month on, and still no success in raising the Eurydice, a change of plan was called for, and support from additional, private divers was bought in.

THE FOUNDERING OF THE “EURYDICE.” - Saturday, April 27th, 1878

Isle of Wight Observer, 1878-04-27, p. 5

Operations at the wreck of the Eurydice were resumed on Monday amid considerable difficulties, the Government arrangements having been unsuccessful. The plan which had been adhered to for about a month has been abandoned, and three private divers, Messrs. F. Davies, A. Sutherland, and Whittaker, of the firm of Messrs. Sielee and German, the submarine engineers of London, have been retained. Four tugs, the Grinder, Manly and Camel appeared on the scene during the day. An attempt was made to descend to the wreck early in the day, but the tide ran so strongly that it was impossible to do so with safety. The divers managed to reach the vessel during the slack tide in the afternoon, and examined her bows and head gear. The new plan is to sweep the ship with two steel hawsers and then to lift and carry her between two lighters to the beach.

The Portsmouth correspondent of the Telegraph writing on the 25th inst., says: At the wreck of the Eurydice to-day the divers were enabled to make a descent and even walk almost round the ship. The hawsers were got in position ready for slinging the vessel, and if circumstances continue as favourable as they are now, the attempt to raise her will be made to-morrow [this day, Friday].

[EXCERPT : RELIEF]

Fig. 21 Illustrated London News — The wreck of the Eurydice: Divers examining a wreck by the submarine light, April 27, 1878

The company divers brought with them improved support for illuminating the wreck.

THE WRECK OF RAISING THE EURYDICE. - Saturday, April 27th, 1878

Illustrated London News, 1878-04-27, p. 12

The hull of H.M.S. Eurydice, the training-ship for seamen of the Royal Navy, which was unhappily sunk by a sudden squall of wind off the coast of the Isle of Wight near Ventnor on Sunday, the 24th ult., has since been lying in eleven fathoms of water, with the dead bodies of more than three hundred men. The raising of the ship, means of lighters attached to her sides, for her removal to Sandown Bay, is not yet accomplished. On Monday last the operations were resumed amid considerable difficulties, the Government arrangements having been unsuccessful. The plan which has been adhered to for about month has been abandoned, and three private divers Messrs. F. Davies, A. Sutherland, and Whittaker, of the firm of Siebe and Gorman, the submarine engineers of London have been retained. Four tugs, the Grinder, Manly, Malta, and Camel, appeared on the scene during the day. An attempt was made to descend to the wreck early in the day, but the tide ran so strongly that it was impossible to do so with safety. The divers managed to reach the vessel during the slack tide in the afternoon, and examined her bows and head-gear. The new plan is to sweep the ship with two steel hawsers and then to lift and carry her between two lighters to the beach. The electric lamp used the divers is one of Foucault’s latest improvements, and regulates itself according to the strength of the current employed. When the current is too powerful the carbon points recede, and when weak they approach each other, thereby keeping up a light of equal intensity. This lamp will burn in any position and is not liable to get out of order. This lamp is inclosed in a strong case, with a lens opposite the carbon points, and a smaller one of colour to examine the light before sending under water. This casing is called the lantern; the whole, with the general arrangements of connection, being after designs of Messrs. Siebe and Gorman. This lantern when closed is perfectly watertight, for when the trial in seventeen fathoms took place not a drop of water entered. The lantern is connected to the battery by means of a double cable of two insulated wire, the cable being made of indiarubber, and the two united together by a tape covering. The battery is composed of fifty Bunsen elements placed in boxes of ten, being handier for moving about. The electric lamp will burn for one hour in the open air, but in the lantern it will bum two hours, as the combustion of the carbon points is not so rapid as in the open air—in fact, after a few minutes the light is burning in a complete vacuum when in the lantern.

With Pearl acting as a lightship, the Rinaldo returned to harbour to receive more ballast, and the lighters were returned to port in the face of inclement weather. Meanwhile, one of the divers was prevented from working following a back injury.

Elsewhere, comments were being made around the ability of navy men to swim, and whether such a skill would have been a life saving one anyway following the sinking of the Eurydice.

THE FOUNDERING OF THE ” EURYDICE” - Wednesday, May 1st, 1878

Hampshire Telegraph, 1878-05-01, p. 3

The Eurydice still lies in the same position as when she sank, now more than five weeks ago, and, so far as actual results are concerned, there is nothing fresh to record. In our last issue we gave an account of the progress which had been made in arranging the preliminaries for the attempt to raise the vessel. The Rinaldo, sloop, was taken out on Saturday, and was placed over the bow of the wreck, for the purpose of receiving the end of one of the steel hawsers which had been passed round the Eurydice. The Pearl, corvette, was brought from her moorings and does placed across the stern of the vessel to take both ends of the second hawser. There were two steel hawsers passed round the wreck and attached to the Pearl and Rinaldo, each being 4 1/2in. in circumference, and, in addition to these, the ship was slung with a couple of seven inch hawsers, composed of the same kind of material. “Toggles” ware also introduced through two of the ports on each side, and made fast to lighters by means shackles and hawsers. These toggles are stout pieces of ash, about a foot in thickness. They are inserted in the port-holes and a hawser attached to the outer end. When this is hauled taut the one end of the toggle is naturally elevated to the top of the port on the outer side, whilst there is a corresponding depression of the opposite end of the toggle until it reaches the bottom of the inside of the pert, and then becomes jambed, as it were, and affords a hold for additional hawsers to help in lifting the ship. These preliminaries having been completed during Saturday morning the hawsers were drawn taut and pinned down at low water. The operations had never before been advanced to this stage. The rise is about 10ft. and as the starboard bilge of the ship was ascertained to be embedded from 4ft. to 5ft., this would give an initial lift of about 3ft., allowing for stretch. As the tide rose in the evening, it became clear (says the Times report) that the dead weight of the sunken ship was much heavier than was supposed, 3OO tons having been estimated as the difference between her volume and weight. The strain upon the hawsers became very great as the time of the flood tide arrived, and eventually one of the auxiliary hawsers snapped under the enormous tension to which it was subjected. But the dead weight of the ship eventually relaxed, and though she was not lifted bodily she was moved sufficiently to place her upon an even keel. This was highly satisfactory as far as it went. It was supposed to prove the adequacy of the holding gear, and to demonstrate that the method of raising adopted was practicable. Every one engaied felt confident that the end was at length close at hand. The whole of the riggers and divers remained on board the various vessels throughout the night, and as the tide fell the slack was again hauled on board and tightened at low water. In the meantime, however, the wind went round to south of east, and blew freshly into the bay. This was the worst point from which it could blow, and the pitching of the lighters soon showed that if the work were resumed it it would have to be transacted with great care. It Was high water at about six o’clock on Sunday morning, but some time before this, before any movement had been obtained, one of the main hawsers gave way under the strain, due partly to the weight of the Eurydice itself, and partly, it is now in, supposed, to the vacuum which is produced between the bottom of the ship and the blue clay on which it rests. The hawser which parted was one of the 4 1/2 inch ones, and it broke just in the “nip,” close to the hawse pipe of the Pearl. One of the “toggles ” also carried on the port side. An examination by the divers has made manifest the fact that the starboard bilge, which was supposed to have been embedded to the extent of 5 feet, is actually sunk 9 feet in the clayey, bottom. This estimate has been found, after measuring the inclination of the masts and the height of the lee chaannel from the ground. The sills of the main deck ports,through which the divers passed their arms, thereby proving that they were open when the ship foundered, are on a level with the wash, and the bucklers are lying flat upon the ground. It is therefore supposed that large quantities of sand may have passed within the ship. But whether this be so or not, it is clear that the ship will have to be lifted 9ft. before any movement can be made. On neither side of the ship is there any damming or rise of the sand, from which the soft and yielding character of the bottom is made apparent. This augurs badly for the success of the operations, since every day the ship has a tendency to sink further. It is also thought that the movement effected on Friday night, which brought the ship from 28deg. of inclination to 25deg., may help this embedment, and to this must be added the fact that the wooden hull is fast becoming less buoyant by absorption of the water. It is now proposed to lift the wreck by introducing toggles into all her ports and fastening them to lighters specially fitted for the purpose, and four of these lighters will be placed on each side of the wreck. Now that the officials are in possession of the exact state of the case with which they have to deal, they are, if anything, even more hopeful than before of being able to raise the unfortunate ship. They are, however, fully cognisant of the increased difficulty of the task before them, and measures are being promptly taken to meet it, though, as the present tides will not serve, seeing that a rise of 13 ft. will be required to pull the ship out of its bed, a fortnight will probably elapse before the operation of lifting can be renewed. It has been deemed expedient to put more ballast into the Pearl and the Rinaldo in order that they may be brought down nearer to their load line, and thus acquire a firmer grasp of the water.

The Rinaldo was towed into harbour on Sunday, to receive her additional ballast, but the Pearl remains over the wreck as lightship. On Monday the whole of the lighters were also brought back to Portsmouth, this step being considered advisable, owing to the high wind which prevailed. Eight-inch jewel chains will probably be used in the next attempt, as, while steel hawsers will resist enormous vertical or horizontal strains, the unfortunate experience of Sunday proved that they are exceedingly liable to part where a “nip ” occurs, It is also proposed to introduce into the operations thefamous Popoff air-bag, which was experimentally, tested in this Dockyard in 1875 with reference to its applicability to raise the Vanguard, and which was subsequenty put to practical use to assist in raising the Oberon, torpedo ship, from the shoal at the month of the harbour. The bag, which is a combination of cordage, canvas, and vulcanised rubber, measures 22ft. in length and 12ft. in breadth, and when inflated to its full extent resembles a cylindrical boiler. The total displacement of the bag is about 60 tons, and when introduced through the hatches of the Eudrrydice it will be able to lift to that amount minus its own weight of 47cwt. 2qrs. 14lbs.

Mr. Hardy, one of the Dockyard divers, hurt his back whilst at the wreck, and is prevented taking part in the diving operations. On Monday two divers from Devonport Dockyard came round to assist in the work.

The operations for raising the vessel were watched on Saturday with great interest from Ventnor, Sandown, and Shanklin by a large number of spectators, many of whom were rowed to the scene of the disaster in boats. On Saturday one of the divers brought up a black silk neckerchief, marked ” W. Brooks”. A second list of Ventuer subscriptions is announced, amounting to about 40l., in aid of the Relief Fund, and the indefatigable Hon. Sceretary Mr. Livesay, hopes to obtain a further sum to augment the list.

The Broad Arrow remarks :-Somne correspondents of the daily papers, apropos of the loss of the Eurydice, have remarked on the neglect of swimming in the Royal Navy, It must be recollected, however, that in this melancholy case mere ability to swim was of little avail. The sudden shock to the system of men just returned from a tropical climate, on an unusually cold day, would prevent exertion on the part of some who were on deck, and the downwards sucking current caused by the suddaen sinking of the vessel would have the same effect. Most of the poor fellows, however, were below, where swimming was out of the question. The exhausted condition of Cuddiford, too, who is admittedly a powerful swimmer, would go to prove that none but an exceptionally strong man could possibly have survived-a fact which is further proved by the fact that Lieutenant Tabor and Captain Ferrier, though afloat, were dead when picked up. But, making every allowance for this particular case, the Admiralty might well devote a little more attention to this useful art. Captain F. S. Tremlett, indeed, avers that all the seamen in the Navy can swim; but this would seem to be scarcely consistent with the deaths by drowning of which we are continually reading.

Over a month on from the downing of the Eurydice, and by now the sunken wreck had started to sink into the sand. An attempt by the Malta to try to pull her free was unsuccessful, and an attempt at lifting the Eurydice was aborted when the steel hawsers snapped. Apparently, the ship was heavier than was supposed by virtue of the amount of sand she was now also carrying.

At this point, it seems the editor couldn’t help but remark: _”Naval men have had more experience in sinking ships than raising them. A private firm probably knows much more about the latter.’_Elsewhere, the Eurydice herself was described as “the dilettante production of a gallant admiral”.

A new plan was proposed involving a Popoff airbag that could be inserted into the wreck and inflated and wooden “toggles” (stout cylindrical pieces of oak timber, a foot in diameter and 8ft. long, with a shackle in the centre to which a hawser is attached) that would be placed across the inside of the ports and then take the strain of attached hawsers.

In readiness to clear the bodies from the ship once she could be raised, a hundred coffins were on standby. How many were on board, none could say, though it was notable that bodies had not, as yet, been recovered from the sea.

THE EURYDICE DISASTER. - Thursday, May 2nd, 1878

Isle of Wight Times, 1878-05-02, p. 5

On Wednesday the Admiralty telegraphed to the officials at Portsmouth Dockyard to the effect that their lordships having observed the increasing dissatisfaction felt by the public, as expressed in the public journals and shared in by themselves, and the want of success of the operations for raising the Eurydice, which had now been sunk since the 24th March, they had instructed the Chief-Constructor and the Master Attendant of Chatham yard (Mr. Saunders and Capt. Batt) to proceed to Portsmouth, and in consultation with the Chief-Constructor and the Master Attendant of Portsmouth Dockyard, to devise the best means for attaining the object in view as early as possible. Mr. W. B. Robinson, Chief-Constructor at Portsmouth, and Mr. J. C. Froyne, Constructor, proceeded to the wreck on Wednesday to ascertain the character of the operations which have been employed, &c. A hawser was fastened to the Eurydice’s mainmast, and carried to the Malta, which got up full speed. The wreck, however, remained immovable. The sweeping of the vessel with the two 7in. steel hawsers was recommenced, each hawser being capable of sustaining a strain of about 130 tons.

On Thursday the two hawsers were fixed in position, round the ship, and on Friday morning the lighters were lashed down to the wreck. The Chatham officials arrived this morning. Directly the tide commenced rising the authorities assembled on the tug arrived at the conclusion that the services of the Pearl and the Rinaldo, supplemented by two mooring lighters, should be brought into requisition, the opinion being entertained that the wreck had to a certain extent become embedded in sand. By Monday it was confidently expected that the wreck would be released from her present meeting. When once she has come away from the bottom, her being floated will almost entirely depend upon the tides, it being expected that each successive tide will enable her to be taken into shore some 200 yards. When brought above high water mark in Sandown Bay she will be pumped out, have her ports closed, and be then ready to float with the rise of the tide.

On Saturday the Rinaldo, the Pearl, corvette, and the lighters and tugs were all at hand, the hawsers were made taut, and one of the two ” toggles ” which it was determined to place in the ports, with hawsers attached, and the ends carried on board lighters, was got into position. The required rise is 10 feet to 13 feet. It was found that the vessel is embedded two feet, and that there is a silting of five feet on the starboard bilge. It was confidently anticipated that the lifting would be accomplished in the course of the next few days. Upwards of a hundred coffins are in readiness to be sent out to receive the bodies found on board, but whether these will be sufficient cannot of course be known until the divers have penetrated below, which they have not yet been able to do.

On Sunday morning she was moved and put on even keel, and then all thought the end near at haul, but unhappily one of the 7in. steel hawsers gave way; also one of the auxiliaries, so that the work of lifting had to be postponed. It was thought that the two steel hawsers were fully equal to the strain, but on the turn of the tide, the Pearl, on swinging, caused such a tremendous strain on the hawser that it parted. The Rinaldo afterwards let go the hawser attached to her. The weight proved much heavier than expected—up to 300 tons. The London divers have left the scene of the wreck, as some days must elapse before stouter hawsers can be placed in position and the work resumed. The divers have found that the ship is much heavier than was supposed being weighted with sand, and bedded nearly nine feet, the starboard bilge sills being about level with the ground. The officials have determined to supplement the Pearl and Rinaldo with toggles to be placed in the ports of the Eurydice, attached to lighters, four on either side, and to use eight-inch jewel chains. The operations will be resumed when the tide serves!

The Times (Monday) says the whole plan of lifting will have to be changed!— that the work will practically have to be commenced from the beginning, and that the next attempt cannot be made till the middle of next month ! Although five weeks have been consumed in the operations, it does not appear that any systematic or reliable exploration of the position of the ship, especially relatively to the ground has been made. The starboard bilge has sunk 9 feet in the clayey bottom. The divers have passed their arms through the sills of the main deck ports, proving that they were open. The vessel must be lifted 9 feet before any movement can be made.

So far as practical operations are concerned, nothing was done at the wreck on Monday, but all the preliminaries rendered necessary by the re-arrangement of the plans to raise the ship are being hastened forward with all possible celerity. The preparations are of an extensive character, and will, it is confidently anticipated, eventuate in the recovery of the Eurydice. Disappointment is expressed in all directions at the snapping of the hawser, but this unfortunate mishap arose from circumstance over which the scientific officers conducting the operations had no control, the opinion being universally entertained that the hawser would sustain a far greater strain than the lifting of the vessel involved. Two experienced divers have arrived from Devonport dockyard, and the operations will be resumed with all practicable dispatch.—[Naval men have had more experience in sinking ships than raising them. A private firm probably knows much more about the latter.—Ed. I. W. T.]

Now the plan for lifting is to use probably 8in. jewel chains, and to use ” toggles ” and a Popoff air-bag. It is proposed that ” toggles” shall be passed through the whole of the ports of the Eurydice and attached to lighters, placed four on each side, by which mains it is thought the ship will be lifted evenly and bodily out of her bed. A ” toggle,” it may be explained, is a stout cylindrical piece of oak timber, a foot in diameter and 8ft. long, with a shackle in the centre to which a hawser is attached. A main deck port of the Eurydice represents an opening three feet wide, and the toggle, being inserted endwise, is slewed across the inner side of the port, and a strain being put on the hawser the toggle becomes fixed, acting just the same as a button in a button hole. But the most important additional factor which will be imported into the operations is the famous Popoff air-bag, which was experimentally tested at Portsmouth in 1875 with reference to its applicability to raise the Vanguard, and which was subsequently put to practical use to assist in raising the Oberon torpedo ship, from the shoal at the mouth of the harbour. The bag, which is a combination of cordage canvas, and vulcanized rubber, measures 22ft. in length, and 12ft. in breadth, and when inflated to its full extent resembles a cylindrical boiler. Its total displacement is about 60 tons, and when introduced through hatches of the Eurydice, it will be able to lift to that amount minus its own weight of 47cwt. 2qrs. 14lb.

The Rinaldo and Pearl are to have more ballast. Owing to Monday’s gale one or two of the lighters ran great risk of being lost.

The ship once broached and pumped out, there will come, says the Standard, the ghastly task of recovering such of the bodies as were drowned between decks. It is not supposed that many of the crew were on the main deck at the time of the accident, the watch below being one deck lower still. What few may have been drowned on the main deck would have a stood chance of being washed out through the open ports by the constant rush of the tide ebbing and flowing. It is a little remarkable however, that not a single body has been recovered, either of those who drifted away at once by the ebb tide, which must have been then running with some force, or of the few who may have floated out from the open ports since. It may be remembered, however, that the same fact was noticeable in the Northfleet disaster, where two or three bodies only were recovered out of the still greater number of victims who were hurried so suddenly into eternity. Little will remain but to pay the last sad offices to the relics of humanity that will be discovered, for after so long a lapse of time the progress of decomposition must render all hope of identity out of the question ; and it is probable that it will be the truest kindness to the sorrowing relatives if no such attempt is permitted.

THE COURT MARTIAL ON THE SURVIVORS.

The inquiry will he opened directly the ship is in the harbour, and will be looked for with great interest. The Standard remarks:— ” Properly conducted, and there is no doubt it will be most searching, a great deal of light may be thrown us the cause of what, prime facie, seems the loss of a fine well-manned ship of war, with a young, but no doubt thoroughly efficient crew and officers, as to whose professional ability there can be no question in a squall, severe, no doubt, but still, is merely a squall, one through which a little collier schooner, only two or three miles distant, passed absolutely unscathed. At the recent meeting of naval architects, Mr. Reed. M. P., let fall a few words with regard to the metacentre of the Eurydice, which raises the question of the unfortunate ship’s stability. It is scarcely necessary to say that this point will have to be made perfectly clear at the impending inquiry. It is admitted that the design of the ship was the dilettante production of a gallant admiral, who seems to have thought he could improve on the work of the chief constructor of the day ; and it was stated by Cuddiford, the A. B. survivor of the wreck, that the Eurydice exhibited a little peculiarity of behaviour in the shape of violent lurching when of light draft. Before starting on her last cruise the Eurydice is said to have been inclined, and, of course, must then have given satisfactory proof of stability. The point, therefore, to which the great scientific skill which the Admiralty can command will have to be directed is, whether from the nature of the ship’s lines she had a tendency to become dangerously crank when her draught of water was lessened beyond a certain figure. No recondite defect of this kind will be discovered to account for the accident, the terrible lesson of the loss of the Captain having made all connected with the navy far too cognisant of the scientific principles involved, and too careful in their application to allow such a defect to pass in any ship now in the service.

In formulating the new plan, it seems that a more considered estimate of the potential dead weight of the vessel would be required than had perhaps previously been assumed.

THE EURYDICE. - Saturday, May 4th, 1878

Isle of Wight Observer, 1878-05-04, p. 8

Though the result of the operations around the Eurydice on Sunday has produced great disappointment at Portsmouth, now that the officers are in possession of the exact state of the case with which they have to deal, they are, if anything, even more hopeful than before of being able to raise the unfortunate ship. They are, however, fully cognizant of the increased difficulty of the task before them, and measures are being promptly taken to meet it, though, as the present tides will not serve, seeing that a rise of 13ft. will be required to pull the ship out of its bed, a fortnight will probably elapse before the operation of lifting can be renewed. In the meantime, it is necessary that an ample margin should be allowed for that at present unknown quantity, the dead weight of the ship plus the strain which will be needed to overcome the suction between the ship and the burrow which she has formed for herself in the sand. Preparations are being made to resist a strain of some 700 tons. This is more than double the estimated dead-weight of the ship in her normal state, before the saturation of her planks and timbers and the introduction of sand into her hold through the main deck lee ports, which, as already stated, are on a level with the ground. It will also be necessary to provide against unequal distribution of strains, for it is evident that where a heavy weight has to be grappled with from purchases suspended from a moving surface or platform, great care is required so to adjust them as to prevent one hawser feeling the pinch in advance of the rest, and thus being subjected to abnormal tension. After a consultation between the Portsmouth and Chatham dockyard officers, it has been decided to supplement the buoyant power of the Pearl and the Rinaldo by dropping “toggles” through the whole of the ports of the Eurydice and attaching them to lighters placed four on each side, whereby, it is thought, the ship will be lifted evenly and bodily out of her bed. It has also been deoraed expedient to put more ballast into the Pearl and the Rinaldo in order that they may be brought down nearer to their load line, and thus acquire a firmer grasp of the water. The Rinaldo has already been brought from the scene of the wreck into harbour to receive the additional ballast on board. Eight-inch jewel chains will also probably be used, as, while steel hawsers will resist enormous vertical or horizontal strains, the unfortunate experience of Sunday proved that they are exceedingly liable to part where a nip occurs. But the most important additional factor which will be imported into the operations is the famous Popoff air-bag, which was experimentally tested at Portsmouth in 1875 with reference to its applicability to raise the Vanguard, and which was subsequently put to practical use to assist in raising the Oberon, torpedo ship, from the shoal at the mouth of the harbour. The bag, which is a combination of cordage, canvas, and vulcanized rubber, measures 22ft. in length and 12ft. in breadth and when inflated to its full extent resembles a cylindrical boiler. The total displacement of the bag is about 60 tons, and when introduced through the hatches of the Eurydice, it will be able to lift to that amount minus its own weight of 47cwt. 2qrs 14lbs. Owing to the gale which prevailed, nothing was done on Monday at the wreck. Indeed, it was found necessary to bring the lighters in, one or two- of them running great risk of being lost. Two additional divers have been brought from Devonport to assist in the preliminary operations.