WILLIAM WALLACE WOTHERSPOON,
chief of diving operations,
Sworn.
By Mr. Newcombe:
5874. Have you just come from the scene of the wreck?
- Yes, sir.
5875. Arrived this morning?
- Yes, sir.
5876. You have had charge of the diving operations there?
- Yes, sir.
5877. Most unfortunately, you lost your principal diver there the other day?
- One of them, yes, sir.
5878. What was his name?
- Edward Cossaboom.
5879. Had he, under your instructions, gone down and made a survey of the position of the wreck?
- Yes.
5880. And reported to you what he found?
- Yes.
5881. Will you give the court such information as you can as to the position of the wreck as it lies under the water there?
- We went down on the government steamer Druid with two moorings on the 7th of June and from a small boat moved with kedge anchors the diver made his first descent. We tried to put him down away from the wreck - that is towards the bilge of the ship and first there was a line put down with a weight on the end of it and he went down on that. The first thing he reported when he came up was that he struck some obstruction, tried to catch it and then passed below it. That was evidently the bilge of the ship. He was taken up and the boat’s position was shifted so that it was nearer her load line; he went down again and found the side of the ship aslant - not a very abrupt slant but aslant. He found white work and travelled along that fore and aft and the ship when she was wrecked was roughly speaking inshore. That was all he did that day.
By Lord Mersey:
5882. That would show that the ship was on her starboard side?
- Roughly, yes, sir. On the 19th with a small steam schooner rigged for the purpose, and with some naval divers, another examination was made. I presume the officer in charge of the naval divers can best report as to his own men. Our man went down intending to find the stern of the vessel and put a mooring on it so that not only could it be worked from, but the stern of the vessel would be absolutely established. He moved forward - he thought he was moving aft but it is very easy to become twisted - and he worked his way along to what he called the awning which would really be the screening. That is on the promenade deck. Then he worked along aft. He again established in his own mind that the ship had quite an inclination. He then worked up towards the rail of the vessel and found a great lot of raffle, boat falls and so forth. He found a collapsible boat. Then he was ordered up. He made another descent in the afternoon and this time worked aft until he came opposite, or just above, No. 4 hatch and found a suitable place to place this mooring. He brought up a body with him when he came. He made another descent a few minutes afterwards, a chain was passed down to him and he made it fast to the after end of the ship. He then travelled forward and travelled out a little on the rigging and his impression was still that the vessel had quite a slant or slope to her side.
5883. You are talking of the port side of the ship?
- Yes, sir. Then, next day when he lost his life, he went forward on the forecastle head. He worked up there with this mooring. It was probably due to the shape of the ship but he was then under the same impression that the vessel’s side was by no means flat. When he was on the forecastle head he slid and lost his life. The position of the vessel was then, roughly speaking, north-east and south-west.
By Mr. Newcombe:
5S84. Southwest the bow?
- Northeast the bow.
By Lord Mersey:
58S5. The bow north-east?
- Yes, sir.
5886. That being really the direction in which she was travelling when she was sunk?
- Yes, my Lord.
By Mr. Newcombe:
5887. And the spars pointing to the shore?
- Yes.
5388. Was the vessel lying perfectly flat?
- Not perfectly flat. He had a notion that the vessel sank with the smokestacks almost parallel to the surface of the water. As she sank and was immersed her gravity began to right the ship and she ultimately would have sunk with the spars upright but before that turning movement was complete she struck the bottom. That left a very considerable leverage and it bent down.
5S89. What sort of a bottom is there?
- Soft mud.
5390. Is she deep in the mud?
- 12 or 15 feet I should think.
5891. Did the diver go over the other side?
- No, he did not go over the other side. It would be a very hazardous undertaking. He wanted to but I stopped him.
By Mr. Aspinall:
5S92. As you get down towards the bed of the river do the currents run very swiftly?
- There is about a two and a half knot current. They almost run in the same direction and at top and bottom there is always a current.
5893. When you get down towards the bottom the current does not necessarily run in the same way as the current does at the top?
- Towards the middle of the flood or ebb it probably runs the same way top and bottom but as the tide changes it changes on the top first.
5894. Then a vessel sinking might have its heading affected?
- Yes, sir, very possibly.
By Mr. Haight:
5895. Have you ever, Mr. Wotherspoon, done any diving in that vicinity before this incident?
- Yes, 40 or 50 miles from there.
5896. Would the tidal conditions where you did your diving be similar to those off Father Point or would they differ very considerably?
- They were of the same character.
5897. At what stage osf the tide would you say that the total movement of the water on the surface and at the bottom would all be in the same direction?
- The middle of the flood or the middle of the ebb.
5898. Explain how far each way?
- That would be pretty hard to say.
5899. Assuming that low water on the night in question was a few minutes after ten and that high water occurred about four, that would mean that the exact middle of the flood movement would come at one o’clock?
- I am afraid that you will have to repeat; I cannot get your point.
5900. According to my understanding the tide table shows that at Father Point on the night of this disaster it was low water about 10 p.m. and high water about 4?
- A.m.
5901. A.M. I think it was fifteen or twenty minutes past four. Do I understand that at one o’clock or thereabouts the movement of water in the river would be the same both at the top and the bottom?
- It would be most apt to be the same at that time. Of course, there is an eddy at that point. The shore forms a sort of sweep at that point and the tide does not run directly up and down the river.
5902. When you get four or five miles off from Father Point?
- At that particular point of the river - I should perhaps have said before - the current does not seem to run directly up and down the river.
5903. Where does it seem to set?
- After flood tide it seems to swing towards shore and after ebb tide from shore.
5904. Where will your buoys be facing on a flood tide? Will they tend to float towards the shore?
- Yes, sir.
5905. Would it be approximately right to say at right angles to the shore?
- Not as much of an angle as that; a lesser degree than a right angle.
5906. As I see the chart the north line magnetic is almost at right angles. Would the current tend to drive these buoys to the southeast?
- That is downstream.
5907. There (referring to chart) is Cock Point, there is Rimouski and there is Father Point.
- (The chart having been placed in witness’ hands.) With flood tide it would sweep in that way; it would head like that (indicating).
5908. Can you tell us in which direction your buoys would drive if you cut them loose; would they go southeast or?
- With flood tide they would drive off to the south. That would be their trend - not exactly.
5909. How many feet of water covered the port side of the steamer?
- At low water about 75 feet.
5910. So that in any event, if the vessel were sinking very rapidly there would not be time after she left the surface for her to alter her position before she touched the bottom?
- Just before a ship of that size touched bottom the tide would have a very strong effect upon her.
5911. It is impossible to tell which way she would swing?
- No, I think she would swing her stern towards shore. If she occupied a certain position at the surface I should think it would swing her stern in or her bow out.
5913. Do you think that there are conditions below that are entirely different from those on the surface?
- Yes, it depends on certain stages of the tide.
5914. Do you think the conditions are radically different below from what they are on the surface three and a half to four hours after high water?
- Then there is a considerable difference.
5915. The tendency would be, as I understand you, Mr. Wotherspoon, at the middle of the tidal movement, to have the water conditions at the surface and the bottom The same?
- They are more apt to be the same then than at any other time.
5910. Is it not true that the current of the river actually overcomes the inilowing of the tide?
- Do you mean at the flood? The flood is not as strong as the ebb.
5917. Is it not true that while there is the difference of low water and high water the real difference of the tidal movement is merely that the current is stronger on the ebb and weaker on the flood and is always out towards the St. Lawrence Gulf?
- No, sir.
5818. The charts that I have all seem to indicate that to be the fact. (Referring to American chart.) As I read the chart the entry towards the middle of the river, immediately off Rimouski, reads ‘current 1½ to 2½ knots always down?
- The chart may be right but our experience in wrecking would not seem to indicate quite that.
5919. Off Metis Point, about 5 or 6 miles farther on there is another entry, ‘currents 1½ to 2 knots indicated down?
- No answer.
5920. Will you please state at what precise points these two moorings are made fast?
- One of them is made fast directly to the stem. The other one was directly at the after end of No. 4 hatch.
5921. He did not get over on the deck?
- Yes, sir.
5922. Did he get down on the deck to the hatch combing?
- No, not so far inboard; it was nearer the rail than that.
5923. It is fastened to the rail?
- No, sir, inboard of the rail as I understand.
5924. Fastened to No. 4 hatch.
- At the after end of No. 4 hatch.
5925. And the forward bow?
- The forward bow was not made fast by him but be was fastening it and a chain was put down to the forecastle head and one of the jib stays was made fast.
5926. These two buoys are made fast to the same deck of the ship?
- Yes, sir.
5927. What is the line of these buoys when they are in a normal position - northeast?
- Northeast to southwest, by compass; it might differ a little.
5928. The bow heads northeast and the stem southwest?
- Yes, sir.
5929. I do not suppose any of the divers have been to the extreme stern?
- This man was to the extreme stern.
5930. Did he report as to how he found the rudder?
- No, sir, he did not go as far as that.
5931. Are you continuing your diving work?
- Yes, sir.
Mr. Haight:
If there is time to recall the witness I would like to know how her rudder is set. (To witness).
5932. When will the next descent be made?
- Probably the day after tomorrow. We are getting other divers.
Lord Mersey:
Mr. Haight, I have listened to these questions and I have tried to follow them as I have no doubt my colleagues have; what is this evidence supposed to establish?
Mr. Haight:
That the vessel which was lost is pointing N 45 degrees E.
Lord Mersey:
That we have heard several times and the stern is pointing exactly the other way. What else, Mr. Haight?
Mr. Haight:
N. 45 degrees E. is practically the angle at which we say she was heading when she hit us.
Lord Mersey:
It establishes that the stem is pointing northeast and the stern is pointing southwest. You have asked a great many questions.
Mr. Haight:
Because Mr. Aspinall, noticing at once that the vessel was pointing northeast and not southeast, as Captain Kendall has said, quite properly asked if there could not be some currents that really would have changed her heading so that the position she now lies in is absolutely no indication as to how she pointed.
Lord Mersey:
What does he say to that?
Mr. Haight:
He says there may be some currents. He says that he found some current there and the court will decide -
Lord Mersey:
Sometimes he made that sort of a sign and then he made another sort of a sign.
Mr. Haight:
If the court thinks that it is the pivot point of this case - that is, as to how these boats were heading - if we are going to have any real evidence as to tidal conditions, I think that government surveyors should place buoys and scientifically measure the movements of the currents at the same periods of the tides at this point. It can be done and is done every day.
Lord Mersey:
I shall leave the government to make up its mind about that.
By Mr. Newcombe:
5933. Having regard to the information which you have about wrecking, do you think it will be possible, in connection with your operations, to get an actual description of the damage that was caused by the collision?
- I very much doubt it. This man was very anxious to try and work under the side, but I think it would be a very hazardous and perhaps impossible undertaking. While the rail may be above the mudline I think the injury would be covered by mud.
5934. As to raising the ship, that is impossible?
- In my opinion, that is impossible.
By Mr. Haight:
5935. At what period of the tide can your work be done with the greatest safety?
- Flood tide is best but they have gone down at all stages of the tide. Of course, slack water is what we try to have but we have to work at every stage of the tide.
5936. You find that there is less current observable at flood tide than at any other period of the tide?
- No, at slack water.
Lord Mersey:
In slack water the current is less?
Mr. Haight:
I would like to find out what the diver’s experience is as to going down. (To witness):
5937. Will you tell us the stage once more that you find best during the entire period of the ebb and flow time?
- We find it best at slack, high and low water.
5938. If you are diving on a tide at flood it makes less trouble than on an ebb tide?
- Yes, sir.
Chief Justice McLeod:
Did I understand you to say that the vessel lies in the same position as that in which she was when she was struck?
Mr. Haight:
I say that the angle which everybody admits was the angle when we were heading west by south places her heading very nearly northeast.
By Lord Mersey:
5939. Was your diver able to ascertain whether any of the ports were shut?
- Some of the upper ports have been found open.
5940. What ports were those?
- The diver would describe them as being on the white work; that would be on the promenade deck, and so on.
By Chief Justice McLeod:
5941. Were there any open in the cabins?
- Yes, sir, there were some cabin ports open - not many.
Witness retired.