The Luray

• Decision Date: 16 March 1885
• Citation: 24 F. 751
• Parties: THE LURAY. [1] v. THE LURAY. VICKERY and another ROLLISON v. THE LURAY and THE GRACE.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fourth Circuit

24 F. 751

THE LURAY. ^[1]

VICKERY and another v. THE LURAY.

ROLLISON v. THE LURAY and THE GRACE.

United States District Court, E.D. Virginia.

March 16, 1885

White &amp Garnett, for the Grace and owners.

Whitehurst & Hughes, for J. W. Rollison.

Sharp &amp Hughes, for the Luray and owners.

HUGHES J.

On the morning of January 30, 1883, the steamers Luray and Grace came in collision about midway of the ship channel, a quarter of a mile N. 1/2 E. from the Craney island light-house, in Elizabeth river. The Luray was on her usual trip from Hampton and Old Point Comfort to Norfolk. The Grace was bound out from Norfolk on a trip into the Rappahannock river. The collision occurred, according to the weight of evidence, at 9 o'clock, 48 minutes, A.M. The Luray struck the Grace on her port side, at an angle of about, or nearly, 30 deg., a little abaft of midship and forward of her boiler, and penetrated her hull to within three feet of her side on the starboard quarter. The keel of the Grace was not struck. The Grace sank at once in five and a half fathoms of water. All on board were saved, except one passenger, who was in the cabin below, whose body was recovered the next day. Her fireman, James W. Rollison, was severely injured, and one passenger sustained temporary injury. The headway of the Luray was arrested by the contact; and she gave all the assistance that was possible in saving the crew and passengers of the Grace.

The collision occurred in a very dense fog,-- in what is called a fog-bank,--which the Luray had entered four-fifths of a mile below, at buoy 7. This dense fog had prevailed during the whole trip of the Grace from Norfolk to the place of collision. The distance of this place from Craney island light-house was 520 yards, and from buoy 7 was 1,670 yards by the chart.

The owners of the Grace file their libel against the Luray claiming $10,000 of damages, which they claim to have sustained from the accident, and produce evidence to show their actual outlay for repairs to have exceeded $7,000. The contention of the libelants is that the Luray was running too fast on the occasion, in such a fog as then prevailed, and did not give proper signals, duly announcing her whereabouts, by steam whistles.

The Grace is a steamer of about 41 tons; and she had but little freight. She was built for a fishing steamer, and had large holds in her hull. She is of light structure, but was strong and staunch. Her breadth of beam was 16 1/2 feet, and her length 85 feet. The Luray is a very strong and staunch boat, 150 feet in length of keel, and had a tonnage of three to four hundred tons. The evidence taken by parties on either side in this cause is unusually voluminous; and on several points is absolutely contradictory and irreconcilable. I will not undertake to review it; though I have given it frequent perusals and much thought. I shall confine myself in what follows to what seems to be the most important questions in the case; chiefly to the inquiry whether the Luray was at fault in being in the place where the collision was, or in running too fast in the fog that she was in at the time of the collision; and whether she was also at fault in respect to fog signals, and other precautionary measures.

The evidence of respondents shows that the Luray left the wharf at Old Point Comfort sharply at 9 o'clock, and, the fog being light at the time, came at her usual speed of 12 miles an hour to Sewell's Point wharf; that she ran in at that wharf, and was seven minutes there putting off cargo; that she resumed her trip and came on for Norfolk, having lost 10 minutes in going to, stopping at, and again getting under way from Sewell's Point wharf; that she came as far as buoy 7 at the rate of 10 miles an hour, or somewhat more, the fog still not obstructing the vision; that she reached buoy 7 at 40 minutes after 9 o'clock, and there struck and entered the fog-bank; that she immediately slowed down her speed, which, in the course of the three succeeding minutes, was reduced to half-speed; that she continued still to check her speed for three minutes longer; that at the end of six minutes from buoy 7 she ported her helm a little, which nearly destroyed her steerage-way, going on a flood-tide only at the rate of '4 or 5 miles an hour, not more than that, over the ground;' that two or three minutes later, as her engineer was about to increase her speed, in order not to lose her steerage-way the Grace shot out of the fog across her bows so near to her that all witnesses agree it was impossible to avoid a collision.

The evidence further shows that the Grace was crossing the bows of the Luray at an angle of about or nearly 30 deg., although the Grace's pilot and master testify that she was moving N. 1/4 W., and although the navigators of the Luray testify that she was moving S. 1/2 E. up to three minutes before the collision, when she ported her helm a little, throwing her slightly further to the west. Here is a point in regard to which the evidence is conflicting. The burden of proof is on the libelants, and the evidence leaves this matter in doubt, with the probabilities against the Grace. It is conceded that the angle of collision was about 30 deg. The Grace claims to have been heading directly from buoy 9 to buoy 7; but she was in fact 85 to 100 yards to the west of this course when the collision occurred. She must have passed near Craney Island light-house, (which, by the chart, is 115 yards westward of a straight course from buoy 9 to buoy 7;) for Capt. Kenney, her master, testified that he was steering from the light-house for a buoy a quarter of a mile north, which could only be red buoy 8, which is due north of the light-house, and which is, by the chart, 120 yards west of a straight course from buoy 9 to buoy 7, on the western edge of the channel. Her pilot must have been aware of this fact, and must have been crossing obliquely eastward to regain the course he was intending to pursue when the collision occurred. The Grace was under the disadvantage of a thick fog all the way down, was continually uncertain of her position, as was shown by her master's constant heaving of the lead, and could not avoid varying materially from her intended course a great part of the time. Moreover, her pilot was not a licensed Virginia pilot, and her master was not especially familiar and experienced in these waters. If the Grace had been on a direct course from buoy 9 to buoy 7, as she desired to be, the chart shows that at the time of the collision she would have been 100 yards to the east of where she actually was, and that a collision would not have been possible.

It was not a fault that the Luray was where she was, near the western edge of the ship channel, with helm a-port. Unless signaled to the contrary, vessels usually pass each other port to port, each one passing on her starboard side of the channel. This is where the Luray was running in coming up the channel, and it is not pretended that she got a signal to pass the other side. The middle of the ship channel at that place is shown by the evidence and the chart to be not more than 50 yards from the west bank; while on the east side there is more than half a mile of deep water, spreading out to the mouth of Tanner's creek. I conclude from all the evidence under this head that the Grace before the collision had been quite near the west bank of the channel, and that this not being the proper side for a vessel going north, she was crossing over to gain a direct course from buoy 9 to buoy 7, when she encountered the Luray; that at that moment she was heading much more directly across the channel than a course N. 1/4 W.; and that, by being on her port side of the channel, in a fog, and in...