Em 2011 tive oportunidade de editar no Brasil, na Editora Bússola, o meu primeiro romance histórico, “O Cavaleiro da Ilha do Corvo” baseado nas prováveis viagens e descobertas atlânticas pré-portuguesas das ilhas da chamada Macaronésia, sobretudo dos Açores. Na ocasião, o livro mereceu uma leitura crítica encomiástica por parte de Mariana Russo, no seu blog Blablabla Aleatório e que mereceu uma gratificante distinção de 5 estrelas. Pela atualidade do tema em termos históricos evoco aqui o comentário da referida crítica, que passou naturalmente em branco entre nós e que até certo ponto mantive sob prudente reserva a “marinar” na gaveta face ao que poderia ser entendido como imodéstia do autor, sobretudo quando se compara com…. Dan Brown. Passado este tempo e como penso que a generalidade dos leitores ignora o essencial da obra, permito-me deixar aqui o texto para atestar uma leitura provinda de uma cultura e língua irmã distanciada no espaço:

O Cavaleiro da Ilha do Corvo – Joaquim Fernandes

No mês passado, a Editora Bússola entrou em contato com o blog divulgando o lançamento do primeiro livro do seu catálogo: O Cavaleiro da Ilha do Corvo, do lusitano Joaquim Fernandes. Eu li o release (clique aqui para ler também!) e, apaixonada por romances históricos como sou, perguntei se a editora poderia me encaminhar um exemplar. Para a minha sorte, recebi o livro alguns dias depois. Que leitura!

A narrativa começa de forma bastante despretensiosa, com o autor afirmando que o livro é de ficção, apesar de “…nela se incorporam e entretecem acontecimentos, fatos e personagens reais…”. Somos logo introduzidos ao Cavaleiro da Ilha do Corvo, que nada mais é do que uma estátua antiga com a qual os portugueses que chegaram à ilha no século XV se depararam. Com traços característicos do norte da África, a estátua representa cavaleiro que aponta a América.

O autor passa então a narrar a descoberta da estátua, como ela foi descrita ao rei de Portugal e como este ordenou que a estátua fosse levada a ele. Conta também da placa que foi descoberta próxima à estátua, com caracteres antigos que nem mesmo o mais letrado presente conseguia desvendar.

Eis que entra a personagem principal: professor de uma renomada universidade americana, esportista, fiel usuário de casacos de tweed. Michael Serpa poderia ser Robert Langdon, o herói dos livros de Dan Brown, mas este americano tem um pé na terrinha*, e seu sobrenome lusitano é apenas mais um dos elementos que o diferenciam do personagem de Brown.

Ao se deparar com a existência de um amuleto árabe com caracteres antiquíssimos encontrado nos Açores, mais uma possível prova de que os espanhóis e portugueses não foram os primeiros a explorar os mares e oceanos do mundo e descobrir a América, Michael decide estudar as “lendas” de navegações pré-Colombo mais a fundo. Isso leva o professor a uma conferência da Universidade dos Açores, na qual conhece Lúcia Lacroix, historiadora portuguesa que enxerga em Michael alguém que tem a mesma paixão pelos mistérios das ilhas.

A dupla passa a procurar por provas do povoamento das ilhas dos Açores por outros povos anteriores à chegada dos portugueses, e esbarra na história da estátua da Ilha do Corvo, e em várias outras pistas. Eventualmente incluem na equipe Sara e Daniel, colegas de Lúcia, e Martin, seu tio, um ex-bibliotecário que possui uma coleção de livros antigos digna da profissão. Os diálogos dos investigadores são sempre munidos de referências a personagens antigos, o que, junto às várias “lendas” que eles perseguem, pode confundir o leitor, mas nada que torne a leitura menos prazerosa.

O tempo todo o autor nos revela que os esforços de Michael e Lúcia estão sendo observados. Alguém não quer que os fatos que eles estão descobrindo venham à tona e esse alguém não poupará esforços para impedí-los.

Quem leu qualquer um dos livros de Dan Brown poderá achar que este é apenas mais um livro que se aproveita da fórmula do americano. Não vou negar que a dinâmica é semelhante, mas comparar Joaquim Fernandes a Dan Brown é praticamente ofensivo. Além de envolver a trama com muito mais mistério, o português escreve melhor, mais concisamente e revela no fim do livro as muitas fontes que usou para escrever o livro.

Como se isso não bastasse, o autor trabalha as passagens do livro com muito mais carinho. Várias vezes eu me via parando de ler o livro para admirar uma ou outra construção que ele usou para descrever os acontecimentos.

“Nesse jardim terreno, o Éden glorioso cantado por Lord Byron nos primórdios do século XIX, das janelas do Lawrence’s Hotel, os rochedos parecem gigantes num observatório que alcança as praias a seus pés, e as águas irrompem da montanha para fecundar as brumas que a habitam. Lá no alto, coroando a espinha de granito, vigilante e sobranceiro ao vilarejo, situa-se o que o compositor Richard Strauss chamou de Castelo do Santo Graal.”

Joaquim recheia a narrativa de metáforas que ilustram o texto e o tornam mais bonito e gostoso de ler. Dá a sensação de que ele não escreveu apenas porque queria publicar um livro, mas pelo prazer de formar frases elegantes:

“Lúcia Lacroix poderia se sentir na pele de Ifigénia, fiha de Agamenon, no tempo da Guerra de Tróia, trocando a fúria dos deuses pelos ventos amenos e a saída da armada grega para o mar. Como a personagem de Eurípedes, a jovem parecia ter sido designada pelos oráculos para subir ao altar da imolação…”

O Cavaleiro da Ilha do Corvo foi um livro que me surpreendeu do início ao fim. Esperava um Bernard Cornwell, e encontrei um Dan Brown melhorado. O livro é bem escrito, as personagens são cativantes e o tema é fascinante. Uma excelente pedida para todos os fãs de história por aí .

“A História é um rio de múltiplos afluentes e meandros, navegado na medida de cada um”

Gostaria de agradecer, novamente, à Editora Bússola por ter me cedido o exemplar. A leitura foi uma das mais agradáveis que eu tive no ano. Espero ter a oportunidade de ler mais livros da editora no futuro.

Mariana Russo – do Blog Blablabla Aleatório

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Joca Levy

5.0 out of 5 stars Excelente leitura!

June 24, 2011

Format: Kindle Edition

Gostei muito desse livro. Um “thriller” histórico lusitano muito bem escrito.O Cavaleiro da Ilha do Corvo (Portuguese Edition)

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Philip Henry Gosse FRS* (6 de Abril de 1810 – 23 de Agosto de 1888), «known to his friends as Henry, was an English naturalist and populariser of natural science, an early improver of the seawater aquarium, and a painstaking innovator in the study of marine biology. Gosse created and stocked the first public aquarium at the London Zoo in 1853, and coined the term “aquarium” when he published the first manual, “The Aquarium: An Unveiling of the Wonders of the Deep Sea”, in 1854. His work was the catalyst for an aquarium craze in early Victorian England.», ver https://bit.ly/46KtDLS.

*Fellowship of the Royal Society

—

The north breeze blows cheerily though coldly, and the sun, daily attaining a more elevated position at noon, while the pole-star nightly approaches the horizon, tells us of our rapid progress southward. By and by, the shout of “Land ho !” directs our attention to the horizon, where, with straining eyes, we dimly discern what appears to be a faint mass of cloud, of so evanescent a hue, that a landsman looks long in the direction of the seaman’s finger, and yet continues dubious whether anything is really visible or not. Now he says confidently, “Ha! I caught a glance of it then :” but presently it turns out that his eye has been direct to a point quite wide of the indicated locality; and again he slowly but vainly sweeps the horizon with his eye, in search of what the practised vision of the mariner detects and recognises at a glance. Meanwhile, the ship rushes on before the cheerful breeze; we go down to breakfast; and on again coming on deck, there no longer remains any doubt; there lies the land on the lee bow [proa sotavento], high and blue, and palpable. It is one of the Azores [Flores]; and as we draw nearer, we discern and admire the picturesque beauties by which they are distinguished. The lofty cliffs of varying hues rear their bold heads perpendicularly from the foaming waves, cut and seamed into dark chasms and ravines, through which rocky torrents find a noisy course, while here and there a little stream is poured over the very summit of the precipice, the cascade descending in a white narrow line, conspicuous against the dark rock behind, until the wind carries it away in feathery spray, long before it reaches the bottom. The sunlight throws the prominences and cavities of the cliffs into broad masses of light and shadow, which, ever changing as the ship rapidly alters her position, give a magic character to the scene. Here and there, on the sides of the hills farther inland, the lawns and fields of lively green, speckled with white villas and hamlets, and relieved by the rich verdure of the orange-groves, present a softer but not less pleasing prospect. Other islands of this interesting group gradually rise from the horizon, all of similar character but diverse in appearance from their various distance; some showing out in palpable distinctness and others seen only in shadowy outline. But there is one which, from the singularity of its shape, arrests the attention. A mountain, of a very regularly conical form, seems to rise abruptly from the sea with remarkable steepness, verdant almost to the summit; it is almost like a sugar-loaf, with a rounded top, crowned by a nipple-like prominence, which is often veiled by clouds. It is the Peak of Pico seven thousand feet in height, second in celebrity as in elevation, only to the Peak of Teneriffe.

O Lloyd’s List era uma fonte muito importante e fiável de informação marítima. Lê-lo permite-nos ter uma ideia sobre como essa informação fluía pela rede de geometria variável formada pelas embarcações do mundo, sempre em movimento, e que se preocupavam com registar, e transmitir, toda a informação que obtinham nas suas viagens, desde o avistamento de outras embarcações, até aos avisos sobre destroços que pudessem constituir um perigo para a navegação. A telegrafia, e mais tarde a telegrafia sem fios, vieram simplificar o trabalho do jornal, mas a sua falta nunca o tinha impedido de publicar diariamente informação crucial para o mundo da navegação.

Assim, e como não podia deixar de ser, o Lloyd’s List publicou extensamente sobre o naufrágio do Slavonia e suas consequências. É muito através dele que podemos saber, de fonte segura, sobre os esforços de recolha de salvados, que duraram meses, sobre o salvamento de parte importante da carga, e sobre o leilão de mercadorias avulsas e partes do próprio barco que ocorreu no Reino Unido, incluindo dois «Cadillac motor chassis» e mesmo mobiliário de cabina, pelo menos o mobiliário que não acabou em casas florentinas. É também através dele que nos podemos informar sobre o sucedido durante o inquérito ao naufrágio realizado pelo Board of Trade em Setembro de 1909 e que redundou numa sentença que, culpando o Capitão Dunning pelo sucedido, não lhe retirou a licença, limitando-se a sugerir-lhe que «deveria ter mais cuidado no futuro», sentença esta, que, de resto, causou alguma polémica na altura, pela sua leveza. Coloco aqui a sequência de artigos publicados neste jornal por ocasião deste inquérito.

Há algo que ressalta da leitura das notícias que foram saindo sobre o naufrágio a partir dos dias subsequentes à sua ocorrência, em 10 de Junho de 1909, e até Outubro de 1909, altura em que a sentença do Board of Trade já tinha sido publicada e digerida: uma parte significativa do que surgiu nos jornais não correspondia à verdade. Alguns jornalistas (por exemplo, do New York Times) não resistiram à tentação de, tendo por base meia dúzia de telegramas necessariamente sintéticos e ocasionalmente crípticos, inventar uma estória de heroicidade em que os paquetes alemães Prinzeß Irene e Batavia recolhiam os passageiros do Slavonia embarcados em botes salva-vidas no meio de um mar alteroso. Invariavelmente, nessas fantasias o povo florentino não tinha qualquer papel e, claro, os passageiros de primeira classe comportavam-se admiravelmente, enquanto aos passageiros de segunda e terceira classe se comportavam como se poderia esperar desse tipo de gente… No meio desta cacofonia, o Lloyd’s List fez jus aos seus pergaminhos e informou extensa e, quase sempre, factualmente. É graças a jornais como este, e aos testemunhos de passageiros e tripulação, que hoje podemos ter uma visão bastante clara do sucedido: um naufrágio com mar parado, um paquete encalhado e firme, embora temporariamente, preso à rocha, o transporte dos passageiros para as Lajes, tanto nos barcos salva-vidas do paquete como em embarcações florentinas (algumas vindas de Santa Cruz), o desembarque da tripulação mais tarde, através de um cabo, já com as ondas a impedir outra forma de evacuação, a recepção florentina, lajense, em particular, em suas casas, aos passageiros de primeira classe, a sua ajuda aos restantes passageiros, que tiveram de dormir ao relento, etc. Tudo isto, para desespero dos jornalistas, talvez romântico, mas muito pouco emocionante, com a possível excepção da entrada do Slavonia pela baixa adentro, no Lajedo, que deve ter sido coisa digna de se ver.

— 1909-09-08 – Lloyd’s List, page 8

LOSS OF THE SLAVONIA.

OFFICIAL INQUIRY OPENED.

The official inquiry into the loss of the Cunard steamer Slavonia was opened at Liverpool yesterday. The vessel stranded on the Island of Flores (Azores) on June 10, whilst on a passage from New York to Naples.

The Court was presided over by Mr. Shepherd Little, who had with him as nautical assessors Commander C. K. M’Intosh, R.N.R., and Captain John Taylor, Trinity House, Newcastle.

Mr. Paxton represented the Board of Trade; Mr. Russell Roberts represented the Cunard Steamship Company, the owners of the vessel; and Mr. A. T. Miller, on behalf of the Imperial Merchant Service Guild, appeared for the master of the Slavonia, Mr. Arthur George Dunning.

CASUALTY DESCRIBED.

Mr. Paxton, in opening the case, said that the Slavonia was a liner of 10,605 gross tons and 6,724 registered tons, with a passenger certificate in force till next year entitling her to carry a crew of 202 hands and 2,129 passengers. She was equipped, so far as life-saving appliances were concerned, with 12 lifeboats, two other boats, seven collapsible boats, 24 lifebuoys, and 2,340 lifebelts. On June 3 the Slavonia sailed from New York for Gibraltar and the Mediterranean with a general cargo of 2,000 tons, a crew of 225 hands, and 373 passengers, including 100 first-class passengers. The master intended to pass through the Azores, and he got good observations on June 8 and 9, and varied his course accordingly on the night of the 9th. The weather was clear till 10 30 p.m., but subsequently there were patches of fog. According to the telegraph the vessel was kept going at full speed all the time, but the master stated that he sent some message to the engine-room that they were to keep reduced speed after midnight. The Slavonia appeared to have gone ashore at 2 28 a.m. on June 10 at full speed. She struck a rock which was about a mile to the north of the south-west corner of Flores, the westernmost island of the Azores. The master reversed engines at full speed and then put on full speed again for the purpose of taking the vessel further in. She was brought up close to the cliffs. Everybody was saved, partly by the use of the ship’s boats and partly by using ropes from the liner to the rocks. The vessel herself became a total loss. The master attributed the disaster to a strong current running to the north-east.

THE CAPTAIN’S EVIDENCE.

Captain A. G. Dunning said he held an extra master’s certificate, and had commanded the Slavonia for 16 months. It was his ninth voyage in her to the Mediterranean. On the previous voyage to the eastward he had called at St. Michael’s to land about 50 passengers, and was rather attracted by the islands. The German lines generally adopt that route, and they said it cut off practically a day of the passage from the point of view of the passengers, for whom of course, the trip was more or less of a pleasure voyage. The rule for the Cunard steamers had been to avoid the group, but it was an 11 days’ voyage to Gibraltar, and it became rather monotonous. The Continental practice was to go through the Azores, because the passengers preferred it. Sometimes the passengers, especially Italians, became very unruly, and there was awful difficulty in keeping discipline over them. On the voyage in question he decided to pass close to the Azores. He had no instructions from the company to vary the route. He had no intention of calling anywhere in the Azores. He proposed, if the weather was favourable, to decide in the morning whether to pass between Fayal and St. George or to continue to the southward.

NO LIVES LOST.

The vessel was making about 13 knots speed. At 11 p.m. he changed his course 5 deg. to the southward because the weather became hazy and there was slight rain. As they could then see two or three miles, he did not consider it necessary to reduce speed. Half an hour after midnight he steered 2 deg. more to the south, and ten minutes later he went a further 5 deg., making his course S. 35 E., at which it was when the vessel struck. His original course, he calculated, should have taken him three miles south, and, as amended, 9½ miles south of the land. He was 10½ miles further north than he expected to be. It had been his impression that before that he had reduced speed, but he found he was mistaken, and that the engineers were justified in keeping up full speed. The first intimation he had that anything was wrong was the grounding of his vessel on a ledge of rock. He allayed the fears of the passengers by assuring them that the vessel could not sink. When daylight came he employed ten of the ship’s boats and landed the passengers. Towards eleven o’clock a lot of shore boats came, and he utilised them in helping to land the baggage and the steerage passengers. Everything was completed by four o’clock. At two o’clock the next morning the stern sank. The sea then rolled practically up to the bridge. The previous day they had rigged a rope from the bow to the cliffs, not for any particular object but to keep the passengers occupied watching the operation. That rope came in useful, for they transferred it to the masthead and used it to get the crew ashore. The vessel was abandoned on the rocks, a total constructive loss. His only idea was that the wind, being southerly, had deflected the Gulf Stream in some way, the result being that the vessel went ashore. On the previous voyage he steered 12 miles to the south of Flores, and found that took him rather too far south in order to pass between the islands as intended.

By Mr. Miller: He had on board the American meteorological chart for June, showing all currents, derelicts, and other obstructions. The North German Lloyd steamer Prinzess Irene and the Hamburg-American steamer Batavia were following the Slavonia on the same course. The day after the wreck they took on her passengers.

The inquiry was resumed to-day.

— 1909-09-09 – Lloyd’s List, page 3

LOSS OF THE SLAVONIA.

THE OFFICIAL INQUIRY.

The Board of Trade inquiry into the loss of the Cunard steamer Slavonia on the island of Flores, on June 10 last, while on a passage from New York to Gibraltar, was resumed yesterday at Liverpool.

The inquiry was presided over by Mr. T. Shepherd Little, magistrate, who had with him as nautical assessors Commander M’Intosh, R.N.R, and Captain John Taylor, of Trinity House, Newcastle.

Captain A. G. Dunning, the late master of the vessel, said the starboard engine did make more revolutions than the port engine, but that really made no difference to the steering. At the time of the stranding there were two sailors on the look-out, one in the bows and the other in the crow’s nest, but nobody saw any sign of land or breakers.

“A CLOSE SHAVE.”

Replying to the magistrate, Captain Dunning agreed that it was a close shave and that he might have lost lives as well as the ship, but everyone was saved.

You simply took this course to pass through the islands for the purpose of enabling passengers to have a pleasant view?

Witness: Yes, sir. The company were considering that track very favourably, and as I had been that way before on the previous voyage, when I had to land 50 passengers at St. Michael’s, I thought I would go through again and show the company I could go out to Gibraltar without losing any time, as we were all in favour of this track. Witness, continuing, said that before the voyage be consulted German shipmasters as to the course. He attributed the disaster entirely to this unexpected current setting north, which had apparently deflected the ship nine knots in 14 hours. Under the weather conditions he thought he was quite justified in maintaining full speed, because he had allowed a margin of nine miles to steer clear of the island. The island was completely hidden by haze, and even in the daytime the island was often completely enveloped by haze and hidden from view.

Questioned further by Commander M’Intosh, Captain Dunning said his own book regarding his calculations as to position was destroyed. The night after the wreck pirates went on board and ransacked his room, stealing money and clothes, and destroying all his books and papers.

OFFICERS’ EVIDENCE.

Mr. P. M. Wotton, one of the officers on watch at the time of the stranding, said that after midnight haze and rain alternated with comparatively clear weather. Just before the stranding the ship appeared to be entering a bank of haze. From his own calculations the ship should have been seven miles clear to the south.

Mr. W. Barton, second officer, and Mr. Wm. George Cooper, fourth officer, also gave similar evidence.

The magistrate said he would like, if possible, to have some other external evidence as to the existence of that northerly current. He would like to see the charts used by the German ships, and possibly some Liverpool lines might have information about the set of the current at the Azores. “I cannot,” he added, “readily assume that a current suddenly springs up to the disadvantage of this particular Cunarder at this particular spot, and one must not assume that the disaster did not arise from some blunder in the calculations of the officers.”

The inquiry was adjourned until to-day.

— 1909-09-10 – Lloyd’s List, page 7

FOR SALE BY AUCTION.

ON ACCOUNT OF WHOM IT MAY CONCERN.

Cabin and Saloon Furniture, Cutlery, Chain Spring and Hair Mattresses, Revolving Chairs, Cabin Lavatory Stands, Lifebelts, Sails, Awnings, Iron and Wood Blocks, Iron Chains, Slings, Spans, Shackles, Galv. Wire, Manila and Coir Rope, Brass Ports, Bell, Lamps, Binnacles, Compasses, &c., Collapsible Boats, Agricultural and Mining Machinery. Hardware, Tools, B L. Guns, Mail Carts, Sponges, Fellow’s Hypophosphites, &c. &c. Also Two “CADILLAC” MOTOR CHASSIS, ex SLAVONIA (s).

ROBERT LYON and Co. will SELL the above by PUBLIC AUCTION on WEDNESDAY NEXT, the 13th inst., at 1 P.M. prompt, at the LAW ASSOCIATION ROOMS, 14, Cook-street, LIVERPOOL. Write for Catalogues to F 23, Exchange-buildings, Liverpool, and 27, Cornhill, London, E.C.

— 1909-09-10 – Lloyd’s List, page 10

LOSS OF THE SLAVONIA.

OFFICIAL INQUIRY.

The Board of Trade inquiry into the loss of the Cunard steamer Slavonia was resumed at Liverpool yesterday. The stranding proved the vessel to be 10 miles north of where she was expected to be.

EVIDENCE AS TO CURRENTS.

Captain R. Hunter, master of the steamer Mechanician, testified that in passing Flores on the way from Liverpool to New Orleans he had been set several miles to the northward on different occasions. He left Liverpool on May 30, and was off Flores on June 5, steering about W.S.W. to pass 11 miles off. He found his ship actually passed three or four miles off instead of 11. He attributed that to a northerly current. In 24 hours the current set him 6½ to 7 miles northward. The island of Flores was a very difficult place to see. The island, sky, and sea all looked the same, and rain made it invisible, although the open sea seemed clear.

Mr. J. Ellis, master of the Liverpool salvage steamer Ranger, engaged in the operations of the wreck, said that in making Flores from Fayal he experienced a northerly set. Going at a speed of 11 knots he was set about three miles to the north-east in a run of 110 miles. On a second trip he had the same experience, and subsequently he allowed about two degrees for the set and made good his course. Flores was frequently enveloped in mist, and could not be seen until they were almost on top of it. Several times after running his distance he had stopped because he could not see the land, and once he found himself right alongside the rocks.

THE CAPTAIN RECALLED.

Captain Dunning, recalled, informed Commander M’Intosh that he completed landing his passengers by 4 p.m. on the day of the wreck, and at four next morning, as the weather became very bad, he sent ashore most of the crew. Four boats alongside had been smashed, and the landing was effected by the rope line to the rocks. Witness, with the chief officer, some engineers, and a dozen sailors, remained aboard, passing ashore some effects of the crew. At 1 o’clock all left the ship, the chief officer actually being the last man, because, being stronger than witness, he brought a line so that they might get back again.

The Stipendiary observed that the conduct of the captain after the event could not have been better.

Mr. Russell Roberts, for the Cunard Line, said Captain Dunning had been 16 years in their service without a bad mark, and he enjoyed the fullest confidence of the company.

Judgment will be delivered to-day.

— 1909-09-11 – Lloyd’s List, page 3

LOSS OF THE SLAVONIA.

OFFICIAL INQUIRY—JUDGMENT.

Judgment was delivered yesterday at Liverpool in the official inquiry which has been held in regard to the loss of the Cunard steamer Slavonia, on June 10, through stranding at the island of Flores (Azores).

The Court returned the following answers to the questions submitted by the Board of Trade:—

1. The vessel had three compasses; they were in good order, and sufficient for the safe navigation of the vessel. There was no evidence before the Court as to when they were last adjusted.

2. The master ascertained the deviation of his compass by observation from time to time. The errors were correctly ascertained, and proper corrections applied to the various courses, this, however, being subject to what is contained in the jugdment.

3. The vessel was supplied with proper and sufficient charts and sailing directions.

4. Proper measures were taken to ascertain and verify the position of the vessel at or about noon of June 9 last. A safe and proper course was not thereafter steered, seeing that the vessel was to pass an unlighted island during the night, in cloudy and misty weather. A sufficient margin was not allowed. No allowance was made for tides and currents.

5 The alterations made in the courses after 11 p.m. of June 9 were in the direction of safety, but were inadequate.

6. Having regard to the state of the weather after 11 p.m. on June 9 last, the vessel was navigated at too great a rate of speed.

7. A good and proper look-out was kept.

8. The cause of the stranding and loss of the vessel was due to the default and error of judgment of the master in setting too fine a course, and navigating at too high a rate of speed in such weather as prevailed when nearing land, and in placing too much reliance on two admittedly poor bearings for compass error, which were not taken by himself.

9. The vessel was not navigated with proper and seamanlike care.

10. The loss of the steamship Slavonia was caused by the wrongful act and default of the master.

In consideration of his previous excellent record and his successful exertions to save life after the casualty, the Court refrains from dealing with his certificate, but severely reprimands him, and cautions him to be more careful in future.

— 1909-09-11 – Lloyd’s List, pages 9-10

THE GAZETTE.

LONDON, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 1909.

THE SLAVONIA INQUIRY.

WHILE the proverbial good fortune of the Cunard Line is substantially maintained, and its twin “flyers” are breaking each other’s records in a fashion which is little less than amazing, the enterprise has of late encountered one or two slices of distinct ill-luck. The burning in dock of the Lucania, a type of casualty which, we may suppose, will never be wholly preventable, was a deplorable disaster of its kind. It deprived the Cunard of a famous and popular greyhound, which deserved an essentially better fate than to be practically burned out in her home port. But the catastrophe which put an end to the Lucania’s career under the Cunard flag was one which, while it showed that a ship in dock may prove almost as combustible as a dock warehouse, was in no way associated with any question of navigation. It is otherwise, however, with the case of the Slavonia, which was lost on Flores Island, Azores, on June 10, while on a voyage from New York to the Mediterranean. There the only question at issue was whether the vessel had been carefully navigated, and the finding of the Court of Inquiry at Liverpool yesterday was that the loss was due to default and error of judgment on the part of Captain DUNNING, the master.

There are few cases in which a master is convicted of negligent navigation which do not disclose some circumstances evoking consideration for the individual. In this case there are abundant reasons for sympathy. The captain of the Slavonia had been for 16 years in the service of the Cunard Company, and there was not a single bad mark against him. Moreover, when it was his misfortune to get his vessel into a position of the gravest danger, he displayed a courage and a resource which mark him out as well qualified for the post of commander of a liner. A little more, a little less, and the stranding of the Slavonia might have been accompanied by a loss of life terrible to contemplate. We are not surprised that the Court of Inquiry should have been so influenced, not only by the excellent record of Captain DUNNING, but by his successful exertions to save life after the casualty, that it refrained from dealing with his certificate. There are cases in which, to have done otherwise, would have been a work of supererogation, and would almost have amounted to insult. This was one in which a reprimand, with all the consequences it may carry in its train, was adequate to the case.

At the same time, it is impossible to say that Captain DUNNING was not quite legitimately censured. It appears that the Slavonia had no particular reason for going through the Azores at all. On a previous voyage the liner had called at St. Michael’s to land passengers, and her master confesses that he was rather attracted by the islands. He was impressed, too, by the fact that the German lines generally adopt the Azores route, with the result, as he states, that it somewhat shortens the voyage, while at the same time tending to relieve its monotony. According to Captain DUNNING, the Continental practice is to go through the Azores because the passengers like it, and he suggested that Italian emigrants in particular are more easily controlled if they get an assurance, such as the Azores afford, that there really is land somewhere or other on the face of the globe. That, at least, is the effect of the statement as we understand it. It should be added that the master of the Slavonia had no instructions to vary his route as he did. “I thought,” he said, “I would go through again, and show the company I could go out to Gibraltar without losing time, as we were all in favour of this track.” It goes, however, without saying that if a shipmaster chooses to vary his course, and that course presents dangers from which his ordinary route would be free, it is incumbent upon him to take special pains to avoid those dangers.

This brings us to the crux of the matter. The master knew that he was in a part of the ocean which is more or less dotted with islands, and these islands, according to his own statement, may often be altogether hidden by haze, even in daytime. In such circumstances he set a course which he calculated would give him a margin of something like nine miles, and proceeded at his full speed of about 13 knots. As it happened, he ran full tilt on to the very island he had set out to avoid, and by way of defence pleaded that he was carried out of his course by northerly currents. But, as Captain DUNNING had admittedly consulted German shipmasters on the subject of the Azores course, he ought not to have esteemed so lightly the possible effect of currents whose existence, according to the evidence called before the Court of Inquiry, is pretty generally known. In all the circumstances, it is not surprising to find the Court expressing an opinion that the vessel was navigated at too great a rate of speed, and that a safe course was not steered, seeing that the vessel was “to pass an unlighted island during the night in cloudy and misty weather.” To sum it up, the commander of the Slavonia displayed considerable want of prudence. The moral of the case, as we have already suggested, is that if shipmasters choose to navigate unfamiliar waters they must neglect no precaution which should commend itself to the mind of the careful mariner. For all that, there will be widespread regret that a well-meant effort to popularise the line which he served should have ended so disastrously for so experienced and so highly esteemed a navigator.

— 1909-09-24 – Lloyd’s List, pages 7-8

THE GAZETTE.

LONDON, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 1909.

INQUIRY COURTS AND CHARTS.

IN connection with the recent inquiry into the loss of the Slavonia there is a point which seems to be deserving of more consideration than it has received. The reports of the case would lead to the inference that Courts of Inquiry are not provided with the latest information with respect to sea surface currents and similar matters. Thus the stipendiary magistrate at Liverpool thought the German chart used by the German liners navigating in the vicinity of the Azores would be useful, because Captain DUNNING’S legal representative had rightly suggested that the north-easterly current which put the Slavonia ashore only occurs occasionally. From much of the evidence it would appear as though the markedly general currents shown on the United States pilot chart for June were to be regarded as invariable. Nothing can be further from the fact. Presumably the German charts referred to consisted of the monthly pilot charts of the North Atlantic published by the Deutsche Seewarte. But the current indications on that series of charts are nearly as general as on those of the United States. Surely the nautical assessors, or some of the parties to the inquiry, must have known that there was not the least necessity to refer to either the United States or to the German authorities for information with respect to North Atlantic currents?

Admitting, without reserve, that the monthly pilot charts of the North Atlantic issued by the United States and by Germany are of great utility in many respects, it is, nevertheless, unwise to assume that the current arrows given there are more than the merest general indication. The loss of the Slavonia is a potent object-lesson under this head. Had Captain DUNNING been in possession of the Meteorological Office pilot chart for June, and followed its directions, he might be a happier man to-day. In any case, that chart should have been at the disposal of the Court. Upon it is given a current setting to the north-east, directly towards Flores, and, within a radius of a few miles, there are several current arrows pointing northward. The British pilot charts for May, June, and July clearly show that sea surface currents are most erratic near the Azores, although the general trend of the equatorial verge of the Gulf Stream is southeast. That no reference was made during the inquiry to the British Meteorological Office pilot charts is incomprehensible.