(As far as I can tell, my article titled "The Continuing Search for the Vivid (as told to Steve Reynolds by Eric Kotz)" published in the MLSSA Journal, December 2013, No.23, has never been posted online at all. This is my attempt to recify that.)
The Continuing Search for the Vivid (as told to Steve Reynolds by Eric Kotz)
The final resting place of the ketch Vivid remains a mystery, one that Eric Kotz is determined to solve.
Eric and I have previously written about the Vivid in past newsletters – April 2009, July 2009, September 2009. Eric has now renewed his search for the vessel. Eric recently advised me, “Have a major drive going to find the VIVID this summer (late March or April). Have some new information and offers of resources from Tuna Fishermans Assoc. Like boats, tow sled and camera, looking for and may have access to a magnetometer. Any help is welcome, particularly with research.”
Below are more details provided by Eric about the Vivid: -
“Average water depth only about 20 metres. Point Bolingbroke, Spencer Gulf, towards Pt Lincoln. Vivid left Tumby Bay, last seen passing Point Bolingbroke heading for Port Lincoln and entering a wild squall in vicinity of Berlin Rock. Ship and three men on board, never seen again. April 9th 1932.”
"Only a small trading ketch of the mosquito fleet heavily loaded with 1000 bags of wheat. My Grandfather cast her lines off and was a personal friend of all on board hence my long term interest. All men were from Semaphore* and may still have relatives down at the Port. Captain Hilton ("Shaggy") Burgess, Reg Evans seaman, and E.S. Webb seaman.
* (All married at the time with young children and from Birkenhead - not Semaphore as I first said. Also I interviewed a Nick Exindaris who sailed on the Vivid and left her service only days before she disappeared - quite a story there, which I have documented. The families had “In Memoriams” in the newspapers of the times, which I found in the Mortlock Library, and descendants probably still exist.)
"Old timers say that the hatch covers were left off so wheat could be stacked 7 high on the deck and this was probably her downfall as the holds were not tarped over either. Life "boat" was reported found on Duffield Island much later but I believe it was more likely a life "buoy"." Dan Monceaux wrote to Eric saying, "Seems like a hatch cover and a life buoy were found... way back in the 1930's. You should have a trawl through Trove... I use it extensively for my research work.” Dan provided several links, as follows: - http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/result?q=k etch+vivid
http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/54738 091?searchTerm=ketch%20vivid&searchLimits
http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/12931 8313?searchTerm=ketch%20vivid&searchLimit s=exactPhrase|||anyWords|||notWords|||l textSearchScope=ignore*%7C*ignore*|||from dd|||frommm|||fromyyyy|||todd|||tomm| ||toyyyy|||l-word=*ignore*%7C*ignore*|||l illustrated=y|||sortby
Eric later sent the following email messages to me: - "Hi Steve, Will be sending you a "fact file" on the Vivid that you may be able to distribute at M.L.S.S.A. meeting soon. I'm confident that I know the area of the haystack, now to find the needle. Should be some descendants of the lost crew members still about in S.A. They had at least nine children between them."
and
“Steve, Attached should be several pages of information and a map with relation to the disappearance of the ketch Vivid with all hands. Please feel free to disseminate this information as you see fit – who knows what further information it may turn up – it all helps. Will follow up with some of the “theories” that have abounded over the years if I get time, but the information supplied is regarded as the most accurate from proven witnesses (except one who was known to have a drink on a hot day).
The “VIVID” – information notes
1) Wooden two- masted Ketch. 48 ton. Built in Latrobe, Tas. in 1876 -ON7351. Arrived in Port Adelaide in February 1877 and was registered to Edward W Russell and JT Russell.
2) 35 H.P. Oil fired auxiliary engine added in 1915.
3) Both masts were Gaff-rigged and she had two fore-sails. She carried a fair bit of sail well and was regarded as “quite fast” – she competed in several social “harbour races”.
4) 65 feet long, 18’6” beam and draught 6’7” (48 tons)
5) Known to carry up to 1000 bags of wheat fully loaded at times.
6) Distinctive features : Very square “transom” type stern as opposed to the more “elliptical” or rounded sterns of a lot of the Mosquito Fleet. Substantial Bow-sprit and two fairly heavy chain stays and also appears to be a brace back to the fore-mast which probably doubled as a gantry for loading bags of grain in slings. Some primitive winch gear on the foredeck for anchors and loading gantry. Had a helm with spoked wheel as opposed to a rudder. Very little above deck apart from a small coach-house toward the stern.
7) Left Tumby Bay on the morning of Saturday April 9th 1932 to lighter bagged grain to an overseas Steamer tied up at the Port Lincoln Wharf.
8) The Vivid had been doing this run under contract for the previous 3 months and the Captain was very familiar with the waters on this short haul route, including the location of Secret Rock on the route, which had already claimed 3 ships. A strong North wind was blowing when she left against local advice and concern (and it was always considered bad luck to leave Port on a Saturday). The Captain had hoped to make Port Lincoln with the aid of the “tail wind” before the usual late westerly change that follows a strong north wind on the Eyre Peninsula.
9) The Crew on board: Captain Hilton (Shaggy) Burgess. Part owner with Frickers. From Birkenhead, over forty years old, married with six children. Reg Evans – seaman, experienced ketch hand. From Birkenhead, over thirty years old, married with three children. E (Ted ) S. Webb from Birkenhead. Only 21 years old and on his first trip on the Vivid. Nick Exindaris – left the Vivid a week before she sunk after a minor dispute with Captain Burgess (his good friend) over pay. I interviewed Nick and will document his story and theories on the Vivid later.
(Taken from “Traders under Sail “ by Captain James Gillespie—ISBN 0 646 19080 6)
10) The Captain and crew were NOT drunk as has been claimed by the ill-informed over the years. Research shows that they were very capable, hard-working and experienced seamen and were definitely witnessed to be completely sober when the Vivid left about noon. The Captain in fact was regarded as a very respected God-fearing man and almost Tee-total in his habits.
11) The ship WAS heavily over-loaded. Her load of 1000 bags of wheat was only possible by leaving the hatch covers off and stacking the wheat 5 high on the deck! It is recorded too, that NO tarpaulins covered the open hatches when the vessel left the wharf at Tumby. This was usually done once under way to save time when leaving. N.B. Many reports say that the bags were at least 7 high on the deck, which seems to be an exaggeration and one which Nick Exindaris always vehemently denied. He claimed that any higher than 5 bags high and they couldn’t swing the boom across which makes sense (and he would have known). A photo shows her with bags 5 high on the deck on a previous trip (harbour cruise, see above) which appears to bear this out.
12) Sometime later, local fishermen Len Sederstrom and Charles Barwick who were sheltering in Secret Bay just inside Point Bolingbroke observed the Vivid round up in the bay and make several attempts to set anchor. The fierce winds and poor holding capacity of the anchor with such a heavy load caused her to continually drag towards rocks and they watched her eventually bear away towards Port Lincoln.
13) In their words she was last seen to be “going over one wave and through the next and making very heavy going” before being lost from sight in a squall. They were both of the opinion later that she would have been taking water through the open hatch and could have sunk “somewhere between Point Bolingbroke and Berlin Buoy”. Berlin Rock was marked by a buoy in those days.
14) A farmer, Toby Lebrun, who was working (?) horses on the western side of Peake Bay was surprised to see a sailing vessel clear Point Bolingbroke heading for Port Lincoln. As he watched “a wild black squall” overtook the vessel and enveloped her. When next he looked he could see no sign of the ship. He is believed to be the last person to ever see the Vivid. There is some conjecture whether he was “working” horses or “watering” them. If he was watering them, then his view position can still be determined from the original trough position. If he was working them then that would make his exact view position more difficult. A line drawn straight from the LeBrun Homestead, the likely watering point, to just past the point of Bolingbroke puts the position in the search area shown on my map.
15) The disappearance of the Vivid was not considered a concern for several days as it was common for small vessels to lay up in shelter or get blown miles off course during a bad blow. It was four days before boats finally scoured the area but any wreckage found could not be positively identified as other boats were lost and broken up that day.
16) A Gypsy Moth aircraft was flown by the famous Captain H.C.Miller from Adelaide to Yorke Peninsula, re-fuelled, and then commenced an aerial search over the Louth Bay and Sir Joseph Banks Group of Islands and the eastern side of the Gulf. There is a strong belief that this was the first aerial search for a lost ship ever held in Australia and may well be the case.
17) A hatch cover marked VIVID- PORT ADELAIDE was found washed up on the beach at Port Victoria on April 26th. Is it possible this is still at Port Victoria somewhere? I haven’t been in the Museum there.
18) A life- boat(?) was reported found by the Scrubys of Spilsby Island on Duffield Island (small island adjacent Spilsby island) much later. Another report indicated it was a life “buoy” and this is more likely the case – the Vivid had no room on deck for her dinghy that day and was hardly likely to be towing it.
(No number 19)
20) One of the Wisemans (Ray) who fished the area a lot at the time advised that the seas are always very “disturbed” in the area between Berlin Rock and the locally known “8 mile lump” because of strong currents around the two underwater lumps themselves. This area is also in the area shown on my map and is also relatively close to the latter day wreck of the prawn trawler the Narracoopa in 18 -20 metres.
N.B. Both Berlin Rock and the 8 mile lump are sufficiently under water that no normal vessel would actually strike them but rise up sharply enough to cause the “disturbance” mentioned, and almost break with a large swell running.
21) Fisherman Allan Graham pulled up a section of bulwark in his dredge during an experimental scallop trawl about three quarters of a mile South West of Berlin Rock in 1974 “too large for a fishing cutter but not large enough for anything bigger than a ketch” . The Narracoopa burnt to the water line and it’s unlikely that it came from her.
22) Another (less reliable) witness told me that he saw her that day while on the beach at the mouth of the Tod River. He claimed he saw sails appear from behind Louth Island in the distance but he did not see them pass behind Rabbit Island, a narrow field of vision. This person was given limited credibility, but he did frequent that area and it would put her again in the same search area as indicated.
23) Routes to both entrances to Port Lincoln are shown on the map. If the change was south – westerly more than due west, then the south entrance route would be more likely as she would have had to lay off a bit.
24) It is likely that some of the search area has already been scanned for benthic surveys associated with Marine Park and Aquaculture Lease proposals which would reduce the over all area. I am currently pursuing this information.
25) Average depth in the search area is about 18 – 20 metres.
When I visited the South Australian Maritime Museum during an Open Day for the Port Festival, on 20th October 2013, I found and photographed several displays, including this one about the SA ‘mosquito fleet’: -
http://maritime.historysa.com.au/events/201 2/mosquito-fleet .
Within the display were some “sketches of ketches’ done by Ben Germaine in the 1950s. I had problems taking photos of the sketches, so I enlisted the help of Lindl Lawton, Senior Curator for the museum. She later sent me these iPhone4 images: -
The writing beneath the sketch reads:
"Vivid", E.Wright (Smoker). Lost between Tumby Bay and Port Lincoln. Master Hilton (“Shagger”) Burgess. All hands lost. Her cargo gaff found. “Smoker” is E.Wright’s nickname (just like “Shagger”, or “Shaggy”, is Burgess’ nickname). Burgess is said to have been a part-owner of the Vivid with Richard Fricker. Much background about “Smoker” Wright can be found in “The Fricker Story” by Ronald Parsons. I wonder what became of the found cargo gaff?
Just prior to finalising this journal, I was able to contact the ex-wife of one of Captain Hilton Burgess’ four sons, one of whom was also called Hilton Burgess. Yvonne was once married to Alfred Burgess, son of Captain Hilton Burgess. This means that Captain Burgess was the grandfather of Yvonne’s children., and that Hilton Burgess junior was their uncle.
I have also spoken with one of Captain Burgess’ granddaughters and she is helping out with any queries that Eric & I may have. According to Trove, the Captain of the ketch Nelcebee picked up a piece of timber, thought to be from the Vivid, near Cape Hardy on 17th April 1932, whilst searching for the Vivid.
Also on Trove, I found that Captain Burgess lived in Mary St, Ted Webb lived in Swigg (Now Swiggs) St , and Reg Evans lived on Victoria Rd (all at Birkenhead).
I also found this picture of Captain Burgess via Trove: -
Here is a photo of the plaque that accompanied Ben Germaine’s “Sketches of Ketches” in the SA Maritime Museum collection: -
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