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FATAL BOAT ACCIDENT IN PORTSMOUTH HARBOUR.
THREE LIVES LOST.
A sad accident, by which three persons lost their lives, occurred on Sunday last. About eight o’clock on the morning of that day Henry Varndell, thirty-five years of age, his wife Eliza, their child George Frederick, aged ten months, and his brother William Varndell, left Hardway in a small punt, intending to proceed to Portsbridge and from thence to walk to Waterloo to attend the funeral of Mrs. Varndell’s sister. When off Tipnor point, a gust of wind caught the sail and the boat capsized. William Varndell managed to swim ashore, and was picked up in nearly an exhausted state on Tipnor beach; all the others were drowned. The body of Eliza Varndell was washed up on the beach at Hilsea an hour or so after the accident occurred, and was removed to the Coach and Horses public-house.
The inquest upon the body was held on Monday at the King’s Head, Hilsea, before E. Hoskins, Esq., County Coroner.—After briefly stating the facts of the case, the Coroner said that though there had been indiscretion on the part of the husband and brother-in-law of the deceased, yet there was no blame to be attached to anyone. He had been in communication that morning with Mr. Garrington, the borough Coroner, who would hold an inquest upon the other bodies, which had been washed ashore at Tipnor, within the boundary of the borough. In consequence of that it was necessary to hold two separate inquests. The following evidence was then adduced:—
William Varndell stated that he was a labourer, living at Hardway, in the parish of Alverstoke. His brother’s name was Henry Varndell; he was also a labourer, working on Mr. Butler’s coal wharf. His sister-in-law, thedeceased, was 34 years of age. They had three children, the oldest of whom was a little over three years, and the two children who were left were in his charge. His brother and his wife and child left Hardway with him about eight o’clock. They all got into his (witness’s) shooting punt. There was only one seat in the centre of the punt, and it was flat-bottomed and had no regular keel. It was fitted with a mast. He had never measured the punt, therefore he could not give its dimensions, but should fancy it was about 10ft. long and about 3ft. wide. it carried no ballast and was made simply for shooting over the mud. They had no rudder, but steered the punt with an oar. His brother and himself had been well accustomed to handle it. He had worked in a barge and had been up and down the harbour a great many times, and was well acquainted with the navigation. He had known the harbour for twenty years. The mast of the punt was about six feet high, and was fixed in the bow by means of a “cleet.” The sail they used was what was usually called a “gaff,” and was a very small one, there being not more than three yards of canvas in it. When they started the tide was at the flood. The sail was not made fast, and his brother held the corner of it in his hand, the rope being twisted once or twice round the outrigger. He (witness) steered and was sitting aft outside of the boat. His brother and his wife were sitting on little stools in the centre of the boat; there was not room for them to place themselves in any other manner, and they say facing each other amidships. The deceased held her child in her arms. They were steering for Portsbridge, and were going to the funeral of a sister of deceased at Waterloo.
—The Coroner: What made you go by boat?
—Witness: Because it was nearer about would save us walking a good distance.
—The Coroner: Whose proposal was it that you should go by boat?
—Witness: It was my brother proposed it, sir. I told him it was too rough to go. He answered that it was not. He was older and I am.
—The Coroner: Was it to save expense that you went by boat?
—Witness: Yes, sir, it was. When we started the wind was S.W., and we were running before it. Just as we passed Portsbridge creek, because the wind kept on freshening, I wanted to run on shore. My brother said, “Take and jib her at once or we shan’t get round the point.” So the boat was jibed, and while we were jibing, a sudden puff of wind came and caught the sail, the boat was capsized, and all four of us were turned over into the water. There was no chance of righting the punt as she was flat bottomed. I am a pretty good swimmer and struck out, and when I looked about I could see that I was half a mile from shore, and that my sister-in-law (the deceased) was clinging to the bottom of the boat. I wanted by brother to swim ashore and get assistance, as the punt would have been sufficient to keep his wife up, but he would not. If he had, I think both he and his wife would have been saved, as he could swim. I suppose he wanted to help her. When I left I saw them clinging to the bottom of the punt. I could not tell the depth of the water I was in. If the boat had overturned a little distance from the place where she did we should have been able to touch bottom. We were in a channel where the water was deeper. I saw a man shove off in a boat soon after I had struck out, but I did not notice him while I was swimming to shore. When I got on shore I was very nearly done. Some shipwright, I believe, pulled me out, but I do not know what happened to me afterwards.
—The Coroner: The wind was fair you say all the way up, but if when you wanted to jib you had sculled the punt round the point no accident would have occurred, would it?
—Witness: No, sir, but we should have got wet.
—The Coroner: If it had not been for the sail the punt would not have capsized?
—Witness: No; punts are generally very safe things.
—The Coroner: Did your sister-in-law at any time during the trip suggest that you should strike the sail?
—Witness: No sir, she did not.
—The Coroner: There was nothing to alarm her then?
—Witness: Not a bit.
—The Coroner: I suppose the poor little infant was lost in the capsize of the boat?
—Witness: Yes; I saw it go out of her arms. I have seen the body of the deceased. There were no marks of violence upon it.
—The Foreman: If you had kept the boat on the same tack, could you have got up?
—Witness: No, we should have run ashore.
—The Foreman: Was it a sudden gust of wind?
—Witness: Yes. You see we wanted to make Portsbridge, and if we had not tacked we should have gone on the shore at Tipnor Creek.
Stephen Hawkins stated that he was in the employ of Messrs. Leather, Smith, & Co., of the Dockyard Extension Works, and was watchman, his duty being to see that the barges discharged their cargoes properly. He lived on Tipnor Common. On Sunday morning, a few minutes past nine, he was looking out of his window. If blew pretty freshly, and he saw a sail and soon after the punt. There was a great deal of sea. The wind was squally and gusty. As the punt pitched he could see three persons in her. They were steering before a S.W. breeze. Before they reached Tipnor Point he saw an alteration in the course. About 200 yards from the shore they turned to the N.W., the sail jibed, and the boat capsized. He saw it all. They evidently wanted to clear the Point.
—The Coroner: Did you see any of them jump up as the sail jibed.
—Witness: Two were sitting in the well of the punt and one was sitting on the sides, so that I could not see very well. I did not notice that they jumped up. I did not stop to see anything more. My boat was in the water, and I went and got the oars directly. She was only ten yards from the shore, and I and another man jumped in her and went at once to the rescue. The name of the man who went with me was Hayling. He is a pensioner from the Royal Navy. As we were pulling towards the punt we saw something black floating on the water. I thought it was the woman, and we turned round and round after it. When we got up to it it proved to be only a bundle of clothes. We then went to the punt; she was bottom upwards and the anchor was fastened in the mud. We could not recover any of the bodies. The boat was doing her work “first rate” when I first saw her, and it would have been all right if they had not jibed. I should not like to have jibed my wherry in such a sea. The sail was not a large one. When we got on shore we found the last witness.
—The Coroner: What amount of time elapsed before you got to the boat?
—It was twenty minutes before we got there.
—A juryman: You made strict search?
—Witness: Oh, yes: we looked everywhere.
—Juryman: You saw the black bundle first?
—Witness: Yes: we went after that first. It was only mourning clothes.
—Juryman: Where did you first see it?
—Witness: About twenty yards astern of the punt, and it floated nearly 100 yards before we could get up to it. When we went back we found the last witness. He was nearly exhausted, and my daughter got him some brandy, and after we had rubbed him a bit we got some life into him and took him into the house.
John Smith, a blacksmith in Portsmouth dockyard, and living at Buckland stated that on Sunday morning, about half-past ten, he was coming across the fields from Stamshaw to Portsbridge. A storm came on, and he took shelter under a bank. He had not been there very long before he got on the embankment and noticed something in the water very near the shore. Soon after it stranded. He went to it and discovered it was the body of a woman. The body was the same as the Coroner and jury had viewed. When he discovered it there were no signs of life. He pulled it out and gave information to the police. He did not know at the time that any accident had happened.
P.C. George Compton, of the county police, stated that from information received from the last witness he went to the shore near Horsey Island. He there found the body of the deceased. She was quite dead, and was in just the same condition as when viewed by the Coroner and jury. He found a pair of gloves and a quantity of biscuit in the pocket of her dress, but no money.
The Coroner here recalled the first witness, and asked if either of the party in the boat were the worse for liquor. He did not ask the question to hurt his feelings but simply for information.
—Varndell replied that none of them were.
The Coroner said that after hearing the evidence the jury could have no doubt as to the fact that it was an accident. Though they might think it was indiscreet in the wild state of the weather which had been prevailing for some time that day, to venture out with a sail in such a boat, there was no one whom they could censure. It was at the suggestion of the deceased and her husband that the adventure had been engaged in, and is they believed the statement of the survivor it was evident that he had yielded to their wishes and went with them. If that was the case could the jury come to any other conclusion than that the deceased came by her death accidentally? She and her husband had paid the penalty of their indiscretion, but there could be no doubt of the circumstances of the case.
The jury returned a verdict of “Accidentally drowned.”
— Portsmouth Times and Naval Gazette, Saturday 05 August, 1871 (source)