Ships and the Sea

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 81, 5 April 1930, Page 32

Ships and the Sea

The Hobsoris Bay. ' -Tho steamer Hobsons Bay,_ which has been reconditioned and brought up- to date like the other "Bay Liners*" arrived at Sydney on Monday from London.' In commenting upon tho alterations to tho^ Hobsons Bay, "Fairplay" says:—■,',;■"■'.■".../■■■.■• : In; these days of luxurious .provision for ocean travellers, it is a welcome relief to visit a ship like the Hobsons Bay, which Swan, Hunter, and Wigham Richardson, Ltd., have just altered anil,preconditioned :at their "Wallsend Shipyard. Owned by, the Aberdeen and, Commonwealth Line, the Hobsons Bay, is 530 Aft long .with a beam, of (jSJl't, and is propelled by'two sets of ", steam turbines with double reduction, gearing. She; carries '742 pas-.' sengers of one. class, as well.as c;mgo, between this ■; country, and Australia, and .tile planning of her, accommodation : and ;her: fittings and decorations have.been kept as. simple as possible without diminishing their utility arid efficiency^ ■ The vessel arrived at the

1 Tyne at the end of October last, just after Messrs. Swan, Hunter, and."Wigham Eichardson had completed the reconditioning of tho sister ship Jorvis, Bay.' Tho alterations in the case of the Hobsons Bay included building new .public rooms and enlarging the main dining saloon. The latter apartment can now seat 375 persons. A house on the boat deck, 'which used to 'accommodate the stewards and firemen, has been enlarged to' form a smoking-room, with a verandah cafe at its after end.

Tho engineers' house on tho upper deck has been extended si midships, and makes a handsome lounge and entrance hall, with bay windows and ingle nooks, all the furniture being in oak. A panatrope-gramophono has been installed th-;ie, with branches to the public rooms, the officers quarters and the pi'omenudo deck. The laundry deck liouse at the, after, end of the ship has been converted into a children's room, ' furnished v>'Mi cots and a swing-boat, and decorated with pictures illustrating nursery lhymcs. Tho cabin accommodation throughout the wholo ship has been reconditioned, cleaned, and painted. A complete new system of ventilation has been installed in tho engine-room. The main engines and auxiliary machinery botli below and above deck, have been thoroughly overhauled and put into good -working older. Now bpat davits have been provided. Although tho Hobsons Bay carries only one class of passenger, who dine together in the main saloon, theic arc a certain number of superior berths on the two top decks for which higher rates are charged.

Big Sailing -Ship a^Sydhey. : 7;'. I 7 ?y-;X. X Memories!? of : bid j sea:: dogs ■oh the Waterfront"::yesterday7were reviyed7when?th.e;:graceful lines of ■the-. six^.mas'ted.ik.Am'eriQan;, schooner/ Helen] ■B:"-iStirling; eanie into: Sydney Harbour: oil 25tfii'; ■ ;Marchi'; states : the: "Sydney MorningTHeraldi" 77 '•' ' ; >-; ''7:NowaJda^s;:the'. entry;, of7a:', sailer through";th.^,':Heads7excites' qiiite' a: flut-' terakong^the'older shipxiing.fraternity,'. and i th&curipSjty f of ;>; the ; rising igeneration^hey.;are strange 'visitors, beepm-, ing 'rarer.every^Vyetir, orso. ji;.is three ihoriths.;-''since• 'a 'sailer, the-7 Finnish barque7Penang,;Vent6red .theTport of Sydney-rand(revived;-.memories, of . not so. ■many7years: ago,'_wheii (rival: tugs, set outsttf eh; for'"herI.and. bring' her safely}- to^fiortv ./j.The' 'Helen■'■■ B..,Stirling is'^a^vesselSfcf:: 25007t0n5. ~ She .brought nearly 3,000,000 ft of .timber from Portlandj.OregonAaftor;a voyrigo' occupying 78;days.:7;Hor-'.skippcr, Captain H. 11. .Ooster.hiiis,;is,,'a? Veteran., mariner, and holds: 'confident (views 'of the 'profitable working:bf-.sailing":,vessels.- The vessel, he said,;.had a\ 'comfortable . voyage acrosfethb iPacific;-;Thc. Helen B. Stirl-ihg.'-:'was: toSved ■ ..into: port by the,! St. Olayes1 .toiDpuble Bay, and later she was taken'np'fo':.Snails Bay'to discharge-her 'carg6.77777-:7-:''7:7' '.:-77.77. X" • '• Ship. Operated :by -Wireless. : 7 " 7(Mr.^E.''j7Fisk,\maiiaging director .of Amalgamated AVireless (A/sia)1,; Ltd., referring to the, wonderfully successful experiment' carried out by the Marchess.Marconi, when he switched on the electric lights at the Sydney Town Hall by .wireless, waves sent from Genoa, gave a:glowing picture of.the developments .of science in the near future. -'•

"Tho .successful experiment made," he said,' "was by far the greatest ever attempted in controlling power and'electrical apparatus at'k distance. Marconi, however has particularly asked me ty make'it .clear that this was not a demonstration;: of,: the ! transmission of power, by wireless; he believes that will, coinej and he .thinks tliis experiment points definitely to such possibilities; but he is anxious to prevent wrong conclusions being arrived at. "On this occasion," Mr. Fisk went on, "Marconi, from his yacht at Gunoa, actually caused.. a. switch'to bo closed at.the Sydney : Town Hall, _ which released approximately 100-horse power, of electrical .'energy, and brilliantly illuminated the 'exhibition J with 2800 electric /lights. .',; . .■., ■"■"!■• : "The control of mechanism such as this at a distance by N wiro,less has already ,been. applied, on a limited scale across'TOlatively short; distances.t6 the control, of crewless . battleships and to guiding torpedoes in the / water from aeroplanes, .also to .the .starting and, stopping of J fog signals from a. distance,"ivsaid Mr. Fisk. ■: "The . doyelopment of these principles will have many useful applications,, and I think they will eventually lead to the staga where it will be possible in Sydney to operate an, „ automatic ..telephone . exchange , in London. .

"Ultimately, however, we can expect to see the bigger development in the actual transmission, of useful quantities

of power ■■■without,., conducting mains or cables, and we ina'y visualise that when this reaches 'a practical stage; it will be possible for ships, to go to sea without carrying fuel, being propelled by electric motors operated by power con-tinuously-supplied from wireless beams on, land, ahd.it is .not: unreasonable to suppose that^smaUbr developments will be.applied to aircraft. It would be;particularly advantageous in the: case of aircraft; .because it would abolish tho present-A'isk'of the failure of fuel and reduce..tho1 loads; to be carried..; All such applications will,-, -of course, be dependent, largely/upon the future ..development' of : beam, wireless, enabling the energy to ibee.ohcciitrated into; particular directions." '}~ ■... ..j. ' ■ The Old Hawaiian; Isles^; ,/i i ;: ; - •. : The'stoel four-master:barque Star'of Greenfand, 1944 tons net : regist'erj: has boon sold by the "Alaska.;PackeTs;Asso-; ciatioii of' San ': Franciseoy;t6 : . the Ry'do; berg School Ship-Institution,,of Stockholm, and willjbe used.f.as 'a school: ship onylong voyages." : ■Thislfinc old sailer, was formerly known I.as the Hawaiian

Isles, and was built by C. Connell and Co., Port Glasgow, in .1892, who designed, her for the lumber trade between the Pacific Coast • and Australian ports, principally for carryingl big lengths of timber for tho Broken Hill proprietary Co., at Port Pirie. During the eighteen years 'she was engaged in the lumber trade she occasionally made a voyage to Sydnejy, and on her first visit to this'po'rt' she presented a grand sight with her four tall masts and her dark hull, as she was towed to an anchorage in Darling Harbour, where the lumber was discharged. ■ On" her first voyage from Swansea to San Francisco she was at sea for 188 days, but she has made quite a number of fast passages. Once she made tho voyage from Delaware Cieakwater to Honolulu in 128 days, and Kahaulca i.o Philadelphia hi 398 days. In 1910 tho ship was sold to the Alaska Packers' Association for the salmon trade -for the considerable price of & 13,000.. „ The new owners have again renamed' the-'.vessel, and she is now known as .the Abraham Rydebcrg, and sailed from San Francisco on 25th January for Dublrii with'Ti cargo of barley. Instead,; ofS^oing-.through the Panama Canal she" sailed'yia, Cape Horn. Next year, the,' Abraham Jiyclebcrg will probably make a'*voyage*i"roin Europe to Australia. ~^ «"'.'■• " ,