ADVENTURES OF A SAILOR GIRL

Evening Post, Volume CXXII, Issue 106, 31 October 1936, Page 27

ADVENTURES OF A SAILOR GIRL

Haunting the docks' and shipping circles of London is a young girl—an ex-actress—seeking the ship that, to her, means romance and high adventures. Four times in the last four years has she looked on death, but she still hears the call of the sea and longs fpr the feel of a deck underfoot, s^ys the "Sunday Express."

For the sea is in Miss Lorna Rathbone's blood—she comes of a famous Liverpool shipping family—and she is happiest when she feels a ship abounding to meet the ocean billows. Now she is looking for-a vessel in which, as she puts it, she "can .really live." But no steamers for Lorha;

"Who can link romance with a steamer?" she asked1 disgustedly when telling an jiriterv'iewer something of her sea life. "No, give me a schooner or a ketch, with sails to handle arid rigging to be climbed. Hard work, yes, but what a thrill! Danger, sometimes, too, but. that only adds spice to the life." ,■ .. ■■;■■ . Four times in the last four years Miss Rathbone has been rescued from the sea, and each time she and other members of the crew had narrow escapes.. "Twice," .'she said, "the Plymouth lifeboat came to the help of our ketch, Ethel Edith, and then, not long ago, came the worst experience of all. "I was part-owner of the 200-ton schooner Flying Foam, and we were on our way from Liverpool to Plymouth with a cargo of coal when we ran into a 90-miles-an-hour gale near Puffin Island, off the coast of Anglesey.

We were absolutely helpless, and our only chance seemed to be to.drop our anchors. ; ■'■ .; ' . ,'V

"But even that'couldn't check the ship. The strain was so" teiqible that one cable parted and/then tfe Flying Foam, began to drag her other anchor. For forty-eight hours the skipper never left the. deck, and all' I could do was to shelter in the cabin. When it was seen that nothing could save'us from being blown on to Great" Orme's Head, the' skipper sent up distress, signals which- were answered by the Beauirnaris lifeboat.,. •

"Then began, perhaps, the most awful part of our ordeal—getting off the Flying Foam." In spite of the difficulties, however, we managed1 it by making a jump for1 it one after the cither, and I found 'rnysetf "in the lifeboat, soaked to the' skin arid clutching the ship's" cat. Under "my af m were the ship's papers, which I had saved. Everything else we had was left in the Flying Foam, which was then ;beginning; to sink. She was blown on' to the sands. at' West Shore; Llandudno, where she became a total wreck.

"And there," said Miss Rathbone, ruefully, "went my ■ half-share • of-. as fine a ship as. anyone could wish to sail.. I had really grown to love the Flying Foam, and it nearly broke my heart when she was wrecked. Still," she went on with a more hopeful ring in her voice, "there are other ships, and it won't be my fault if I'm not pounding a deck again soon. The sea's the only life for, me." -