WRECK OF THE OMAKA.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XLI, Issue 9432, 1 February 1921, Page 5

WRECK OF THE OMAKA.

THE WAIRAU'S EXPERIENCES. MOUNTAINOUS SEAS IN STRAIT. (Per Press Association.) WELLINGTON, January 31. When a southerly gale is raging m -Cook Strait it causes an ugly break at the entrance to Wellington Heads. A few years ago the Union Company's Nelson steamer' was damaged by a heavy sea which swept aboard as the ■■ vessel made the entrance. Probably the extreme difficulty m getting out of the Strait into the shelter of the harbour, coupled with bad visibility m "the early hours, accounts for the failure of those on the steamers, AVairau and Baden Powell, to see the members of the Omaka's crew only a few hundred yards* away struggling to save themselves, two a plank and one on a 400-gallon tank. The ill-fated Omaka and the' steamer Wairau left Blenheim without an inkling that m Cook Strait a south-easter-ly gale was' raging. On the Wairau bar a dead calm prevailed. There was scarcely a breath of wind and the stars shone over the tranquil sea. This was shortly before midnight. According to members of the Wairau's complement, the Omaka cleared the bar at about twenty minutes ahead of their own craft, which negotiated the entrance about iI.SO p.m. Before long /the Wairau overtook the auxiliary ; schooner, whose sails were flapping list--lessly m a gentle breeze. About ten miles out, however, the Wairau encountered the vanguard of the storm, and a quick-risen gale set m. The Omaka, at this stage taking advantage of the changed weather conditions, overhauled tie. steamer with a nice turn of speed, leaving the Wairau "to battle ahead with her engine power. Once properly into. Cook Strait the "Breather conditions became such that the Wairau, which carries booms, set a sail on the aftermast m order to steady herself. From now on both ressels entered the heart of the storm, and made heavy going. On board the steamer the experiof the crew were unenviable. In the -words of on© 'of their number, an "old stager," with 50 years' experience of New Zealand coastal waters, "w«i were being ljuffeted m the biggest sea I have ever seen m Cook Strait." On several occasions the decks of the vessel were awash, and one particularly heavy wave, striking the little vessel near the bridge, swept aft to the galley, flooding it and driving the cook to shelter, m addition to shifting a quantity of deck cargo. All .this time nothing further was seen of the schooner Omaka, arid it •was naturally concluded that running before the wind, she had reached her destination m good time.