THE LANCASTRIA.

Auckland Star, Volume LV, Issue 224, 20 September 1924, Page 17

THE LANCASTRIA.

A SUCCESSIONS OF GALES. A very remarkable voyage, owing to the almost continuous succession of galea met with, was that made ia tae

year 1569 by the barque Lancastria, owned bjr G. Hacandrew. of Liverpool. In command of Captain Loryman, who seems to have been a first-class seaman, the barque left Liverpool for Auckland on "January 7. and almost immediately ran into heavy weather, which necessitated putting into Holyhead on the 10th, and sheltering until the 21st, when she made another start. Three days later, however, the barque ran into another heavy gale, and shipped groat quantities of water, the decks being at times completely flooded. The wind blew viciously fur a whole week, and on the last day of the month there was a perfect hurricane, accompanied by thunder and lightning. The barque was King hove-to under a close-ice fed main-topsail, when a fearful sea broke on board, washing spare spars adrift and breaking away the topgallant rail from the gangway to the poop. It was not until February 7 that the ship was able to shake out the reefs siie had carried in her topsails and courses for several day 3. On February IS the Lancastria got the north-east trades, and kept them until south of the Equator, which was crossed on the 2Sth of that month. For a while she had a respite from the bad weather, but on April 7, two days after passing the meridian of the Cape, she met a north-west gale with a high cross sea, and she rolled top-gallant rails under. Tlien she had variable to strong wind 3 until April 26, when after a heavy soutb-eaet gale it was discovered that

the after fresh-water tank had sprung a leak. The ship was 1500 miles from the nearest port, and ail the fresh water she had on board was 200 gallons. Captain Loryman decided to run for King George's Sound (Albany), which was tlio handiest to him, but the weather made that impossible, go he headed away for Port Phillip (Melbourne). All hands were put on an allowance of water, the amount allowed each person being three pints a day. On May 24, nearly a month after the leak in the tank was discovered, the barque made Port Phillip, and there had her water replenished. Leaving again on the 27th, her bad luck still dogged her. and before she made thu port of Auckland sho experienced some very dirty weather indeed. During one gale the had her gig smashed and washed overboard. Later on she lost a lot of her bulwarks and everything movable on deck—pig-pens, hen-coops, bucketracks and buckets, and even the cooking galley—went overboard. It was June 1:2 when the ship at last reached Auckland, 158 days from the time she left the Mersey, or, deduting the ten days she lay sheltering at Holyhead, the passage occupied 148 days. Captain Loryman said that never during the whole of his sea experience had he over met with such forrful weather as he did on, this eventful voyage. (To be Continued Next Week.)