VETERAN SHIPMASTER.

Auckland Star, Volume LVIII, Issue 137, 13 June 1927, Page 8

VETERAN SHIPMASTER.

CAPTAIN F. HART TO RETIRE. CORINTBTC'S POPULAR SKIPPER. FORTY-SLX YEARS AT SEA. Captain F. Hart, commander of the White Star liner Corinthic, at present at Auckland, is to retire after making one more voyage from England to New Zealand. He has been at sea for fortysix years, has been master of the Corinthic for eighteen years, and is now senior master of the White Star Line. At the early age of fourteen Captain Hart, who is now sixty years of age, signed on as an apprentice on one of Henry Fernie's ships, trading between Liverpool and Calcutta. For ten years he remained in sail, obtaining all his tickets at an early age, with the result that he was master of a sailing ship at the age of twenty-four. Forsaking sail for steam, he accepted a fourth officer's berth on an Inman liner, trading between Liverpool and New York. Later he was transferred to the Beaver Line, in the Canadian-Liverpool service, but when that company went out of business in 1892 he joined "the White Star Line.

His first position in the White Star Line's employ was as fourth officer on the old Coptic, trading to New Zealand. Thence he was promoted to third mate of the Doric, but later returned to the Coptic as second officer. A year later he was made chief officer of the vessel, in which he remained for five years. Leaving the Coptic, Captain Hart was for a short time in the Atlantic and Australian trade before being transferred to the Athenic as chief officer. The Athenic, at the time Captain Hart joined her, was on her maiden voyage to New Zealand. For several voyages Captain Hart remained as chief officer of the Athenic, but was later transferred to the new Coptic (25,000 tons) in a similar capacity. A year later, at the age of 36, he was appointed master of the Bovic, engaged in the North Atlantic trade. Later vessels which he commanded were the Victorian and the Armenian. It was in June, 1909, that Captain Hart was transferred to the Corinthic as master. Since that date, with one exception, he has been in command of the vessel on the forty-four voyages she has made to New Zealand. The distance covered by the vessel when thus engaged ba a totalled more than 1.000,000 miles. Since he took over command of the Corinthic Captain Hart ha 3 carried over 22,000 passengers. Among the most prominent personages who have travelled on the vessel may be mentioned Lord Jellicoe, on the occasion of his appointment to the Governorship of the Dominion. During the war period the Carinthic carried a number of New Zealand troops and also made several trips from New York with American "doughboys." On one trip, when the vessel was in the Irish Sea, with H.M.s. King Alfred as escort, a German U-boat came to the surface in the midst of the convoy and "pipped" the escort. The King Alfred eventually limped into Belfast. The many hundreds of passengers who have travelled in the Corinthic and the numerous other people who have made Captain Hart's acquaintance in other ways will join together in wishing him the best of health and enjoymeui, in nis well-earned retirement.