AROUND THE WORLD.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 177, 28 July 1928, Page 4

AROUND THE WORLD.

GOSSIP OF THE PORT.

TRAINING SHIPS

Considerable interest has been mi own by New Zealanders in the visit o: the Argentine training shin Presideute Sarmiento to our shores. Many people are of the opinion that the cadets on board this ship are being trained ;is future officers in the Argentine navy. This is not so, for a very large number enter the Argentine mercantile marine on completion of their four \ ears' training. The Presidente Sarmiento has been sailing the sea« for the past 34 years and during this long period she has turned out an extraordinary number of smart seamen. Practically every commander and officer in the Argentine merchant service has served his apprenticeship in this old vessel. Seamen who have visited the east coast of South America will have seen the Sarmienfo sailing in and out oi the harbours there, generally under sail alone when the wind was fair, and when she was fitted with stunsails aloft and below, she made an imposing picture.

It seems an extraordinary fact that the greatest nation in the maritime history of the world is the only one which has no training ship for the education of our boys in the art of seamanship. For over 50 years the sailing ships of Britain, held pride of place as a training ground for the future officers of the mercantile marine. In these ships were io be found the youth of practically overy nation of the world which had a merchant service. To-day all that is changed. Although we still pride ouicselves on l>eing a. great maritime nation., it will no doubt surprise many t-o learn that the old Red Duster flies at the peak of only one square-rigged sailing ship, the Gurthponl, a four-masted barque of 2800 tons. She is now homeward bound from Australia, and upon arrival will, no doubt, follow her immediate predecessor, William Mitchell, to the scrap heap.

And yet nearly ,i 11 other inavithna nations retain their faith in the sailing ship as a means of training seamen. Even so revolutionary a country as »Soviet Russia maintains the big four-nias-ied Tovarisch (ex-British Lauristau. buiit in 1892), for the purpose of training officers for her merchant navy.

National Training Ships. The following countries .still retain mailing shipe for the same — GERMANY"— Sehnlschiff Ton.--. Deutschland .... 120~ Ship Magdalene Vinnen . 347 C 4-Mast barque Padua 267-S 4-Mast barque Priwall 4-Mast barque UNITED STATES— Tusltala 174S Ship Golden Ciate l!tioU 4-Mast barque Star of Lapland . . 3600 4-Mast barque DENMARK— Kobenhaveu ...... :i!lfio r.-Mast barque Viking •_". i."i: 4-Mast barque BELGIUM — L'Avenir 4-Mast '.arqiie FINLAND— Archibald Russcl .. J3.*>4 4-Mast barque Hougomont L'37b 4-Mast barque POLAND— Llow 00(1 Barque ITALY— Loch Linnhe :tSn liarque Cristoforo Colombo 30UU liarque PORTUGAL— (Building.) Lisbon ' IT.OO Ship Sagres 31-Hii.i 4-.Mast barque SWEDEN— (Building.) Gullinaru • Jion 4-Mast barque Sorlandet 1100 Barque BRAZIL— Aim ira nte Saldaulio liOStl Ship ARGENTINE— Presidente Sarmiento ys.j Frigate In addition to these vessels tile countries mentioned all maintain large numbers of sailing ships not, used exclusively as training ships. It' all these natimic>, great and email, consider it necessaiy to train their seamen in sail, is Britain wise to abandon the nursery ot the era it'' . It- seems strange to many who take an interest in the sea and the deep water ships that every maritime nation, with ihe exception of Britain, insist* upon a certain period of sailing ship servic.' beiore a candidate can pu.~s his examination as a ship's officer. ft Our Foreign Trade Rivals. As regards our foreign rivals, theie is no doubt that Germany is slowly but surely attaining to that position lor wliieh <she strove so hard prior to the war. Her merchant navy officers are to-day better trained and educated than our own, and their standard of examination is higher; in common with France. Holland. Scandinavia and even Finland. „ There is. another great maritime nation—Japan— which still values training under sail for her seamen, for she is building a big lour-nxaster to replace the Shintaku ALaru which was recently lost-. In Britain and in all her Dominions oversea, it is nec-essary for all pilots in the employ of boards, trusts or local authority* to have served at least four years in sailing ships before being licensed. This is necessary because they must be qualified to handle sfjuaro-ritnred vessels oi foreign nations visiting their ports. As Britain no longer has any. mailing ships, it- is obvious that, in 'order to qualify lor the positions, pilots ot the future will have to seek service under a foreign Hag in order to produce the necessary evidence, miles the powers th.it 1dispense with titi- quHlificai:-..-i, V:i likely pi'oeeeditig on-.- would im.tiis ■. sn long as there av.i sailing slr:>s u«n; British ports.

| It has boon said by many vim know liothing about the subject riiut training jin sail is not nmv necessary n> make 1 oilieers jor tho merchant navy. Many people argue tiiat t.wJ.jy scientific knowledge is more essential than tho art or seamanship. Tho late -loso;.'. <".»»>»• t .| oiio or" tho greatest authorities on sea thai over lived. summed up the ment very tersely when Jie wrote the.--hnos: -.A year or a year and adialf or tl ill n ill ?-:;i;] !]]_f ],>?■ i boy de-dined mr tho sea is ,1 e,e,n<-o 01 classica 1 practice or the soa. What 'twill actually learn on boar! that r-hio ii w:]l leave behind him direc'lv ho .-tops on the dock of a. modoin :teamsh:p. Hut ho will have acquired the n'd lore of tin- si-i v > hicli has iasjiiuuo,' ,-.i> many "oner irmns down to his vero father--, and which. in its essence, will remain witu the : • generations fit seamen, even titer t :, o <i pwhen the Jast sail and the !.st oar l lnvo vanisherl uom the waters o- t'm _r : ," Without a training in sail, a seaman w : 'i never acquire thai "sixth sei,.-o' wj.-.-h < essential to make the j, c . Ye Mariners of England. Sir Uuiton C'ha.hvi. k. lit.. .M.l'.. !1,..,.,r v . Master or the Honourable Coinnau'v <V Master .Mariners, himselr .• a <w.,' nor trained in sail, made tho foMowin'statement in a. spoe -h at rue ' of his company:—"l regret that'tin- d ",'v~ or eiiil have passed. It ( ,iie could hold' . review of all these gallant clippers wh : <-i, graced the seven seas in the do r- d ,'l yesterdays, there would lie :io more' inspiring sight for Kh.dand. It i< pity tli.it our countiy has seen the last of the clippers. them. and in L i,,..,, only, cuuid our merchant c-eauien \, ■ trained. One of toe tirst duties o, the Honourable Company „f Master Marine,11 be to establish a sailing training slop where our sons may receive similar training to that ot their forefathers 1- mer chant seamen are to establish their st ops in the world, it will never d-j to allow the status or their profession to ~et below that or other maritime nations. Vthough the variety of ships and ciienmstance* and weather are alwavs ch m-,m' le-, us. as Britishers. always be a ble t~i say mat our men are now, as thev wne 1 r lie "\v- tlK ' merchant seamen tut a\ vi ul has kiiL^vn.