WEBSTER COLLAPSES.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 35, 11 February 1929, Page 10

WEBSTER COLLAPSES.

WELLINGTON HARBOUR SWIM DIFFICULT RESCUE WORK. "1 SHALL TRY AGAIN." (By Tologrnph.—Press Association.) WELLINGTON". Sunday. The coldness of the water —de*pit( absolutely perfect weather, and th? fa?t that little more than half-way acrss lie got in the wash of boat* cruising round and -wallowed a large quantity of <?alr water, compelled R. .1. Webster, of Auck lunil. to give up hi* attemn' to fswiiii aero-- Wellington Harbour, when he was one mile from Eastbourne, ile war practically unconscious when taken from the water. The distance across the harbour is .*even miles. Webster started strongly from Wellington, striking 38 to t>o stiokw a minute, at 10..'iU a.m. When he was about half-way across, it was generally considered that he would not succeed He wae given something to eat twice, and he grimly stuck to his task. About two o'clock he called, ■■Something to eat, something to eat!" The swimmer lalmcet immediately i<iy in the water as though drowning, which, no doubt, he would have done had help not been near. It wae- noted tnat Webster's head was submerged for several seconds. At one time he seemed to turn as though to <swim on hi- back. His arms were moving up and down with a merely mechanical action. Suddenly the swimmer's arms ceacsed to move, and he seemed to sink. Mr. J. Walker, a member of the Milford Surf Club, who was row-ing the accompanying dinghy, immediately dropped oar«s and dived overboard and swam to Webster'e rescue. Getting the swimmer, who was almost unconscious. into the dinghy, proved a difficult task to Messrs. Blomtield (Webster's trainer), Walker and H. Warner, a pressman. The ordinary difficulties of getting a person aboard were considerably added to by Webster's thick coating of grease. Willing hands aboard the yacht Vagabond, owned by Mr. A. M. Holmes, massaged Webster, but it was some time before he showed signs of life.

Welwtor csaid later that the water wa* much colder than the Auckland water. Probably thN experience will demonstrate to him the extreme difficulty of swimming look Strait, which he hopes to attempt next week. On recovering, Weltfter said that he would make another attempt to swim the harbour and that lie still intended to attempt the Cook Strait swim.