TINY YACHT'S PERIL.

Auckland Star, Volume LXII, Issue 230, 29 September 1931, Page 10

TINY YACHT'S PERIL.

EIGHT DAYS OUT.

615 MILES COURSE.

ORDEAL- EXHAUSTS CREW.

Thrilling stories are told by tlie crews of the yachts in the famous Cowes-Fast-net-Plymouth race of the severe buffetincr the little sailing vessels had on the Irish coast during a severe storm. They -were "worn out for want of sleep, and their supplies of fresh water were all but exhausted when they arrived at Plymouth. . The American schooner Amberjacfc, a 46ft vessel, the smallest of the competitors, was jammed by the etorm in the narrow fairway between the Fastnet Rock and the Irish coast and -was m peril of disaster. Those on board say that their crossing of the Atlantic was nothing compared to the ordeal experienced in covering the 615 miles of the Fastnet

Mr. P. D. Rust, junior, owner of the Amberjack, with -whom sailed LieutenantCommander Douglas Dixon, R..N. (retired). said they were two miles off the Fastnet when the wind rose to a roaring gale with mountainous seas. He said he had never sailed in such rough •weather.

Fight to Clear the Rocks. "We reached the Fastnet at one o'clock on Friday," he said, "and for six hours we fought and struggled to get clear of the rocks, which were not more than 200 or 300 yards away. "It was blowing so hard we could not shorten saiL When we tried to do bo the vacht gave such a lurch that before hatches could be closed great seas swept into the cockpit, flooding the bunkE and carrving away tinned food. Bedding was lifted to the deck above, and could not be used again. "We were all working on deck except the cook. He is the hero of the crew. He is Tom Davis, 51, of Weymouth, who was having his first yachting experience. He kept below, and when he was not supplying us -with hot drinks he was baling out the water with a bucket. He is suffering from bruised ribs. At times the Amberjack heeled over to very nearly her limit, of 120 degrees. During this struggle at the Fastnet we could see the men on shore signalling us our dangerous position. Our decks were constantly awash, and we wondered if we should get out alive. "We fought through the darkness, and at last were able to shorten sail. With three reefs in the mainsail and the storm jib we crept out of danger, and were all just about exhausted. "Then the weather seemed to get even worse, and, running before the storm, we found ourselves up in the Bristol Channel, near Lundy Island. It was then we encountered Mr. Reynolds, of Portreath, and sent a message that we were all safe. 'When we got in to Plymouth Sound we had only one pint of fresh water left.

Not a Spar Broken. ""Crossing the Atlantic we ÜBed 75 gallons of water. During tlie Fastnet race "we have used 85 gallons. The Fastnet course is 615 miles; we have sailed 890. The Amber jack was -wonderful. We have not lost a sail or broken a spar, but we shall not sail the Amber jack back to America." The Ariel was timed in at 8 hours 21 minutes 28 Beconds, and the Amberjack at 10 hours 2 minutes 31 seconds.

Seventeen yachts started from Cowes, and the raceVas vren by the American vawl Dorade, with two other American boats, Water Gypsy and Mistress, filling second and third places. The British yacht Maiteneß XL was overwhelmed by the heavy seas after leaving the Irish coast, and off the Lizard Colonel C. H. Hudson, of Hessle, near Hull, part owner of the vessel, "was washed overboard and drowned. The rest of those on board were taken off by a trawler, which towed the yacht into Swansea.