LOST AT SEA.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 268, 13 November 1933, Page 3

LOST AT SEA.

BOATING ADVENTURE.

MR. THOMAS' WHITE FLAG.

RESCUE BY LIFEBOAT.

Mr. J. H. Thomas, Secretary for the Dominions, and three men companions on a fishing expedition, were rescued by the Slioreham, Sussex, lifeboat when their motor boat broke down two and a half miles from the shore, and was drifting rapidly out to sea. When the engine failed Mr. Thomas and his friends signalled for help with handkerchiefs tied to an oar. Then, in heavy seas, and against a high wind and a stiff tide, they started to row for shore. They made no progress and were drenched to the skin by the waves which broke over the boat. They were rapidly becoming exhausted when the lifeboat arrived. Their signal had been seen by a coastguard. A line was thrown and the two boats were drawn alongside each other. Mf. Thomas and his companions h.vl to jump and be helped into the lifeboat. They were drenched once more in the process. The motor boat was taken in tow after the lifeboatmen's efforts to row her had proved fruitless. The homeward journey took a considerable time. Carried Out Three Miles. Mr. Thomas said in an interview: "I thought this afternoon that a little fishing expedition would be very pleasant, and accordingly set off in my boat with members of my staff and a friend. We were promising ourselves a record catch when, to our dismay, the engine failed. At first we laughed. I tried to put it right, but it was as dead as mutton. "The boat drifted, drifted, drifted, until we were three miles out to sea on the other side of Slioreham. To make matters worse, it was very cold. A heavy sea was running, rain was falling hard, and, worst of all, the skies were beginning to darken. "I was expecting to spend the night at sea, or in the sea, without even a mackintosh and without any food. We took out the oars, but we might as well have rowed against the Victoria Falls. The boat just drifted west, and we stopped, and I took out a spanner and played with the engine. "Then the waves started to break over us, and we had to bale for dear life. I thought we should go under. There was only one thing to do—we must show the white flag—and this we did. Tying our white handkerchiefs together, we hoisted them aloft, hoping that some keen-eyed person on the shore would eee our makeshift distress signal before darkness made our position serious. Someone did. The coastguards saw our predicament, and with all speed the Slioreham lifeboat came to our help."

Mr. Thomas added that he felt none the worse for his adventure.