MIGHTY SEAS.

Auckland Star, Issue 154, 2 July 1934, Page 9

MIGHTY SEAS.

TAIROA DAMAGED. OTHER SHIPS DELAYED. WEEK OF ROUGH WEATHER. Another addition to the list of stormdamaged ships is the Shaw, Savill and Albion steamer Tairoa, which for a week battled against a head gale and mountainous seas. Nearly all the forecastle fittings were damaged. The Sheaf Grown, which arrived this morning from New York, was delayed by heavy seas, and two tankers will arrive late owing to rough weather outside. The forecastle of the Tairoa presented a. battered appearance as she lay alongside the Prince's Wharf this morning after her arrival from Liverpool. Except for the last week of the voyage, via Panama, she enjoyed good weather. For the last seven days conditions were continuously boisterous, and speed had to be reduced against the tremendous head seas. As sea after sea was taken over the stem the damage to the forecastle fittings increased, and the most striking evidence of the fore? of the waters was the condition of a heavy winch on the forecastle head. Tho after brackets on each side of the winch were doubled back upon themselves, giving a drunken twist to the three or four tons of metal fixed to the wooden decking. Nearly every awning stanchion was bent, and one of them was snapped clean through. When the stanchions strained to the force of tho seas, the wooden spars snapped or split, and in some eases swung wildly above the decking, damaging light ventilators, several of which were broken off. The men in the fo'c'sle were drenched at times by the water taken through the ventilators, and the ship was put beam on to the gale in order that the swinging spars could be sawn through. At the bow the flagstaff was bent in sympathy with the stanchion to which it was attached. The damage was confined entirely to the fo'c'sle, the for'ard well deck taking seas until it was awash, but the midships section escaped without harm. Freighter Buffeted. More than a day late as the result of stormy weather encountered when Hearing port, the British steamer Sheaf Crown arrived at Auckland early this morning. She is at present berthed at the King's wharf discharging cargo from New York and Philadelphia. The steamer experienced line weather across the Pacific until Thursday last, when strong head winds and heavy seas delayed progress. Conditions continued stormy unti} yesterday, and on Saturday only 114 miles were logged for the 24 hours. The master, Captain J. Harwick, said that the weather conditions experienced when nearing'the New Zealand coast were the worst lie had met with for some years. During the storm his ship had laboured and strained heavily. As far as could be seen no. damage had been caused, but it was - possible that defects caused by the heavy pounding might be discovered later. If the Sheaf Crown, which is oh time charter to the Commonwealth and Dominion Line, had reached port on Saturday, as she originally wirelessed that she would, her officers and crew would have enjoyed their first week-end in a port for ten months. When the ship last visited England she was only three days in port, and in all lier wanderings during tho past ten months she has been at sea every week-end. From Auckland the freighter is to. go to Wellington, Lyttelton, Dunedin and Melbourne.

Waltaki's Experience. A testing in weather as bad as she can ever expect to get, according to Captain A. S. Dalgleish, was the experience of the new Union Company's steamer Waitaki, when she was coming down the West Australian coast on her maiden voyage from England. The Waitaki, which arrived yesterday from Lyttelton, encountered the seasonal trade winds from Colombo nearly all the way to Adelaide at the same time as the Admiralty tanker Nucula was in those parts. ■\Vhereas tho Nucula received a serious buffeting after she had passed Wilson's Promontory to cross the Tasman, the new steamer had gone to Adelaide for cargo, and missed the strength of the gale which damaged the tanker. "She stood up to it beautifully," said Captain Dalgleish this morning. "I don't suppose she will be in weather as bad as that very often, and I was pleasantly surprised to find how •well she behaved in heavy weather."

Tankers Affected. Tankers inward bound from different parts of the world are experiencing bad weather off the northern coast. The New Zealand reported on her arrival on Saturday that she had several days of high seas before her arrival in the shelter of the Gulf. The Winamac, which was expected from San Francisco this morning, will not now arrive until eight o'clock tonight. Another tanker, . the Fanny Hcogh, has been delayed on her voyage from the Black Sea, and will hot now reach port until Wednesday.

CROSSING THE BAB.

KAITOA'S ROUGH TRIP. Tho Anchor steamer Kaitoa arrived at Oueliunga yesterday afternoon after a very rough trip from Nelson. She was off the Manukau Bar on Saturday morning, but had to stand off until yesterday afternoon, when she came in. The Kaitoa shipped a big sea 011 the bai and her decks were flooded, but no damage wps done.