CABLE LAYING.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 156, 3 July 1937, Page 12

CABLE LAYING.

COOK STRAIT WORK.

RACE AGAINST WEATHER

RECORDER'S EXPERIENCES

The new coaxial cable, which w ill s • greatly extend telephone facilities f ■ cross-strait communication, has ljeen laid after a somewhat eventful experience of the vagaries of Cook Strait weather. Tjip task of the cable ship Recorder to lav safelv tons weight of raMc a lor.'* a carefully plotted course from Lval' Bay to Blind River, Marlborough, a distance of 4G miles, and 10 days were occu pied before the work could be completed, the greater part of that time spent in waiting for favourable conditions. Laying operatWis commenced on .Tune 15, when the Recorder liftoA the shoreend two and a half miles oil" Lyall Bay and made the joint with the northern section of the cable 1M mile? lon™. Steaming south-east along a course checked by constant obacrv.it ions of fixe] points, and also marked by buoys previously laid along the route, the cabi> :.hip completed this section of the work in hours. This end of the cable was dropped in the middle of Cook Strait in a depth of about 700 ft. During the laying the wvathor changed, land marks became obscured, and th» importance of taking the precaution to lay mark buoys was demonstrated. Forced to Take Shelter. The next step was to land the shoreend "of the southern section at Blind Kiver, off which the ship anchored overright. Weather conditions became increasingly rough and the Recorder had to take shelter in Port Underwood for several days. On Sunday, June 20. when conditions began to improve and there was a chance of completing the work the Recorder anchored three-quar-ters of a mile off Blind River to commence landing tlie shore-end of the southern section at 7 a.m. The heavy cable was floated ashore on even'.y spaced 40-gallon drums. SO bein;: required for this purpose, and tractorwere utilised for haulage up the beach to the cable liiit. The cable had scarcely reached shore when a fresh southerlv sprang up. and with the increasing wind and sca there was no alternative but to cut th* heaving lines, haul back tTie cable in'o the ship's tanks, and steam away to the shelter of Port Underwood. Then ensued another wait for better weather, the ship being supplied frequently with for> casts from the meteorological office and venturing out occasionally into the ' straits for observation of the sea. Several days were spent waiting and watching for the propitious "slant" of ■good weather and finally, on Wednesday. .Tune 2:?. the work was resumed at Blind River, the ship being brought within [ half a mile of the shore owing to the calm sea. For a second time the cable was landed, and at 10 a.m. the Recorder Tifted anchor and commenced to steam toward Lyall Bay. paying out the final section of 19J miles which had to be jointed to the northern portion about midway in the straits. Only four or five miles had been laid when the weather began to get roughRace Against Weather. At 2 p.m. the northern section was lifted and then remained the important task of splicing the two cables. Whi] ■ the preparations were going on a real southerly began to biow with considerable rain. It became* question whether the whole operation should not again be stopped and the cable ends dropped and buoyed to await more suitable conditions for the important task of jointing, which would take at least six hours. During the jointing period the 6hip must be kept exactly in position without throwing a strain on the cable. It was decided to go ahead with the work, which had to be done in a. tent well lashed down on the foredeck of the Recorder. Difficulty was experienced in keeping the interior of the jointers' tent dry owing to so much spray and driving rain. Fortunately the tide and wind were in the same direction so that the ship remained fairly steady, although to maintain her position the engines were set. ahead at a speed equal to three knots an hour. In the history of Cook Strait's cables there has never been a previous example of making the final splice in mid-Strait under such adverse conditions. The delicate task of jointing commenced at i> p.m.. with the prospect that between midnight and 1 a.m. a change in the tide would cause a considerable increase in the sea. Fortunately, jointing wasuceessfully completed by 11.30 p.m.. wjth no margin to spare because tinweather was becoming worse all the time. Teste; frofn Lyall Pay and Blind River cable huts showed that the joint had been completed satisfactorily and the cable was then dropped overboard. The Recorder was obliged to dodpe about took Strait until daylight in order to again enter Port Underwood for shelter. Four days of bad weather followed before the cable ship could recover the mark buoys along the cable route. TiiiAvas done on June 2S so that the whole of the operations associated with the laying of the coaxial cable had taken a I fortnight. Officers' Fine Seamanship. To have achieved success in thi<? time reflects great credit on the seamanship of the Recorder's officers, who maintained the ship's position so effectively [ for six hours during the critical operation of jointing in mid-Strait. Through the soundings taken by the Wakakura and the use of the echo-sounding equipment on the Matua. a very satisfactory bed had been found for the cable, with lan even bottom throughout the whole course, the maximum depth reached being 000 ft. The echo-sounding records gave valuable information regarding the extent of a deep valley which appears to run through Cook Strait right across the track of the cable, and it was found possible to plot an easy grade through this depression. In laying the new cable the Recorder can be said to have laid the foundation stone of the new era of long distance i communications within the Dominion.