SEA PILGRIM

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIII, Issue 307, 29 December 1942, Page 3

SEA PILGRIM

LONELY VOYAGE YACHTSMAN'S ADVENTURE (0.C.) WELLINGTON, this day. Through heavy gales and terrific seas, and with nothing but the skies for company, Senor Vito Dumas, Argentinian rancher, racehorse owner and breeder, and sportsman of many parts, has arrived safely in Wellington in his 30ft, nine-ton yacht Lehg 11. The condition of his boat is eloquent of the battering she has received; oilskins have rotted with the moisture, food is damp and uneatable, the water tank is in urgent need of repair, and much paint is wanted on the timber. The owner, in tattered violet sweater and ancient trousers, is as picturesque as the many seas he has travelled. It has taken him 104 days to cross the 7400 miles from Capetown to Wellington, and his food in the main has consisted of chocolate, bread and butter, dried milk and tinned vegetables.

The yacht attracted a great deal of attention when she sailed into the harbour flying the neutral flag of Argentina, and since Senor Dumas' arrival he has had many visitors. His chief concern is replenishing his larder and making the necessary repairs, and he is anxious that his kinsfolk in South America should learn of his safety.

His boat is made of viraro, a specially durable South American timber. She has a 12ft beam a sJft draught. She is ketch rigged with Bermudian mainsail, and has no auxiliary power.

Attacked by Whale Senor Dumas sailed 4500 miles from Buenos Aires to Capetown in 55 days. He left Montevideo on Julv I and was out of sight of land until he reached South Africa. His boat was attacked by a giant killer whale in the Atlantic and he had an even worse experience when he was 200 miles out from Montevideo. He awoke in the middle of the night and found his yacht half full of water and sinking rapidly. She had been holed on the waterline by drifting wreckage and it was only after a long struggle that Senor Dumas was able to block the hole, which was the size of his fist.

But most misfortune was to come. A poisoned cut on his hand resulted in severe swelling of his arm and shoulder, fever set in, and he lay helpless in his bunk for 10 days, the yacht drifting wherever the winds took her. Nearly Missed New Zealand Senor Dumas, who is an experi- j enced ocean yachtsman, has no lik- ; ing for the weather he encountered ; between Capetown and Tasmania,; and from Tasmania on to New Zealand. He sighted the coast of New Zealand at its southern extremity and beat his way up the west coast of the South Island, the difficulty of navigation being increased by blanketing fog, but he reached Cape Farewell only 400 yards out in his reckoning. He was dead tired, but decided to make for Cape Egmont, but insteafl he was driven through Cook Strait, and when day broke found himself off the Wellington coast. He always obtained his reckoning by the sun and his tiny chronometer has lost only G3 seconds in three months. Descendant of Novelist Apart from being a rancher Senor Dumas is a breeder of racehorses, a keen member of the Argentine Yacht Club, and has been an excellent boxer, polo players, and swimmer in his time. In 1923 he swam an endurance test in the River Plate, travelling 55 kilometres in 25 hours. He is also very interested in ice skating. Ques : tioned about a possible relationship with the famous French novelist, Senor Dumas said he was a descendant, but because of the turmoil of the French revolution and the destruction of records he did not know the precise relationship. His people, he said, left France for another part of Europe in 1790, and they had been in South America since 1864.

He expects to stay in Wellington for about 20 days, and will then sail his yacht to Chile. Senor Dumas speaks little English. His native tongue, of course, is Spanish, and his interviewer had to enlist the help of a sailor who was able to question the visitor in French, in which he is also fluent.