THE VOYAGE OF THE HUIA.

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume XXXVII, Issue XXXVII, 12 July 1909, Page 3

THE VOYAGE OF THE HUIA.

The following copy of the log oi the iluiu, un her recent trip to Auckland, when she was navigated smgle-haixled by her owner, Mr il, OKver, will interest some of our readers : — Friday, Ith Juno, 1909.— Ix«ft Tauranga m the 2()ft. oil launch liuiti at 8.20 a. -m. Musi v .smooth pa.s-.-.ajiv until oif the Kutikati Heads and a-twu-t three miles from the shor 0 when a strong westerly wind got »;j> l.v. _^-.ie it very choppy until nearmg tho h i^,-:i land north of the -liea-j.,. ct\y.-n hud iv :nnoot'h agtiTn until reaching Tuiruu at 4. 1n p.m. .just l/v-ioiv nU.iK.ig Slipper Island i si^tHv.l two -block lish. bet w •.*••.•« l:* atrd HO fOii long, straight :iiit;it;l, so aitereil my cours*« to sturtumr'l to avoid passing too near to then, a.« they scvniyvt dangerous customers to cenne in contact with iii *:uch a small bout. Satiw-fkiy, stby— Left Tsiiruu ut about 7 a.m., but only got just outside the Heads, there being a strong northerly wind blowing, with :i po.^U big sea running, so put i.iiclx aiiu slieltored for t-he clay. 'Sun-diiy, 6th.— l>eft Tairua m 6.30 a.m. Had a smooth passage to .Mercury Bay, arriving at Whitianga at 10 a.m. Stayed there f.>r the upy and ha<l a good look round. Mwivlay,, Tth.t— T>eft Mercury Bay at 6 a.m. Wiml westerly and light until reaching Opiti Bay, when It increased i:i iorce cousidorably, -causing a nasty se.i to jjet up, which made the remainder of U»e trip to Kennedy Bay very u-^-lt-a.s---aut, with the seas coming aboard the whote way across. Arrived at th<j Bay at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Bth.— Spent the ilay at Kennedy Bay fishing, etc. Had some good sport at the hapuku grounds. Wednesday, 6th.— Made a start for Port Charles, but only got " mile or so beyond Tutiao, wh-si it came on ttdo'bajd fi*om the north east, so put lrnek to the Bay for shelter. . Thursday, 10th.— Sheltering at Kennedy Bay all day, put the boat up at high water mark to make a start for Auckland overland, via Coromandel. " • •Friday, ■ 11th.— Left on foot for Coromamlol, «i route for Auckland, via Waibcke. Saturday. 12th, to Friday, 18th.— at Auckland. Saturday, 19th.— Arrived back at Kennedy Buy. Got ready to make a start in the morning. Sunday, 20.— IM'owlr.'g an eas-terly-gale, no hope of getting away. Monday, 21st.— Left Kennedy Bay at 10.15 a.m. Got to Port Charles at 12. 50U Had a good trip, but there was a good easterly swell on. the wind being" from tho north-toast, but very light. Was obliged to go into Port Charles to cna'ble mo to put mom Uenzino into the tank, there being too much sea on outside, lo do this. l,eft Port Charles again ,»t 1.80. When u-bout two miles out. I notices several porpoises, a few hundred yards to starboard, bouncing towards me. On reaching the iroat t-lwy swam alongside the bow within a few feet on either side, but eft again after travelling a mile or ■»"_■ Had the same easterly swol! uniii nearing the False Watchman ' where 1 got into a nasty tide rip with a choppy sea, .but lost it again until nearing the Cape, where I struck it worse than ever. Took some big seas aboard. The -boat heeled over so much that the -ballast and everything movable shifted to port and gave the boat a big list that way. One hatch and all tho looh< ropes on deck were washed away. Thi anchor caught in tha rigging and'remained on deck. The lantern wa.<broken and everything in a terribl - muddle. This only jasted anput ir> minutes. Then I got it smooth again crossing the bay, so took advantage of this and straightened things up again, and got -the twat on an even keel once more ; but at the next reef I got a nasty little chop again so steamed through a gap in tinreef, to avoid getting the awful tid« rip outside it. After clearing the Cape and heading south down- the gulf, I had a dead calm, right to Cabbage Bay, which place .1 reached at 5.30 p.-m. Anchored in thvj Ba for the night. Tuesday, June 22nd. — Blowing hard from the -west right up tho bay. Had to shift to the other side for shelter. Had a nasty shore breaking -sea and much water came ovei tho decks. Wednesday, 23rd.— Found myself on the wrong side of the bay,* had to" shift again into a small creek noar the township, for 'better shelter. Had the same experience as yesterday crossing the bay. Blowing a westerly gale all day. Thursday, 24th June. — Westerly gale all day. Still in the creelsheltering. Friday, 25th.— Left OablMige Bay aII a.m. Could not leave sooner oi account of the tide. Had a liglr westerly wind with a head sea ncros:; the gulf to Pakatoa Island, where 1 put in for a tin of benzine at 2.15 p.m., lpavin-g again at 2.35 foi Waiheke and Auckland, but only got as far as Putiki' Bay at 4 p.m., and as I had no lights and it wa« getting dark, I thought I would remain in the bay until the morning, which I did. Saturday, 26th.— Blowing a wester- '■■• eale dead ahead.. Could not leav« until about 11. a.m., when the win*"moderated, but after leaving had a nasty head sea and much water anfl sipray coming aboard the whole wa\ to Auckland. Arrived at the Railway Wharf, Auckland, at 1 p.m., wet to tHe skin.