A SEA OF PUMICE STONE.

Press, Issue 11564, 22 April 1903, Page 7

A SEA OF PUMICE STONE.

An extraordinary incident was related by the master of the French barque Vincennes upon the arrival of that vessel at Melbourne last week. He stated that his vessel passed through a sea of pumice stone, extending over about six miles, in the vicinity of the Pylstarrt Island, which is situate about 60 miles to the south of the Tongan Group. The bairque, which was sailing along at the rate of about eight knots per hour before she encountered the punxice stone, found .her progress considerably checked by the floating mass, and she only succeeded in threading her way through it at the end of about two hours. The precise locality where the vessel encountdVed the pumice stone was 10 miles northwest of Pylstarrt Island. The depth of the pumice stone under the water was about one yard, and tho mass was of consistent thickness throughout. The size of the stones varied considerably, some perhaps two feet long, and correspond—gly wide, but the majority of them were much smaller. Captain Seloam procured a number of the stones, and brought them with •him to port. He is of opinion that tho phenomenon is the result of a submarine eruption. Pylstarrt Island is of a volcanic character, but there were no traces of eruption to be seen on it whilst the Vincennes was in tlte locality. The barque, as already stated, passed about six miles through the pumice stone in a westerly direction, but the area also extended as for north and south as the eye could reach. The barque brought a cargo of wheat from San Francisco, and the voyage occupied 80 days.