A PASSAGE PERILOUS.

Press, Volume XLVIII, Issue 14347, 6 May 1912, Page 7

A PASSAGE PERILOUS.

■ "WAIHOTIA EOIT.FLY HANDLED. < The Union Company's lv'u cargo J i I fett-amc- Waihora arrived at Lyttelton ' i I .it midday on Saturday, after a , ] ex- j ' eecd : ngly storm}- passage from New- j castle. Captain A. Carson and his i t.ffieers described tho passage and tin. , j'■ j weather as tho worst they had oxner- ; iehc;:d for some years. When nskod j • regarding the chances of tho Man- j ■ Chester, they shook-their heads, and! ■, said tliat it would be miraculous if s'uo ' had weathcrc-d the terrific gales ami seas that had swept the Tnsman Sea ■ I during the past, fortnight. Tho 'Wai-! j horn had been compelled (o heave-to | j for" over 41 hours,, so- bad was tho! ; weather. Tho.v had kept a sharp look-: out for the Manchester all tho trip, hut had seen no sight oi hor, or of any, wreckage. Tho of the Wai-j hura was a record of continuous ■ bad ; veathc: , , tho entry, "shipping- water; (ore and aft, ,, being tnarlo every watch.! j Loaded down to her mark with 0500 ; tons of coal, the Waihora- loft New-. i castle at 6 a.m. on Friday, April 20th, j j and cleared the Nobbys half an hour j lat-er. Tho weather was fine and clear; i when the vessel set her course for New j I Zealand, but- there was a modecate I j southerly bree.zo, and a Jipa-vy sea run- j j niug. At noon on tho Saturday the' wind had increased to a. R3.]c, and the ; v.allowing <H-.llier was shipping heavy j ! f.ens, fore-and-aft. Houriy* the gnlc in- 1 \ creased in viokneo. inising a moun-! ! tainotis sw, which crashed on board in ' ; tons, iiUiiig the vorAel'r. dfcka. Fierce ; Efiualls from tlipsocth-conth-wcst, siropt, ' over the vcsrcl, nnd the weather het ca:r.e worse during iSunday. The Waiiiora wallowed and rolled terrifically in the huge ?ca?. and at last the j-ccition becameP'so bad tint the b ; g .steamer had to ca.se her engines and hcnvc-10, ; at 1.13 p.m. on Monday. Tho log-book j: entries s-howed that a hard gale was j blowing, and that the vessel was ship- j ' pin , ; dangerous fisas fore and aft. ■-A , momentary hn\ at 11 o'clock on the ! '. Monday night induced Captain Carson i : to put "the AVaihora on hrz- course, but j i in twenty minutes *>he had to b? hove- j : to ;'gain, so dangerous was the sea. t ' All through Monday nirdit, the whole j or Tuesday, and until early on "Weil- • nosday morning. i\\n ve?el was lyinp-to [ in tho gale, her decks Iwing j , continuilly awash. At last, after being horc-to for 11 J. liours. tho "Waihora- vus put on her | once more at MM) a.m. on j "Wednesday. Tho wcathor "had mode-! ■ rated .slightly, hut the S.S.W. gale and \ ■ high seas continued all tha v:ay to the j New Zealand coast, and the deeply- i laden t-o'ilior had an exceedingly bad ] time. iShe was shipping heavy water j tho whole time, and ksl-oured and rolled heavily in tho high beam seas.