MONOWAI MEETS BAD WEATHER

Press, Volume LXX, Issue 21083, 7 February 1934, Page 17

MONOWAI MEETS BAD WEATHER

! * l-'EAS BREAK OVER SHU' IN CYCLONE triir.ss association tii.egiuu.) WELLINGTON. February 6. Leaving Sydney heads at 8 p.m. on Friday, the Monowai. with 313 passengers, ran into a cyclone. Her departure had already been delayed on account of a cyclone raging along the coast and the centre of the disturbance was passing to the north when she left. Outside the heads a full gale from the south-south-west was blowing with tremendous seas and a very heavy swell, and the passengers had to spend inoi-t of the time below decks for the following 24 hours. They had an unenviable experience and at the peak of the storm in the early hours of the morning seas were breaking right over the ship from the starboard side. One sea smashed the windows of two berths on A deck and three windows of the first-class smoking-room. The occupants of the berths were rudely awakened to find everything soaked and two feet of water on the floor. Other slight damage was done and speed was reduced until the ship ran out of the bad weather at midnight on Saturday. Even with the delays the Monowai had to reduce speed so as not to arrive before 7 o'clock this morning. Had she not been delayed at the beginning of the voyage she would have got here yesterday afternoon.