A NIGHTMARE VOYAGE

Press, Volume LXXI, Issue 21400, 16 February 1935, Page 21

A NIGHTMARE VOYAGE

Sixty-Seven Days At Sea CREW SHORT OF FOOD U'ROU OUJI OWK CORHESPONDENT.) SYDNEY, February 6. ; One of the most arduous voyages made by any steamer during recent years has been completed by the former Norwegian steamer James Cook, which, in Australian ownership, will enter the Sydney-New Zealand timber trade. The James Cook, which has a gross tonnage of only 2116 tons, steamed direct from Newcastle-on-Tyne to Melbourne in 67 days, during which severe hurricanes were met. The crew was in dire need of fresh food when the James Cook reached Melbourne. When the first news of the vessel's plight was received by wireless in Melbourne the pilot steamer outside Port Phillip Heads was instructed 'to take provisions and tobacco to the James Cook. These were hoisted aboard the steamer outside the heads, and, as she steamed up Hobson's Bay, the crew made a hasty meal of the first fresh food they had tasted for nearly two months. When the James Cook tied up, the master (Captain A. E. Jackson) der scribed the passage as the worst he had ever experienced. After leaving the English Channel, he said, the steamer did not sight any other steamer or land until she picked up the Cape "Otway lighthouse on the Victorian coast. After passing the Cape of Good Hope, storms bat-

tered the lightly-laden vessel, which was carrying only bunker coal in her holds. 100 Miles an Hour Gale "For days on end huge seas swept the ship from stem to stern," said members of the crew. "It was -* nightmare voyage. At times it was impossible to see the bow or" the ship from the bridge because oi ihe screen of driving spray. Looking astern, one could see huge mountains of water rearing up high above the ship's counter. The weather reached its height on January 3. when the James Cook had passed the meridian of the Cape. On th:.day, the wind attained a velocity of more than 100 miles an hour, and it was impossible to hear each other speak. On deck it was barely possible to stand against the fury of the storm." Describing his experiences during the hurricane, the ship's cook. Mr I. ;C. Spencer, one of three Australians on board, said it was impossible to prepare any meals in the galley. 'Tots and pans were being tossed from side to side with the vicious rolling, and the deck was littered with what remained of yesterday".blanc mange," he said. "The seas were continually pouring over :heupper deck and smashing in the galley skylight. After each wave huge clouds of steam rose as the water flooded the hot stoves. At this time a seaman was caught by a particularly heavy sea and swept off a companion ladder, injuring a leg." Only two weeks out from New-castle-on-Tyne the supply of fresh food and vegetables ran out, and for weeks the crew lived on salt bee: and hard biscuits. As the day? passed, the supply of tea, sugar, butler, and vegetables dwindled rapidly, and for the last week of the passage, the crew existed on flour and coffee. "What worried umost," said a member of the crew, "was the fact that we completely ran out of tobacco. For some time we managed to ration ourselves with old cigarette ends, which were I dug out of crevices in the tables." Of the 23 members of the crew, three are former members of thf Australian Infantrv" Forces, and include an Australian V.C., Mr W. Bloomfield, and a holder of the Military Medal, Mr T. Barthou.