ROYALIST BATTERED BY STORM OFF N.Z. COAST

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28629, 4 July 1958, Page 10

ROYALIST BATTERED BY STORM OFF N.Z. COAST

(New Zealand Press Association)

AUCKLAND, July 3. Rough seas battered the New Zealand cruiser Royalist, damaged several of her small boats and delayed her entry into Auckland today after 14 months in the Far East. The Royalist arrived at the Motuihe Island powder grounds at 2 p.m.—about five hours late. She will berth at the Devonport naval base at 9.30 a.m. tomorrow. The storm struck the Royalist as she left the shelter of the Bay of Islands last night. Winds gusted up to 80 knots and waves more than 20 feet high swept the fo’c’sle. Stanchions were bent and ventilators torn loose. The large motor cutter was badly damaged, a smaller cutter had several planks stove in and a dinghy was smashed beyond repair. The cruiser was steaming straight into the seas. Speed was reduced to a 4J-knot average, and at times was as low as 2J knots.

Captain G. D. Pound, the commanding officer, said the seas were the roughest he had ever experienced.

The only casualty among the ship’s company was the doctor. Surgeon Lieutenant-Commander J. D. Read. A radio fell from a shelf over his bunk and struck him on the head while he slept. A rating got a bad scare when an avalanche of suitcases descended on his camp stretcher and buried him to a depth of six feet. His mates heard a “feeble little voice calling for help” and sprang to his rescue.

Normally, the rating could have expected to be hit by only a few suitcases, but the Royalist carries a record cargo of souvenirs and gifts. They are stacked everywhere. An officer described the ship as a floating supermarket. In addition to the usual assortment of toys, the men have brought back with them pop-up toasters, cane

furniture, clothing, radios, taperecorders. bongo drums, preserved ginger and dozens of other items. One officer even inquired about ' the possibility of bringing home a car and was advised against it “I don’t think there’s a man in the ship who hasn’t spent every bean he possesses,” said Captain Pound. The captain’s gifts include a camphor chest for his wife and a camera and a transistor radio for his two sons. “They’ll g e f nothing else for the next five years.” he said. A few crockery sets were broken during the gale last night. The Royalist steamed 39.000 miles on her commission—all in fair weather until the final leg on the New Zealand coast. The Royalist achieved many successes on the sporting fields and celebrated three marriages among the ship’s company. Two of the men married Chinese girls and another married an Irish girl serving in the British Army