SMALL TUG IN PERIL

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29224, 7 June 1960, Page 12

SMALL TUG IN PERIL

Adrift In High Sea

(New Zealand Press Association) AUCKLAND, June 6. Drifting helplessly, off the Coromandel coast, a 48ft tug, the Miss Hauraki, was in danger of being wrecked tonight. At 9 p.m. a pleasure boat, the Three Kings, set out to the rescue from Whitianga, but was not expected to reach the tug until 11.15 p.m. The scow Success and the Government launch Clematis are also racing to her aid. The Miss Hauraki has four men on board. Her skipper. Captain Colin Richens, of Auckland, sent out a distress call at 7.45 p.m. when the Miss Hauraki’s engine failed between Whangapoua and Mercury Island. Later, as rough seas and a strong north-east wind began to carry the tug toward the rocky coast, she was reported to be sending up f res. While the Three Kings raced to her aid, the Miss Hauraki radioed again at 9.15 p.m. that she was being borne toward the mainland —thought to be in the region of Kennedy’s Point. Her signals had then become faint—possibly because her batteries were running down. The Miss Hauraki is owned by Mr L. H. Julian, who runs a fleet of towboats and launches from Auckland. She carries sand, shingle, and bulk cargoes on the coast. Volunteers Recruited When the distress call was received, Constable M. E. Andrews, of Whitianga, hurriedly recruited a volunteer crew of five or six to sail with the owner of the Three Kings, Mr L. Rides. Another tug, The Olympia, was alerted, but she had whales in t'w off Great Barrier Island, and could not go. When the Miss Hauraki’s engine became troublesome she headed for the safety of Mercury Cove. She had not gone far, however, when the engine cut out. Late tonight, the Auckland and Whitianga radio stations were in touch with the Miss Hauraki, and other coastal stations were maintaining a listening watch. One of the messages from the Miss Hauraki indicated that she had a barge in tow. The rescue ships and shore stations lost radio contact with the Miss Hauraki at 11.10 p.m., it was reported at midnight. The last news of the Miss Hauraki was that the crew was using the barge as a sea-anchor in an attempt to stop drifting. Before midnight, the Three Kings reported that the night was “as black as the inside of a sack,’’ and that nothing could be seen.

Shake the Bottle.—A man charged with drunken driving blamed a barman for not shaking the bottle before pouring him a double brandy. It was wellknown, he said, that the alcohol in brandy rose to the top of the bottle. Andries Hennanus Olivier, aged 35, a clerk, of Standerton, South Africa, was arrested by a traffic officer after a chase through the central area of the town. Olivier was fined £6o. Reuters.