Boy Roel sails for test area

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 32958, 3 July 1972, Page 1

Boy Roel sails for test area

(New Zealand Pre« Association;

TAURANGA.

After yet another delay—this time because of rough seas —the protest ship Boy Roel left Tauranga harbour this morning.

She had been scheduled to leave for the French nuclear test zone every day since Wednesday and problems involving the crew, supplies, and technicalities plagued the peace protest voyage. The 50ft trawler cast off in drizzling rain late yesterday afternoon and cleared the harbour entrance by 6.15 p.m.

Four hours later she was back inside the harbour, forced to turn back and shelter for the night at anchor because of heavy seas and shifting deck cargo. By Saturday the three Labour M.P.s, Mr E. Isbey, Dr G. A. Wall and Mr M. Rata, had retired from the venture, describing it as “well intentioned but not well founded.” Laden down with drums of diesel fuel and deck cargo, the small trawler wallowed away into the rain and fog this afternoon farewelled by about 100 well-wishers.

When the Boy Roel left it was still uncertain whether she would be going straight to the French test area or whether she would be forced to make a stop at Rarotonga for additional fuel.

The Boy Roel will maintain radio silence for the first four days of her 10-day cruise to the Mururoa Atoll. An official of the Peace Media Research project, which has sponsored the mission, said today that the organiser, Mr Barry Mitcalfe, now aboard the protest vessel, told him this before it sailed from Tauranga. The official, Mr Chris Holland, told the New Zealand

Press Association that the master of the Boy Roe), Captain Standish Brooks, could modify this arrangement. He said that the plan, before sailing, was then to transmit a message giving the vessel’s position every two hours on the even half hour.

Mr Bolland said that amateur radio operators round New Zealand had agreed to listen for the signals from the Boy Roel. The Peace Media Research project has no shore based radio receiving station and will have to rely on others to pass on any signals from the trawler.

He said that the Boy Roel would transmit on frequencies of 2045, 2068, 2162, 2430 and 2638 kilohertz. The radio operator would use a call sign such as “Greenpeace” or “Boy Roel.” The protest mission would receive on the following frequencies: 2045, 2068, 2152 and 2206 kilohertz, said Mr Bolland.

The organisation is housed temporarily in the offices of the New Zealand Student Christian Movement at 50 Courtenay Place, Wellington.