Preparation to sail solo

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 33027, 21 September 1972, Page 1

Preparation to sail solo

(N.Z. Press Assn.—Copyright)

SYDNEY, Sept. 20.

The former New Zealand yachtsman, Dr David Lewis, has begun fitting out his 32ft steelhulled sloop Ice Bird for his seven-month single-handed voyage skirting the Antarctic.

“For strength,” he said, “steel is 100 per cent, and it only weighs seven tons, so it will tend to bob on top of the waves rather than crash into them.”

But he expects no trouble, and only a few storms on the controversial voyage of adventure. He has set a tentative departure date of October 15.

“For weather, it’s the very best time to leave,” he said at - Rushcutters Bay today, “and it is also the best time from the point of view of pack ice. I have been through very severe storms in the Atlantic, and don’t expect anything worse on this trip.” He said that he would have virtually 24 hours of daylight each day when the voyage got under way, minimising the chances of striking floating ice. A great deal of his equipment, Dr Lewis said, had been given by various companies, but he estimated he had already spent some $lO,OOO in preparation for the voyage. The 32ft sloop has a small forward cabin, which will be filled with provisions, and a main cabin with two bunks and cooking facilities, in which Dr Lewis will live during the seven-month trip. The voyage will take him from Sydney to New Zealand and then to the Antarctic Peninsula, about 500 miles south of Cape Hom.

Candidates.—-The Social Credit League’s candidate for Mangere at the General Election is Mr G. Thornley, aged 22, a psychiatric nurse. Its candidate for East Coast Bays is Mrs Betty Ross, aged 42. —(P.A.).