DRIFT OF THE HAWEA.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 298, 10 September 1908, Page 8

DRIFT OF THE HAWEA.

THE CAPTAIN'S STATEMENT. Tho long abscnco of tlio Union Company's collier Hawea, after tho first intimation of her breakdown was received, caused considerable anxiety. For several weeks she evaded the numerous vessels that were sent in search of her, and up to the time she was : taken in tow by tho Rakanoa, had only sighted one vessel—tho ship Governor Robie, which had not reached Sydney on Soptember 1. It was anticipated that the Hawea would be drifting- far off land, while as a matter of fact she was never far from the Australian coast. Distress signals wore flown during tho day and at night. huge fires wero made on deck, which any passing vessel could not have failed to notice. Heavy weather prevailed for the greater period of tho Hawea's drift, and during one severo gale a portion of tho cargo shifted, , and caused a slight list to port. Captain Read feared that his vessol might eventually be carried in tho direction of the Elizabeth or Middleton reefs, to tho north of Lord Howe Island, but all had the fullest confidence in her sea-going qualities. Captain Read, in an interview at Sydney, narrated tho trying experiences they had undergone.. His report was to the effect that the vessel left Newcastle, coal laden, on July 27 for Gisborne. Heavy weather was encountered from the start, and 79 miles were covered on tho first day, tho second day's distance being 166 miles. Early in the morning of July 30 the engines raced heavily, and wero immediately stopped. A sea anchor was rigged, as a heavy sea .was running, and tho vessel was drifting broadside oil. Sails were rigged forward to keep tho vessel off, but proved practically-useless,'and tho sea anchors were requisitioned again, as it was feared the vessel might drift on tho Lord Howe Island during the night. On August 1. the first .boat was dispatched for Lord Howe Island, and it reached there safely. ' The Hawea continued to drift helplessly, heavy weather prevailing until August 14. The change ill weather enabled the. engineering staff to attempt repairs, which wero started on that day. The repairs occupied eleven but tho difficult task was at last coinplo'.tid, and the Hawea was again .under control. A speed of three knots was maintained, but it was recognised that' if heavy wcathor set in tho vessel would again bo at a standstill. As a matter of fact iviien the Rata no.r sighted the Hawea she was steaming slowly along.' It is considered probable that if tho temporary repairs had not been effected, the Hawea would not have been found for some' time. The best day's run made by the Hawea

aft?r the accident under her own steam was 65 miles, but that was in smooth water. When picked up her position was lat. 30.24 south and long. 153.5S cast, or approximately 248 miles from Sydney. There were twelve men all told on tho Hawea during tho latter stages of her' drift—the master, chief engineer, second engineer, two donkeymcn, two stewards/a cook, and four A.B.'s. Thero was an amnio supply of fresh water, and more could have been condensed had it been requirod. With the reduction of the crew to one-half, the provisions held fact, the Hawea arrived in port with a fair quantity of stores'untouched. Tho drift,'fortunately, was devoid of any incidents of a 'sensational character, although necessarily all on board felt that the situation was one of anxiety.

in the after-peak tank had to be enlarged in ordor that tho coupling, which is 3ft. wide, could bo got through, and at last the coupling was put in position. Thus at 8 o'clock in tho evening of August 25, moro than three weeks after tho breakdown occurred, tho shaft was repaired sufficiently to enable the steamer to proceed slowly. Half an hour's trial was given to it. the engines boi"S sent slow ahead, before tlio bolts wero tightened up. Then the drift ended, and tho vessol set out, crippled but able to travel, bound for Sydney under slow steam. The Hawea had travelled 167 miles in this way towards Sydney when the Rakanoa came in sight. All tho time tho repairs wero being made tho sea was running into the tank through tho hole in tho stern-post moro quickly than the pumps could take it out, and the plucky men had to work sometimes, as has been said, up to their waists in water. Thero wore never less than 3ft. or 4ft. of water in which operations had to bo carried on. It was not possiblo to get at the break from tlio engine-room through the tunnel. Accordingly, it had to bo approached from tho No. 4 hold, and in bad weather the hatches could not bo taken off. Tho chief engineer, Mr. M Lean—nearly always a Mac, tho engineer tells a very interesting story of how tho work was done. Ho and his men worked for ten. hours a day, and after they knocked off at 10 at night the tank would fill, so that the crew had to work for a couple of hours the following morning getting the water down before tho engineers resumed duty at 10 o'clock. There were only three engineers at it, and they could not work shifts, so that after ten hours they fully deserved a spell. The Hawea had been drifting for two weeks when Mr. M'Lean determined to seo whether ho could not repair the shaft. "At the first sight," he said, " I thought it would bo impossible to do so. The smash was right at the forward end of the stern-bush, just forward of tho stern-post. Wo never got a proper look at it bccause of the water. All you could do was to feel it with'your fingers. But although I believed at first that we could not repair it, I-thought it over again and again.- Then, on August 14, we made up our minds to have a go at'it. Wo had then been' drifting sixteen days, and during that time there had been a lot of bad weather, and we couldn't havo got near it. However, after working for eleven days, wo were under steam again " Fortunately there was plenty of food on board. The chief steward cut down supplies after the accident; 1 and thero wore then 27 men to feed. Oil August Ist., however, twelve of tlio crow landed on: Lord Howe Island, and three others left on tlic 10th and readied land. This left twelve on board to look after; hut everybody got three' meals a day,'as well as'something during tile night watches. The fresh meat gave out first, and a start was made on tho preserved- and corned meats. Later on some of tho vegetables ran out. When ,-tlio Hawea got under

steam again, and it was seen that she was safe, the chief steward allowed soup, meat, potatoes, and sweets to appear on tho menu again. There was no sign of a vessel in tho monotonous drift until. the,day after the repairs had been completed, When the-American ship Governor Robie, bound from Callao to Sydney, was sighted. Assistance was olfered, but it' was then no longer needed. Captain C. P. Read, master of the Hawea, says the experiments made during the drift havo convinced him that sea-anchors, are of little value. Though ho tried many'of these, not one proved effective.