ROUGH SEAS ON COAST

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 185, 4 May 1936, Page 10

ROUGH SEAS ON COAST

Inter-Island Steamers Delayed DAMAGE TO MOTOR-SHIP By Telegraph—Press Association. Christeliurcli, May 3. Seas on the coast were very rough during the period of tlie gale. The coastal motor-ship Port Waikato, which left Lyttelton for Dunedin ou Friday afternoon, met very heavy seas south of Akaroa on Saturday and had to return to Lyttelton. A delay of two hours and a quarter occurred in the berthing of the Wahine on Saturday. With 400 passengers aboard, including many members of Parliament, as well as members of the Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Company, the Wahine arrived outside the moles at 7.15 a.in., the vessel having made good time on the southward trip. She had to slow down nearing the heads on account of the poor visibility, and owing to the strength of the gate Captain B. Irwin had the greatest difficulty in .bringing th' Wahine through the moles. .Even inside the harbour the surface was “smoking,” and a heavy sea running. Captain Irwin was baffled not so much by the force of the gale as by the frequent sudden changes in direction from south-east to south-west and vice versa. The Wahine with an anchor dragging to steady her bow, would come in with the south-easter, but tiine after time as she reached the moles the wind would change and the vessel would be swung broadside on. Her strong engines enabled her to get clear safely each time, although more than once she was uncomfortably close co the breakwaters. Assistance from Tug. At 8 a.m. the tug Lyttelton went to assist the Wahine, but could do little The towline which the tug took snapped, and another time the tug. when moving up on the lee side of the steamer. was trapped as the vessel rolled, and about 20 feet of the tug’s railing was smashed. Shortly after 9 o’clock there was a slight easing in the force of the wind, and Captain Irwin quickly seized the opportunity and brought her in. Just after the vessel was ’nside the moles a terrific squall struck her, but a timely push by the tug kept her up to the wind and she slid into her berth. All mariners who saw the operation agreed that the Wahine was superbly handled. The log of the Wahine for Friday night’s trip from Wellington is a remarkable one. The barometer reading for 11 p.m.. is 28.50 in„ giving a corrected reading of 28.63 in., the lowest ever recorded on the inter-island run. The wind forces after 1 a.m. are recorded as gules varying from 8 to 9 on the Beaufort scale. No higher winds have ever been recorded around New Zealand. Fortunately these forces occurred only in squalls, so that the passengers did not have the bad trip that might have been expected. Maori Buffeted. The Maori arrived to-day at 12 45 p.m., having left Wellington at 11 p.m. on Saturday. The vessel met the full gale and tremendous head seas, and was heavily buffeted until off Kaikoura, after which the wind and sea moderated and she made good time for the rest of tlie trip. The Port Waikato was not so fortunate as the Wahine and the Maori in that she did not escape Captain Holmes decideds when 35 mile south of Akaroa to return to Lyttelton on account of the violence of the storm. The sea was too big to permit the vessel to enter Akaroa harbour for shelter. About three hours after the ship had been turned a big sea came over the stern, smashing in the door of the messroom, and flooding the galley and the officers’ cabins. It also shifted the ship’s boats slightly, and the flagstaff at the stern and the gratings were carried overboard. At this time alarm was caused by the cargo shifting and causing the vessel to list to starboard.. However, rhe little vessel reached Lyttelton heads and anchored there at 4 p.m. on Saturday. The crew re-stowed the cargo and trimmed tlie vessel, and Captain Holmes brought the vessel into harbour and berthed. At 9 p.m. to-day the vessel left for Dunedin. Union Airways kept tlie timetable with delays, the aeroplane from the North Island meeting very bad weather on Saturday morning. It returned to Blenheim anil landed there, and after staying there, half an hour came ou to Christchurch, arriving 45 minutes late. The northward aeroplane from Dunedin did a flight of 203 miles in 04 minutes, and went on to Palmerston North. To-day the service is running normally. FENCES BLOWN DOWN Minor Damage in the South By Telegraph.—Precis Association. Christchurch, May 3. But for a few trees and fences blown down there are no signs to-day that Christeliurcli was swept during the week-end by a gale of unusual violence. This morning broke fair with a bright sunshine, and by midday the keen southerly breeze bad died down. 1 lie afternoon was beautifully line. From Friday night till the early hours of Sunday morning a soutliwe-t gale of exceptional force raged. Minor damage was reported from all paits. Several trees, many fences, and even a few houses failed to withstand the force of tlie wind, which in some of I lie worst gusts reached a velocity of 65 miles an hour. Falling trees broke light and power lines in a few instances, but no important interruptions were caused. Ileavv showers of hail and min fell at frequent intervals, and the temperature was bitterly cold. Ou Saturday morning there was a brief thunderstorm, lint of no great severity. The two most serious items of damage were the tearing of a balcony and part of a roof from a building in Sumner used as flats, and the blowing down of :i tree on to a motor-car standing near it, fortunately without occupants, tn Latimer Square.