CONDITIONS AT SEA

Evening Post, Volume CV, Issue 107, 7 May 1923, Page 8

CONDITIONS AT SEA

SMALL VESSELS ROUGHLY

HANDLED,

The lot of the coastal steamer trading in and around Cook Strait has.been vejy severe over the week-end, and ships arriving to-day,, the majority of them 24 hours or more overdue, bear signs of the severe' handling they have received from the storm.

A story of hai'dship and of a battle against heavy odds is related by the small steamer Calm, • which arrived this morning from Lyttelton. The Calm left Lyttelton at 5 p.m. on Saturday with a heavy cargo for Wellington. About midnight on Saturday the vessel encountered a strong southerly, with heavy seas, which gradually increased in force till about 2 or 3 o'clock on Sunday morning, when the vessel was off Kaikoura. A heavy gale was then blowing. At that time the Calm passed the Mararoa, making' heavy weather, southv;avd bound. By 6.50 o'clock on Sunday morning the Calm was off Cape Campbell, and so far had made a favourable passage under the circumstances, but the worst was to come. The weather had become very thick by this, time, and the steamer was continually shipping heavy seas, whicK. broke over ,tho forecastle head and flooded the deck. The vessel was kept on her course till 10 a.m., when Sinclair Head was picked up, but almost immediately thick fog, with very heavy driving rain, set in, and the land was lost to sight. Being unable to obtain correct bearings, the captain decided to stand out to sea till the weather moderated, and the ship's nose was accordingly turned and a south-easterly course set. The experience the crew went through'on the little steamer for the next 24 hours will long remain in their minds. All Sunday, when the gale was at its height, although the Calm was being driven full • speed ahead, she was hardly able to maintain steering way, and the mountainous seas breaking over tha steamer fore and aft flooded the decks and cabins, smashed in the engineroom door, and poured into the stokehold, which\was continuously awash. For eight hours and a half conditions continued, and it was not till 7 p.m. that the weather abated. A glimpse of a light was seen then, but was immediately lost to view -in the haze. About- midnight last night the gale considerably moderated, but only for a few hours, and at 4 o'clock this morning it freshened again, with heavy rain. Shortly after daybreak Pencarrow Head was picked up, and, although a thick fog threatened, the steamer passed through the entrance at 9.30, arrived at the wharf an hour later. The vessel weathered the gale well, and suffered no serious damage. The small steamer Kennedy had an unenviable experience in Cook Straifc early this morning. The vessel left Foxton at midnight on Friday, and after sheltering in the vicinity of Terawhiti till, the worst of the storm was over, continued her voyage at 3 o'clock this morning. All went well till the steamer, at 5 a.m., wus passing through the Terawhiti " rip," when she shipped a sea which, striking the vessel on the starboard side, smashed the bridge, compass, engineroom telegraph, carried away the aft gangway, flooded the saloon, and at the same time disabled the steam steering gear. This left the vessel at the mercy of the waves, but, fortunately, the vessel, in some uhexplainable manner, kept her head on to the sea for three-quarters of an hour, which prevented the waves breaking on board, and enabled repairs to be carried out to the rudder. At 6 o'clock the vessel continued her voyage, which was completed without further incident.

Other vessels which made port to-day were the Komata, from Wesbport, and the Nikau, from Nelson.' The Komata left Westport at noon on Saturday, but from 1 p.m. on Sunday till 6 o'clock this morning anchored at Long Island, in Queen Charlotte Sound. She had 22 passengers on board, who had anything but an enviable time. The Nikau, which left .Nelson on Saturday' evening for Wellington with 20 passengers, put into Picton for shelter early on Sunday morning. She remained at Picton till 6 o'clock this morning, when she left for Wellington, arriving hero at 1.30 o'clock this afternoon. The Wootton, which left Lyttelton on Saturday afternoon for Wellington, hod not arrived early this afternoon. It is anticipated that she is sheltering at Port Underwood. Shipping arriving from the East Coast felt the full strength of the gale, and the Ripple, Enroll, and Tremere. which all arrived over the week-end were consequently delayed. The Wahine made a favourable passage up from Lyttelton on Sunday, arriving hero shortly after 8 a.m. 'The Wainui, which sailed from Picton at 8 p.m. on. Saturday, arrived at Wellington at 8 a.m. yesterday. To avoid the worst of the weather, she made the passage through Queen Charlotte Sound and round the Brothers Lighthouse