Ships and the Sea

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 115, 17 May 1930, Page 30

Ships and the Sea

Dog's Fate at Sea. j A correspondent writes as follows to an Auckland paper relating an incident on a -vojage:."lu the 'eighties I was serving on a, steamer, the Bretwalda, commanded by Captain. Hunter, a brother of Sir G. Hunter, of shipbuilding fame. She was a fairly comfortable vessel, except for the lack of love between the captaiu and the chief engnieei, a big Highlander, with rod hair. We happened to be bound for Philadelphia liom Hamburg with a load of sugar. AYe had a very good passage, Ulnng a northerly course. Just before we stiuck The Banks we ran into .1 big swell, indicating that there had been a bit of a blow. . One morning we passed the body of a seamen in his oilskins, which evidently had kept him afloat. Shortly afterwards we came upon a big dog swimming. We had a mate of sullen temper, so, while wo, who weic cleaning ship, were deciding what to do, the drowned seaman was left far astern. At last t-lio captain nas called. He. was far from a quick man, so by the timo he had got on deck and had had a. few -words with the mate, taken time to consider, and also to speculate on what the chief engineer would do (for, by the by, ho had reported him to headquarters for stopping to bag a bear off an ieoberg not so long before), some time had elapsed. Wo all stood waiting for the decision, which came at last. Gazing astern, he said, 'I'd overrun the course if I thought there would be a chance of picking up! So keep on, Mr. Simpson.' The work of the ship went on as usual." Naval Men and Naval Policy. I can recall few more curious ■ contiasts than reading a wireless summary of the proceedings of the Naval Disaimament Conference in London just as this Fleet was about to leave harbour m state, if the phrase may be used for its annual war practice, wrote Mr. J. -\L N. Jeffries to the "Daily Mail" recently from Malta on board H.M.S. Warspite, the .leader of the Mediterranean Fleet', which was to carry out manoeuvres with the Atlantic Fleet. It was a characteristic telegram, which brought back memories of many conferences to me.- The old obscurity of global tonnage seemed to have beeii replaced by the new: mystification.l of skeleton tonnage, and I saw all the experts rolling in )folds round each other to their tortuous and-involved ends. . A little later, standing on one of the Warspite's tier of bridges, I watched the battleships passing under the yellow walls of "Valetta out to sea, bugles blowing and crows standing to attention, and with such an air of. majesty and determination about them that the whole Fleet looked as inevitable as one of the forces of Nature. In its w&y this outer air of the ships reflected the spirit within them, which is surely worth emphasising at the present moment. There is little talk of the Conference,'where you'might imagine there would be much. On board it is not discussed; if ships are to be retained they will; be retained; if they are to be suppressed they will be suppressed; in the meantime officers' and men think of their work and apply themselves to occasions such as these exercises or manoeuvres for bettering their efficiency. New York-Cape Town Service. Owing to the speed of the new motor, vessel City of New York, which makes the journey'from,New'York, to Cape Toirn in 20 days instead of the average 27, the sailings of the American-South African I me to and from terminal ports are to be icorganised, said the "Cape Times" recently. At present the sis ships of the line run on a regular service between the Continents, j Under, the new arrangement one ship will be put on the New York-South American service each voyage. : ./■-. ,-.■■, ■ .. | Belies of the Garthpool. Two oi three interesting relics of the Garthpool, tvhieh was wrecked on Boavista Island, Cape Verde Islands, in November last, have lately arrived at the offices of the Salvage Association in Lloyd s Building. Theso relics include the ship's bell and. wheel, and they are being fonvarded to the original owner of the ship, who desires to retain them as peimanent mementoes of the last squaio-nggjd ship which sailed under the Bntish flag. ./'.The. Garthpool, before coming into the possession of Sir William Garthwaite, was known as Juteopolis, under which name she was built at Dundee in 1891 for Sir Charles Barrio. For several days recently the wheel stood in the small courtyard at the "Leadcnhall Place entrance to Lloyd' Building, where it was an object of much'curiosity to. passers-by. . Profits from Whaling. NWs has lately.been received, states a South African* paper, that the first consignments of oil from the whale expeditions of the Kosmos, the Peder Bogen,'. the C. A... Larson, and the new floating factory of they Boss Havot, had been sold for the season 1930-1931 to Messrs. Pioeter and Gamble Compaiiy, of Amenca, at £25 for 0/1, oil, with oidinaiy leduetion for lower grades. Latei the catch of the Lancing and the N. T. Nielsen-Alonso for- 1930-1931 was sold'to the Do-No-Fa, of Frederikstad, at the same price. Following this the Atlas Whaling Company sold their production of whale oil for the season 1930-1931 to the Margarine Union, Ltd., London, on the same basis. AVith the various sales reported up to the present the total quantity sold is about 900,000 barrels, the product of approximately 9000 whales. '.■".■ Hoodoos in Ships. Not. a}l German ships are.as'lucky as apparently was the new liner, Europa, which recently, in spite of very adverse weather, on her first voyage across the Atlantic, beat all records for the passago (writes the "San Francisco Argonaut"). But the Europa was not always, the luckiest of Father Neptune's daughters. A;fire; that swept her while she was still unfinished cost her owners vast sums,, and delayed her completion by half a year. The Bremen, her sistership, also a record-breaker, had a serious fire while lying at her dock in New York.- It also involved expensive delays^ Sailors will assure you, there are vessels from which the "jonah" can,never be expelled, and one of these seems to be the German tourist steamship Qceana, which recently, with 200 passengers on board, ran aground the island of Tenedos, in the Aegean Sea. The ..Oceana was originally the North German Lloyd steamship Sierra. Her present: name'is her fifth. Built nearly twenty-years ago, she was captured in Brazilian waters', at the beginning of the war,, and; was renamed Avare by her captors. After the war she was sent-to Germany to be overhauled and repainted.-Ballast waa forgotten, and the Avare sank in the Elbe on her first voyage -back^-with" the loss of many lives. rL'aw-suits followed, ' and the Brazilian owner was glad to sell to a German, who reiiamed the vessel Peer Gynt, ancT'Mte'd her out for luxurious pleasure trips in Northern waters. The owner was" ruined; A year after, when the Peor.-Gynt was lying in, a. Mediterranean port, she was bought by an Italian ■compaiiy./Jiiuli'ochri.stGiicd Stella Italia. The Italians in turn soon.fpund reason to regret their bargain. The Hamburg-America Lino, on reopening tourist pleasure trips at the end of 1925, bought and renamed the ship Oceana, after one of their most sue-

cessful boats. Now, by running ashore at Tenedos, she indicates that the Jonah; or the jinx, or whatever else her evil spirit may be, is still oiv board her. The "Leviathan's" Night Club. We learn from a New York contemporary that the United States, liner Leviathan, at present undergoing extensive repairs and reconditioning at Newport News, will, on her ■ reappearance in. the North Atlantic service, bo provided with several new features for, the delight of passengers, states a writer in "The Syren and Shipping." Among these will be a night club, to be known as the Club Leviathan, which is " de-scribed as "a little bit of Broadway.'" It is added that "in this cosy rendezvous the-passengers interested will be able to samplo while afloat the joys and garnishments of night life as it is lived on the 'Gay White Way.' " What we should like to know, adds the writer, is whether the"joys and garnishments" include bootleg liquor, and the chance of a raid by prohibition agents. Lobito Bay; as Passenger Port. Some attempt is being made, it seems, to advance the • claims of Ijobito Bay as a passenger port, states a' writer in the "Shipping World." At present passengers from this country, who are, however, very few, have to make tlie voyage to Cape Town and then op country by rail. According to "South Africa," foreign steamship lines, rather than British companies, .-'' seem awake to the advantages of Lbbito Bay as a port of'call. . . • and if British enterprise waits'too long it may find that some of the plums have already been snatched." There docs not seem much likelihood, however —at any rate for some time—of Lobito holding out sufficient inducement to the lines to warrant regular calls' being made at the port. Occasionally, steamers from this country with passengers have, been there, but this has been for some rare event in connection with railway ceremonial "celebrations. With tho development of the port, consequent, upon the completion of the railway as far as the Belgian Congo, there is.no doubt that Lobito will eventually .come into prominence- as a passenger port, but this is not probable for some years. While it is true that trade follows the flag, the prospects must bo sufficiently attractive before much money is expended, and in this view there is.general agreement among tho lines forming the conference. In .the matter of cargo the Union-Castle Line has a monthly service, though it is not always that merchandise is offering to justify even this arrangement. The Ocean Ranger. A fine collection of ship's figureheads is the proud possession of the commander of H.M.S. Philomel, the naval training vessel stationed at Auckland, states an exchange. The figureheads have been deposited in tiro Auckland naval base for safe custody. Becently the Philomel's commander was presented with'the figurehead of the old,time barquentine Ocean Banger by Captain G- Hooper, nautical adviser to tho Government. The Ocean Eangeir. has been a familiar sight in Otago Harbour for many years as a coal hulk. Ssllc was originally a trim little ship,' and was built' at Liverpool in 1867. Tor many years she was engaged m the intercolonial and coastal trade, and m the 'eighties, and 'nineties sailed m and out of Otago Harbour on many occasions ' Her usual trade was from Greymouth to Sydney with timber cargoes, returning to New Zealand with coal from Newcastle. About the year 1896 the late Captain D. Harming had command of her, and on one occasion he created something of a stir in shipping circles on arriving from the West Coast by bringing the Ocean Ranger up to' the Dunedin wharf under full sail. The ship met with several mishaps when engaged in the coastal trade. When crossing the Greymouth bar on one occasion she was struck by a heavy sea. which damaged the rudder post to such an extent that tho vessel became practically unmanageable. &ho was towed back to tho Greymouth wharf an hour or two later. On another occasion, when bound from Greymouth to Lyttelton, the Ocean -Banger had all her sails blown to shreds and most of the deck cargo of timber washed overboard when she encountered, a heavy, storm. Tho vessel commenced to: leak badly, and the pumps were manned. She reached Lyttelton after the gale had moderated, with only a few rags of canvas. Tho Ocean Banger's subsequent career was somewhat chequered until sho was condemned and purchased by Messrs. John Mill and Co., ;pf Port Chalmers, lhe ship was converted,into a hulk over thirty years ago. Her hull is of hardwood, and the old vessel, was a good model,. ana a fast sailer in smooth water. An old-world feature of the Ocean Banger was tho figurehead referred to, which consisted of a seaman. in the attire- of Nelson's day. . Whaling in Antarctic;*;. The- floating whalo oil factories Sevilla ana Strbmbus, - with seven whale-catchers, arrived at Cape Town from the Antarctic recently, loadod with about 40,000 barrels of whale oil, a total of over 13,000 tons. Both ships are of the old type . and flense tho whales alongside. The _ Sevilla- is fitted with three derricks with a hitmg capacity of 50 tons which aroused for hauling the carcasses on board after the blubber has been taken off. The head is hauled up first and then the tail and body. Tho average whale, weighing perhaps SO tons, is taken on.board in five pieces, and 'there cut up with the steam saws on the blubber deck. From five to six whales can be dealt with in a working day the usual time-taken to get the whale into the boilers being two hours. The vessel has been seven --months an the ice, and has accounted for some 400 whales. . ' ■ , Long hours are worked by tho crew, and one of the officer's stated that ho would be paid for 800.extra hours. He expected to receive over £300 for hia seven months 1 work, which is-a large sum for a junior officer in an ordinary trader, but insignificant when compared with the skippers' takings on whale-catchers.