A LONG VOYAGE

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 26, 30 July 1938, Page 24

A LONG VOYAGE

IN OPEp BOATS

An open boat voyage of 1747 miles, occupying 24 days a:nd 20 hours, ended 15 years ago on June 28, when 17 members of the crew of the Trevessa landed at Belombre, Mauritius, says an exchange.

Among the survivors of that remarkable trip was Mr. W. E. Sturt, now chief steward of the Christchurch Club. Eighteen other survivors of the ship, which foundered in mid-ocean, landed

at Rodriquez, one of the Mercerene Islands, 344 miles eastward of Mauritius, on June 26, after a journey, of 1556 miles, occupying 22 days^ and 19 hours. It was a motley crew, consisting of English, Scots, Irish, Welsh, Swedes, Burmese, Arabs, Indians, Afghans, and Portuguese West Africans, which suffered the privations and monotony of the boat journeys, and several died. The Trevessa, a German-built steamer of 5000 tons, under the command of Captain Cecil P. T. Foster, left Premantle for England, via South Africa, on May 25, 1923. She had loaded at Port Pirie with zinc concentrates, in the form of slime or half-set cement. On June 3, when the vessel was in a southerly gale, she sprang a leak, and, in spite of strenuous efforts to locate it, began to settle down. In the early hours of the following morning, the order was given to abandon ship.

Hardly had the boats pulled clear when the Trevessa, with all her lights still burning, plunged beneath the surface. She had sunk 1600 miles west of Fremantle and 1728 miles east of

Mauritius. Three vessels had answered her SOS calls.

The boats could not wait long on the chance of being located, and, after a day spent in preparations, it was decided that the best course would be to make for Mauritius, for favourable winds might be expected, and rain was a certainty. With the meagre water supply, this was of first importance.

In the captain's boat there were five officers and fourteen others, and in the other were the mate, Mr. James C. Stewart Smith, and 24 others, including Mr. Sturt. Their provisions consisted of two cases of milk, two beakers of fresh water, one only partly full, and four tins of biscuits. On June 9 the two boats parted company, and the men suffered great privations before they reached land. Medals and honours awaited them on their return to England, the captain and mate receiving Lloyd's Silver Medal for saying life at sea, and presentations from the Board of Trade. Their greatest honour, however, was their presentation to the King and Queen. Testimonials were given to all members of the crew. '

Captain Foster, a man of 36 at the time, had previously had experience in open boat voyaging. During the war his ship was torpedoed, and the crew cast adrift 300 miles to the west of the Scilly Islands, from where they travelled to the coast of Spain. Every soul on the Trevessa knew that the skipper insisted on the lifeboats being always ready, in first-class condition, and the steward knew exactly what provisions to put in them in case of emergency. " .

The captain of the first ship to reach Montreal, when the St. Lawrence River thaws each year, receives a "prize" of either a silk hat or a silver-mounted walking-stick from the Mayor of the city.