ROUND THE WORLD

Evening Star, Issue 19273, 11 June 1926, Page 2

ROUND THE WORLD

OTTO PRAHL AMD HIS SAMPAN ADVENTUROUS VOYAGE Captain Otto Prahl, who set off from Shanghai in a sampan months ago on a projected tour of the world, has arrived in Sydney after leaving the little craft stranded on a small island in the Torres Straits (writes the Sydney correspondent of the Auckland ‘Star,’ under date June 3). He intends to continue his voyage in a ■similar craft, but his story so far is a romance in itself.

Two men started from Shanghai with Prahl, but one of them had had enough by the time they reached Swatcw, on the Chinese coast.

The next si age of the trip wfls to Hongkong, and most of tho way the sampan was on the fringe of a typhoon. The rigging carried away, and a mast broke, but the vessel eventually made port safelv and docked for repairs. When tlie boat was 208 miles out on the trip to Manila the mast carried away again, and they set a course for San Fernando, north of tho Philippines. It was found impossible to make complete repairs there, so the voyage was continued to Yta. whore two of tho crew decided they nad had enough thrills to satisfy them for tho rest of their lives. One of them was brought back by the native constabulary, but ho refused to go aboard again, aud Prahl was forced to tackle the stage from Yta to Manila alone in the sampan. Prahl says little about that section of the journey, but it took forty-four hours for a distance of 120 miles, and during that time lie could not leave the tiller.

From Manila he managed to get a crew to assist him, and eventually reached Darwin, after thrilling adventures with the sea.

At Darwin Mr Colin Dod, a Scotch Australian, was taken aboard, and he paid his passage to Thursday Island, on tho Queensland coast, living on a diet of herrings and pork and beans during the run of twenty-one days. This journey was an exceptional performance, in view of tho fact that an auxiliary schooner left two days alter them and took two months on the same trip. At Thursday Island an Englishman, Raymond Poynton, joined tho sampan; but they had gone only 100 miles when the vessel started to leak so badly that she had to bo beached.

Temporary repairs wero effected, but an exceptional tide left tho sampan so high, and dry that it was found impossible to refloat her. The story of the trek by the two members of his crow across Queensland has already been told, as has also tho fact that Prahl was picked up by a lugger when his supplies wero nearly exhausted. Prahl, however, is still determined to continue bis journey as soon as he can procure another suitable lifeboat. In an interview in Sydney, he stated that he thought ho might nave some difficulty in getting a crew to accompany him, but since the publication of the interview he has been overwhelmed' by offers from adventure-loving men in Sydney.