“WINDJAMMERS" TO LOAD TIMBER

Evening Star, Issue 22683, 24 June 1937, Page 3

“WINDJAMMERS" TO LOAD TIMBER

OUTWARD CARGOES FOR GRAIN FLEET Although the number of sailing ships which load wheat at South Australian outports each year is being diminised through accidents and vessels being sold for scrapping, the lofty-masted fleet may be revived by the entry of several of the vessels into a new trade. For years the stately craft have made the outward passage from Europe in ballast, and have relied upon their wheat freights and the premiums paid by cadets and apprentices for their profits (states a Melbourne exchange). This year the barque Winterhude carried phosphates from Mahe (Seychelle Islands) to Auckland (New Zealand) on the outward passage, and when the Swedish barque C. B. Pedersen, which foundered this year, visited Melbourne in 1935, she brought a timber cargo from Baltic Sea piorts. These two ships, however, have been exceptions. Next year at least six vessels in the fleet will follow the example set by the 0. B. Pedersen in 1935, and will load timber in the Baltic. The Pamir, Lawhill, and Viking have been chartered to load for East London (South Africa), and the Olivebank will load for Durban (South Africa) or Lourenco (Portuguese East Africa). In addition, either the Killoran or the Penang will load for East London, and the Passat or the Moshulu for Durban or Lourenco Marques. Other vessels of Captain Gustaf Eriksen’s fleet may also bo chartered. Although these charters will mean extra freights for the vessels, they will also cause them to be late at Spencer Gulf for the wheat season. Some of the timber to he loaded will not be ready for the ships until the middle of September.