LOG BOOK GLEANINGS

Evening Star, Issue 23657, 17 August 1940, Page 16

LOG BOOK GLEANINGS

STRANGE SEQUENCE OF WRECKS [By First Matb.J Some strange things happen at sea, and among those things mysterious disappearances and wrecks are among the foremost on the list. But wrecks are isolated cases, themselves one separate and distinct portion of the large scroll of sea history. But among the wrecks and tales of wrecks one amazing series stands paramount. It was almost incredible that six vessels should be wrecked in the same cycle, and the passengers from each in turn should be picked up by the successor until she finally ran herself ashore. It was in 1829 when the Australian Government cutter Mermaid left Sydney for Port Raffles. On the voyage she was wrecked, and all aboard took refuge on a rock. There they clung for three days waiting for a rescuer to appear, after which the Swiftsurc, from Tasmania, hove in sight and took the survivors aboard. Another three days saw the end of the Swiftsure; she was wrecked. This time it was the Governor Ready, also hailing from Tasmania, that took the survivors from both ships aboard.

When she went down, the survivors must have thought they had an unsuspected Jonah aboard, but this time the long-boats were commissioned and the survivors of the three ships crammed themselves into them. All hands involved in this amazing sequence were saved, but still they were not out of the frying pan altogether. There was more excitement ahead, although they could not have foreseen it.

Yet another Tasmanian ship succoured the people in the Joug-boats. This time it was the Comet. She was wrecked, and all hands took to the boats.

Finally, the Jupiter, also under Tasmanian registration, noticed the distress signals and hove alongside. Gratefully the passengers in the “ cockle shells ” must have climbed aboard, but by this time no doubt there wore misgivings as to reaching port safely. The doubts were fully justified. Setting off for Port Raffles to end this nightmare journey, the Jupiter herself came to an end outside the port. She ran ashore at the entrance to the harbour and was wrecked herself, so ending one of the strangest talcs ever recorded of the sea.

BEARINGS BY RADIO

A novel radio compass has been designed for use in conjunction with marine telephones. Especially suitable for yachtsmen and ships plying the coastal trade, it provides precision navigation by bearings taken from beacon stations. The apparatus consists of a frequency converter to extend the range of the telephone equipment into the low-frequency band of the beacon.