STRUGGLE THROUGH STORM

Evening Star, Issue 25770, 17 April 1946, Page 6

STRUGGLE THROUGH STORM

SMALL KETCH HAS CLOSE GALL GRUELLING TRIP DOWN COAST (P.A.) NAPIER, April 16. Out of a squally darkened sea, with her crew of three wearied by the struggle against storms and gales, the 46ft ketch La Phare was towed on Monday evening into the inner harbour at Napier. In the course of a gruelling trip down the east coast, en route from Auckland to Wellington, the ketch was blown over 70 miles off her course. While the small vessel was signalling for help off iNapier breakwater, she was seen by tho,' trawler Cellina and towed into harbour. Shortly .after La Phare sailed from Auckland for Wellington on April 3, the engiue failed and the crew had to rely on the sail. The Waimariuo sighted them off Portland Island, and they asked tho liner to report them. They sailed down tho coast in good weather until they ran into a week of bad weather in tho vicinity of Cape Palliser. After being hove to for three hours on April 10, Captain Webster decided to run before the sea under the fore staysail. At this time they were pooped by a sea, and everything in the small craft was drenched. With the bilges overflowing, the outlook was very black, and after bailinq for three hours the three men took over 250 gallons of water from the bilges. On Saturday the weather became worse, and the ketch was blown farther off her course and the situation appeared hopeless. The mainsail gaff band was carried away in a sudden squall in the early hours of Monday morning, but the crew managed to keep way on by making a temporary strop and .resetting the mainsail.