SCIENTISTS’ YACHT

Greymouth Evening Star, 2 December 1929, Page 7

SCIENTISTS’ YACHT

DESTROYED BY EXPLOSION CAPTAIN FATALLY INJURED (By Cable—Press Assn.—Copyright.) < SUVA, November 30. I An explosion occurred at one d’clock on Saturday afternoon, in the' Apia Harbour, on the non-magnetic yacht, “Carnegie.,’ This caused a fire on the vessel, which was burning so furiously that she had to be beached. The yacht was destroyed, and the topmasts have gone. Several of the men were taken to the hospital. Captain Ault was thrown overboerd by the explosion. He was picked up, but he died on the way to the hospital.. DERAILS OF TRAGEDY. •*■ ' ■ * (By Radio —Special to Press Assn.) APIA, November 30. The Carnegie was burned to the water’s edge. Only the cash and records were saved. The ship’s articles and everything else was lost. She was filling tanks with 200 gallons of benzine on board all the morning on Friday, resuming at 1 p.m. A hose connected the petrol flowing into I the tanks, when suddenly a terrific explosion occurred. Five of the crew employed were injured, one being blown into the sea. Captain Ault was sitting on, a deck chair, twenty feet away, reading. He was blown into the sea, and died on the way to the hospital. The galley-boy, Kolar, below in the after galley, is missing, and is believed to have been burned, to death . The chief engineer, a mechanic, and three seamen, were injured. The engineer and mechanic were seriously burned on the arms and face. None was seen, smoking. An inquest was held this morning on Captain Ault, the verdict being that he died of shock.

OTHER BOATS DESTROYED. \ SYDNEY, December 2. A message from Tutuila (Samoa) states that ending a twenty years scientific cruise, the yacht Carnegie, exploded, and thq sub sequent fire spread to five nearby ve? seis which were also destroyed. The U.S.S. Ontario is proceeding to Apia to assist. ' :\ \ : ■ ■ .'. I ■ The following article regarding the Caraegie appeal In the Christchurch “ S On’iaLa‘ry i y o, laS ae tamoua survey ship Carnegie will arrive harbour in continuation ofa.cruise which was started m. April, 1928 will probably stay in Lyttelton “J some time to refit as stores from .all x parts of the world are now on their way here for that purpose. After doing research work here, the vefsel wffl sail lor Cape Town, where she is due on April 20 of next V ear - The vessel is under the command of Ca The l Carnegie is engaged in research work in terrestrial magnetism, a work that the Carnegie Institute, which owns , the vessel, has carried on for years, j The scope of the vessel s work is v V wide and the discoveries which have . been made have proved of great practical benefit to mariners. . ■ One of the principal subjects is the study of the declination of the compass. There are constant changes in variation in many parts of the world, and the scientists on board this vessel have conducted much research work in ascertaining the amount of tno variations. The vessel works in conjunction with land stations throughout the world, one of these. being the Magnetic Observatory at Christchurch, where regular obseravtions are taken. Without the results of the observations at Christchurch and other land stations the work of the vessel would too extremely limited, and. wlien the. Carnegie reaches here the records of the observatory and those of the vessel will be carefully checked. Lyttelton will be used as a refitting port, and already a great deal of material is bn the way here. The Carnegie is rigged as a barquentine and is constructed of wood, as metal would interfere with the-accuracy of the observations-which are necessary. . She was built in 1909 to replace the ship Gallee, which had been used previously for this work by the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism of the Carnegie Institute at Washington. On three previous occasions the Carnegie has been in Lyttelton. The first was in 1915, when she arrived in November to refit before circumnavigating the globe. The scientific staff did some work here and the vessel sailed on December 6 of that year. After a voyage of 117 days, during which she covered 17.500 miles, the Carnegie ar--' rived back in Lyttelton, and after a stay of a few weeks sailed again for the United States.

On that trip the vessel rounded Cape Horn and called at _ South Georgia. Much valuable work was done, including a great deal'of charting in seas that had not been examined before. At that' time Captain J. P. Ault was in charge of the ship. He was also in command of her predecessor, the Galilee, which called at Lyttelton, on one of her voyages. • • ■ ; Tho Carnegie was again in Lyttelton in 1920, when the vessel .docked .there on completion-of another long cruise and left in November for. Easter Island, where Christmas and JS[ew. Year were spent. ’ .