STORM IN TASMAN

Greymouth Evening Star, 5 September 1934, Page 7

STORM IN TASMAN

MARAMA’S EXPERIENCES. [PEB PBESS ASSOCIATION.] AUCKLAND, September 4.A special wireless message received by the “Herald” to-night from Captain Morgan, master of the Marama, states that the vessel was hove to from Saturday night until Monday. The Marama is now expected to arrive at Auckland at 7 o’clock on Thursday morning, 48 hours late. Chptain Morgan’s message states: “The Marama left Sydney at 4 p.m. on August 31 in light south-east weather, overcast and threatening, with suspicions of a cyclone developing between Lord Howe Island and the north of the New South Wales coast. With the wind freshening from the south-east during Friday night, and developing into a whole gale on Saturday, it became a race to eastward between the ship and the storm centre, and unfortunately, the storm developed over too great an area of the Tasman Sea. By Saturday evening it had increased to a fierce gale, with squalls of hurricane force, and a heavy confused sea, causing a reduction of speed. The storm centre apparently progressed to eastward at less than 200 miles per day, thereby causing prolonged bad weather in bur area. The ship was hove to from Saturday evening until Morday morningin tremendous seas. The ship behaved very well, not shipping heavy water, but considerable spray. One of our great concerns during the height of the storm was to maintain on deck a light De Haviland Moth aeroplane, which would have liked to cross Tasman Sea on its own, but, being amenable to reason, it remained on board for a safe ride home. The gale continued throughout Monday, but was decreasing, and little progress was made by the ship until Tuesday. No damage has been done to the ship, and although it is still blowing fresh from the south-east, good progress Is being made. It is hoped to arrive at 7 a.m. on’ Thursday. All are well on board.’’

In addition to delaying vessels at sea ,the weather to-day caused considerable delays to cargo operations and to coastal vessels. The Niagara sailed for Sydney about an hour behind the scheduled time, but the sailings of most of the coastal vessels were postponed until to-morrow, while the departure of the New Zealand Shipping Company’s motor ship Opawa, for London, Liverpool and Glasgow, was postponed until Friday.