NAVAL MEN DROWNED

Greymouth Evening Star, 1 October 1937, Page 7

NAVAL MEN DROWNED

AUCKLAND HARBOUR TRAGEDY CAPSIZE DURING RACE [PER PRESS ASSOCIATION.] naval'rutXrcapslzeajhile.taK.ngja.i in the annual 2Ci mi s Waite mata the Diomede Cup o 11 e drow ned harbour. Those whc> were m Seaman ander Forbes, Able _Seam a “ Illa c. Paterson, Ordinary S paterson were Tasker, roroes auu. ~T. pr W as a both English ratings. Tasker New Zealander, from 1 ;' | o[ lhe All three men weie from crew of the Leand • swamped, the Leander ca » si^ d of a a mH e from A ,aS vfand Hartour Board’s launch Waitemata wE dispatebed from Dev “A X rß put H OUt Partridge and C. C. Tii P As a 10-foot, dinghy from H they put out they saw five men t cnng ing to the u » t " r e I d <1 it. , °Able Seaman s“geanthad been washed officer and four men were picked up and taken to the launch, wineii jac arrived in the Jescne he hv w-iq then put about to lescuc unman swimming ashore, no sign of the three remaining nmmners of S the crew, who had been obliged loosen their hold on the boat The four men on the launch wei taken to the sick bay on the Leandei. Two ambulances were sent to Buck land’s beach, but were able to get only within half a mile of the spot _ where Sergeant was taken ashore. Stretcheibearers clambered over the jocks Karaka Bay, only to , f,nd men had been rescued, and weie on the launch. They -picked up Sergeant and carried him to one of the ambulances, which took him to the Devonport Naval Base. Conditions had become so boisteious that the race was abandoned before word of the tragedy reached the authorities. Six of the 16 boats which competed were towed hack to DevonP °Boats put out to take part in the search for the bodies of the three men who were drowned. This was unavailing, and will be resumed to-morrow morning.

RESCUED MEN. The rescued men were: Warrant Offir 3 r Holdsworth, Leading Seamen Lund and Johns, Able Seamen Davies, Wakefield, Smith, Maidment, and Potter. The crew explained that the sails had been damaged early in the race, and the men were unable to slacken olt as they came about, whereupon the boat turned over. There was a strong flood tide, with a strong wind. The men were too far from the shore to attempt to swim, so they held on to the side of the boat awaiting rescue. Three times the wind caught the sail of the overturned boat, catching the struggling seamen under the sail. On each occasion they had to swim to get clear. “It felt like dragging 10 tons,” said one of the sailors, describing the swim to get clear of the sail. “I thought at one stage we were going to lose young Maidment. He seemed to be under the sail for about 10 minutes, and had to swim out under it to get clear.” All the time the boat was pushed in towards the shore, and when the R.N.V.R. whaler got to the men they were only about 100 yards away from the yacht club. The men all of whom were nearly exhausted and suffering from exposure, were taken on board. Warrant Officer Holdsworth ha dto be carried ashore. ’ BODIES NOT FOUND. AUCKLAND, October 1. The naval galley which capsized yesterday afternoon in the harbour, resulting in the death of three seamen, was located this morning by an aeroplane from the Leander, 6 miles past Rangitoto. Despite the combing of an extensive area,, the bodies have not yet been found. Police in the areas where it is possible the bodies may come ashore, including Waiheke Island in the Gulf, have been notified to keep a look-out, though the police have not actually organised search parties.