IN PERIL ON THE SEA.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 26 August 1930, Page 7

IN PERIL ON THE SEA.

/EVENTFUL DAYS AND NIGHT’S ON THE TAHITI.

Received Monday, 8.40 p.m. , APIA, Aug. 24. , Bishop Bennett, who was a passenger jjy the ill-fated Tahiti, describes "in .graphic detail, the hours of anxiety spent by passengers and crew after the I .accident occurred to the ship.

There was little indication on'the departure of the Tahiti from Wellington it hat Inhere was any thing - wrong with Idle engine room except' for an exces- ; \*ive vibration of the ship. This was ; ."60 excessive that it was difficult to read and liquids were spilt ah tables. Passengers were informed that it was due 1;o the light cargo. There was a total of 107 passengers and 158 crew and the ship was averaging 360 miles with 378 miles on the ibest day.

All was going well when a loud report was heard on Friday morning at -4.30. The vessel was shaken from st’dvn, to stern and the engines suddenly stopped. Passengers were quietly informed that something serious had happen--1 od and to dress. * - Passengers Aroused. By the time the passengers were on •deck all lifeboats were ready, to; be ■ lowered. Each passenger was informed of the number of his lifeboat and lifeSbelits were served but and never taken ■ off till the passengers boarded' the Ventura. ■ The second class passengers had to. vacate their position on account of the water coming through the deck. All passengers assembled in the first-class * lounge for the whole period and the staff provided meals as usual without.

intermission. There was no ; panjc and mo excitement. Officers .never met the passengers to •explain the position and the passengers xever worried the officers. They felt they were doing their best. . The time was spent in games and peering each other with music. The iltehaviour was splendid all through. Cause of the Trouble. It was learnt mat the .cause of the ■trouble was that the shaft on the starboard had broken and penetrated the tunnel ■’and ripped holes under the .stern causing a big inrush of water. The: exact location and details of the trouble will never be known as it was under water ■ level.- So great was the water, pressure that it was impossible to close immediately the bulkhead.' By the great heroism of the engineers working ’constantly in deep water, the .bulkheads were closed but were in constant danger of giving way at any time. • • Several times the engine room was in danger of -being swamped and water poured on both dynamos. To keep the ship afloat it was necessary to keep the water level down in holds three and four where there, were . over ; twenty feet of water. Two buckets holding •fifty -gallons each were manipulated by man power and winches were kept failing water out from each well withcut intermission night and day. Great praise is clue to the officers and for their hard worn:. They never rested until the passengers were safely on ■the Ventura. .Undoubtedly this kept the ship. afloat for if the water had .gone over the top bulkhead, the ship •would have swamped. Fortunately •there was always enough steam to work the winches. , Consolation in Eadlo. The wireless was a great consolation /•Co, the passengers. After the accident a, message was got through to WellingTton and a reply received within twenty minutes. Then the dynamo got wet ■so no further messages'were sent or re•ceived until it * was repaired. An auxiliary broadcast set on No. 1 life-boat-with a range of 150 miles only was then used and the Tahiti got in •touch with the Norwegian cargo boat Penbryn 120 miles away. There was groat joy when she. informed the Tahiti that she was returning. Black Outlook. # On , Saturday between- 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. everybody was called but to their respective lifeboats as there was bad mews frbm the engine room. All the boats were properly equipped with food

•and water and blankets and it was a

pathetic sight especially with the children crying and not knowing what was happening. With the exception of •a few kerosene lamps the ship was in ■darkness. ,The sea was fairly calm'but 3jdg rollers came from the south about ■eight feet high and a stiff., breeze. X/verything looked very dark and sad

'The , engineers and crew were still working- at top at the engine room .end the crew never ceased bailing out -water. Then came, a message that the outlook was better .and that the passengers could ’ retire again into t the lounge and await daylight. , And Then Relief.

By daylight difficulties had been adjusted and main hope now centred iupon the Norwegian Penybryn. Passengers expected to see her early on .Saturday afternoon. All eyes were glued upon the horizon and as night fell the captain sent up rockets period-

ieally and also fired off bombs which . miade a very loud explosion. About 9 pjm. rockets wore seen from the south ,&nd at ten the Penybryn’s lights , appeared. At eleven she circled round. She had missed earlier because a fresh breeze that was blowing drifted the Tahiti over , two knots hourly. The

steamer was over a hundred miles away

.from the spot where the accident had 'happened was 1340 miles from New Zealand and 450 from Rarotongo. The depth ofthe ocean was 18,000 feet.

A feeling of relief cam e to all when •they realised that the Penybryn was 'Standing by all night in ease of acci- -

dent and all were specially grateful when they knew she was doing this at the risk of running short of coal. There was great joy when informed that the Ventura was rushing to our aid and would arrive next morning. For the first time passengers had a little sleep in their chairs and on the floor of the lounge. A certain amount of tension had been relaxed by the presence of one steamer and the ex-/ pectation of t another. Ventura Arrives. At ten On Sunday morning the Ventura met the Tahiti, having come 700 miles out of its way ploughing through a head sea at over 16 knots per hour.

When the Ventura received the call from the IJnion Company she was only three hours away from her destination at Pago Pago. . • As her smoke appeared on the horizon all passengers were ordered into the boats. Although the sea was not breaking much, the big rollers from the south made things unpleasant in the boats. It was nearly an hour before the Ventura arrived and as each boat arrived alongside, cheers were given by the Ventura’s passengers. Each passenger lad to cl m b up rope steps , and it was a difficult task with the swell. Some had to have a rope tied round the body to assist them in the ascent. All reached the deck without accident and only one officer fell into the water when a steering oar broke. He was immediately helped into the boat again. After the passengers came the luggage boats with mails and baggage only.' The mails were taken out of the holds and most of the luggage from in the cabins. Many passengers lost heavily as most of their luggage was in the hold. No one knew how much they had lost, until arrival bn the Ventura, but one .heard no complaints. All were ttankful to escape with their lives. Captain and Crew Last.

The last to leave the Tahiti wer# the captain and crew. Three cheers were given as they arrived. They deserved it as the discipline and organisation were worthy of the best British traditions. As soon aS they arrived all lifeboats were destroyed and sunk. * The Tahiti was getting lower at the stern and the Ventura gave a farewell blast and the Penbryn continued its voyage after accompanying the Tahiti for fifteen hours. The Ventura drew close up to her sister as if she were going to rub noses. Then she drew back and watched the dying struggles of the Tahiti with Union Jack at the stern and flag signals meaning .“abandoned,” at the masthead. All watched her with intense interest till the end. The End. At last nothing of the Union Jack could be seen. Her bow rose higher into the air until it was almost perpendicular. Then she dived stern first in the midst of a seething ocean. Just as the funnels disappeared what appeared to be a tremendous explosion took place, sending up a black cloud followed by steam. Then the vessel vanished leaving a sea boiling like a cauldron whei’e she went down. The sight was awe-inspiring and. the pathetic emotions of 1 many of the crew as well as the passengers, deeply touched one elderly engineer who had workd ten years on the Tahiti. He had to turn his face away, tears streaming down his cheeks. Another engineer who had saved a pet green parrot, was carrying the bird on his shoulder and addressing the parrot said: “Come on Peter, there goes our home. Let us turn our heads away.” He. didn’t see the end. He couldn’t. All were well treated on the Ventura. Many of- the lady passengers w'ent straight to bed. On Monday morning at eleven I conducted a thanksgiving service on the Ventura, attended by most of the passengers and crew, with Sir Hugh Allen accompanying the hymns. The service was bright and hearty and was much appreciated, • On account of the shortness of fresh water, the Ventura was unable to call at Earotonga and made direct for Pago Pago, where she arrived on Tuesday at 1 p.m. She left for Honolulu at S p.m., all the passengers for the South Sea Islands and officers and crew for New Zealand being accommodated at Pago Pago awaiting the arrival of the Tofua to take them back to New Zealand. All are well and there is no sick-, ness.

PASSENGERS THANKFUL!

Received Monday, 7.5 p.xn. APIA, Aug. 24 v The following statement has been issued by the Tahiti’s passengers: —

■ ■■*‘We desire to express gratitude to the ship’s Company for the expeditious launching of the lifeboats and even the salving of small baggage while the ship was sinking. We alsq express our gratitude to the Norwegian freighter Penbryn which gave an assurance of safety by standing by for hours before ithe arrival of the Ventura, as well as to the Ventura which picked us up from the Tahiti’s lifeboats and,catered for the passengers and finally we have to thank the naval authorities at Pago Pago.”