S.O.S.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLVIII, Issue XLVIII, 12 January 1915, Page 3

S.O.S.

WIRELESS DISTRESS CALLS. 'Mr L. V. R. Carmine, a. New Zealander, and formerly of the local Telegraph Office, who is now chief wireless operator on the steaniei* China, writes of exciting times. When two days out of Yokohama he picked up -a- distress call from the steamer Shirley, which -was on fire, and received the position and the knowledge that the crew was abandoning the ship and to keep a good lookout for the life-boat& He says that 48 hours , later the China .passed over the spot "where the steamer Shirley had sank, but did not pick up any sign of the lifeboats. ~ The weather .came u,p pretty rough 12 hours after receiving news of the Shirley's distress,, and grave fears were held for the lifeboat crews. -When five and a-half days out from Yokohama the China received a wireless message from Yokohama that two lifeboats had arrived in Yokohama with the. Shirley s crew, all alive but in a, very exhausted condition. . ' . When one day out from San Francisco, Mr Carmine picked up another "5.0.5." from the steamer Hanalei, -with the information that the Hanalji had run on. to the Duxbury Reef, sixteen miles north of the Farralon Islands, and was in a perilous position. He says that the air simply rang with the letters" "S.O.S. the operator, Lovejoy, of 'the Hanalei] putting it out for all he -was worth. Each j boat in close vicinity acknowledged the, call, and gave his -approximate position, when the San Francisco Land Station took charge of the air, shooting out the "5.0.5." call at for the Hanalei, .whose big* set had. given out. The China put on steam to- reach the scene, but had to pull up owing to' the denseness of the fog. The Hanalei after a ten minutes' siten-ce again- spok.e up on ! his emergency set, saying,. "We are breaking up fast." Several ships ansxrered that they /"were making -for the scene of disaster "with, as much, speed as possible. San .Francisco, a moment Hter sent sailing through, the air that the revenue cutter- Rainbow was- making for the' spot. Later the China heard that tho "tcvenue cutter had arrived at the wreck, but owing to heavy sea -was unable to get near enough to the Hanalei to'be of much; assistance. The air was busy ,*all the time, and. all commeri cial traffic ceased for the tithe, the [Rambow and .San Francisco 1 keeping up a running line of information with the shore. The.operator, Lovejoy, after his wireless * apparatus went out of commission altogether, kept up communication with the Rainbow with lieht signalling. Out of 72 passengers and crew 40 were saved.