SAVED BY ROLL OF SHIP

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXI, 27 October 1928, Page 9

SAVED BY ROLL OF SHIP

TWO MEN OVERBOARD IN , . . TASMAN .* '-‘*2/.- - REMARKABLE SEAMANSHIP - V’ THE PIETS ROUGH-PASSAGE SYDNEY, 12th Octoberl A dramatic story of a deeps’ea rescue; of two members of the crew .' counted when the auxiliary’ schooner";',' Piri arrived in Sydney, battered by The elements, from Greymouth, last Safujv. .U; day. Indeed, the two men concerned admitted freely that they owed, their lives to the wonderful seamanship Captain Watt, for in the seas running at the time they were swept. overboard it was impossible to lower a lifeboat. The Piri is of only 259 tons gross-regi-ster, and was laden with lumber-- • -for-: -.-A Melbourne and Sydney. She left Grey- .: ~ mouth on 23rd September, and ran immediately into a succession of westerly. gales. Continuously, for days at a time, huge waves swept over her decks, - . - and every movable object had to be lashed down for safety. It was two days after she left port that the' worst'wfeather of the trip was encountered.-Bleak * winds and 'tremendous seas, which . it proved impossible for the Piri to ride-, ; —- battered her and swept her from stem to stern: When, the watches were-being.^k s y changed at 4 p.m., John William ... Laing and William. Graham West, were: - f standing on deck clinging to the rail:vafe. the stern, waiting to be relieved. . The.l”' relief had actually arrived, and it was a --- matter of moments only until they would have been replaced,.when.a particularly huge wave hit the little;'vessel forward, and a thick wall of water, surmounted by a foaming crest, raced towards where they stood. Instinctively, both men’-' • tightened their grips on • the railings; hut the weight’of the water precluded .' any attempt on their part.-to hold ore for: > safety. Their grips were torn from they;.:, railings, and they were carried -high..—: over the stern and dropped into-. ; the,.-aV

sea. , ’ u; '• The alarm of “man overboard” was ''”' raised immediately by more fortunate members of the crew; but before the master of the .vessel r could7 manoeuvre the Piri round to go to their even a‘change, of course was a dangerous,. r . procedure—they were at, least half mile astern. '

With swift foresight, however, the mate of the Piri had thrown towards them two lifebelts within a- ..few seconds ;-rU of their being carried overboard, -and it was with some measure of relief That-7 ’ the crew noticed that their mates, hacf - - been able to grasp one of them.' their return to them the mate clam'- . "' bered up to the top of one of the mast?,.. and from this vantage point, dangerous 1 " as it was, directed the navigation of the ship in their direction. As the Piri bore down on Laing and West, preparations were made aboard , to drag them "in' should the vessel, rolji .tn, their ‘direction. The roll' of the shipv was all.they could depend on, 'since was. Manifestly suicidal to attempt to lower a boat. By careful navigation, Captain Watt manoeuvred his ship close to the men; but unfortunately, the light vessel was caught by a wave just as it seemed the move" was successful. - The Piri was carried in one direction and the men in the water went in the other.

Undaunted, Captain Watt turned again, and, amid nerve-wracking suspense, drove towards the struggling pair. All the crew leant over the sides, and when almost alongside them the engines wera slowed down- to the minimum consis-

tent with safety. A propitious roll, and both men were able to grasp the rails.?. Eager hands pulled them to\7, safety. 7 '.’When the Piri passed us the .first time,” said Laiijg later, “we . despaired of ever being rescued.' She sank -down in the trough of a wav#, and we could just see her masts. If it-had not been for Captain Watt’s handling of the ship, we would not he here to-day.” After the rescue, Laing was found to be suffering from exhaustion and exposure, and was confined to Ins hunk for five flays. West,/ however, was off duty for two watches only. • . ,*.■£