TRANSFER OF CABLE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21253, 5 August 1932, Page 13

TRANSFER OF CABLE

XJNK WITH AUSTRALIA DIFFICULT TASK ENDED ] LONG hours of work RECORDER RETURNS TO PORT After performing the longest and most jjjicult work, in her 30 years' service, 0 cable steamer Recorder returned to yesterday afternoon to coal and {jJjb on stores before proceeding to the •vicinity of Norfolk Island. During her four and a-half months' absence from Auckland the Recorder has been princi- ' Dally engaged in transferring the New Zealand terminal of the Sydney-Welling- : f ton cable to Murhyai. "Just pottering around the Tasrnan" vas o ne laconic description applied on board yesterday to tho Recorder's recent V 'activities. But that gives only tho vaguest idea of the painstaking task now successfolly performed. When it is stated that M the Recorder made only three visits to port in l'J weeks, that she was out of sight of iand for 42. days during one phase of the operations, and that she was hova to in a gale for 10 days in midTasman on one occasion, the arduous nature of the work can be appreciated more thoroughly. IDifflculties at Muriwal The decision to remove the cable from Wellington, and to close the office there, W as made by the Pacific Cable Board, ' which is associated with Imperial and International Communications, Limited, In the inierests of economy. There were two cable!! coming ashore at Titahi Bay, a seaside resort on the west coast, 17 miles frora Wellington. When the Recorder left Auckland on March 24 she proceeded to the Cook Strait vicinity, and picked up the latest-laid cables at the Titahi Bay end of both routes. The idea was to recover such cable as . might be relaid., and during her protracted operations'' the Recorder handled lengths totalling about 500 miles. Of that cable about 380 miles were relaid and the balance is in the vessel's tanks. In the face of considerable difficulties the shore end of the lifted cable was landed at Muriwai, the services of an aeroplane being utilised to carry a light line seaward to assist the operation. . While a whaleboat used by the vessel was manoeuvring outside the surf on Aprir 17, waiting for a chance to fire a rocket ashore, it' was caught in the breakers and capsized, with the result that a member of the crew, Mr. J. Tyrrel, was drowned. After buoying the seaward end of the cable landed at Muriwai and surveying '• the new route, the/Recorder picked up 130 miles of deep-sea cable. That was spliced on to the end of the cable already relaid and bucked. Weather Generally Bad After calling at Wellington the Recorder picked up' more cable along the . old routes, proceeded to the point of diversion, about 350 miles off the New Zealand' coast, and spliced on the two ."pick-ups" to forge finally the new Sydney-Auckland communication. More recently the Recorder did a "repair job"' in 1500 fathoms of water, about 600 miles west of Muriwai. Returning to the Cook Strait vicinity, the vessel recovered 75 miles more of cable before returning to Anckland. During the Recorder's long period at sea the weather conditions were generally bad, but the usual experience was that the swells, quickly subsided and work was resumed without much delay. Exceptionally long hours were worked at some ' periods; on one occasion there was no cessation of labour for 100 hours. During " one phase of the work the vessel was at sea for 49 days, and, except for one week, was out of sight of land. Norfolk Island Next And now, after an exceptionally long absence, the Recorder is again shackled to her familiar moorings off Devonport. Captain W. Oliver said yesterday that it was not quite certain when the vessel would leave for the Norfolk Island vicinity, A short time would be necessary to coal, take on stores and test the cable recently recovered to eliminate such minor faults as might be evident. A repair would be effected to the AucklandNorfolk cable, and inspections would be Dade of the Suva-Norfolk, SouthportNorfolk and Auckland-Norfolk cables with a view to making such renewals as were ~ idvisable. That work would probably »ccupy about six wueks. Bummed up, the result of the Recorder's work has been to sever the Sydney-Wellington communication, recovering such sections of cable on the two routes as were suitable for relaying, and to link Sydney and Auckland by a second cable. The whole process did not involve the utilisation of one fathom of new cable. ,