RETURN OF SAIL

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXX, Issue 21414, 11 February 1933, Page 14

RETURN OF SAIL

THREE BARQUES IN PORT INTEREST ON WATERFRONT VISITORS LEAVING NEXT WEEK Th 6 Auckland -waterfront was visited yesterday by an unusually large number of mariners and others interested in the sea and ships. During the last few days old seafaring rtien have been attracted to the two Finnish barques, the Winterhude aftd the Passat, and now the German auxiliary barque Magdalene Vinnen also is in port. The spectacle of three large sailing Ships in port at the same time was one which these old Seafaring men could not resist, and they were joined by other Aucklanders whose acquaintance with Sail has probably been confined to the pleasure craft of the harbour. They stood on Queen's Wharf looking at the Magdalene Vinnen, beyond which, at King s Wharf, the seven tall masts of the Winterhude and the Passat pointed to the Sky. Not for years have fio many sailing craft been seen together in the Wait.emata, and the old men who used to be "in sail" are rejoicing accordingly. These ships are among the last of their kind, but the fact remains that even in the da}-s when sail was common, when steam was fighting for recognition and the motor-ship was undreamt of, it would have been unusual to find in the Waitemata sailing ships of an aggregate tonnage equal to that of Auckland s present visitors, 8631 tons. During the last- four years only two Other sailing ships have visited Auckland, the Finnish full-rigged ship Grace a year ago and the Finnish fourmasted barque Olivebank in December, 1928. Toward the end of the war and in the years immediately following the armistice sailing ships were not uncommon, and once in 1919 four of them weie in port together, although they were smaller than the ships now here. Two of the best-known sailing vessels which visited Auckland at intervals during this period were the American shiptf the E. R. Sterling and Helen B. Sterling. The E. R- Sterling was a six-masted barquentine and presented a magnificent sight under canvas. Her sister ship, a four-masted schooner, was lost in a storm in 1922 when she was bound from Newcastle to Papeete. All three ships will leave for Australia shortly to load wheat for the Continent. The Passat is not expected to sail until the end of next week, but the Winterhude, which will go into the stream this morning, will probably sail on Tuesday. The Magdalene Vinnen will go into dock at Devonport on Monday and will come out on Tuesday, sailing for Australia either that night or the following morning.