ROMANCE OF SAIL

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22350, 22 February 1936, Page 14

ROMANCE OF SAIL

SHIP JOSEPH CONEAD ARRIVAL AT AUCKLAND . SPECTACLE ON WAITEMATA VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD Perhaps for the last time, a. fullrigged ship entered the Waitemata Harbour yesterday morning. It was the beautiful little Joseph Conrad, a "museum piece" among ships, 16 months out of Harwich Harbfjur oh a leisurely voyage round the world. For the last 22 days she has been making her way across the Tasman from Melbourne to Auckland and, after a few days at anchor off Stanley Bay, she will sail for the islands of the Pacific and then round the Horn and back to England. Those early astir on the North Shore and in the feastern suburbs yesterday morning "were privileged to witness a rare spectacle—a contrast between tho old and the ultra-modern. Bathed in the early morning sunlight, the Mariposa, with her huge white hull and blue and yellow funnels, ploughed down the Rangitoto Channel, while astern the Joseph Conrad, a picture of graceful masts and spotless canvas, seemed to float as much on air as on the sea. Later the little ship rounded North Head and as she came to anchor in the stream her masts and yards swarmed with ant-like figures as sails were furled. . The Spirit of Sail

The owner and master of the Joseph Conrad is Mr. A. J. Villiers, a former Australian journalist, who travelled before the mast in Scandinavian and Danish vessels before he became an owner in sail. He has written books of the sea and a series of his articles on the present cruise was published recently in the Hkrald. The little ship is following generally the track of Captain Cook and the voyage may be said to have no practical purpose whatsoever, unless it be to keep alive the spirit and the craft of sail. However, there is more than tho romance of sail attaching to the Joseph Conrad at the moment. On board her are four mining engineers and prospectors, Messrs. T. J. Sbephard, T. White, H. Slocombe and F. Herbert, Australians who are travelling as Mr. Villiers' guests to an unnamed tropic island, where they have hopes of finding and developing rich gold deposits. A full-rigged ship on a search for treasure sounds like a page from romantic fiction. Even the fact that there will be a scientific search for gold in the modern manner does not destroy the aspect of romance in the Joseph Conrad's quest. Owner's Pride in Ship

Mr. Villiers says that his ship is principally a source of "copy," —-he is still a journalist as well as a sailor — and secondly, * a home. Sitting in his comfortable quarters aft, surprisingly roomy for so small a ship, his eyes light up with pride whenever he speaks of the trim little craft he commands As a genuine deepwater sailor, his ship means more to him than a landsman can ever appreciate. The crew is practically a miniature League of Nations. The three officers, one of whom is Mr. Villiers' brother, 12 cadets and 12 professional sailors comprise Englishmen, Scotsmen, Irishmen, Australians, a South African, Americans, Gentians. Finns and Danes. A Scandinavian language, is spoken on the ship almost as freely as English. The two 15-year-okl boys from Ipswich, ,J. Fuller and S. Goodchild, known .on board as "Stormiilong" and . "Hardcase." are numbered among the cadets. Some of their older fellows :are making valiant efforts to grow beards. Ohance lor New Zealander

"My crew has remained the same since we left England in .L 934," Mr. Villiers said. "One of my American cadets is leaving me here to return to the United States, and there will be room for a bright young New Zealander, if one offers. I should like to have a New Zealander to add to tho international character of the crew." Mr. Villiers added that there were no "jobs" available on his ship. A cadet, naturally, would have to provide a premium for the training he received, but he would have eight or nine months at sea until the Joseph Conrad reached England. The Joseph Conrad was bought by Mr. Villiers from the Danes, and, according to him, is the only full-rigged ship in general commission. There are others which are used as training ships in the Baltic, but they 'are fast disappearing, and the stately Grace Harwar, which visited Auckland some time ago and on which. Mr. Villiers himself served, has now been broken up. Figurehead and Pets

To step on board the Joseph Conrad is to surrender at once to the peculiar charm of the little ship. She seems hardly bigger than a yacht for all the grandeur of her masts and yards, but on the lower deck there are snug cabins and everything is trim and shipshape There is a beautifully carved figurehead of the man after whom the ship is named —the Polish writer of magical English prose. Two kittens, one grey and one ginger, are the ship's pets. They are named, very appropriately, Joseph and Conrad. Two American ladies who arrived at Auckland by the Mariposa yesterday, Mrs. M. A. Lindsley, a traveller and writer, and her daughter, are to join the Joseph Conrad for the voyage back to New York. They will travel as Mr. Villiers' guests. Mr. Villiers said the voyage from Melbourne had been uneventful, although light airs, occasional calms and head winds had delayed progress. The Kiwitea was the only ship sighted on the crossing of the Tnsman, but when the Joseph Conrad was off North Cape she passed the American yacht Igdrasil, which has been in New Zealand in the course of a cruise round the world. When Mr. Villiers landed from his ship yesterday morning he saw the other American yacht, the Idle Hour, which is sailing to-day in continuation of her world cruise. "The place seems to be full of us," he said. The Joseph Conrad will not bo berthed during her stay in Auckland. Mr. Villiers said she was a difficult ship to berth, and, apart from that, one gathers that neither he nor his crew is over-keen oil publicity. The ship will leave Auckland early next week for Samurai, New Guinea, but Mr. Villiers will not say whether he will be landing his goldprospecting companions before or after he reaches that port. From New Guinea the Joseph Conrad will sail for Pitcairn Island and Tahiti, then southward round Capo Horn to the Falkland Islands, up to New York, and finally across the Atlantic to Ipswich and the end of a twp years' voyage.