Auckland Boys Seek Adventure

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22819, 28 August 1937, Page 9 (Supplement)

Auckland Boys Seek Adventure

They Want to go A -Rovi On the Cap Pilar By ARTHUR RILEY WORDS of the old sea songs, and stories of pioneering voyages to remote parts of the world have been conjured up in the minds of many Auckland boys as a result of the visit of the barquentine Cap Pilar, a former French fishing-boat, in which Captain Adrian Seligman, his wife and a crew of young officers and men are making a leisurely cruise of the world. Sailing-ships have now almost entirely disappeared from the Seven Seas, and, busy as is the port of Auckland, it is a rarity for an old-time sailer to come into the harbour. Steamers and motor-liners, many times faster and bigger than the best of the ships of old, have almost completely driven the sailing craft from the oceans of the world, and although none will deny the benefits of the newer forms of marine transport, there are many who regret the passing of the romantic days of sail. Old sea captains', real grizzled salts with faces tanned the colour of mature leather and something of the blue of deep water in their eyes, sometimes speak scornfully of the gigantic liners of to-day, and contend that there are no longer any real sailors. "Sea-going chauffeurs" they call the seamen who sail on the floating palaces that storm along at 20 to 22 knots, and bitterly the old-timers recall the thrills and hardships of 50 and more years ago.

Keen to See the World It is not ofily the retired skippers who long for the clars of sail to return. There are many youths and young men,, some of them in Auckland, who are keen to see the world from the deck of a sailing-ship, and willing to face any hardships that may come their way for the sake of the adventure and romance that are still to be fotind in sail. Several enthusiastic youngsters have approached Captain Seligman, master and owner of the Cap Pilar, with a view to joining her when she leaves Auckland, and arrangements have been made for at least two to go. An ideally healthy and active life, full of interest and valuable information, awaits the boys who sail oil the Cap Pilar. The old days of sail are indeed gone, and with them the brutal treatment, starvation rations and prison-like quarters that every seaman encountered in days gone by. Life aboard a sailer to-day is a vastly different proposition from what it was in the past, and particularly on a pri-vately-owned ship, where the boys aro apprentice-seamen, they enjoy more the life of a cadet. Food is good and plentiful, there is ample leisure, and officers, while maintaining the discipline that is necessary for the satisfactory running of a ship, have left behind the bullying tactics that made life so unpleasant in the old days.

Not An Easy Life " It is surprising how quickly new hands settle down, and begin learning their part of the work toward running the ship," a member of the Cap Pilar said this week, in discussing the life and experiences of the younger men aboard. "It is not an easy life, but it is clean and healthy, and is a great foundation on which a youth can build his career." So varied are the conditions encountered at sea, and so many things require to be done, that there is rarely such a thing as boredom, even when the ship is almost becalmed, and lies

nearly motionless in sweltering heat. Regular watches aro maintained; and on the Cap Pilar nearly everybody has a hobby. Several amateur photographers are included in tho crew, and others devoto much of their spare time to writing, reading, making models, fashioning plaited belts out of- rope ends, or turning their ability toward the. completion of other self-imposed tasks that help while away the time. Fishing lor Sharks Fishing is a favourite pastime with many aboard the bapquentigje. On her recent voyage from England to New Zealand, many sharks were caught from

the deck, and other fish, including the famous bonito, were also landed. The hooking of a large shark meant an interesting few moments for all on board, until the big fish was safely landed and despatched. What boy does not know the great poem about the Ancient Mariner, and the seaman who shot an albatross with an arrow from his cross-bow? There are many superstitions among sailors concerning the albatross, that great bird that soars gracefully in the wake of a

ship. One story, - believed solemnly by many of the sailors of the old school, was that albatrosses were the souls of seamen, flying ceaselessly above the waters that held the wrecks that had claimed many lives. Catching Albatrosses Superstitions are no part, of. the modern sailor's make-up, yet ordinary decent instincts protest against wilful injury to the huge white birds that come so trustingly near. Aboard the Cap Pilar there was keen interest when a number of albatrosses were seen, and an ingenious method of catching them was adopted. Light lines, with a piece of meat tied firmly to the end, but with no hooks, were cast overboard, and other lines were rigged with loops which would slide down the baited lines, and encircle any bird that took the meat. Tho scheme was successful. Several of the albatrosses took the bait, and in a moment found themselves firmly held. They were brought aboard, measured across the span of their wings, and later released unharmed.

Before releasing the birds, members of the crew fastened to a log of each a small ring bearing a tab with a record of the date of the capture on it, the name of tho ship, and the position in which the bird was caught. It will be* of great interest if any of the same albatrosses are caught again, to see how far they have flown in their journeys that seem endless. From England to Madeira, down to Rio; de Janiero, tho lonely island of Tristan Da Cunha, over, to Capetown and then to Sydney and 011 to Auckland the Cap Pilar Jms sailed through calm and storm. There have been days and nights when tho helmsman was 'lashed to tho wheel to prevent his being swept overboard by the curling seas that crashed aboard, and when it was hazardous indeed to go aloft, 60ft. or more above the heaving deck; and other days when the surfaco of the sea was like glass, and mirrored the Cap Pilar with her sails hanging slack. The voyage is only half oyer. From Auckland Captain Seligman plans to sail north to some of the islands of th«? Pacific, and then perhaps on to San Francisco before passing through the Panama Canal to the Atlantic Coast of the United States and so back to England. Many a boy will envy the lucky Aucklanders who sail with her, seeking the adventure that has so nearly gone from the sea.