LINER IN GALE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22822, 1 September 1937, Page 14

LINER IN GALE

AWATEA BUFFETED HIGH SEAS ENCOUNTERED HAMPERED BY VISIBILITY i MINOR DAMAGE CAUSED Delayed by terrific seas 40ft. high, , and hampered by poor visibility, rain | squalls and almost cyclonic south-east* ■ crly winds, the Union Company's [ tasman liner Awatca reached Queen's Wharf from Sydney at 7.30 yesterday I morning, ,a day late. Although severely ! buffeted, the Awatea suffered only - slight damage forward, where some ' steel stanchions in fho bulwarks wore twisted. Only one passenger, an ' Adelaide woman, was hurt, but not seriously. [ Sunday and Monday were anxious i s days for tho officers, who from Sunday morning until 2.21 a.m. yesterday, . when tho liner anchored in the stream, i kept almost continuous watch, snatch- . ing occasional rests when conditions > temporarily improved. The strain of • those two days was well summed up : by Mr. O. R. Ncl, M.l\, of South [ Africa, and a second cousin of the cap- ' tain of the Springboks, who said it was the roughest sea trip he had experienced. The barograph, with its steeply falling tell-tale line, and some > laconic entries in the ship's log, told | an eloquent story. 1 Seas Crash on Ship | When the Awatea passed North Cape at 3.40 p.m. on Sunday, a high wind was whipping up the sea, and 20 minutes later there were mountainous waves crashing over the forecastle and making tho ship pitch heavily. With ; the wind and heavy seas came bad visibility and blinding rain squalls, and before long the look-out could see no farther than one-fifth of a mile ahead. Speed was gradually reduced until the Awatea was making barely four knots between North Cape and Cape Brett, which meant she would just make steerage way. This was tho position practically all day on Monday. Tho average reading on the Beaufort scale, which indicates wind velocities, was 11 on Sunday and Monday. As 12 is the reading for a wind of cyclonic force, tho experienco of passengers and crew may well bo imagined. Very Thick Weather Ventilators wero plugged and covered with tarpaulins, but such was tho force of the wind and the power of the seas which swept across the fore-deck, that the majority of the tarpaulins were ripped off. The weather was so thick that the observers did not see the Three Kings Islands as tho Awatea passed Capo Maria van Diemen on Sunday, after picking up a bearing from the cape radio beacon. Captain A. H. Davey, master of the Awatea, said they saw nothing of land after they passed North Capo until six o'clock on Monday evening, when the look-out dimly saw the outline of the Poor Knights Islands. The officers were able to take further bearings, and the ship proceeded at about four knots. Had they not picked up the islands, said tho captain, for safety's sake it would have been necessary to go farther out to sea until daylight yesterday, which would have meant longer delay. Ship Behaves Well As soon as the Awatea berthed at Queen's Wharf yesterday the forward bulwarks were inspected, and a number of shipwrights were engaged in replacing the steel stanchions ' damaged by the seas. Captain Davey estimated it would have taken eight men with a hydraulic jack to do tho dainago done to the stanchions. " it wasn't the worst trip I'vo had," ho said, " but I must confess I was a little anxious for some hours. The ship behaved well in the circumstances —not a single port or window was broken, and i think that is a tribute to the skill and craftsmanship of the builders." GERMAN SHIP HOVE-T0 HEAVY SEAS SWEEP DECKS DELAY TO THE RANGITANE Similar weather to that which delayed the Awatea was experienced by the North German Lloyd steamer Goslar when she was nearing the New Zealand coast. Buffeted in a southeasterly gale on Monday, the Goslar was forced to hovc-to for five hours. The steamer was laden deep in tho water and heavy seas swept the decks, which were free of cargo. Tho Goslar reached Auckland from New Orleans ooveral hours late yesterday afternoon. Rough weather continues on the cast coast. Wireless advice received last night from tho New Zealand Shipping Company's liner ilangitano, en roi«o from Wellington to Auckland, stated she would roach port at four o'clock this afternoon, about five hours late.