ALONE ON THE OCEAN.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1285, 15 October 1896, Page 19

ALONE ON THE OCEAN.

CAPTAIN SLOCUM’S VOYAGE POUND THE WORLD. On his arrival at Newcastle, New South Wales, Captain Slocum was interviewed by a representative of the Sydney Daily Telegraph, from whose report we make the following extracts : the CAPPAIN. Captain SDcum is a typical Yankee of spare, but wiry build, medium height, and full of determination, perseverance and vigour. He wears his beard in what may be termed the national fashion, with the long tuft on chin, and cheeks shaven. The 1 hair has disappeared entirely from the top of his head, and his face is wrinkled ; and somewhat careworn, but he carries \ his 50 years or so easily, and even a casual ■ observer must see that he possesses great ; powers of endurance, as well as the other qualities that have made his present l hazardous undertaking possible to him. 1 THE START OP THE VOYAGE. [ He said: “I left Boston on the 24th April, 1895. After clearing Cape Sable I ; first touched at Fayal, whence I went on to Gibraltar, which I reached on the 29th day from Cape Sable. I stayed at ‘ Gib 5 ■ three weeks, and had the most elegant time I ever had in my life. All the people were 1 very kind, but Captain Bruce, the L senior naval officer there, whom I understand ' was formerly on the Australian station, , was paiticularly so. From Gibraltar I [ steered for Pernambuco, where I arrived L after a trip of 40 days. Nothing special ■ occurred on the run, and the weather ! throughout was fair. I remained three 1 weeks at Pernambuco, and on leaving I 1 set my course for Rio do Janeiro, ’ and dropped anchor there in 12 days from the day of sailing from my last port. The next part of my voyage,after a visit to , Monte Video and Buenos Ayres, was from Buenos Ayres to Sandy Point, in the Magellan Straits, which took me 10 days. IN A GALE OFF CAPE HORN. • “ I worked through the Straits in good i time, but when L arrived off Cape Pillar' I 1 i met a big nor’-wester, which drove me . I away down nearly to Cape Horn. This | lasted four days, and during the storm my ! sails were blovvii away. The storm was the I fiercest I ever saw, and several large I vessels that were in it were dismasted. I j rigged a 10ft by 10ft tarpaulin in place of | my sails, and although I had some more ! tarpaulins I dare not set them, owing to j the tremendous seas that were running. While the gale was at its height there were a number of terrific hail squalls, from which I suffered a good deal, the hail hitting my face and causing the blood to flow. Such seas I never experienced during my life, but the Spray behaved grandly, and rode over them like a bird. I did not sleep much during those four days. AN ADVENTURE WITH THE NATIVES. “At Sandy Point a friendly captain cautioned me to be careful of the natives as I came through the Straits. Ho told me they were a cowardly, thieving lot, but when together in large numbers they were capable of any crime, and he mentioned that they first tried to seize and afterwards to set fire to a Chilian gunboat. I found the warning very useful, but, although I had some trouble, 1 also (this with a hearty chuckle) had some fun with them. They came off to me in their canoes, but the sight of me with my carbine in my hand made thorn sheer off. One night a lot of thorn boarded me, and were rather troublesome to get rid of. So next evening I sprinkled a couple of packets of strong tacks about the deck, and that night when they repeated their visit they were not long on board before I heard most horrible howls and yells. They evidently had discovered the tacks, for they j soon |took to their canoes, and did not annoy me any more. A half-breed, who is a noted scoundrel, wanted to call on me one day, but a couple of bullets from my carbine across the bow of his canoe gave him to understand that I was not receiving visitors that day ; so lie turned and got out of range pretty quick. THE CAPTAIN 36 HOURS AT THE WHEEL. “After losing sight of Cape Pillar, the weather again became very rough, and I had one.spell of 30 hours at tlie wheel without any sleep. I did not feel fatigued, however, because I was overjoyed to get away safely from the Magellan Straits natives. I had a pannikin of coffee and i some crackers ar.d cheese alongside of me, and so I was comfortable enough. A VISIT TO JUAN FERNANDEZ. " I went to the cave That Alexander Selkirk lived in, and chipped off a piece of the rock. This is it,” showing a piece of what looked like ironstone. “ I also saw the tablet which records the fact of Selkirk’s residence on the island. I left Juan Fernandez on the sth May last, and 62 days’ sailing brought me to Samoa. At first, in this part of my'journey, I had some heavy weather ; but the gales were fair winds. I wished to put in at the Marquesas, and first sighted Fata Hiva, but I was prevented from doing so by baffling winds. I then went on to Samoa, and when I appeared at Apia I had a great reception.” ; THE FUTURE MOVEMENTS OF THE SPRAY. ] His jilans are not definitely fixed, but in i all likelihood he will go from Melbourne to Mauritius, the Cape of Good Hope, England, and home to Boston.

WHY THE VOYAGE WAS UNDERTAKEN. In reply to a query as to his object in setting out on his present voyage, Captain Slocum said that he had several reasons for it. He loved the sea, to begin with ; then he thought he could do more good for himself than remaining at home. He had been a shipowner, but there was nothing in ships now. He had lost his money in them, and so had most shipowners lie knew. He meant to try and make a little money by his venture, and he also wished to demonstrate that the voyage round the world could be made in such a small boat as his, and he was certain that it could be performed quite as safely in a boat half its size. Further, he desired to show the Australians that they were not so far away from the rest of the world as they might suppose. An interrogation elicited the response that he felt no loneliness while at sea. He had no feeling of solitude, for, said he, with considerable earnestness, I have my books. There they are ; all my friends; there you see them. My friend Cervantes; all the great English authors; then there is my friend Robert Louis Stevenson, and, with a quaint gesture of enquiry, “ What’s the matter with Robert Burns ?” I feel that all these great men are my companions. I read slowly, and sometimes, when I come across something I don’t understand, I read it over, and study it until I do, and then don’t I enjoy it ? During this voyage I have had pleasure and experiences that money could not buy. HOW THE SPRAY WAS SAILED AT NIGHT. Some curiosity being expressed regarding bis disposal of his vessel while he slept, Captain Slocum said he neither hove-to nor put out a sea anchor when he went to sleep ; he let her bowl along as usual. Of course, when there was any appearance of bad weather, he did not take any sleep until it had passed. Sometimes he slept at night, at other times during the day. He had never been short of provisions since he started, and he had an abundance of fresh water on board, enough not only for drinking and cooking purposes, but sufficient to furnish him with a bath when he required one. He had made the entire voyage on dead reckoning, only once having had the opportunity of making a lunar observation. His health had been good all through, and he had had no occasion to doctor himself. Captain Slocum is not quite a stranger to Newcastle. He was here 24 years ago in command of the barque Benjamin A ymar, when he loaded coal for a China port. THE BUILDING OF THE SHIP. The captain states, with some pride, that he built the Spray himself at Fair Haven, Massachusetts, in 1893, no one else having had anything whatever to do with her construction. She is 40ft long, with a beam of 14ft and a depth of 4ft 4in, and she is decked all over. She carries cement ballast, which is stanchioned down, so that were she to capsize her ballast would not shift. The galley is in the fore part. The Spray has an oak frame, hard pine planking, a Sugar-pine deck and house, and she is copper and galvanised iron fastened. She was built from an old model at FairHaven, and it took the captain just 12; months to finish her.