SHIPPING.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 13106, 17 October 1904, Page 4

SHIPPING.

PORT CHALMERS. . , • Tiue Bail at Port Cijauiers. Tha New Zealand mean time at noon, Mlculated for tho meridian of longitude, in - lime 11 hours 20 minutes east of Greenwich, ; will be signalled onco a week by a time ball dropping at the instant oi mean noon. A blue flag will bo hoisted at tho masthead, Port Chalmers sipill station, on tho for'enoou of tho day when the time signal is liven. Phases of rnr, Moon. OCTOBER. Last Quarter... .., 1 1.22' a.m. New Moon ... 9 4.25 a.nl.First Quarter..* .., ... 16 5.1* a.m. Full Moon ... ... ... 24 10.20 p.m. Perigee ... 8 5.20 p.m.. Apogee 21 1.20 a.m. Sun rises 5.15, sets 6.33. THE WEATHER. ' October 15.—8 a.m.: Wind S.E.; weather dull. Noon: Wind S.E.; weather dull. 5 p.m.: Wind S.E.; weather dull. 8 a.m. Noon 5 p.m. . Barometer .. T ... 30.32 30.34 -30.30 Thermometer ... 46 56 52 October 16.—8 a.m.: Wind N.E.; weather fair. Noon: Wind N.E.; weather cloudy. < 5 p.m.: Wind N.E.; weather cloudy. 8 a.m. Noon. 5 p.m. Barometer .., ... 20.04 29.93 29.93 Thermometer ... 46 52 50 FORECAST.—Mr Paulin at 9.30 last night forecasted K.S.E. to S.W. winds and tain showers. HIGH WATER, October 17— a.m. p.m. At Taiaroa Heads ... 8.19 8.54 At Port Chalmers 8.59 9.34 At Dunedin ... 9.4* 10.19 ARRIVALS, v October 15. P.ose Casey, ».=., 81 tons, M'Gilvray, from Biverton. 'i'apley and Co., agents. October 16. Corinna, s.s., 812 tons, Holford, from Wellington, J. Mills, agent. Invereargill, s.s., 125 tons, Gillies; front iWaikawn. K. Ramsay agent. Westralia, s.s., 1819 tons. Rainey, from Sydney, via Auckland. Ncill and Co,, agents. Passengers: Hisses Rongau, Jennings, Mesdames Paterson, Irwin and infant, Brown, Jones, Messrs Paterion, Anderson, . Kingsland, Lewis, Allen, Rankin, Porter, Evans, Jennings, Rev. Mr Irwin, Captain . Davidson; and 10 in the steerage. I / Moeraki, s.s., 2715 tons, Neville/ from Sydney, via Wellington". J. Mills, agent. Passengers: Misses Forsyth, Donald, , M'Donald, Thompson, Grace, Sexton, Harand, Bromley, Mesdames Dempster, • Black, Grace, Fililaysoli, Malcolm, Messrs , Rattray, Murphy, Dihbs, Capkins, Hely, Black, Grace, Ovendon, Mills, Macfarlane, and 19 in tho steerage. EXPECTED ARRIVALS. From Liverpool.—Maelgwyn, barque, left May 25; arrived Wellington September 20. Formosa, shin, left August 12. liata, , barque, left October 7. Andrea, barque, left October 7. From New York.—Andora, - barque, left June 1; arrived Auckland September 21. From Surprise Island.—Woosung, barque, early. From Sydney (via Auckland).—Mararoa (with Maiiuka transhipments), Octobcr 23. From .Sydney (via Wellington).—Monowai, October 22. ' From Mell>ourne.—Waikare, October 19. From Clarence River. —Yolador, left 'August 24. From Russell.—Sarah and Mary, brigantino, left September 30. From Auckland.—Tarawera, October 20. From Nelson and New Plymouth.— Corinna, October 30. From Oroymouth.—Poherua, October 19. PROJECTED DEPARTURES. For Sydney (via Auckland).—Westralia, October 18. For Sydney (via Cook Strait).—Waikare, October 20. For Melbourne.—Monowai, October 23. . For Auckland. —Tarawera, October 21. For tho West Coast.—l'oherua, about Octobcr 20. For- Wanganui.—Rimu, about October 19. For Nelson and New Plymouth.—Corinna, October 17. MOVEMENTS OF OCEAN-GOING STEAMERS. TO AItKIVE. At Auckland.—Bnrgcrmeistor Hachman, left Sydney October 15; duo October 19. Marere, left London August' 23; due October 24. Wakanui. left. London September 3; due October 26. Queen Helena, left New York September 4; due November 20. Ilawke's Bay, left London September 13; due November 16. Rippiugham Grange, left New York September 12; duo November 28. Niwam, left London October 4: due November 30. Matatua, left London October 11; due November 25. At Wellington.—Oswestry Grange, left London August 23; due November 7. Karamea, left Plymouth August 27: due October 17. l'aparoa, left Plymouth September 9; due October 29. Aotea, left London September 13. Ayrshire, left Liverpool September 17; due November 2. Corinthic, left Plymouth September 27; due November 7. Turakina. left Plymouth October 8;' : duo November 22. At Lyttelton —Devon, left Liverpool July 22; due September 25. Karamea, left London August 26; due October 11. At Port Chalmers.—Waimate, left Lon- : don October 5; due November 16. Mimiro, now in Wellington, duo here about October 17. Indian Monarch, now' at Wellington; due hero October 22. TO DEPART. From Wellington.—Rimutaka, October 27. iAthenic, November 10. Tongariro, November 24. Corinthic, December 8, UOUBWtIIIJ HOUND. Star of Ireland, left Wellington , August 24. .Kent, left, tho Bluff August 25. Ruapehu, left Wellington Sep-••-tember 2. Rangatira, left Lyttclton Sep- ■- V tember 15. Indradevi, left Auckland September 20. Surrey, left BlnlF October 5. ■Papanui, left Wellington September 29. ,-'Delphic, left Wellington October 14, "■ 1 ' IMPORTS. Per Westralia, from Auckland and East Coast ports: 12 casks oil, 5 bales wool, 4 pkgs windmill, 3 eases guns, 107 do schnapps, quantity fly-paper, 1110 bags and 40 sacks eugar, 50 cases syrup, 4 pkgs ladders, 3 sacks kale, 9 dmms oil, 19 cases fruit, 8 do tobacco, 5 do sauce, 20 boxes metal, 8 drums naphtha, 67 cases fioap, 2 <lo bacon, 10 sacks almonds, 248 sacks wheat, : 20 do onions, 5 do tares, 60 cheescs, quantity empty casks and sundries. SHIPPING TELEGRAMS. AUCKLAND, Octobcr 14.—Arrived: flora, from Fiji—Sailed: 8 p.m., Wanaka, for Fiji. Octobcr 15.—Arrived, £.40 p.m., Hinemoa, from northern' lighthouses.—Sailed: 8.15 a.m., Sierra, for San Francisco; Tarawera, for the south. Passengers for Duncdiu -. Mrs North, Messrs I'pge, liemplen, Master Mitchelson. CAPE MARIA VAN DIEMEN, October 15.—The steamer St. Louis passed south at : 5 p.m. EAST CAPE, Octobcr 16.—Tho Tarawera passed south at 8.20 a.m., and a steamer with a red funnel and black top passed in the same direction at 3.50 p.m. The Mararoa passed north at 2.45 p.m. ■WELLINGTON, October 15.—Arrived: .. 5.30 a.m., Victoria, from Lyttelton; 1.15 p.m., Mimiro, from Auckland. Sailed.: 5.10 a.m., Corinna, for Dunedin. October 16.—Sailed: 6 a.m., Delphic, for London; 4.50 p.m., Victoria, for Sydnev. LYTTELTON, October 15.—Arrived: 7.20 a.m., Talunc, from Dunedin. Sailed: 2.30 p.m., Moeraki, for Dunedin; 5.5 p.m., Westralia. for Port Chalmers. SYDNEY. October 15.—Arrived: Maroro and Elvcrlami, from Hokianga; 2.47 p.m., Monowai, from Wellington. BLUFF, October 16.—Sailed: 7 a.m., Rimutaka, for Lyttelton. PORT STEPHENS, October 15.—Sailed: Kongsbyrd, for New Zealand. MELBOURNE, October 15.—Arrived: Mokoia, from the Bluff. . The Corinna arrived yesterday evening about 5 o'clock. The Wlwr.gape,. from Newcastle, via Lyttelton and Timaru,. should reach Dunedin to-morrow morning. Tho Kittawa was warped into the graving dock on Saturday forenoon for painting and overhaul. Messro Turnbdl and Co.'s new steamer Storm, intended for the coastal trade, loft Edithburg on the 12th iiist. with a cargo of £alt for Dunedin. The Storm is consigned I .to tho New Zealand Express Company, of this city. ' Tho Union Company's steamer Moeraki arrived yesterday morning, having been detained a day at Wellington owing to tho bad weather. The Moeraki sails again for . Melbourno this, afternoon, and passengers will require to catch the 3.25 train to Port Chalmers. N Tho Iluddart'-Parker steamer Westralia arrived up to time yesiordey, having had her sharo of the bad weather on tho run from Napior to Wellington. After leaving tho former port the wind increased to a gale, but moderated o« the way to Lyttelton. .Tho Westralia sails again on tlie return trip, to-morrow, afternoon I

The Invercargill arrived about 6.30 from Waikawa last night, and had a fine-wcather passage up the coast. She leaves for the south again to-morrow.

Monthly returns published in the Labour Gazette indicate that the number of British seamen engaged at the chief porta of the United Kingdom in tlio first- half of the present year has largely exceeded those in tho corresponding period of any of the four preceding years, Tho number of alien seamen arriving in tlio United Kingdom includes sailors to ship in foreign as well a3 British vessels; the number of thfse is unknown, but is. probably a considerable portion of the whole.

The following vessels arrived at this port during the seven days ended October 16: — Banffshire, s.s., 3719 tons; Invercargill, -s.s., 125; Koouyn, s.s., 663; Victoria, s.s., 1870; Kumara, s.s., 3907; Eunice, schooner, 171; Kittawa, s.s., 703; Talunc, s.s.. 1870; Rose Casey, s.s., 81; Corimia, s.s., 812; Westralia, s.s., 1819; Moeraki, s.s., 2715; —total, 18,41)15 tons. The departures were:—Rose Casey, s.i}., 81 tons; Invercargill, s.s., 123; Mararoa, s.s,, 1331; Banffshire, s.s., 3719; Victoria, s.s., 1870; Eoonya, s.s., 663; Talunc, 1370;— total, 9377 tons. Submarine bell signals are being brought into use in the United States. The signal is worked by means of a bell placed under wator, and attached either to a lightship, floating buoy," or dangerous rocks, and kept ringing by electricity, steam power, or the motion of tho vessel, the principle of the invention being that sound travels faster and better through wat?r than through air. When a vessel fitted with tho proper reoeiving apparatus approaches ono of these hells the receiver on board catches the sound and transmits it to the wheel-house. Tho position and distance of tlio bell can be then ascertained, and from experiments mado between Boston and New York it appeared that signals were received by vessels from lightships distant from throe miles and a-half to seven miles away. The Canadian Government is fitting 21 stations with the apparatus.

THE FIRST TURBINE ATLANTIC LINER, There was launched on August 25 from the shipbuilding yard of Messrs Workman, Clark, and Co,, at Belfast, the steamer Victorian, tho first of the two turbine-driven ships ordered by the Allan lino. Tho Victorian is tho pioneer turbino vessel for the Atlantic or any other ocean service, and, as such, her launch is an event- of more than ordinary interest. She and the Virginian, now being built on tho Clyde, arc sister ships as regards dimensions, capacity, and powc-r. This pair of in,ooo tonncrs will form a notable reinforcement to the fine fleet of the Allan line, which a'Teady numbers 28 steamers, and comprises several vessels of 10,000 ton.s each engaged in tho mail, passenger, and general service between tho United Kingdom and Canada. Originally the Victorian was designed to be driven by reciprocating engines, but after some progress had been made with her hull Messrs Allan decidcd that sho should have turbines instead. Messrs Workman, Clark, and Co., mado the necessary alterations in her structural de.'ign, and at the same time undertook what was a far more difficult and delicate task, the construction of the great turbines—the largest oVer made—which are to drive her. This was by arrangement with Messrs Parsons and Co., for it was the Parsons's turbine that was decided upon. A high-pressure and two low-pressure, turbines will drive the threo propellers of the ship, which, by the striko one as being unusually small to drive a monster possessing a cargo capacity of more than £000 tons, besides accommodation and equipment for upwards of 1300 passenger. These propellers, however, revolve at very high speed—from 270 to 200 revolutions per minute. The central one, arranged as in a singlc-scrcw vessel, is worked by the high-pressuro turbine; tho other.;, which are arranged as in a twinscrew ship, by tho low-pressure turbines. Tho two latter have each a reversing arrangement which enables them to be driven full speed astern, either together or independently. Thus the ship will be as easily and effectively manoeuvred as regards turning or' backing' as an ordinary twin-screw. This disposes of ;he objection which has sometimes been urged against turbines, that they are defective with regard to reversing motion. Tho principle of the steam turbine is less generally understood than that of ordinary reciprocating engines. Briefly, a turbine engine is a fixed cylinder, upon tho insido surfaco of which are mounted rings of brass blades projecting radially inwards. Insido this revolves a drum armed •on its outer surface with similar rings of blades set at an angle to the fixed blades, and arranged so that they are " sandwiched," so to speak, between those of the fixed cylinder. Steam is admitted at one end oi tho turbino. and passes through longitudinally in a zigzag path, being deflected from the fixed rows of blades in tho turbine casing against the vows of blades on the dram, causing the latter, which is built on the propeller shafting, to revolve, and thu3 drive the propeller. The "fixed blades" (thoso in the cylinder) act 'as guides to deliver the etcam with proper direction and velocity against the "moving blades" (thoso on the drum). Thus the full power of the steam is utilised, and in a direct and continuous way. Tho term "blades," when used in connection with tho machinery of an ocean liuer, seems to suggest a screw propeller, or something equally formidable. But these turbine blades are surprising small—no larger than a lady's little finger. There number, however, is prodigious, there being no less than n million and a-half separate picccs used in the blading of the three turbines of the Victorian.

Thanks to tho economy of space resulting from tho employment of turbines, the builders have been ab'.o to provide accommodation on board tho Victorian such as is probably not to be equalled by any vessel of her size afloat. They have utilised' the saving not to increase tho number oi passengers carried, but to give every possible, comfort and luxury to all three classes of passengers, including an installation of Marconi wireless telegraphy. Tho steam to drivo tho turbines will be generated by eight large boilers of .the usual type, which are being mado in Messrs Workman, Clark, and Co.'s boiler works.

Tho length of tho Victorian is 540 ft: her read, 60ft; her depth, 40ft Gin. She is divided by bulkheads into 11 compartments, and, with the subdivisions of her doublebottom, she has 20 watertight spaces. She is built to the highest class of the British Corporation Registry of Shipping, and her hull has been specially strengtlipned above tho requirements of the corporation in order lo make her doubly >ecurn against the heavy ■weather of tho North Atlantic. THE TURBINE STEAMER LOONGANA. The new turbine steamer Loongana, of tho Union line, reached Hobson Bay on the 7th inst. on her maiden voyage from tho Clyde. Tho event (telegraphs tho Melbourne correspondent of tho Sydney Morning Herald) marks an important epoch in Australian shipping, as tho Loongana is tho only turbine steamer that ever crossed the Equator, and the first vessel of her kind that has yet attempted a long ocean voyage. Tho Loongana i 3 a " racy'Mcoking vessel, having two funnels ami two masts, but is much " liner" about tho bow.s than the other Union Company's steamers. As she steamed up the bay this evening sho seemed like a ship without a propeller, there, being no apparent disturbance in the water by her screws. The voyage of tho vessel proved most satisfactory, not the slightest hitch occurring in the workiug of the engines throughout-. It was productive of several periods of heavy weather, which likewise enabled the vessel to show her seafaring qualities. "Her steadiness was," said Captain. Livingstone, '"remarkable, and in tho region of the S.E. trades, where the winds and seas wero exceptionally severe, the vessel did not ship a drop of water." The trip from Gn?enoek —including stoppages at Port Said, Perim, Colombo, and Fremantle—occupied 37 days, but ,tho actual steaming time of tho voyage was only 32 days 1 hour and 24 minutes, representing an average speed of 15 knots. No attempt was made to drive the vcsseO, only two of her four boilers being us;d. Between Greenock and Port Said, a distance of 3303 miles, an average speed of 16 knots was registered. This fcas tho longest ran without a stop over made by n turbino steamer. Tho best daily record was during 24 hours immediately preceding her arrival, 410 milc3 being covered in this time. For two days after leaving Fremantle the Loongana was hampered by strong head winds .incl seas, but tho rest of the passage was marked by pleasant conditions. Leaving the Western Australian port at 9 o'clock last Monday morning the vessel arrived off TrYil'iamstown at a quarter to 5 o'clock this evening, thus accomplishing the run in four days and eight hours, which is a slightly better record than that of the Howard Smith steamer Bombala. between the samo poTts. The passage of tho Loongana through the Red Sea was extremely trying, tho temperature in ]'.«• engine-room reaching 134deg. The vessel is under the command of Captain Malcolm Livingstone, who was specially sent - Homo by the Union S.S. Company to'bring lior to Australia. Mr James Durilop, chief engineer, who has been in many steamers of tho Union line, also proceeded to tho Clyde to superintend the arrangement of the machinery and to study Ilia turbine in all its forms." He naturally' feels proud that tho lioaiißiina's engines stood tho tost, of tho long vayago to Melbourne without- developing the slightest hitch or defect, •