TO CLIMB MOUNT COOK.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19283, 22 September 1924, Page 9

TO CLIMB MOUNT COOK.

A DISAPPOINTED MOUNTAINEER. LONG VOYAGE FROM DUBLIN. (From Our Own Correspondent.) AUCKLAND. September 21. “ I loft Ireland with the express purpose of climbing Mount Cook, and now that I have failed roy one objeect is to return home again.” said Captain Conor O'Brien, skipper of the 12-ton Irish yacht Saoirse, which will shortly bid farewell to New Zealand and set out on her long homeward voyage to Dublin. "Yes,” he said, “it’s hard to come more than 14,000 miles across the ocean and then fail to accomplish what you set out to do.” Captain O’Brien then went on to explain that it was what happened when the yacht was at Capetown on her outward voyage that ruined the trip as far as he was concerned. On arrival at the Cane he went ashore for the purpose of climbing Table Mountain and getting his “land legs” in readiness for the mountaineering he proposed carrying out in New Zealand. The work of preparing the yacht for the remainder of her voyage was left in the hands of the mats and the cook, and that neither proved up to his job was proved by what happened subsequently. Questioned as to his route homo, the skipper said that on leaving Auckland his first, port of call would be Port Stanley (Falkland Islands), and provided that everything on board was in order be intended proceeding thence to Dubli ndiroct. There was a possibility that the yacht would also touch Pernambuco. When the yacht could bo expected at Dublin could not be stated with any degree of certainty, but her captain considered that she would be doing well if she averaged 1000 miles per week. The outward voyage occupied 12 months, but the actual number of days the vessel was at sea was only 157.