YACHT'S PERILOUS TRIP.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19783, 7 May 1926, Page 12

YACHT'S PERILOUS TRIP.

THE PSYCHE'S VOYAGE, EIGHTEEN DAYS AT SEA. BLOWN 400 MILES FROM COURSE. (From Ode Own Correspondent.) SYDNEY, April 80. After a perilous trip of 18 days from Picton across the Tasman Sea, the 10-to* yacht Psyche crept through Sydney Heads a weeks ago to-day, little the worse for tha rough handling she received from mountainous seas. The owner, Mr G. H. Jackson, i* a New Zealander, who having made his home at Sydney, decided to have the Psyche, which has an auxiliary engine, brought across for use here. She is purely a pleasure craft, and consequently her feat was all the more notable. She was in charge of a verteran, Captain Townsend, and with him were three young men from Wellington-• Messrs Scott, Quinlan, and Thompson. _ During the voyage, the Psyche was driven 400 miles from her course. " For 48 hour* the little craft had to heave-to because of the tremendous seas whipped up by the gales. But the Psyche weathered the storms in a manner that delighted her skipper. This ie his story; ‘We left Wellington on April 3, and called at Picton the same night. On April 5 we set soil from Ship Cove direct for Sydney. The gale caught us on April 14, For four successive days it blew bard from the west to the south-west. A very heavy head sea was running, and we were come pelled to heave-to. Altogether we were ho veto for 4S hours, including one entire day. There was a strong set, which kept carrying ns away to the north-east. We experienced the same current until the day before reached Sydney. We were carried 21 miles to the north-east in 24 hours on the Tuesday before \ e made port. The drift was alarming. Sydney was 65 miles aws- 5 at noon the. following day, but on Thursday had again to contend with the set, whi'h took us 30 miles to the north-east. ‘The swell from the south-west was verv heavy.” Cap+ain Townsend said that for the first four days the winds had been good, but thereafter he had had nothing but head wind* the entire distance. He should have sighted tho coast two days previously on the soundings. but the set was to blame for his late arrival. The Psyche had difficulty in entering Port Jackson, owing t-o the ha*e which enveloped the headlands. She wal seen close to the headlands at 9 o’clock, but went several miles to the south, and fa was not until 1 o’clock that the yacht crept into her haven. She bore few traces of he* gruelling exnerienco. A little minor gear was lost in the blow, but nothing detrimental to the vessel occurred during the voyage. The young men of the crew had_ their worriea which they did not take so lightly_ as the veteran master. Their stocks of cigarette* ran out, and all were in urgent need of shaves when they reached port. Ont man • grievance -was poor teeth and hard biscuit*, and kerosene percolated through the onions. The electric light also failed. They prais*4 the Psyche and condemned the weather.