STORM ON THE COAST.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21212, 18 December 1930, Page 12

STORM ON THE COAST.

MAORI’S ROUGH PASSAGE. PASSENGERS THROWN FROM BUNKS. (Special to, Daily Tihes.) CHRISTCHURCH, December 17. Running into a fierce southerly gale as soon as she had cleared Wellington Heads last evening, the ferry steamer Maori received one of the most severe bucetings she had ever experienced since she has been in the Wellington-Lyttel-ton ferry service, and did not reach Lyttelton until 10.20 o’clock this morning—three and a-half hours late. During the trip she shipped many seas, and practically no sleep came to any of the 300 passengers on board. Many of them were thrown from their bunks during the night, but no one was injured. As the result of the gale all shipping bound south from Wellington has been delayed. At 10.30 p.m. the Maori passed the liner Raranga bound for Lyttelton, and she was making heavy weather of it. The wind moderated a good deal at 5 a.m., but several heavy seas were shipped after that. The vessel behaved splendidly in the circumstances. Describing the trip one officer of the vessel said that the Maori “had been dancing all night, and fell into a hole at 4.30 in the morning when struck by a big sea.”

The Union Company’s steamer Wai.marine also experienced • a rough trip from Wellington. She left there at 10 o’clock on Monday evening, and did not reach Lyttelton until 6.30 o’clock this morning. She should have arrived early yesterday afternoon, but was unable to make good headway. The Raranga and the Corinthie, which left Wellington for Lyttelton at 6.10 o’clock and 8.10 o’clock respectively, did not arrive until this evening. The coastal steamer Waipiata was unable to leave Wellington for Lyttelton because of the severity of the weather.