HIGH SEAS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24630, 11 June 1941, Page 4

HIGH SEAS

GALE IN HARBOUR DAMAGE AT VAUXHALL A RECORD HIGH TIDE Whipped up by a high northerly wind, the heavy seas of one of the highest spring tides ever recorded in Otago Harbour lifted two boat sheds from their piles on the waterfront at Vauxhall yesterday afternoon, and wrecked them against the shore, Three yachts in the sheds were badly damaged, and one small launch was cast adrift from her moorings and wrecked. One of the sheds belonged to the well-known representative yachtsman. Mr Cyril J. Pettitt. and the other to Mr W. J. P. McCulloch, also well known in yachting circles. A low estimate of the damage caused by the seas is stated to be £3OO. The high wind also caused slight damage to electrical installations in the city. Generally, a northerly wind does not have an adverse effect in the harbour, but yesterday the exceptional spring tide was backed up for a long period by the wind. As a result, heavv seas were sent dashing to within a foot of the level of the roadway at Vauxhall, and swept over it in places. Portions of the Portobello road were covered with boulders and debris where the waves washed over it. The* parts of the road affected were dangerous to motor traffic at full tide. Damage to Sheds and Yachts

The boatshed owned by Mr Pettit was the first to suffer. He and other yachtsmen were working inside the building when the slipway collapsed, and the shed gradually subsided into the sea. It housed the 14-foot yachts Lynette (owned by Mr Pettit) and Rawene (Mr Rob. Gough), and the champion Takapuna class yacht Pupuke (Messrs P. Inglis and A. Frew). By cutting away the roof the men succeeded in rescuing the three craft, which, however, were badly damaged. The shed was equipped with electric light, and there was a brilliant electrical display for a time as the wires short-circuited. Finally, the power was cut off by the Electricity Department. The shed was eventually wrecked against the rocks.

The other shed wrecked was recently built by Mr McCulloch, but it housed only a quantity of personal gear. After its collapse the shed was finally battered into driftwood by the heavy seas. In all the sheds at Vauxhall, some of which are used as residences, there was at one stage about six inches of water on the floors. All of them were built above the highest tide level recorded in the past 40 years, and were considered to be safe. The tide last evening, however, was stated to be the highest on record. Launch Lost A small launch, the Isobel, owned by Mr V. Poison, broke away from its moorings, and it is considered probable that it was smashed against the retaining wall of the southern endowment. Here, the waves were washing over the breakwater.

No serious damage was caused to electrical installations in the city. A power pole was blown down in NorthEast Valley, and a street light circuit from York place to Duke street, near the Town Belt, was put out of action. The high seas did not cause trouble to shipping in the harbour. No special precautions were taken by the Harbour Board; except in the case of the mooring punt at the Cross wharf, which was*%umping 'Very heavily for about an hour. Fenders had to be used to protect it from contact with the wharf. The Harbour Board engineer, Mr J. McG. Wilkie, said that the seas at the end of the steamer basin were the biggest he had seen in his 30 years' experience of Otago Harbour.

HEAVY DAMAGE HIGH TIDE AT REDCLIFFS WATER ENTERS HOMES (P.A.) CHRISTCHURCH, June 10. The heaviest spring tide in many years did damage at Redcliffs this evening that will take thousands of pounds to repair. Retaining walls were swept away, houses were flooded, boats carried on to rocks, and roads and tram lines blocked. The heavy erosion of the sand hills on the New Brighton side has left the entrance to the estuary open to high seas. A high easterly wind coming in with the tide dashed waves against the retaining walls in front of private properties with such fury that many of them were soon pushed over and the sea beat against the doors and walls of the houses. Housewives moved their furniture to what dry places they could find and watched the water rise inside their homes to a .height of four to twelve inches. A few were forced to leave. Tramcar Derailed * The waves broke right across the main road at Monck's Bay, throwing spray high over motor cars and strewing the road with stones and debris from the sea wall. The 4.46 p.m. tram from Sumner was travelling through the water when it struck an obstruction on the line beneath the water and was derailed. The road at St. Andrew's Hill for about a quarter of a mile between the Heathcote bridge and the causeway was heavily flooded, and debris over the rails prevented trams from passing. During the evening the trams were replaced by buses, and at one statfe these had to make a detour ever St. Andrew's Hill.

Heavy damage was done among 70 boats at the Christchurch Yacht Club's moorings in Monck's Bay. Members of the club, with the water waist high on the landing stage, saved many big boats, but all, even those on the repair slips, were tossed about and battered against one another. Boat Stranded on Tram Lines The racing yacht Nike was carried by the seas on to the road and left stranded on the tram lines. Its tal. 1 mast came into contact with the overhead tramway wires and several young men who touched the boat suffered an electric shock. Some were thrown off their feet. Another racing yacht was holed beyond repair, and a small keeler was severely damaged. Seas raced through the boat-building shed of Mr George Andrews, breaking down the doors and carrying away the wall of an adjacent shed. A man in his bath in a neighbouring house pulled out the plug to let the water away and was astonished to see more water enter. The flood had backed up the drain. The heavy erosion of the sandhills at the mouth of the estuary is considered to be in a large measure responsible for the flooding, which has done probably more damage than any on record at Redcliffs.