RESCUED FROM THE SEA

Otago Witness, Issue 3542, 31 January 1922, Page 6

RESCUED FROM THE SEA

A TALE OF HEROISM. / TWO HOURS’ DESPERATE WORK. AUCKLAND, January 25. Accounts given by the crew of the Helen B. Sterling show that the vessel met with heavy weather prior to Sunday last. At 4 m.m. on that dav the mainmast was carried away. Apparently this strained the vessel’s timbers, and let in a certain amount of water; while two of the hatches failed to hold in the heavy weather, and the heavy teas which came aboard leaked into the hold. r I he wireless operator (Shaw) sent out the first wireless at 8 a.m., followed by others of a despairing nature. The explanation of this is that those on board were doubtful if their messages were being received, the power on board being insufficient for receiving properly, though the sending capacity was adequate. '1 he hopes of all on board the doomed vessel were raised by the welcome sight, late on Sunday night, of the searchlights of the Melbourne, which W’as then racing to the rescue. The lights were discerned 40 or 50 miles away. When she came in sight the schooner was virtually awash, only the poop deck appealing above water. dhe Melbourne drew near the schooner and poured oil on the waters to leeward, between her and the small craft. Perilous times then ensued in the lowering of one of the warship's cutters. Eventually she was pot safely away, with Commander Ward Hunt in charge and a crew of 16 men. The cutter went to within some 70ft or 80ft of the schooner, which threw a line. This was hitched on to the cutter. Commander Hunt then had a breeches buoy affixed to the rope, and this was sent aboard the schooner. An apprentice was the first sent across, and some of the crew were next, it being deemed inadvisable to bring off the women bo early, as the passage in the bi t echos ’Juoy meant dragging them through the rater for about 60ft. with the inevitable Jmsequenee of a wetting. Further, it was josired to thoroughly test ihp gear with J*o men. Ihe last to bo hauled into t!."Aitter was the captain, though simultaneY'!V the second mate dived overboard with £ rope attached to him, and was dragged jrilo the rescuing brat. Meanwhile the Melbourne had gone around to tito windward side of the schooner and poured more oil on the waters. Both at tliis stage and during the Melbourne's thrilling race to the rescue every soul on board the warship worked like a demon. After the survivors had been placed aboard the warship (tile whole operation occupied two hours) the schooner was seen to be lying low in the. water, with heavy seas washing over her continuously, and it. was judged that she must fink Within three or four hours. 1 he Melbourne bad a rough trip to port, arriving at 10 last night, when the crew were taken t<> the homes of fiends or to the Sailons’ Home.

AN UNLUCKY VOYAGE. AUCKLAND, January 25. The sailors of the Helen B. Sterling state that trouble started early' in tne voyage. Two days alter the vessel leit Newcastle the gas engine for working the puuips broke down. Alter that hand pumps Had to be used to keep down the water from the ordinary leakage to which a wooden vessel is always subjected. Two days later tire broke out in tne forehold in tile beam, but this was promptly extinguished. On Saturday a strong gale sprang up from the east, accompanied by a very heavy' sea. 'ihat night it had increased almost to hurricane force, necessitating the sails being double-reefed and the vessel hoye-to. ihe sea rose higher and higher, and constantly broke aboard, tailing on the main deck, fore and aft. The only dry quarter in the ship was the forecastle head and poop. The hand pumps, being situated on the main deck, were right in the wash of the pounding waves which broke on board. It was impossible for the crew to man them. The labouring ship soon started extensive leaking, and, in the absence of pumping, soon sank lower in the water. The position was hopeless at 5 a.m. oil Sunday, when the main mast went by the board, and it was then realised that the vessel would have to be abandoned, the main deck being flooded. The soundings of the pump well could not be gauged with any degree of accuracy, but it was estimated that there was not less than 9tt of water in the holds, and at the time she was abandoned she did not have more than lft of freeboard. In the afternoon the crew gathered on the poop and awaited the arrival of the H.M.A.S. Melbourne. The boats had been provisioned the previous evening, and were ready in the chocks on the poop to be manned m case of necessity. The idea was not to launch them, but to trust to chance of them floating clear il the vessel loundered. All through this ckiy and the following night, however, the sea was so high that no one believed lie would live live minutes. Commander Ward Hunt said: From the nature of the calls il appeared to be a race between our getting there and the schooner's sinking. Unfortunately' two o! tile signals we leccived from the schooner gave two different positions, owing, no doubt, to the stress under which the operator was working. These positions were miles apart. Our efforts were directed tc ascertaining which of the two was correct. Eventually about 4 o clock we got a deliniie statement that the north-east posh ion was the correct one. AIL the time we were going north the weather was becoming worse. At midnight the gale was blowing. with high seas. A high sea was running, and the waves were breaking light across the practically waterlogged ship, although, her poop and forecastle were well above the water. The crew and ladies were perched upon the poop. The wind had cased somewhat, and it appeared that with careful handling the crew could be taken off by one of the Melbourne's boats, and as it was considered the wind might, get worse at any moment it was not thought wise to wait until daylight. A seaboat was lowered from the warship, and only got away from the 6hip with

difficulty. On getting near the Helen B. Sterling, and having studied the position, it was decided that it was impossible to get alongside owing to the seas breaking over her. Transfer by breeches buoy was rapidly made. The women, said Commander Ward Hunt, displayed the greatest fortitude under very trying circumstances. The difficult operation was proceeded with without a hitch. After two hours’ hard work the people from the schooner were safely aboard the Melbourne. Even the cat was not forgotten. The return to the warship: with a heavily-laden 12-oared boat in a considerable sea was accomplished without any great difficulty'. As the craft, came alongside the Melbourne she was hoisted ur> in 35sec from the time they' hooked on. The rescued people were wet and cold, but in a few minutes they were having hot baths, and in half an hour were in bed They had a terrible time aboard the ship expecting death at any moment.

TIIE DISTRESS MESSAGES. SUA T A, January 25. Suva received the S.O.S. call from the American schooner Helen B. Sterling. Later H.M.A.S. Melbourne reported having rescued the erew.The steamer Suva, which arrived here to-day, reports encountering a full cyclonic storm on Friday' and Saturday. She was hove to for 36 hours. The vessel suffered only slightly from the huge seas. Dr Lambert, who was a passenger, says that in 80,000 miles of sea travel he never saw such a storm. A WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE. AUCKLAND. January 25. The race to the rescue of the Helen B. Sterling was a triumph of seamanship and engineering, the warship attaining a speed of 23 knots through a heavy sea. At breakfast time on Sunday morning there was a pleasurable excitement among the men, and their approaching visit to New Zealand was the tonic of conversation. Many of them were about to make their first visit to the dominion, and in any caso the welcome awaiting them meant a pleaant incident in the monotony' of sea life, but with the first S.O.S. signal the atmosphere changed to one of tense expectancy. The men realised that somewhere across jlio wind-tossed waste there were lives in danger, and a sinking ship to be saved if possible. The engineer commander organised his staff of nearly 200 men, including seamen called on stokehold duty for the emergency, and divided them into watches. Working willirigiy. ar.d realising the importance of every pound of steam pressure, the stokers toiled hard deep down on the shining plates of the reeling ship. Toward To o’clock Ihe searchlight crews were summoned to their stations and the ares were 'lit,, but the questing fingers of light could not pierce the rain and spume. Rolling heavily and shipping great quantities of water, the cruiser held on her errand. By skill and courage she mocked the fury of the night, and, spray-blinded, carried on at full speed through the murk and spindrift, foiling the storm, keeping the searchlights sweeping on each side. The watchers were able between squalls

to pick out only a tumbling, racing sheet of wind-tossed water stretching to the horizon. Toward midnight the vigilance of the lookouts increased, for the location was near the Helen B. Stirling’s position, and the thought of the loneliness and terror of the crew of the schooner feeling the sluggish lifting of the lifeless hull xvallowing her deeper in the sea laid hold on their imaginations, and steeled them to further effort and tenseness. At 1.50 o’clock on Monday morning the schooner’s wireless call was again picked up, and simultaneously a rocket from the vessel pierced the darkness and revealed her perilous position. The searchlights of the cruiser were focussed on tile schooner, and as the beams of light cut the night and showed up the peril of the ship, all on board felt that they had arrived in time, although the most dangerous task of rescue lay ahead. “The whole thing is still a.n absolute nightmare,” said the captain’s wife. “I can hardly remember any details of the dreadful hours as they passed. We were down below in the cabin. All the time it remained quite dry, although the waves were sweeping over the deck outside. I think the worst time we went through was before we got the Melbourne’s wireless saying she was coming to us. We expected the boat would sink any minute. The message pul some heart into us. but as the hours passed it seemed impossible that she could get to us in time. We were ready to take to the boats at any minute in case the schooner should go down, but we felt that that would be the end of us nil. I did not attempt to get any of my things together; ! felt it would be of no use, so we have both lest absolutely everything but the dollies we were wearing then. At last came word to us that the Melbourne bad sighted us, and we knew we were saved. We did rot go on deck till they sent the boat off for us. We could hardly realise wo were saved. Suspense had almost numbed our minds. All I remember is being strapped into a breeches buoy, lowered over the side, and dragged through the water to the boat. It was still dark and the sea very rough. Then at last ve were on the warship, and it was all over. ’ The small boy was undoubtedly the most cheerful member of the party. lie seemed to have come through an experience such as falls to few boys of his age with remarkable pluck. He had been very frightened. he confessed, but what had grieved him most was the thought that he might never see his two little sisters again.