EAST COAST TRADE.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXII, Issue 10302, 9 March 1905, Page 2

EAST COAST TRADE.

THE NEW SCHOONER KAEO.

A considerable amount of interest has been taken in the acquisition of the new auxiliary schooner Kaeo, for the growing East Coast trade. At 3 o'clock yesterday afternoon Captain Skinner's new vessel arrived; on her maiden voyage from Auckland and. Coast bays. 11h> Kaeo was safely berthed at the wharf at 5.30 last night, and was inspected by a large number of Gisborneites. That Captain Skinner is warranted! in his commendable enterprise in working up this connection with the northern portion of our extensive district, may be seen from the fact that his two vessels, Aotea and Kaeo, were botli loading together at Auckland wharf, and both received! full cargoes, whilst the Aotea, now at the GLsborne ; wharf, is a full ship, with consignments to be delivered along the Coast on her return voyage. Other vessels are also engaged in tire work of assisting the development* that is taking place in the northern part of our district. Yet tha time has not long .passed when the pioneers of this trade had to conteud with the discouragements of only part cargoes. With sucli fiicilLtk's us are now provided for tlie carriage of heights, Gisborne business people should be alive to the possibilities of extending their commerce with the settlers of the Bay ports — a. trade which the Auckland firms should' not be allowed to have all in their own hands. It does not require a great stretch of memory to cany one back to the days wheu Captain Skinner vteited Gisborne regularly in the pioneer vessel of his fleet, the graceful Gisborne. For many years the Gisborne was the sole sailer trading to the Coast. The schooner Waiapu was added to the service, and. subsequently as the trade grew the Awanui. As the years passed the service, called for vessels of larger tonnage, andl keeping pace with the times Captain Skinner added) the Aotea, a splendid vessel of fine proportions, fitted with oil engines. The whole of these boats were constructed on tlio same yacht-like design as characterised! the Gisborne, and Captain Skinner's vessels, sighted anywhere off the East Coast., are at once recognised by tlieir cleancut models a.nd trim rig. The- rapid! development of the trade in recent yeais called for a larger and better vessel even than the Aotea, and in the Kaeo now at Gisborne wharf Captain Skinner has* surely reached the high-water mark in the building-up of his line fleet. . Modelled much on the same lines as his' other vessels, she sits the water very comfortably, and is in every respect a vessel that any owner •or skipper might be proud of. W* have already published! a fairly comprehensive description of the new schooner, but a close inspection gives a few more details. The Kaeo is 155 tons register, and carries about ICO tons more than her predecessor, the Aotea. The vessel presents a splendid! appearance from its yacht-like bow to its elliptical finish aft. The rigging, is somewhat out of the ordinary, there being three stout 70ft masts. Topmasts have been dispensed with for several reasons, mainly that the vessel has auxiliary power for light windis when topsails ore of most service, and because three serviceable mainsails are much handier to the seaman than a more extensive spread! of canvas. The cargo is carried! in three holds, including a space for 25 tons right over the stern. The passenger accommodation is highly satisfactory, there being room for about a dozen people. The ladies' cabin is quite the pick of the whole compartment, andl contains four berths. A fairly large deckhouse is placed forward, where the crew are comfortably housed. Adjoining this is tlie indispensable ''galley," capable of turning out an acceptable bill-of-fare. For the navigation of the ship a depaiture has beeni made to the usual rule in the placing, of a bridge above the after deckhouse, running tlie width of tlie ship. Tliis point of vantage should 1 prove especially useful to tlie skipper when picking up his bearings off the numerous Coast ports. Standard taxd steering compasses are amongst the gear carried. The forepeak of live vessel is utilised' as a sail locker, store, etc. The engine-room fa spacious and well-ventilated, situated beneath the passenger accommodation, and is fireproof lined all round. Two King's Sintz oil engines of 30 h.p. supply the auxiliary power. The engines are calculated to work up to 400 revolutions, and produce a speed of seven miles an hour. On the voyage down., however," they were not working to the be.'t advantage. The consumption of fuel is fairly heavy, being, for the two machines one ca.se of benzine per hour. A four horse-power winch, independent from the engine-room, is used for handling cargo, ami also operates upon a patent windlass for shipping the substantial anchors. The ship is supplied with two serviceable boats, one being fitted with a powerful oil motor foi« towing purposes. They. Im^ig out on davits, ready for use, on either -sidle of the vessel. The draught of the Kaeo, when fully loaded, measures 10ft 6in, but as she arrived yes. terday with 150 tons of cargo aboard she was only drawing Bft. The voyage down was a very ordinary one. and tlie engines iwuT "to be used nearly the whole way. The schooner left Auckland on Wednesday, February 22, with light winds, and beat down to Cape Colvillo. All the way across the Bay of Plenty only light variable airs were experienced. Omaio was worked on the morning of the 25th. andl throe dl-.iys were occupied landing 15 tons of cargo at Maranui. On March 2 East Cape was rounded, Port Awanui and Tuparoa being worked next day, and Waipiro on the 4th, when a strong S.E. wind! prevailed for some time. Sundiay last was .spent at Tokomaru Bay. A heavy S.E. sea was met thence to Toltiga, where the vessel lay sheltering till 4 o'clock yesterday morning. Pakarae cargo was successfully lauded on the way to port. Tlie local cargo consists of 20,000ft timber, 24 tons pipes, 20 tons sugar, 10 tons flour, coal and sundries. The Kaeo carries a crew of nine hands, and Captain Skinner has a the following officers under him : Mate, Thos. Cowley ; engineer, Wm. Lund; acting-purser, F. S. Spreckley.