45 YEARS AT SEA

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 16622, 14 April 1928, Page 5

45 YEARS AT SEA

LONG CAREER TO END THE lONIC'S CAPTAIN (Special to the Herald.) AUCKLAND, this day. After 45 years at sea, Capt. Jackson, of the Shaw, Savill and Albion liner lonic, will relinquish his command when the ship's next voyage to England is completed. Captain Jackson is one o'. the best-known personalities in the Eng-land-New' Zealand service. Beginning his sea life as an apprentice in a sailing ship, the skipper lias worked his way up through every rank of the merchant service.'

The, intervention of" fate in, its most tragic form led up to the skipper's first command. This was. in ■ 18S4, when he was second male of the three-masted barque. Belle of Arvoo, a well-found ship in tho fleet of Tomlinson and Hodgetts, of Liverpool. Yellow fever, the dreaded disease known as "Yellow Jack," which used'to take a terrible toll-of life in tho tropics years ago, broke out amongst the officers and crew, and the captain and mote both died on the voyage from Calcutta to Rio de Janiero. Death also claimed more than a dozen of the crew, and the. ship's company was reduced from 28, to 15. As senior officer, young Jackson—he was then 26—took command and brought tho Bell of Arvon safely to port. He was fortunate enough to escape ati attack of the disea.se, but tho terrible experiences through which ho passed affected his health, and he had to go info hospital on returning to England. Tt was whilst lie was in command of tho Belle that Capt. Jackson had the exciting experience of finding himself in tho midst of the Bnr/.il : an revolution. "It was a sort of navy and army afiY'r." said the skipper, "for Admiral De Mello, who was in command of the Aquitaban,' the flagship of the Brazilian fleet, was leader of the insurgents against the. military and .civil forces. The firing was a trifle erratic at times. and we often found our decks and rigging damaged by shrapnel. _ Fortunately none of my men was injured, and there v was n- danger of international complications." When lie retires he vvil' have com pleted 30 years as an officer of tho White Star *Line.