LONG STORMY VOYAGE

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 16772, 11 October 1928, Page 5

LONG STORMY VOYAGE

REMARKABLE MISFORTUNES HURRICANES AND SICKNESS II WEN AFT Elf I i MONTHS. SYDNEY, Scpv. 27. Fxpericnees rivalling those 01. Culeti.lge's “Ancient Mariner ’ were related by Captain ,T. A. Olson, mast or of the auxiliary schooner Fides, which arrived at Brisbane unexpectedly after being 14 months out from Norway with a cargo of timber destined for a South Australian port. As the vessel went to her moorings she had every appearance of having- completed a voyage full of misfortune, for the anchors were rusted in their slings, the masttops were all awry, and several storn-jdat-es were in urgent need of repair. The vessel, which ! s of -Hit imi-. onlv, left Piiisgimd. on Angus! 11. 1.J127. After calling til Gothenburg she sailed t Krone'll I lie Eugli.-h Channel a,ul cut en-d tin- Atlantic Ocean under idea I cojid it i ons. Tli esc idea I com 1i - t ions, however, did not last long, and carle in November the Tides tan into a south-nest hurricane, which dismantled flic. ship. A considerable amount of gear and i igging " ere lost overboard. The small semi-Diesel engine was then rei|uisitioned, lon after functionin'.,- for a short t'inm, it. ivas disabled through heated bearings. For a long time the Fides drifted about a derelict, and it was not until late in December that the captain managed to reach I'ara. in Brazil. Nearly three mouths were spent .it) that port effecting repairs, the _ greatest difficult v being experienced m securing labor, while the conditions under Which the Work was carried out were most: trying. With the. tierce heat an it the' mosquitoes. many of the crew became very ill, and heavy iain>toims made it impossible to work conlunions! v for any length ot. time. GALES, halms and illness. As adverse winds made 1 lie intended vovage around the Gape of Good Hope impossible, tho [’annum, route was chosen, and a very pleasant journey was made through the canal. M'th encouraging winds a, record uni to the Soi-ietv Islands was anticipated, these winds, however, did not. hold out, and iu their stead unseasonable north-west, hurricanes were encountered, as well as numerous calms. For <2 terrible davs the Fides was at sea, at times battling with gales and at others becalmed for days on end. At this rate little progress was being made. Then, to make, matters worse, sick, ness broke out among the crew, supplies ran short, and the medicine chest crave out. Without exception, _ the entire crew suffered, from the eficHs of bad food and bad wafer. Captain Olson himself was ill for 10 days, aim then had to be on duty, continuously almost, because of the illness of his mate. ONE BAILOR STABS ANOTHER. If was with a feeling of thankiillness and a. belief that t.h,e worst had Teen passed that Hie crew took their little ship into Papeete on dune 50. However, ill-luck, that seemed to be inseparable from the ship, continued, and while at the Trench port a sailor ran amok and attacked the mate and one of the sailors with a. kniie. dim sailor was wounded and was practically at death's door for more than T days. ’The authorities took a hand in (lie matter amt the seaman who hail inflicted the injuries was sent to prison for two years. The vessel was made Him again, and the voyage to Australia resumed. Once again the. Pacific belied its name and the Fides had no sooner loti; Tahiti than it van into hurricanes which undid all the work that had linen done and the vessel again became more or less a derelict. The first storm occurred smith ol bn Totigah group, where instead ol the usual south-east, trades, south-west, and north-west, hurricanes were experienced, and before long the ship sprang •i leak To cope with the situation everv ounce of power from the engines was' required, and the combined efforts of all on board were . needed to keep the vessel afloat. YET ANOTHER STORM, Nearer Australia another storm swept awav the rigging, and the masts rm-ain sprung. The Fides then had to carrv on with the engines until temporary masts were made, after winch it was decided to make tor the coast ft New South Wales, instead ot gomß to South Australia. After halt hug with another gate favorable uoa ■was experienced, and the captain then decided to seek a haven in the nearest port, which happened to bo Brisbane Members of the crew looked lull the worse for the trying voyage, although they did not try to wmcea. their pleasure at being sale in poll, once again. One ot the crew was voung journalist who, when he join 1 jhe ship, anticipated a voyage ot. about three months H was he «'» "'"'"'.'jr'v;;: iub-' s vovage will cel i„imix 1 , p"' " i,„|,|... 11.. U »„l >" '" Vl ' " 0 sailor's life. .