STEAMER'S DRIFT

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LV, Issue 17176, 5 February 1930, Page 10

STEAMER'S DRIFT

HELPLESS FOE 3 MONTHS CAPTAIN OP WAIKATO IN N.2. An eventful career of 50 years at sea, is credited to Captain T. S. Weston, retired commodore. 6*f the New Zealand shipping Co.'s ' fleet, who is visiting Auckland on the steamer Rotorria, on a tour rOitnd the world. Captain Weston is perhaps best known among mariners as having been in command of the Waikato when she drifted for over three months in the Indian Ocean, helpless with a broken propeller shaft. "The shaft broke on June 5. 1899, and it was over four months before we. reached port." said Captain Weston when he was reminded of the experience. "We were 180 miles south ofj Cape Agulhas, near Capetown when it happened, and we. drifted for three months and ten days, covering 4500 miles before wo were successfully helped. During that time we sighted four or five sailing ships, but we bad been drifting for seven weeks before one of them, the Tecoroa, picked, us up. We. had drifted in an easterly direction and the Tecoroa. tried to tow us northwards, but the Waikato was too heavy. The Tecoroa bad to leave us and go on to -Mauritius. There she reported us and a mau-o-war was sent out, to search for us. For weeks she swept the ocean, but no trace of tho disabled Waikato was seen. Fortunately we had 'been picked up by the s.s. Aslon and were towed by her 2509 miles into Fremantle, which we reached on October 9." Captain Weston's career. started in 1078 when he left school to join the Now Zealand Shipping Co.'s vessel, the Piako. a full rigged ship of 107 j tons, engaged in bringing j migrants from England to New Zealand.