CHECKED BY GALES

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19338, 31 May 1937, Page 10

CHECKED BY GALES

CABLE REPAIR WORK RECORDER IN TASMAN (Per Press Association.) AUCKLAND, last night. After an absence from Auckland since March 24. endeavouring to repair the Auckland-Sydney cable, the steamer Recorder returned on Saturday afternoon with operations nullified by continual storms. Three cyclones and four gales were experienced in mid-Tasman forcing the Recorder to shelter at Sydney for nearly a week.

Temporarily abandoning work en the Auckland-Sydney cable, the Recorder located and* buoyed the Doubtless BayNorfolk Island cattle and returned to Auckland for additional cable to carry out repairs. She should sail ayiin. for the Tasman on Tuesday.

The repair of the broken trans-Tas-nian cable has occupied the Recorder for a considerable time. The major fault is about 209 miles out from Sydneyarid in very deep water, but another fault is located about 40 miles out from Muriwai.

When the Rcqorder left Auckland she steamed to the break at the Auckland end, encountering extremely bad weather. The end was located at a depth of about 3000 fathoms, but when the grapnel apparatus had brought it almost to the surface the cable earned away owing to the pitching of the ship. The. Recorder then pjNKieedtcd t<J the, Sydney end of the hreakj which is about 70 miles long, and spent three weeks under gale and cyclonic conditions attempting to bring the cable to the surface. After gripping the cable on two occasions and losing it in the heavy seas, the Recorder suspended operations and steamed to Sydney for shelter.

Putting to sea again the ship inspected the condition of the abandoned Wel-lington-Sydney cable and located and buoyed the ends of the Doubtless BayNorfolk Island cable.