RIVALS OF THE TASMAN

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 19667, 27 June 1938, Page 7

RIVALS OF THE TASMAN

MARIPOSA CLAIMS VICTORY PE RFC) R M ANCE IN STORi\I. FINAL DASH FOR DU AST (Klee. T«l. Copyright—'United Press Assn.) SYDNEY, June IC. Although the captains ot the liners Awatea and Mariposa deny that the exciting dash lor the Heads in wh ch the vessels took part late on Monday afternoon was in any sense a lace, members of the two crews and passengers regarded it as such, and were keen to win.

The crew of the Mariposa object to the Awatea’s claim to victory, and declare that their ship put up by lai the better performance.

“The Awatea left Auckland at 5 pm. on Friday, and we left after 11 p.m.," said one member of the crew. “What time would wc have been in, if we bad left six hours earlier?”

One man said that the Mariposa logged 115 miles between noon and 5 p.m. on Monday, showing an average speed of 23 knots. During this period the Awatea must have travelled slightly faster, but Captain Davey, commander of the vessel, stated that his maximum speed was 22.3 knots.

The men on the Mariposa asserted that throughout Sunday their ship played a cat and mouse game with her rival, speeding up and increasing her lead every time the Awatea gained on her. In the final dash for the coast they admitted that the Awatea was slightly ahead, but they protested that she was to the northward on a direct course, and, if the Mariposa had not been compelled to slow down a long way off the Heads in preparation for taking on a pilot, she could have entered the harbour first. Shipping company officials remain calm when the subject is mentioned. They simply produce the Appendix to Lloyd's Register, and regard the question as settled. This shows that the Mariposa lias a speed capability of 22 knots, while the Awatea is rated a 23knot vessel. Since the appendix was last published, improved turbine gearing has been installed in the Awatea, and this, it is claimed, lias increased her speed.

On paper, therefore, a race between the two vessels could have only one result, but shipping officials paid a high tribute to the performance of the American vessel in Saturday’s storm. Even after making due allowance for her superior size, they said that her voyage from Auckland to Sydney in the existing weather conditions was an outstanding achievement.