A SYDNEY FERRY

Southland Times, Issue 20043, 3 December 1926, Page 9

A SYDNEY FERRY

nEAVES WHARF MASTERLESS. SAVED BY TWO YOUTHS. Sydney, November 18. The ferry steamers that ply back and forth across Sydney Harbour, carrying hundreds of thousands of passengers every day, have a remarkable record for -safety. in all kinds of weather and through all kinds of . harbour traffic, they maintain their services with hardly one accident in a twelve-month to mar their reputation. Hence a strange happening which occurred last Saturday shortly after midday to one of the vessels of the Sydney Ferries’ fleet excited greater notice than if things more often departed from the routine. The ferry, loaded with passengers hurrying home to their Saturday afternoon pleasure, was noticed to leave the jetty at Circular quay, and strangely veer towards an incoming ferry steamer. Two youthful passengers, quickly reasoning that something was wrong, inspected the master's steering cabin and found it vacant. They thereupon grasped the wheel and managed narrowly to avert a collision with the other vessel. A director of the company with nautical knowledge happened to be aboard, and he quickly relieved the two youths of their self-assumed task.

The explanation forthcoming was that the master had become ill shortly before the vessel arrived at the Quay jetty from its previous trip. He had to go ashore hurriedly, and omitted to change the signal <on his telegraph to the engine-room from “Slow Ahead” to “Stop.” The ferries spend a few minutes at Sydney from the time of their arrival on one trip to their departure on the next. Hence before the captain had returned to the ferry the time bad arrived for its departure. The signal was given from the wharf, and the engineer, noticing the telegraph signal at “Slow Ahead,” at once set his engines in motion. It was a surprised and fearful master who, arriving back at the wharf found his vessel a hundred yards or so up the cove. Happily, in this instance, there was no accompanying disaster, but ferrytravellers talked for days on how small a cause could easily have brought about a serious collision. As it was, passengers on the ferry maintained that only the presence of mind of the two youths saved the masterless ferry from crashing into the other.