THE GIRL PAT CAPTURED

Southland Times, Issue 22922, 22 June 1936, Page 7

THE GIRL PAT CAPTURED

THRILLING CHASE TRAWLER AT BRITISH GUIANA MEN UNCOMMUNICATIVE (United Press Assn.—Telegraph Copyright.) (Rec. 7.40 p.m.) London, June 20. A message from Georgetown (British Guiana), states that a Government motor ship captured the trawler Girl Pat and towed her to Georgetown, where she is guarded by armed police. The vessel is badly damaged and the stern is smashed. With the skipper cursing loudly, the Girl Pat docked, and the crew was taken to police headquarters. The arrest followed a thrilling chase. The police steamer was faster but the Girl Pat manoeuvred more rapidly. The crew showed remarkable seamanship. Nine miles from Georgetown the vessel seemed on the point of outmanoeuvring its pursuers, who finally boarded her after a two-hour chase.

Although the name Girl Pat is nowhere on the vessel, the crew admits its identity, but otherwise it is not communicative.

The special correspondent of The Daily Mail at Georgetown, who watched the capture of the trawler Girl Pat from a motor boat, cables that the Girl Pat was anchored four miles from, the shore, awaiting the tide. In the meantime, after a conference throughout the night with the port authorities the Governor (Sir Geoffrey Northcot) ordered the chase and the arrest.

Thirty armed native police, three British ex-servicemen and three local military police officers guarded the police steamer Pomeroon, which steamed out at dawn. The Girl Pat, with damaged sails and a generally battered appearance, set sail, started her auxiliary engine and steered for the open sea. She cleverly manoeuvred until the wind dropped as the sun rose, enabling the Pomeroon to run alongside, sinking the Girl Pat’s dinghy, which was trailing astern, and smashing the trawler’s bulwarks. The members of the crew declare that they did not steal the Girl Pat, and that they did not want to return to England. They decline to see the Press at present. They are not detained, and the police authorities have cabled to England for instructions. They decline to state whether they are prosecuting the men.

The trawler, Girl Pat, equipped with the latest Diesel engines, left Dover on April 4 and put in at Concubion (Spain) on April 12. It left nine days later, after extensive repairs, not stating its destination. Its owners, the Marstand Fishing Company, notified the underwriters on April 27 that they regarded the ship as a total loss. They explained that they engaged a skipper a few months ago, and fie picked his own crew, with the exception of the engineer, whom he left at Dover.