THE WEATHER.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIIC, Issue 14239, 4 July 1910, Page 7

THE WEATHER.

A HOUGH. SEA. *it is the heaviest sea we have had Sere- for twelve months," said the parbournuistur, Captain Tait to a i?--borter yesterday morning. The peacetulness of the broad Pacific had been jlisturbed by a great swell from, the fcorth-east, and as far as the eye pould see the grey-green waters of the Canterbury Bight were capped with ji'hite foam I Hissing breakers were lushing shorewards with tremendous force, and all day long there was tho insistent roar ot the surge on tho ghiugle. On Saturday morning tho Bea was choppy, but through the night it increased in violence till the waves j Wore running to a great height. All ] day, people watched the sea with in- | tcrest, some with anticipations of exCiting scents before the day wa.s out, but fortunately everything stood just j as it was desirable that it should do, j ant" nothing untoward happened, j Grout heaps of seaweed were thrown i lap on Caroline Bay and on tho beach i at Waimataitiu. Many people viewed i the heavy sons as they came rolling j in, from Benvenue Cliffs, from which Vantage point a good view could bo obtained. Further inroads, were made by the turbulent waters, on the cliffs at Dashing Rocks, where tho foamcrested waves made a line spectacle B6 they broke on the coast line and rose high in tho air as they spent themselves. The eastern extension had to withstand the full fury of the storm, /each succeeding comber broke heavily against it. and often the woodWork was invisible through clouds of Bprny. Though the waves came right Ever, very little of the rubble was disolneed and the inner harbour was as "calm as in ordinary weather. Now and again the concrete wall was drenched in foam, but the frothing rollers had lost their sting, and any harm done was superficial..' The only vessel in the harbour besides the tug vas the schooner Bellftower, but an:hored a mile off was the barque Triton, which had come up from the south in the morning. She was tossed ibout like a cork on the water, but yith strong anchors, she was able to ride in safety. Spectators gathered in the main wharf. Borne looked at the , barque with dark forebodings and said she would be better inside it tho moorings—if her anchor slipped there would lie disaster. The little jteamer-Purnu, which is doing tug luty for the port while the dredge is at bamaru. was not stout enough to withstand the violence of the seas, so it was decided not to send her out intil there was an improvement in the conditions. Speaking to a [fterwards Cautain Tait said that the steamer would not have lasted five minutes outside—she would have nd3on one wave, and been swamped by fche next. He expected to bring the barque in this morning, and thought that there was no reason to fear for her safety during tho night, as vessels of her description were usually equipped with gear that would stand a strain in case of emergency. Captain Tait also said that no tug would have risked goin« out in such a sea. Mr Clarke, engineer to the Jjonrd. when seen last mgbt said that practically no damage bad been done.