GIRL PAT’S VOYAGE.

Wairarapa Age, 30 May 1936, Page 7

GIRL PAT’S VOYAGE.

MATE LEET AT DAKAB. GLAD TO BE OUT OF IT. LONDON, May 28. The “ Daily Mail’s” Dakar correspondent says that the missing trawler Girl Pat is now believed to be heading for Capetown. When she called at Dakar, Captain Osborne came ashore and told the harbourmaster he wanted to restock the vessel with food and have her engines repaired. The authorities were discussing what action could be taken when suddenly the trawler slipped out to sea again, leaving behind the mate, Harry Stone, also unpaid bills. In an interview Stone disclosed that a hunt for treasure was the object, of the 'Girl Pat, which unsuccessfully aimed for the Salvage Islands. “When we set out from Grimsby,” he said, “we did not go fishing as supposed, but made straight for Dover, where we put the engineer ashore because he was becoming restless. The engines broke down soon after we left Calais. We managed to patch them up, but they broke down again and we were forced to use sail. The vessel called at Luges, Spain, where we bought a sixpenny atlas, with the aid of which we managed to reach Vigo. We then went to Corcubion, where we stayed fifteen days and had a grand time. The maritime authorities lent us money and we slept all day and spent the nights in cafes. “We then struck some uninhabited islands and stayed on one for three days mending sails, after which we hugged the African coast to Cape Blanco, where we renewed the provisions, but these were all stolen, also part of the vessel's equipment, while we were ashore. We tried to get more food at Port Etienne, but were unable to do so because we had no money. All we had aboard before calling at Dakar was three bottles of water, a little wine, and a tin of milk for five men. I am through with adventures and am glad to be out of it.” Stone is reported to have told the Dakar port officials that the crew intended to sell the vessel and divide the money. It is understood that a majority of the underwriters have agreed to settle the claim for £3600 for the total loss of the Girl Pat, as the expenses of the attempt to recover her are mounting up and the legal process at any port to which she puts in will necessarily be slow and expensive. If she is recovered before settlement of the claim, the owners will take possession, otherwise she will be sold, the proceeds going to the underwriters as salvage. (Captain Kidd's treasure is still a subject of speculation, myth, and occasional confident assertion by possessors of “clues.” About £14,000i is stated to have been recovered from his ship and from the east end of Long Island, U.S.A., but the statements about its size have been held by some to be “palpably exaggerated.” In later years, though the interest in treasure trove has grown, there has been no further discovery. It was reported from London some days ago that the object of the missing trawler was to search for Kidd's hoard in the Salvage Islands. A resident of Grimsby reported that Captain Osborne was in possession of rough charts of the location of the treasure and that he showed curiosity about it and hinted at the possibility of making a search).