TASMAN CROSSING

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 80, Issue 245, 15 October 1937, Page 8

TASMAN CROSSING

AWATEA’S RECORD WILL IT BE BROKEN? It is apparently the opinion of Captain Davey that the record put up by his ship from Auckland to Sydney at the beginning of this month will stand for an indefinite time.

This impression is contained in a t letter received from an Auckland, woman who was on board when the Union Company’s ocean racer made her record-breaking passage. Writing in the earlier stages of the voyage, she says: “This trip is wonderful. The captain told us this morning that the Awatea is breaking her own record —best trip he has ever had —no boat like it, he says, and the engines marvellous. They time the trip from entrance to harbour to entrance, and we are expected to be in Sydney Harbour on Sunday night —nearly 70U miles a day! It is beautifully calm and all sorts of games are going on—sitting in the lounge you’d never think she was going so quickly.” Later, she writes: The trip was fine across. Fancy leaving Auckland at 5 p.m. Friday and in Sydney Harbour Sunday at 11 p.m. At luncheon on Sunday we had two speeches, the folk stopped eating and the stewards stopped waiting. The captain asked the, different officers to stand, engineers, two navigators, etc., while each one, got his due for his share in achieving such a record trip. He said it would i not be again in his lifetime —nor anyone else’s —so it was evidently wonderful. Now they are going to quieten down and keep just the normal running. The letter goes on to say: We had service in the lounge on Sunday morning. The orchestra played the hymns and the captain took the service. In the afternoon the Hungarians gave us a table-tennis exhibition —what a fast game, too. Then at night we had pictures. The pictures had just finished when all hands went on to the top deck to set up a fresh standard of fast ocean lights all over the ship and a very powerful searchlight—a very fine sight.” As the Matson liners do not at present appear to be interested in record-breaking—they are concerned only in keeping as close as possible to a fixed schedule —lhe Awatea’s record is likely to stand for some time, unless one of the speedy luxury liners, scheduled to visit New Zealand this summer, such as the Bremen, is tempted to set up a fresh standard of fast ocean travel.