YACHT SWAMPED

Wanganui Chronicle, 28 January 1948, Page 7

YACHT SWAMPED

CREW PICKED UP BY THE MATANGI Wellington, Jan. 2i. Three Wellington yachtsmen—B. Barnett, B. Jarvis and J. Gregory—were picked up shortly after 4 o'clock this morning by the Matangi off Karori Light, when they had signalled the ferry that their yacht Rawene was derelict and they had been in difficulties for several hours. The, Rawene, owned by Barnett left Pelorous Sound yesterday morning for Wellington, but encountered light winds and adverse currents. At 10 o’clock last night the three yachtsmen saw the lights of the Tamahine while they were still becalmed near Wellington Heads. A howling gale later developed, and with the Rawene tossing madly in a tidal rip off Sinclair Head, the men’s efforts to secure the sails were fruitless and they were blown out and torn to sheds. Out of control and rolling violently in the rip, the yacht’s forestay carried away, and shortly after the boom broke, making the craft derelict. A jury jib was hoisted, and with the aid of an auxiliary engine good progress was being made when water put the engine out of action. The yacht was carried by the tide away from Island Bay around Sinclair Head and into the tidal rip again. S.O.S. signals were sent with a light to the Matangi, which was en route from Nelson to Wellington. The master of the Matangi considered it impracticable to tow the yacht, as it had been badly crushed against the ferry’s side. The men were embarked with some difficulty and the Rawene was left floating in a battered condition. Barnett today paid a tribute to the the way in which they handled the he way in which they handled the ferry to come alongside and pick them up. He considered the Rawene, which is a 24 foot cutter-rigged auxiliary yacht, was badly damaged and would sink. The Marine Department and the Harbour Board had been notified.