MANIAC IN LIFEBOAT

Waipukurau Press, Volume XXIX, Issue 82, 3 April 1934, Page 3

MANIAC IN LIFEBOAT

GRIM TIGHT IN TERRIFIC SEAS JOHANNESBURG, February 22. A struggle with a temporarily demented man in a lifeboat threatened by mountainous seas is described in a letter written to a relative in Johannesburg by a sailor who took part in a thrilling rescue in the Indian Ocean. After describing how his ship, the Dahlia, rushed to answer an S.O.S. from the island of Agalega, 1250 miles from Mombasa, where the British coastal steamer Wajao (827 tons) had been wrecked on a reef, the sailor continued: ‘‘Early in the morning there was a heavy wind and the seas were mountains high—and I don’t mean perhaps. We lowered away one of our lifeboats to pick up the crew and passengers of the stranded vessel—46 in all, including two women and four children.

“From seven in the morning until five in the afternoon we battled with the sea, and we had only a quarter of a mile to pull from the ship. Thefourth boat load was the worst. I shall never forget it. We had ten people in it, and after being nearly swamped a dozen times one of the crewj a shell-shocked man, lost his

nerve and behaved like a madman. “The boat was being tossed about like a shell, and three of us had to seize him and hold him down. He was screaming all the time at the top of his voice. Eventually, after a nightmare trip, we came alongside and managed to lash him to a winch and heave him up with a windlass. The boat’s crew were severely bruised, due to the boat being tossed abous but luckily there were no casualties.’’