Gisborne Boy Writes Of Great Heat And Cold On Pamir’s Voyage

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 12, Issue 15, 23 January 1948, Page 5

Gisborne Boy Writes Of Great Heat And Cold On Pamir’s Voyage

Periods of icy cold, with snow lying on the deck as Cape Horn was approached, and then about three weeks in the tropics, where only shorts were worn, were experienced by the crew of the barque Pamir on her voyage from New Zealand to England, according to a letter from a member of the crew, Randal Clare, son of Mr and Mrs R. G. Clare, Gisborne. Between • Wellington and Cape Horn was the coldest portion of the journey, snow falling frequently, while, owing to bad weather, - the vessel was hove-to under lower topsails for five days. Even this sail had to be shortened down each night owing to the danger of floating ice, while one iceberg was sighted. The notorious Cape Horn was rounded on a lovely clear day, although the deck was covered with snow.

The vessel appeared to fly up the Atlantic, according to the writer, and it seemed no time until the Equator was reached, where 16 of the crew who had not crossed the

Line previously were initiated into the rites of the sea by Father Neptune. Everyone finished up covered with fish oil and paint. At various stages of the journey the Pamir was clocking 12 knots and for one period she did 14 knots for four hours. Off Ireland she was becalmed for five days and this was a particularly gloomy portion of the voyage, the sun not being sighted for seven days. Day did not break until 9 a.m. and it was dark again by 4 p.m., as well as being bitterly cold. Three times during the voyage the call came for all hands on deck and the full crew turned out to assist with the sails. “On a cold night that is when you appreciate your bunk,” writes Mr Clare. “You are never in it for more than three and a half hours at a time, working four on deck and four hours below.” I The concluding portion of the letter received by Mr and Mrs Clare deals with the arrival of Pamir in the Thames. “Well v after 80 days we are here. What a smoky unhealthy place this is.”