PACIFIC ISLANDS.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 18891, 5 January 1927, Page 6

PACIFIC ISLANDS.

ZANE GREY'S CRUISE. Ml FISHING AND SCIENCE. x ft >|> [TBS PRESS Special BorrlM.) AUCKLAND, January 4. 3 Members of the Zane "fi Baker sporting and scientific expedi- "«' tion aro beginning to assemble in A^ Auckland in readiness for the start & of the cruise in a fortnight's time. f,js There arrived by the Marama from r || Sydney to-day Mr C. Alma Baker, the t friend of Zane Grey and partner in "I the expedition, who was associated fo*f tvith the novelist in his deep-sea fish- \f ing experiences in New Zealand last %. year, and .to whom Mr Zane V Grev hits dedicated his book, V"Tales of the Angler's El Dorado: *3 New Zealand." Mr Baker left \i% the United States four months ago $, in order to look after his rubber and tL tin interests in the Federated Malay States, and he is now awaiting the ar- % rival of Mr Zane Grey and the remain. K der of the party, who are en rfate & from San Francisco by the Talitj, * which is due at Wellington on January "* i7tu. :< Acocmpanying Mr Zane Grey is bis 'j brother, Mr R. C. Gray. the novelist's * 17-year-old son, who accompanied his ; father on a fishing expedition in the ? Caribbean £ea two years ago, and Cap- " tain Laurie D. Mitchell, who was at -> Russell with Mr Zane Grey last year. " A welcome sight for Mr Baker this / morning was the schooner Fisherman, from San Pedro, lying at her moot-inn a short distance from where tot *'* Marama anchored. The Vessel will ? take the expsditi6n to the Bay of ij Islands and subsequently on a fishing v ~» and scientific cruise to the South Sea f Islands, including the Kermadeos, i Cook Group, and others waters as far r east as Pitcairn. The voyage wijl be * > in the nature of a pioneering expedt. C tion. for the islands of the Paeiijo <j v have never been exploited by a deep. , 7 sea angler, in spite of the knowledge „ V that those waters are heavily stocked with great sporting fish. Report* toll J t of sailfish running up to 19 and 20 v ' feet in length, while tuna, broadbi"., \i and mako shark, and ordinary inarhn '.f swordfish, abound in considerable wan- \ Scientific Work. 3^ In order that the expedition may< zM> take on a scientific value, it ia hopeQ, to secure the services of two from American universities, who # wjtt t 'g* be occupied during the voyage with a 4 .&& detailed study of ocean currents and. jm other marine phenomena, particulajrly rfp| with a view to mapping the warm cßN'Sgi rents likely to be infested with sporfci£M| ing fish, on account of the abtmffane»iS|| of feed. It is hoped in this w »7 Jli discover the best fishing grpqndi iftjfHjj tiie Pacific and amass data which be of value to deep-sea anglers th*||ii world over. ' -^E According to present plans. ttelfflraL Fisherman will leave Auckland, its full complement of fishing scientists, photographers, and n gators, about January 20th. Tw,J||| Pacific cruise will occupy the«*PwK J|| tion four or five months, and the Darty\V||| expects to be back in America by tW«§§ end of August. | $|