WAHINE'S ROUGE PASSAGE.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 19171, 30 November 1927, Page 7

WAHINE'S ROUGE PASSAGE.

TOSSED BY GALE. With a thick coating of salt on her funnel tops where spray had been flung in sheets as she fought her way across Cook Strait, in the teeth of a southerly gale, the ferry steamer Wahine arrived at Lyttelton at 9.25 yesterday morning, nearly three hours behind her usual time. It was the fiercest gale the Wahine has experienced for a long time. Crossing the Strait the ship was tossed about in all directions, shipping seas continually. The passengers, particularly in the steerage, had a very rough time of it. Those who were unfortunate enough to have berths near the stern were also shaken by the racing of the screws when they lifted out of the water. There were about 350 passengers on board, and even some of the more experienced travellers succumbed to seasickness. The departure, of the Invercargill express was delayed until 10.15 a.m. to enable passengers by the ferry to connect. The letter portion of the southern mail was also sent by the express. The Wahine was to have docked yesterday morning for cleaning and painting but missed the tide. She is now to dock on December 13th.