Sudden Southerly Storm

Chronicle (Levin), 21 October 1946, Page 4

Sudden Southerly Storm

— Press Assvciatidn

£y Telegraph

WELLINGTON, -fOct. 20. CUught under tuI'1 sail ou Wellington Harbour by a southerly storm -which : swept down on them with unprecented sudclenness, many Wellington yachtsmeli were lueky to escape with their '• lives this afternoon. Twelve' bo'ats 1 capsized in a few minutes -aud fatalities were at lirst feared bnt speedy rescue opei-ations saved all the crews, some 'oi wliom had to swim for the shore. Three youug pebple at Paremata wlrere another llve boats turned over, had the worst experience of all. They were brought baek safely after their chances of surviv ai looked very slim. Black clouds which began to roll overhead in an incredibly short space of . time, werestlie orly warning the yachtsmen had that they were going to, hadL a busyand disa.s'trous day. The fitif... fierce gust whipped. -down on Wellington Harbour at a velocity of about 70 xnijes an hour. This was their ulid'oitig. They , were soon battli ng to Save their craft some of which were in the water for the first time this season. IVIeteorological obeerVers saw what was coming and, sensing danger to yac-htsriren whom they knew would be attracted out by the sunshine of only an liour before> telepkoned the Harl our Board lookout but 'there was little he could do in the way of signalling, the yachtsnien. Both the Police launch -and Wellington Harbour Board 's pilot launch put out to rescue the yaclitsmen -who were cliUging to : their upturned craft while the wiu°d lashed cutting spray into their faees. After landing three dripping ligures on the end of Clyde Quay wharf, the Police launch set out again and spent some time cruising round the harbour in a search of others who might be in the water. Even small boats equipped only with outboard motors went out to assist. The launches were busy salvaging the capsized yaehts and towing them in after pieking up their crews. Three young people narrowly escap'ed with their lives wheii th'e Z blaSS yacht Kendale capsized on the bar at the eh-tra-nce to Paremata harbour. They wete in great danger close to a reef. Onlookers from the shore, seeing their plight, were despairing of their safety when Mr. T. Dodson, of PlimmertoU, with his son Harry, aged about 15, put out in a diiighy at great personal risk to pick them up. They managed to rescue the trio — Miss Shirley Reinhhrdt, Don Green and Owen Gosling-, all of Plimmerton, after they had been in the water over an hour. Loaded down with five people the dinghy made a perilous trip ba'ck as there was no room to use the oars, but it was manoeuvred to a landing on the heach at Maori Bay. "Tthavo ncver seen a storm come up so suddenly," said a Wellington man who was at Plimmerton. "It gave them tio ehanec. I thought they were done for as the southerly was driving the yacht out between AI ana Island and the shore and they were clinging to the bottom of the boat. The storm seemed to swoop over Mana Island right on top of them and with hail and mountitig seas 1 thought their position was hopeloss. ' ' Three other yaehts besides the Kendale, capsized down Paremata Harbour. -The crews got baek safely in the upper harbour. The Alarm, a first elass 14 footer, was caught as it (was running baek to tlie Club house. It turlied over and its crew swam ashore. The opening ceremony for the season had just been eompleted when the storm struck. The Tauranga class race was about to be started within a few minutes. There was hail six inehes deep on the landing.