ROUGH TASMAN CROSSING.

Chronicle (Levin), 25 June 1947, Page 2

ROUGH TASMAN CROSSING.

AUCKLAND, June 24. Her poop deck showihg signs of damage from seas which crashed over her olf the Australian coast, the Union Company freighter Kairanga arrived ..t Auckland after the worst Tasman crossing for several years. At times during the voyage the wind rose to 70 miles an hour and on several occasions the vessel was swept by mountainous seas which were estimated to be. over 30ft.. high. Leaving Adelaide for Auckland on June 14 with a full cargo of gypsum and salt, the Kairanga was dogged by rough following weather from her lisrt day out. Winds of hurricane force were registered off Wilson's promontory, the southernmost point of the Australian mainland, during the fourth day of the voyage and- a huge sea breaking over the vessel ;s stern smashed the teak steering wheels of the emergency steering gear to match wood, carried away the binnacle and sounding machine bolted to the deck, and flooded the quarters below deeks. A scupper plate, a piece' of sheet iron about a quarter of an inch thick, which was leauing against oue of the ship 's companionways, was buckled like a sheet of tin by the force of the water. On the evening of the following da-y when high winds were still being experienced, another following sea swept the vessel from stern to stem and momentarily pressed her down under a weight of hundreds of tons of water. Although the sea was larger than the oue on the previous day, no damage was done to the equipment on the deeks. Ihe westerly weather continued to follow the Kairanga for the next three days and it was not until the vessel was two days from Auckland that it moderated to any degree.