THE WARATAH.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 600, 31 August 1909, Page 5

THE WARATAH.

LONG DRIFTS IN THE SAME WATERS. 1 CURRENT DEVIATION. REPORT FROM STEAMER MADURA. (By Telegraph.—Press Association.—Out>»rlirlit.l . London, August 29. . With reference to tho case of tho overdue linor Waratali, and tho possibility of. her being still:, afloat, a ' correspondent ..recalls, tho resouo of tho; Dutoh barquo Dordrecht, which was missing for several wcoks off tho ooast of South .Africa in 1884. Tho position of tho Dordreoht, tho correspondent says, was just as. hard to locato as-is tho \Var,it.ih's. . • Adolalde, August 30. Tho steamer - Ayrshire,'..which has arrived liero from Capa Town, reports that she kept a look-out for tho missing steamer Waratih, but saw no traco of her. ? - Porth, August 30. An officer of the steamer Madura, which has arrived hero -from Delagoa Bay, states that-tho east-northeast current had. taken an extraordinary southerly set when, tho Madura was in those parts. . With tho. strong northerly: .winds, prevailing at .times,- he .bei lieves that-- the Waratah, if disabled, : was ' drifting southwards, and ■ would now be makingl towards- Australia in a very southerly, latitude. . ' v" ADRIFf FOR 103 DAYS. OPTIMISM OF A WAIICATO OFFICER. • Mr; Ji A. P.'Tut-nbnll, who was- sccond officer on the steamer Waikato wtten she was adrift i for 103 days in the same sea as the. Waratah-is supposed' to be, and. who ifanow a. resident of Tasmania, supplies to Australian. papers tho following 'information:— /. . ii' "Knowing-the< great anxiety now felt in the Commonwealth '. regarding the fate of the steamer. Waratah; I thought that perhaps my own experience in the. steamer Waikato's break; dowa m tho samo part of the world, might prove Interesting. Tho Waikato was a steamer of. about 7000 tons,) bound from London to \V ellington (N.Z.). On tho night of June 5,. 1&99, w6 were suddenly.aroused by a .terrjfio,no\se in the- engine-room, tho engines running away' with a loud, buzzing noise; and tho ship vibrat- J ing horribly.;-\When.-'at,;last iteam was"shut oft,and an exattination.made it was found that, the.tail shaft'had snapped in the stern-tube in ,a' ; place Mnipogsiblo'. to i repair, at ,sea,' without outt]'ng:,the stern-tube and tipping the ship, an: ekferiment- pUr'engineers would, not': .risk - in such' a, rough' ahdi,unsettled : part, of the' ocean. "The Waikato carried. a fair amount of 6quare-sail on :the foreina9t, and we wero able itp' rig'a:small..jurymast:aa:;mainmast, but-, it .might-just 'as'.well have-been set'oh aiflagstaff.j as 1 they - \YCro continually -blowing awny. without giving;'the:ship way, and. though several 1 sea : anchors were .tried; inorie; of them,: \ter6. successful in .keeping ■ the ship's head to sea, and she'drifted broadside to sens, rolling: continually;: Luckily for us, she made such a , broad,-smooth wake, going, sideways, .that some of : the force ■■ of tho y was;' was'; reduced before reaching us, but it' -was;anything ,but; pleasant to havo the big Capo rollers tumbling, down on ■Us, looking as if they must roll right.over us. i Howeverj no serious damage, was done., • • "At the time of the breakdown wo were, 120 milca from: Capo Agul'nas, and suggestions yrere made that, a boatisnould be sent to try to make the coast, but tho captain and officers .thought that , it would be jaliiios't. impossible ; to: ;roach \ 'landV agains't -. the.- strongr Agulhae : eu'rrerit that runs'-down tho. South African coast' past Port Natal; East .London, and Algoa Bay. - So theio was:-nothing-for- it .but to' wait in, hope'.'.'ofbe- ' ing picked ,up'.: ; At night wo 'had a huge 'flare- ! up.--firing* rconsisting, of a- largo: iron drum: on the upper deck, with a'coal fire.in it. On.this at .short-intervals oil was throw.n, which blazed | up, lighting up tho sea for miles around. The current took us at -.first in.- a westerly .direction, and then shot' us ;ofl: down 1 sonth' to latitude iO. degrees, tho ship drifting as much as 00, SO, or 100 miles a day. Some days, when we .expeotcd i to ,be" driven north by gales; we would find, in- i stead that we were milc9 south of the previous day's position.asliWellwereifadi:iftu f0r;.52 ,days;i without sightinß*o' sail-,- rolling and wallowing all- the /while between latitudes ,36r degrees -and 40 .degrees-south, gradually working, east, On tho 103 rd i day tho tramp steamer Asloun. hove, insight,: 'ana at:'lastVour'lon'g .wait wasitb.be. ended in longitude fiO east, .latitude 11 south. After, drifting about.2soo ;miles,:and 1800 miles in -ah easterly .direction,' going round in squares,' circles, and -triangles, and crossing our own track. seven times, wo were really in tow at last heading for : Fremantle (W.A.)/ > .: "The Waikato's hull was'.'uhda'maged,: with the exception of the loss of. a good many of our deck .'fittings./' .Oil was., used "with very., good effect when -the ,seas, were extra high. From' our experience' I think that.it.would be ] Almost impossible' for; a . well-found: ship ■ liko the Waratah" to go down, as our packet: was a oheaply-built cargol tramp; and she withstood i over, three months' buffeting from some of the heaviest seas found in' any part of tho world. I It is not improbable that the- Waratah has met i with i similar 1 mishap. I think we! Bpoko' six sailing ships during-our drift,, all having, been i attracted by our flare-up. Judging from-our, experience I feel confident that the Waratah would not idrift, to,the: north, but in.a southeasterly direction, immediately in tho track of steamers and (sailing ships bound to Australia, i In that case there is every probability that she may be heard of before many weeld havo passed." ' • ' Tidings of tho'Pissing Waratah may arrivo bv any of the following steamerss.s. Goslar (due Melbourne to-morrow); s.s. Tasmnnia (duo Fremantle to-day); s.s. Geelong (whioh was tohave arrived ,at Adelaide yesterdny); and tho s.s. Arawa (duo Hobart.on Thursday).-