PLAYTHING OF THE STORM.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 820, 18 May 1910, Page 7

PLAYTHING OF THE STORM.

7 FROM ENGLAND TO WELLINGTON. An unusually long voyage from England to the Dominion was brought to a yesterday, when the barque Marjory Glen arrived from Liverpool with a cargo of general merchandise for Wei-, Lington'and-Dutiodin. On Sunday evening the vessel was reported off the Heads, but she was unable to approach until lat© on Monday night. Sua beat up. through the entrance during the heavy downpour of rain, and finally anchored at midnight after a voy-ago that had been a succession of violent storms almost from the time she left Liverpool. During the prolonged voyage some members of the crew v;ere laid aside with sickness, and the barque did not escape damage. When she berthed yesterday she boro the appearance of having received a rough handling by the elements. As far back as Dccciwber.il, the Marjory Glen left Liverpool for Wellington. and on the fifth day out a violent south-east gale was encountered, and lasted for 4 days. Tremendous seas broke over'the .vessel during that period, and one furious gust of wind tore away the foresail. Two days of moderate weather followed, and then the barque ran into a second gale, the violence of which exceeded the first. On December 2\ a brass cap . was broken olf one of the fresh-water fanks, letting sen-water iu, and on the following day a mountainous sea hurled the vessel on her beam-ends, and the crew had a very anxious time l>cfore she righted. Some of the cargo in the fore and aft hatches shifted. 'The work of righting this made life more streuuous still. .Eventually the weather moderated considerably. The Equator was crossed on January 17, and fair progress was made during i tho next three weeks, but on reaching lat. 32deg. S. a southerly gale arose, and hampered tho vessel's progress. For three days the sea assumed the appearance of u boiling cauldron, and the decks were continually Hooded with water. More of the ship's canvas was carried, away, and, worse still, the water-tanks were by this time all admitting saltwater. With euch a considerable portion of the voyage yet to 'follow, there was practically no course open but to cull at Cape Town for fresh supplies. After a furthci frying eiperiunce the Marjory Glen mads that port on March 5, and repairs were effected and water supplies,etc., renewed. Running down the easting moderate to fair weather was met with for the first two weeks, but thence onwards the trip was a succession of storms of excessive violence. To make matters more uncomfortable for officers and men fht« temperature was at times extremely low, with hail and rain. At periods of the journey across the Southern Ocean oil bag#. were requisitioned to calm tho troubled waters, and with good effect. The continuous groaning, creaking, and : straining, however, had now started some bolts, and the f'orehold commenced to leak, so that to the arduous task of handling the ship waa added the labori- I ous work of pumping. There were brief, tantalising spells of: moderate weal her, but always gales sue- I seeded, and the barque was fighting her I way . through right up till arrival in port, the voyage ending characteristically in the midst of Monday night's violent | rain-storm. Whether or not the vessel's I cargo ha« been damaged will not be ascertainable until she . is partly discharged. j