KARAMU IN A HURRICANE

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2672, 19 January 1916, Page 6

KARAMU IN A HURRICANE

TRYING TIME FOR THE CREW. By Telegraph.—Press Association. Auckland, January 18. The steamer Raramu arrived at Auckland this morning with an exciting story of her experiences during a hurricane, which she met on her way from Westport to Suva. Tho Karimu left Westport- on December 3, and when_ 220 miles due south of Capo Washington tho vessel had to heave-to in an easterly gale, and remained hove-to for 36 hours. It was then that the hurricane came in full force, On Sunday, December 5, the centre of the trouble passed the ship, after five hours of exceptionally terrific weather. The crew of the Karamu state that never in their experience of the sea have they been in such a storm. For hours the ship was tossed about, sometimes in chasms of water with gigantic waves walling her in,i._while in the next, minute the ship was towering on the crest of a mountain of boiling sea. The stokehold was knee-deep in water, and everything movablo ; was flung across the cabins. Tho ladder way was snapped in two by the force of a large sea, but beyond tliis and a few insignificant mishap's tho vessel escaped without damage. A fireman on watch was to go off at midnight, but when he stopped on to the deck to go forward a heavy wave swopt him back, and. after several efforts to make for his cabin ho gave up the attempf, anil remained on watch until 4 o'clock in the morning. . It was impossible during the fiercest period of the hurricane to go on deck, and even during the abatement of the storm men walked the deck with water somotimes up to their necks. One of the firemen told of how he had been blown by tho extreme lotco of the wind until it was impossible ~ for him to stand' up.