BURNT CARNEGIE

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 138, 7 December 1929, Page 10

BURNT CARNEGIE

EXPERIENCES ON BOARD

TRIBUTE TO COMMANDER

Probably few landsmen realise the great importance to navigation tho world over of the yacht Carnegie, whicli was recently destroyed by fire in the harbour at Apia. In Christchurch at the present time is Mr. Jasper Sowell, who was a member of the crew of the Carnegie on her voyage from Lyttelton to the Antarctic in 1915. Speaking to a Christchurch "Press" reporter ho gave many interesting dotails about the Carnegie, and paid a high tribute to Captain Ault, who was fatally injured by the explosion which destroyed her. "Captain Ault," ho said, "was more than captain. He was in supreme command of the ship and gave-his orders to a sailing master, Mr. Dorau. The yacht put up a remarkable performance in its long, cold journey, traversing 17,000 miles in four months two days. One of the most curious features of the yacht was that it was completely non-magnetic, and did not contain a particle of steel. The stays were of drawn bronze, and even the goosenecks on the yards were of bronze. The three- anchors also, each weighing two tons, were of bronze, and instead of an anchor chain a speeially-construetd rope was employed. The stoves were of copper, and even the engines were made of non-magnetic material, such as brass, aluminum, silver, bronze, gold, and platinum. The only steel on the ship was the knives and forks used by the men, and the engineers' tools, and when observations were being taken, these wore placed in a specially-constructed box and floated two miles astern on a line. WORK IN THE ANTARCTIC. "The ship's company was mostly interested in survey work," said Mr. Sewell, "but several scientific experiments were conducted on the voyage, such as the determination of electrical activity in salt water and in the atmosphere, the finest of German instruments being used. The first port of call was South Georgia and then tho Barrier was visited. The trip was made in summer and daylight prevailed all the time. We passed what is now Byrd's base, the Bay of Whales, a place where slush ice abounds. So cold was it there that the spray froze as it dropped on the- decks. South Georgia, Shaekleton 's base, is the largest whaling station in the world, and Shaekleton's horses were still there, running wild. On the journey we passed an iceberg which must have been an outsize, for its measurements were 60,0 ft high and 12 miles by 14. "The Carnegie was the only ship to sail in that part of the world since the Erebus and the Terror, 140 years ago. Those ships reported three islands which were placed on the chart. One was Nimrod Island, the second Lindsay Island, and the third Bouvet Island. The Carnegie's observers found that Nimrod Island was not there, but the other two wera as marked. The speed of the currents in this part of the globe is amazing, for, although no ship had been there for 140 years, we passed the body of a seaman, clad in oilskins, and floating on the surface of the water. A WELL-LOVED CAPTAIN. "Captain Ault was a young-looking man, smart, and of few words. He was a man beloved by the whole of his crew. He possessed great determination and character, and always kept his word. It will serve to show you his outstanding characteristics when I tell you that on our return to Lyttelton, he gave me, the cabin boy, a cordial invitation for my mother to come aboard the ship, and attend the home-coming banquet. When my mother arrived she was saluted, reported, and conducted personally over the ship by Captain Ault. He was a man who would even make his living quarters uncomfortable if, by doing so, he could add to the comfort of his men. His cabin, magnificently furnished, was always open to the crew. SEVERAL TRAGEDIES. "The Carnegie could tell of several tragedies," said Mr. Sewell. "One of its parties went across Patagonia, and five years later a native brought a mesage, ' Good-bye boys, we're done.' With the exception of that note, the party was never heard of again. On the day that we saw the body floating in the water each man wrote a letter home. They were collected, together with postage fees, and placed in a small toy boat—unsinkable—with a request that the finder should forward them to the Carnegie Institute, Washington. The purpose was to test the current, and we hoped that by that means the letters would almost automatically post themselves. So far we have seen nothing of them. "The Carnegie cost as much to build and fit as a man-of-war, and she was of such importance that she controlled the compasses of every ship in the world. Unless she is quickly replaced a big difference will be made to navigation in all parts of the globe. "The last I saw of Captain Ault was at San Eranicsco, where he saw personally that I was safely bound for home. He was a father to each and every one of his men."