YACHTING FEAT

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 153, 2 December 1938, Page 13

YACHTING FEAT

CALMS AND STORM

ROVER'S VOYAGE

AUCKLAND TO WELLINGTON

The small sloop Rover, probably the smallest yacht to make the passage from Auckland to Wellington via the East Coast, arrived in the Boat Harbour early this morning. The Rover was becalmed on several occasions, once for the better part of two days, and struck really rough weather only a few miles off Wellington Heads. Leaving Auckland on November 23, the Rover was taken in tow to Coromandel Peninsula by a fishing boat, and she put in to Pork Charles where the night was spent. At 4 o'clock next morning she left Por,t Charles with a light head wind, and passed inside the Mercuries. Becalmed the following night off White Island, she reached the Aldermans at about 8 p.m. Then she had a good northerly which carried her past Hicks Bay, but off Tokomaru Bay she was becalmed. She drifted to off Gisborne. Nearing Mania Peninsula the weather came up fresh from the south-east, and looked like being pretty dirty, and as there was little sense in beating into it, the Rover put back for Gisborne. On Saturday night, before entering Gisborne, she was struck by a big sea that filled the leader and split it, completely ruining it. Lying on and off port that night, next morning she wan conned in from the cross-trees. Leaving Gisborn^ on Sunday morning, the Rover encountered a fresh north-east breeze, and did 150 miles right down to Cape Turnagain, going inside Pollard Island, the best day's run of the trip. Just off Turnagain, the wind failed once more. The crew had made a spinnaker boom out of oars and plank and while improvising this a member of the crew fell overboard. A RARE FISH. Off Turnagain, the crew caught an albicore, a rather rare fish, with un- I usual side fins. They caught plenty of | fish during the trip, only having to put' the line overside whenever they wanted them. Kahawai and barracuda were most plentiful, and they saw some large shoals. From Turnagain the yacht drifted for practically two days. While fishing near Palliser Light the crew signalled the lightkeeper, and asked him to report them. It was rather amusing. They exchanged greetings and said good-bye, but they were still there the next morning. In: this part of the trip a shark robbed them of some fish. They had two kahawai and two barracuda hanging over the side, and the shark got them. Not long before they sighted the shark swimming round while they were in swimming. Continuing to drift, the Rover got a light south-easterly breeze off Turakirae. Here a bad tide rip was experienced, and shortly afterwards it began to blow so hard that sail had to be shortened. It was here that the Rover behaved well under foresail alone, only one big sea breaking over her, putting about six inches of water on the floor of the cabin and damaging I the crockery. She set in for the Heads eventually, beating up the harbour under sail and engine. SKIPPER PLEASED. "I was very pleased with the way the Rover behaved," said the skipper, Mr. D. Wellington. "She is of V-bot-tom design, 26ft overall, and of 9ft 6in beam, really a small boat, but particularly good to windward in a breeze. During a severe blow for two hours she actually went to weather with foresail alone. At no time during the trip did she give us the slightest anxiety." The Rover had been purchased in Auckland by Mr. W. Buckland, of Wellington, and Mr. D. Wellington, a member of the Royal Akarana Club, was commissioned to bring her down the coast. Mr. Wellington has for some years been ocean cruising, having sailed a 24-foot boat, the Roxane, from Auckland to Australia. Other trips have been made by him in the veteran ocean cruiser Ngataki, of Auckland. Eighteen months ago Mr v Wellington purchased the ketch Seaward, late of Wellington, and last year cruised as far as the Great Barrier (Australia), going on to the New Hebrides and New Caledonia. The Rover's crew consisted of Mr. lA. H. Millburn, of Auckland, a member of the Devonport Club, who was aboard the ill-fated Yvonne when she was wrecked off Coromandel and when the seventy-two-year-old skipper was lost, and Mr. C. Wilson and Mr. D. Ashton, members of the crew of the Land's End, the South African yacht that is now, making a world cruise, and is at present lying in Auckland, from which port she leaves on December 15 in continuation of her voyage north through the Pacific Group. The crew intend to spend a few days in Wellington.