“PAMIR” SOON TO LEAVE FOR NEW ZEALAND

Grey River Argus, 5 April 1948, Page 7

“PAMIR” SOON TO LEAVE FOR NEW ZEALAND

No single event linked with New Zealand has attracted so much attention from the British press and public in recent years as the arrival and subsequent stay in British waters of the four-master barque “Pamir,” which carries several West. Coasters. Between December 31 and January 36, London press cutting agencies collected 500 clippings dealing with the “Pamir.” These ranged from single paragraphs to double-page illustrated magazine articles. The ship has been given civic welcomes, the subject of broadcasts by the 8.8. C. and has been televised and photographed for all the cinema newsreels. The “Pamir” has been visited by Royalty, Cabinet Ministers and tens of thousands of the general public. DOCK DWELLERS’ INTEREST.

The London dock dwellers have assumed an almost proprietary interest in her tall masts and spars where they rise beyond the lines of tenements separating Commercial Road and Whitechapel from Thames. No signposts “to the ‘Pamir’ ” have been erected because none arc needed. Mention the “Pamir” in Commercial Road, and dozens of willing guides are immediately available. The master of the “Pamir,” Captain H. S. Collier, and bis wife, have met only one man during their stay who had not heard of their ship. Seafaring men have taken a close interest in the barque. The British marine trade press has devoted a great deal of space to descriptions of her construction, rigging, history and early voyages. Over 1,000 British citizens have already applied to the master for employment on the voyage back to New Zealand. The real attraction, as most of them frankly admit, is New Zealand itself. Among them have been company directors, Boy Scouts and even a woman with four children who said she was quite prepared to work her passage in return for a chance to take her family to the Dominion. SOCIAL ROUNDS. Captain and Mrs. Collier have found that the fame of their ship has meant a social round which has made considerable demands upon their time. They have entertained ’The Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sir Stafford Cripps, and the Minister of Food, Mr. John Strachey, all of whom have visited the barque. They have been interviewed by innumerable newspapers and have been the guests of Lloyd’s in the famous Captain’s Room. A special exception was necessary in order to admit. Mrs. Collier, because the room is reserved for male company only. The London and Poplar Rotary Clubs, the London Press Club, the Thames Yacht Club and many other bodies have entertained them. THE HOMEWARD VOYAGE.

The “Pamir” will probably finish loading in the Thames immediately after Easter and will then sail for Antwerp. There she will complete her cargo by loading basic slag. On her homeward voyage the “Pamir” will stand clear of the Bay of Biscay and follow a westerly course until she picks up the north-east trades. These should carry her across the equator between longitude 28 and 31 west until she meets the south-east trades. These will carry her down the coast of Africa to about latitude 25 south, where she is likely to contend with variable winds until she encounters westerlies off the Cape of Good Hope. From the Cape she will set a course to the south of Australia. If the winds are favourable she may shorten the passage by sailing through Bass Strait between Tasmania and the mainland. If they are not, site will probaly run well to the south below latitude 49 and make her first landfall at some point on the South Island coast. This route is a little longer than the 13,363 miles the barque covered on the voyage to Britain round Cape Horn. The average time for it, as Quoted hv the Sailing Directions, is 80 to 100 days. The voyage from Wellington to the North Foreland was made in 80 days, five hours.