COMMANDER BYRD’S EXPEDITION

Hokitika Guardian, 8 October 1928, Page 2

COMMANDER BYRD’S EXPEDITION

ASSISTANCE FROM THE C. A. LARSEN. • DUNEDIN. October u. Under square-rig and steam tin* t.itv o New York, the base ship ol tin Byrd Antarctic Expedition, is how threading her way across the Pacitfi on route to Port Chalmers where she is due about the end'of’the month. On arrival at Port Chalmers the City o! New York will take aboard provisions already being bought, and equipim-ill necessary for Tong stay in the Polai regions and far the dash to the South RJe by aorplane. She will also earn the- expedition so'uh. the ©soon through the ice barrier to 1 lie Ross Sen probably being the whale factory ehi|C. A. Larsen.

Tie, City- of New York, under Captain C. Frederick Melville, with a crew of £2, is a staunch little ship formerly uv:-d as the mother ship of an A ret if whaling fleet. After being reconditioned at Tromso- far up in the Arctic Circle of Norway the vessel, which was then known as the Samson, win taken to Bergen for final fitting. She is built to withstand crushing and battering by the icefloes. ITer thick side* are buttressed by cross timbers and a ■shearing of greenheart, a slippery aim tough wood off which the ice "ill slide, easily. Amundsen-’s famous i ship the Fram was of about’ 400 tons with ; length overall of about ,128 ft.. but tilt City of New York, although seemingly a midget for the trip, through the ic waters of the Antarctic, is of 010 tons 170 ft. long, 31 ft. beam, qnd 17 ft draught. Under steam she will d*' about eight knots, but she is also equipped with auxiliary sails. ■ Although built in 1890, the City ol New York is still in excellent condition as he would need to be to enrr; tlie in t re-pi rl explorers to the ic-e----ii-oirnd south. She was taken* from Bergen to New York where she wasconverted into an oilhnrner, partlx to prevent- the necessity of shifting coal during the voyage and because also her bunkers would not bold enough coal for the length of time the vessewill be aivav from civilisation. On the afternoon of August 2.5 th. the City of New York dropped down the Hudson on, the first leg of the long journey to the south. Not for’ many months had a square-rigged vessel left New York, and the ship was farewelled bv •ill the ships and tugs .in the harbour. Prom Port Chalmers the City, of New York will head for the Bay of "Whales in the Antarctic where she will be anchored near the main base.

To-morrow is the day set for the departing • of Commander Richard E., Bvrd and twenty more’ members of his party To sftil from Los Angeles Harbour aboard the Norwegian whaling ship, C. A. Larsen. foCPcirt Chalmers. The largest whaling factory ship in the world, the C. A. Larsen, is of 14.800 tons deadweight capacity, anc/

o for the past two summers has operated in the Ross Sea as mother ship and Heating base for the Ross Sea Whaling Company’s fleet of small chasers. The presence of the C. A. Larsen within 10 degrees of the South Pole during the operations of the Byrd expedition for four months'each year will add substantially to the safety factor. The C. A. Carson and her equipment have been made available to Commander L>yrd by -Mr .Magnus Nohow, a famous va. htsman ■ and chief owner of the Ross Sea Whaling Company, who i,s a close personal friend of Commander .Byrd. Taking; aboard same of the equipment of the expedition at Norfolk, Virginia, last month, the C. A. Larson was. sot a course for Los Angeles. whore she was to hunker and take oil stores and Commander Byrd and his party. There will ho little delay in clearing from Port Chalmers on the southward trek as the C. A. Larsen is scheduled to arrive at the advanced base of the Byrd Expedition on the of the .Boss Sea about December loth., stopping on route at Price’s Bay in Patterson’s Inlet, where is located the supply base of the whaling company. At Patterson’s Inlet the New Zealand members of the whaler’s crew will also be taken aboard. From Stewart Island to the Boss Sea the C. A. Larsen will fight her way through the 200 miles of ice surrounding the Antarctic regions. The minimum time for the difficult passage is ten days, but the exceptional power of the C. A. Larsen in crossing the ice bander will pcpve of great value in expediting Commander Bvrd’ schedule.

Recently, a second ship, the Eleanor Bolling, was purchased for the expedition and is now on her way to Port Chalmers, where she will meet the City of New York during the winter months. Both the City of New Tor . and the Eleanor Bolling will return to Dunedin, and at least one or both will go hack into the ice a year hence to bring out the members of the expedition, who will spend the Antarctic night on the Barrier.

In a recent letter to the ‘Dunedin agents. Tap ley and Co., the manager nf the expedition (Mr Richard P. Brophy) stated that about, four or live hundred tons ftf coal would be needed t'> last the expedition over the two ve. rs and mentioned that a large .shipment of foodstuffs had horn sent out from New York by the Port Hunter for Dunedin. Amongst other things on the,Port Hunter are two caterpillar tractors, which are to bo assembled in Dunedin.