ROSS SEA WHALING

Hokitika Guardian, 20 November 1928, Page 7

ROSS SEA WHALING

('.A. LARSEN STEAM IXG SOUTH

Shortly after 1 1 ii.m. on Tuesday the 12.009-tnn .Norwegian whaling vessel Larsen weighed niiolior i' Patorsoii Inlet (Stewart Lland), am with the Government nautical expert. Captain Hooper. :i.ml Captain Xeilson on the brilge. steamed out ol the inlet. Tile elopers ITII in behind mu' formed :tn impressive sig! c lor tie. few scattered watchers on ihe shon (viys the Southland Tiniest. 'I lie passage was made without, diliiculty ol any .sort. I lie Star Xf.. taking oil Captain liooper. leaving thence lor Bluff with him and the Customs officers. to the iiceompaiiimoijfc of the sh; ill and penetrating whistles ol the chasers and the deeper note oi the mother ship.

Five hours’ steam will see the fleet encounter tho first of the ice and fo: ih" next 200 miles the C. A. Larsen will have to light her way through the 209 miles of fi-e- surrounding the Antarclie. It is a matter ol conjecture when she will reach the whaling grounds. The minimum time for the ,pa-sago is live days, hut on one occasion five weeks were occupied in penetrating tin* area. Sin* is to return to I*atorso ll Inlet on March 1. and will proceed two days later to Xcw York to discharge her cargo of oil, and thence to Norway for survey and overhaul.

Captain Xeilson told a reporter that he coidrl not say what their prospects wore for i lie season. He could only hope that the whales were there again as he had every reason to anticipate they would and in no diminished minihers. If the whales were there the rest, could lie safety left to the licet. The rival ship, the Xeilson Alonso, lucalready arrived at the grounds, and was reputed to have *41)00 barrels to her credit, Imt lie was dubious ol the verneit y ol Ihe news.

All was hurry and. hustle at Paterson fillet for four days making Huai preparations for the annual voyage o 1 the C.A. Larsen lo the Ross Sea in quest of the whale. I here were innumerable details to Ih* attended to. The filial touches had Lo he put to the live chasers which accompany the mother ship, ami the hundred minor adjustments to he made which only ■experts can handle. The wireless ap para lus had to he rigged up and perfected to the chasers. It would he im exaggeration to say that Ihe busiest man in the busy area ol Ihe inlel for the few days spent there was the ? !(•«•;’ '.tireless operator. liis responsibility is enormous. On his efforts depend (lie very lives of tin* men in tin' chasers as the compass is ol no value in the frozen south owing to magnet it i.ntluenees and direction has to bo arrived at by the wireless directioi lingers. On account of the failure o'

l!:i . r.;p..:ls o;i on-'* of tho small vessels the departure of tho fleet had to he postponed from Monday until '.’uesdav.

Then tlwre wre tlm last of the s.jores to ho taken aboard the C.A. Larsen and the first of the apparatus prepared for tin* despatch ol the quarry. w rk continues until the icc is reached, when all is in readiness for the flensing, cutting' up. boiling down, and the many processes which the blubber, flesh, and hone have to undergo.

This is the Ih r d voyage of the C.A. Larsen to the Ross Sea. In the |!)2'i-27 season she and lmr sister ship the Sir Janies Clark Ross- secured 780 whales, yielding 7Q.300 barrels ol oil. and last year a record was established. I 47)0 whales being brought in by the chasers to produce 124,000 barrels of oil. It will he remembered that on her return voyage she struck Faro Rock at the cut ranee to Pater soil Inlet, ripping her platCs irom bow to midship, and had run on to the beach. This was a most unfortunate blow, as the C.A. Larsen was a full ship carrying 12,000 tons ol whale oil valued at some £300,000. Most of this valuable cargo was saved. 9800 tons being pumped into the oil tanker Spimntger, chartered lor the purpose after Ihe mishap, aim taken to New York. About 10-00 tons wore lost through the tanks being sieve in and tin* Larsen horsell discharged llii* remaining 20(H) tons at Rotterdam.

The vessel was eventually refloated and taken to Port Chalmers, where temporary repairs wen* carried out. She proceeded thence to England, where her builders, Swan T'Tunler aim Wiglmni Richardson, Lid., o( Neweasi le-nu-Tviie, had already prepared plates and iframes for permanent repairs. Ths repair work occupied flic space of five weeks. A thorough overhaul was gone through, and the recommissioned whaler sent to Sandefiord, .Norway, to prepare lor the next trip south. She arrived at Paterson Inlet via Wellington on November !).