A calm at sea.

Manawatu Herald, 9 November 1893, Page 3

A calm at sea.

A voyage in a sailing vessel is pleasant enough if you are not pressed for time, but it is not without its drawbacks. The American ship, Edward O'Brien, recently had an experience which, we fancy, must be almost unique. The ship left Victoria, British Columbia, in December last for London with a large cargo of wheat. Upwards of six months past, and nothing being heard of her, it was feared she was lost, and very heavy premiums were demanded by the underwriters for reinsuring the vessel and cargo. On June 22hd, however, she was sighted by the steamer Galileo in lat. 40.31 long. 26.16, flying signals telling that she was short of food. It appeared that the ship had made a fine run down the Pacific coast and round the Horn, but when near the Equator she had been caught in one of the dreaded calms that prevail in that latitude. For three months she remained within a distance of half a mile from where she first struck the calm, and during that time there was not enough wind to fill even the lightest of her sails. Finally a, small current, probably made by a storm many miles away, appeared and served to send her slowly out of the locality, which threatened at one time to become a

place of death to all on board. On this current the ship drifted for almost another month then a welcome wind carried her back into the

paths, of navigation. When the Clalileo fortunately put in an ap**Jbaranee the water supply of the Edward O'Brien was exhausted, scarcely a pound of food was left on board, and in a few hours more it is stated the crew would have been

beyond help. A storm at sea is bad

enough, but it will be seen tint thei'Cjfcte circumstances in which a oftlmiseven more to be dreaded.