TERRIBLE PRIVATIONS.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 2739, 29 May 1924, Page 4

TERRIBLE PRIVATIONS.

WATER-LOGGED SCHOONER,

THRILLING SEA STORY. A thrilling tale of a terrible tight against the elements was told when the four-masted schooner Eric reached Brisbane from Vancouver this week, says a Syndey message. She brought a cargo of 663,000 ft. of Oregon pine, and passed through experiences that leave one wondering how the vessel ever survived the buffeting she received from mountainous seas. The Eric left Vancouver on November 23rd, and encountered fair weather until 32 days out on the voyage. Then she ran into the teeth of a terrific gale, and soon was at the mercy of the elements. The captain and crew stated that it was the worst weather they had ever experienced. For fourteen d’ays the cabins were Hooded, and all that time the crew manned the pumps, their unceasing work making no appreciable differ-

>nco to the encroachment of Ihe

water in the holds. On the fifteenth day the master Capain L. Pedersen, told them to cease a. useless job. By that rime the schooner was waterlogged and they had great difficulty in keeping her head towards IL.nolnlu. Alan had to take their turn at the wheri and so dangerous was the position of the ship that they had to be lashed to the wheel for hours at a time, while the wafer was up to their waists.

And then, during the height of the gale, the seams opened and water poured through the hold into the cabins the partitions bursting and making it impossible for the men and officers to occupy their quarters.

The captain, mates and crew’were forced to carry their belongings to the top of the timber piled on the decks, for it was only there that they could hope for any comfort. Thev kept a lonely vigil for many days and nights, and the mVn described it as a terrible experience, when, some days off Honolulu they sighted the steamer AYilhcbnina. She was apparently too far away to recognise their signals of distress, and passed on without steaming close, as they had hoped. On December 20th an oil-tanker arrived in Honolulu with the news that a schooner, water-logged, was off the island, and a tug was despatched to tow her inside the barhour.

The schooner eventually readied the haven, and the men were able to get a dry bed for the first time in many weeks. The overhaul lasted three months, after which she resumed her run to Brisbane. Singularly enough the last leg of the journey was made in ideal weather conditions, the run occupying 46 days.