THREE DAYS MAROONED.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVIII, Issue 49, 26 January 1938, Page 10

THREE DAYS MAROONED.

PARTY ON KAPITI. MECHANICS MILK COWS. Marooned for three days on Kapiti Island by a storm which broke during the week-end, a party of Palmerston North fishermen returned home at noon to-day after reaching the mainland at Paraparaumu this morning. There were seven adults and one child in the party, which consisted of Mr and Mrs W. Williamson and their 19 months’ old child, Miss T. Sievert, and Messrs T. Green, L. Crawford, H. Maugham, and C. Brodie. Relating their experiences to the “Standard” to-day, Messrs Green and Williamson stated that they left Palmerston North on their fishing expedition on Saturday and reached the north end of Kapiti Island from Paraparaunni that morning, intending to spend the week-end fishing and staying the night on Kapiti Island, and to return on Sunday night. Fishing was good on Saturday, and at 8.30 a.m. on Sunday the 35 foot launch used by the party, and owned by Mr K. Webber, who resides on the island, went across to Paraparaumu. While there, its owner could see that a heavy southerly was blowing up. He realised that it might be impossible to land again on Kapiti Island, and foresaw that the party remaining there would be marooned for several days. Mr B. Christensen, who had been with them, had accompanied Mr Webber to the mainland on the launch. Inside of an hour, at about 11.30 a.in., a strong wind was blowing between Kapiti Island and the mainland, and heavy seas were running. It was impossible to land stores for the party, but, despite a bad buffeting, Mr Webber took his launch to within 200 yards of the island, where he signalled that he could not land, that he was going round to a cove to shelter in the meantime, and asked the marooned party to milk his cows. That night a very severe gale blew and though fires were lit, it was freezing cold in the wliaies where the party sheltered in the darkness.

There was no sign on Monday morning of the gale abating, tobacco and food were running out, and the party, who had already consumed the fish caught on Saturday, went fishing again. They had no luck, and were thoroughly drenched. They obtained some flour from Mr Webber’s house, and Mrs Williamson fried a few scones, the child being fed on these, a few rusks, and milk. With still no signs of the weather ameliorating, the party had no luck again fishing on Monday afternoon, so Mr Williamson himself tried a hand at cooking. He succeeded in making a scone loaf with a substantial crust, hut the party ate it, and shivered again in the wharcs all Monday night. There was a slight improvement in the weather yesterday morning, and the launch appeared in sight round a corner, a dinghy put off, and though it was rather rough, the men of the marooned party were on board by 12.30 p.m. They caught some fish, cooked them on the exhaust pipe of the engine, and hungrily ate them. Catching another lot for the women, who had remained on Kapiti Island, they found it was starting to blow heavily again, and it was 7 p.m. before they could land on Kapiti from the dinghy. It was still too rough to take the women off, and the party remained overnight until all were able to leave at 9 a.m. to-day from the mainland, subsequently coming to Palmerston North.

Every one of the men marooned on the island is a mechanic by occupation, -but they succeeded in milking tho cows without adventitious aid as they explained, though they had a little difficulty at times in getting the animals into position. They warmly praised the seamanship of Mr Webber in handling his launch, and the hospitality he had shown them.