IN A RACING GALE

New Zealand Times, Volume XLVI, Issue 10606, 3 June 1920, Page 5

IN A RACING GALE

AN EVENTFUL VOYAGE TRYING EXPERIENCES ON STEAMER WAITOMO. SEAMANSHIP AVERTS DISASTER. PEB PBESS ASSOCIATION'. CHRISTCHURCH, June 2. An exciting story of a struggle with the great gale of last week was told on tho arrival of the Union Company’s cargo steamer Waitomo at Lyttelton to-day.

Tho Waitomo left Geelong on Monday, May 24th, and had line weather until Wednesday, when the wind commenced to blow from tho south-west. On Thursday the wind had increased 'Co a -fierce gale from tho south-south-west, and was accompanied by heavy seas. At midnight the battens on No. 2 hatch broke adrift, and wore replaced with considerable difficulty owing to the amount of water which was being shipped. At 2.3 d a.m. on Eriday a mishap occurred which, in tho gale then- raging, might easily have resulted m disaster. A steering chain broke, and immediately the vessel fell away in the trough of the sea. Alf hands were ordered aft to assist in securing and lashing down th<* rudder quadrant, which was threshing madly to and fro, with the action of the waves.

•After considerable difficulty, the Quadrant was made find, and an attempt was then made to ship the hand-steering gear. AVhile this operation was in process, the lashings on the quadrant carried away, and the connecting shaft to the hand-steering gear also broke. After that there was only one course open—to repair the broken chain and resume steering by steam; find for three hours, in pitch darkness, peveral of the deck and engineer officers struggled to splice the chain with a piece of steel hawser. All this time the tcssc! was rolling heavily in the trough and shipping tremendous seas at every moment. The men worked waist deep in water, and frequently had to drop their tools and hang on when waves broke aboard. The repair was finally completed, and the vessel was got under way again.

On Saturday morning, at 5.30, a most unusual occurrence happened. The heavy seas pounding on the vessel canned >'o. 2 hatch to again burst open, and by some freak of chance one o? the battens was hurled in the air and landed across two horizontal derricks Bft above the hatchway. It was some time before the batten was found. The weather eased considerably after noon on Sunday, and Monday was fine. The AVaitomo made Cook Strait on Tuesday morning, and had @ ffahr mn down to Lyttelton. In all, ■the vessel travelled 700 miles with a patched-up rudder chain, nearly five hundred of which was through a raging gale, when the chain had to be nursed with the greatest care. The feat reflects great credit on the officers ond seamen concerned.