A GHOST SHIP

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 578, 8 July 1933, Page 2

A GHOST SHIP

myst$&ltfus pha^tbm seietf in briStol chanML. lLffel#Y M&Go'ffeElb I haye solved the mystery of the Bristol Ghannel "gh'ost ship," writes a correspondent of the Sunday Chroniqle, Manchester. Fdi\ wktciers o'ii tho shore haye talked ahcut the phantom barqpe, wim„bjack,sails which Jooms ( out ■ of the mlst and vainlsKes as sud^enly as •?*»£ >PP^s.. . _ . ... 4^?;T. ^Glder r esidents krp wdnSerlng wfie-j iher .she is. the gih,dst s^xip. wfiidK used to haunt thesd watefs beidf e the war, "I EaVe iievef sden a sEip behave sb strangely," o'ne of ;the men wlio havd sighted the phantom. told me. "Sometimes shie ;^ppears;.to b'e as motionless . as a rock; at other ' ti'me'g she glide.3 over the sea like a bird. 15 may be a friek of the mists, 'but I'.ve never had reason to doubt my eyesight. f ...... "I've seeh her several times lately, but she always remains far out lti ithe. Channel, a strange black ship." A few weeks ago, duriiig a storm in the Chanhel, people gathereS alorig ithe shore awaiting for the appeprance of th'e ghost b'arque, the word havlnig beeil p'^ssed aloirg. ihaft she vras oii j her wdy up the Channel. ! It was 'an eerie scene— the little ■ .group of inen on the rocky beach in [the .twilight, the meriaclng clouds, ahd [ the melancboly wailing of the FlatI holme foghorn lending an additionally 8 ghostly. touch. Thiere was a sudden cry of "There ■she is, and all eyes turned seaword, wjhere dimly, a,mile or two from the shore, there glided the shape of a sailing ship, very little canvas aloft. | In a few minutes she had vanished. ! i have Keen searching for the niystery i ship for some weeks,, making in- [ quiries at the little fishing villages and small ports along the coast her'e, where she has beeh seen. Arid at PorisKead to-day I traced. the mysterious. phantom vessel. She is a bl&ek. craft eertainly. Her hpll is painted black. The hlack -sails which •glve her a ghost-like and weird look are actually tan colour. "The tan sails would appear black at a distance," a ship's officer told me, "This -ship trades in the Bristol Channel. Yes, she prob'ab'ly would look a bit ghostly in a rnist." I So the phantom barque of the Bristol Chanhel is a very sturdy- little ! sailing ship, harmlessly engaged in the local co.astwise trade. ,..No ghosts aboard, apcl n.o mystery after all.