THE CALL OF THE SEA

Shannon News, 13 July 1928, Page 1

THE CALL OF THE SEA

Girl Stowaway's Story ADVENTUROUS VOYAGE TWO SAILING SHIPS' RACE. Although the sailing match between? the two four-masted barques Herzogin Cecilie and Beatrice over the 14,000 miles route from Port Lincoln, Australia, to England, really ended when the former ship reached Falmouth on April 24, and so won the race, the winner's actual voyage did not end until she reached Cardiff on April 27. Captain de Cloux Was a proud man when he anchored in Falmouth Bay, says the Cardiff correspondent of the Times; but he did not stay there long enough to discuss the voyage, nor to relate how, two days from Port Lincoln, a stowaway, and a girl at that, announced her presence in the ship. These things were heard about, however, in the Herzogin Cecilie as" aha was threading her way into Cardiff docks in the small hours of the morning-

And yet the end of the voyage, a romantic episode of wind ani; canvas In an age of oil and steam, was something in the nature of an anti-cli-max. The barque made Cardiff under no inspiring spread of sail. She came in with bare masts and behind a tug. Among the sea men at Falmouth there was no sort of agreement as to how' long the ship might take over the last short stage of her voyage. She had come from Australia in 96 days; and these last few miles might mean 24 hours' sailing, or a couple of days or even more. One never could tell, they said, with sail. And so it turned out. The Hei'zogin Cecilie was formerly a German ship, and throughout the war was on the Chile coast. She now r sailsunder the flag of Finland, and on this • voyage carried wheat from 1 Australia The Beatrice, a. Swedish ship'of about her own size, offered the challenge oi a race to and the two ships set out within a few hours of each other; but ( the Herzogin Cecilie gradually drew away from her rival and on the second day out had lost sight" of her altogether. It was not long after that the stowaway, discovering that one cannot travel 14,000, miles witif ho die""t. ? but r c6ytr age, came up from her'hiding placiin the hold, demanded a meal, and as-, tonished Captain de Cloux-and his crew: It was too late then- to, put back and land her. She related the Story in hei cabin while the ship w r as being berth ed. She is Miss Jeanne Day, of Balafc lava, Australia, and she had always wanted to go to sea; in fact the desire grew so acute that it became a resolve and one night she put on. boy's I clothes and climbed unseen aboa'rd'the J Herzogin Cecilie. , . .;',-;■• Signed on as Cabin "Boy." The girl hid in the hold until she was convinced the vessel was far out. at sea and then, half starved and f ran tic for something to drink, she Avenl ; on deck. Having fed her and recover ! cd from his astonishment at seeing her the captain signed her on as cabii: "boy." It was better to be employer 1 like that, she said, than not to go tc sea and far ' better than teaching at home, of which she was heartily tired Nor during the 96 days that the bar que was at sea w r ere the hazards few though when she came into Cardiff she gave no immediate impression oi having passed through them. Her paint, was in good order, and her four bar* masts cut the night as cleanly as i her bow were pointing the other way A Very Lonely Voyage. ; In Southern latitudes the C.B. Peder sen, a Swedish barque from Sydney t< the English Channel, was spoken, hai ing at first sight been taken for tin Beatrice. She was one of the fey ships sighted on the high seas durin; ■i vovage of peculiar isolation.. Captair de Cloux, though naturally gratified ahaving' made a good voyage and wo? his unofficial race, was disinclined tc •icccpt any credit himself nor the per fonnanfce. He know his ship and had full confidence in her. . ~ The captain said that orice he had got well out to sea he did not look for the Beatrice. That was the mca sure of his confidence. In fact, he was not much disposed to discuss the.ad-., venture of the voyage at any length The chances and the buffetingß that he had taken were those of his every day life. It was, Tie said, the wind that one had" to thank; the wind and the ship. But his voyage will-'-be- one that is remembered for the occasions on which a sailing ship carries a cargo 14,000 miles grow steadily and, ro» i the romantic, regrettably fewer.