REMUERA FROM ENGLAND.
PRECAUTIONS IN THE ENGLISH CHANNEL. THE "FARTHEST SOUTH" REACHED. Per Pkess 'Association. Wellington, January 13. One of the most interesting voyages of a New Zealand-bound stoam- i er closed to-day, when the Remuera arrived here from London, via Capetown and Hobart. The six weeks' trip was full of incident from eta*t to finish, and the passengers, of whom there were close upon 500, found any amount of things to interest them. The liner left Gravesend on November 27th and anchored... in the Thames for the 'night, as it is deemed dangerous for vessels to proceed to sea in the darkness, owing to the possibility of submarine attacks. The 'next morning the passengers found a big French war vessel hovering close by, and with her as convoy the Remuera proceeded down the Channel. Many interesting sights were to be seen. Warships of the Allies were continually bobbing up on the horizon, and frequently the French convoy ship would slip away in front, consult with the unknown ones, and return to her vigil close by the New Zealand-bound liner. But the chief danger in that part of the passage was from mines. The Channel, according to the Remuera's officers, is a highly dangerous navigating'ground just now. The Germans have let loose mines from all points, and with an astonishingly accurate knowledge of the currents, the enomy has laid himself out to make matters as unpleasant as possible for British shipping. So risky is it that no merchantman is allowed to proceed through the Channel, and, indeed, a fairway, out into the 'Atlantic, without the accompaniment of mine-sweepers. Two of these boats, formerly fishing trawlers, went ahead of the Remuera for nearly two days, sweeping clear the. pathway for the liner. Necessarily this part of the voyage was undertaken slowly, and the ship's company spent a most anxious time. After getting into the Bay of Biscay, however, the dangers of war were passed for the time, being, and the voyage was resumed under ordinary conditions. A new danger presents itself nowadays, however, on the . African coast. Usually vessels coming out to New Zealand by the direct route keep fairly close in, but Captain Creenstreet took his ship by a long course out to sea ; in fact, safely out of range of any enemy ship which might Ife hugging the coast. The ex. planation of this action is that in this region there are several small German gunboats of no nafticular speed or power, but with one or two guils by which they could semi a. merchantman easily enough to the bottom. These vessels are of such construction that ~they canuot go far from land, but they are on constant watch for traders, and it is understood that two or three French.and Portuguese-vessels have fallen victims to these prowlers. Capetown was reached on December 19th, and the voyage from that port to Hobart was. an Historical or.o, in that Captain. Cireenstreet took the vessel the farthest 'smith Vet'touched by ally passenger ship. He tiki this to save tiniej for the bigger sweep toward the Antarctic a ship takes, strange as it may seem, the shorter is the distance between Capetown and the Tasmanian port. On December 30th last the Remuera was "farthest south." She touched the 50th degree line. That evening a huge iceberg was sighted, and the passengers were rewarded w r ith a magnificent spectacle. The ship was then actually in a perfectly safe region, but was on the fringe of the ice region. The Weather was cold, but. beautifully fine. The next day a second berg was sighted, and this monster was calculated to be forty miles long, while the stranger of the previous night was to be seen in the distance. The passengers, who were unaware of the expediency of the ship in going' so far' south were most interested in the orocedure, and the passage was made "pleasant by the officers carefully explaining by charts and other means the reasons for this style of navigation.
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Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXV, Issue 11, 14 January 1915, Page 3
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669REMUERA FROM ENGLAND. Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXV, Issue 11, 14 January 1915, Page 3
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