Marine Tattle

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 72, 16 June 1927, Page 2

Marine Tattle

THE CUTTY SARK.— A cable from London recently stated that there was a possibility of the famous clipper Cutty Sark revisiting Australia. Captain Woodgett, of the Blue Funnel liner Anchises, stated, however, that the chances of the ship coming out are now considered very remote- The cost of fitting out the ship would, he said, be too great. Captain Woodgett, father of the commander of the Anchises, had command of the Cutty Sark for many years.

NEW SALVAGE DOCK. Herr Mathieson, a German engineer, has invented a floating dock which, he says, will accommodate ships of up to 15,000 tons in the open sea, so that such vessels can •be repaired without coming into port. The chief purpose of the dock would be for salvage work, and has gripping hooks with which weights up to 4,200 tons can be raised. The dock is submersible, and can steam at a speed of 14 knots. It is built on the submarine principle. with air chambers and compressors.

CRUISE IN THE PACIFIC.— The 37-ton yacht, Utlekah 111., has started from Melbourne on a cruise in the Pacific extending over ten months. Mr. I. E. Giles, who will act as captain, has made many adventurous trips in small vessels on the Victorian coast. The two yachts which he owned previously, Utlekah I. and Ut*ekah 11., have been well known. This cruise into the South Seas has been well planned. The Utlekah ill. is a well-appointed, seaworthy vessel, and the crew are all experienced yachtsmen.

NEW RUSSIAN CAN AL.—According to the “Soviet Union Monthly.” the Soviet Government has decided to undertake the construction of a canal connecting the rivers Volga, and Don, a hydro-electric station at Dnieprostroy, and a railway linking Siberia with Turkestan. The canal is to be cut from Sarepta, on the Don. to Shumovsky-Khutor, near Stalingrad. Its length will be about 62 miles and work is to commence almost immediately, a preliminary depth of water of 10ft. throughout being secured within three years. In connection with the same scheme, the harbour of Kostrov, which is the centre of distribution for a large part of the South Russia gramproducing area, is to be dredged and deepened. BERENGARIA BREAKS RECORD. —By steaming 57S miles in a day of 2 3 hours at an average speed of 25.13 knots the Cunard liner Borengaria. which arrived from New York on April 19, established a record run Jcrbm noon of the previous Thursday to noon Friday. Her previous record had stood since June 28, 1923—0 n an eastbound voyage. At that time she covered 582 miles in a day of 23 hours 19 minutes, at an average speed of 24.96 knots.

SELF-LEVELLING STEPS. A self-levelling step shore gangway is to be carried on board the liner Simon Bolivar, and used between ship and shore for the embarking or disembarking of passengers at the various ports of call. The steps of the gangway are controlled by the platform at the lower end resting on the quay. This platform is mounted on small wheels, which enables the gangway automatically to adjust itself according to rise or fall of the tide. The gangway measures 33ft. in length by 2ft. 6in. outside width, and has portable handrails and stanchions to facilitate stowage.

TRAINING IN SAIL. —The Greek Navy has given an order to a French yard for a sailing ship of nearly 2,000 tons, for training purposes, so one more country is ranged on the side of the advisability of sail training. Th? Germans still insist on experience with canvas before they grant an officer's certificate. Among their many training schemes, the Americans have the greatest faith in the State school ships, which are lent by the United StateNavy, and which spend most of their cruising time under sail. The Japanese have two big training sailing ships, and the Swedish and Spanish navies have both purchased wind-jam-mers for training purposes within the last few years. Only Britain is not provided in this way.

ITALIAN FREE PORTS. The Italian Government has approved an important decree relating to the establishment of free ports in that country. Section 1 provides that Savona, Genoa, Leghorn, Naples, Brindisi, Bari-An-cona, Venice, Trieste, Flume, Palermo, Messina, Catania, and Cagliari may be declared free ports, wholly or in part, for a period of 30 years, commencing on January 1. 1928. If this is done, they will then be considered outside the zone under Customs supervision, according to the Italian Customs Law of 1896, and it will be possible to carry on operations of loading. discharging. carriage, storage, handling and transhipping of cargo without Customs supervision.