Thrilling Rescue

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 487, 17 October 1928, Page 13

Thrilling Rescue

Men Washed Overboard from Schooner Piri PRAISE FOR CAPTAIN WATT In raging seas and against tremendous odds, two sailors who had been washed overboard from the deck of the auxiliary schooner Piri were rescued in mid ocean by the clever handling of the ship by Captain Watt. The Piri, which belongs to the Xobeks Explosives Co., Ltd., Auckland, was on her way from Greymouth to Sydney. She left Greymouth on September 23, and ran into a succession of terrific westerly gales. Huge waves swept the ship from stem to stern, and every movable object on the decks had to be lashed down. Two days after leaving port the schooner encountered the worst weather experienced on the voyage. Bleak winds and tremendous seas continued throughout the day. At about 4 p.m,, when the watches were being changed, John William Laing and William Graham West were standing on the deck clinging to the rail near the stern waiting to be relieved. The relief had just arrived, and the exchange of duties was about to be performed when a huge wave dashed over the tiny ship. Despite their frantic endeavours to retain their hold on the rail the two men were swept before the high wave and carried high over the stern into the sea. Immediately the cry of “Man overboard” was raised. The mate grasped two lifebuoys and threw them towards the struggling men. For some time Laing and West disappeared from the sight of the men on the deck. Suddenly they reappeared on the crest of a wave and it was seen that they had been able to secure one of the buoys. By the time the Piri had turned back towards the strugling men they were about half a mile astern. The mate clambered up the rigging to the top of one of the masts and directed the ship from aloft. As the Piri bore down upon Laing and his companion preparations were made to drag them on board if the vessel rolled in their direction. All the crew lined the rails to assist the men on board. By careful navigation Captain Watt manoeuvred his ship alongside the men. Unfortunately the vessel was caught by a wave as the object of the move had almost been accomidished. The Piri was tossed like a cork in the wrong direction, and the two men dis-r appeared in the trough of a wave. Again the captain turned his ship, and once more the crew leaned over the side, each hoping to effect a rescue. “The suspense was nerve-wracking,” a member of the crew declared. Again the vessel approached the men. On this occasion Captain Watt slowed the engines down when almost alongside the lifebuoy, and the vessel rolled over upon them. They were seized by willing hands, and dragged to the deck. “We knew that no ship’s boat could Jive in that sea,” said Laing, relating his experiences. “When the Piri passed us by on the first occasion we despaired of ever being rescued. The Piri sank down in the trough of a wave and we could only see the tops of her masts The second time we both managed to grasp the rail, near where we went over. If it had not been for Captain Watt’s handling of the ship -we would not be here to-day,” he concluded.