TRAGEDY-NEARLY

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 627, 2 April 1929, Page 1

TRAGEDY-NEARLY

FISHERMAN WAS SEEN TO FALL OVERBOARD LAUNCH STRIKES DINGHY A man’s upflung arms, a crash as a dinghy from which he was fishing was struck by a fastmoving launch, a choppy sea—there were elements for a tragedy in the Waitemata Harbour yesterday afternoon. so when the scared occupants of a launch a long distance ahead did not see the man after he went overboard. They could have sworn that they heard a splash, Arthur James Reed was the fisherman. He certainly jumped from the dinghy, but not into the harbour. Not he. With considerable astuteness, he had waited calmly for the launch from Motuihi Island to strike his boat. ll© could not have done anything else, for the dinghy was anchored. Then, when the launch was all but ramming the dinghy, Mr. Reed jumped to safety among the passengers on the approaching vessel. The near-tragedy took place near Bean Rock light. Flurried people on the launch travelling ahead i eturned to the scene post-haste, and began a search lasting 20 minutes. In the meantime .those on the launch which rammed the dinghy were quietly taking the damaged boat in tow. To them, there was no excitement. But to the observers of the apparent tragedy, the atmosphere of disaster was real. NO INKLING OF FACTS

And the strange thing about the happening was that the believers in the tragedy did not know that Mr. Reed was safely aboard the other launch. Not an inkling uf the real facts was given them while the two boats circled in the locality. Those who believed an accident had happened were soon on their way to Auckland, where they told the tacts as they knew them to the police. The other launch had taken Mr. Reed and the dinghy to Kohimarama. Owing to the holiday, means of communication between the city and Kohimarama were meagre. It was only this morning that everything was known, and those who had sensed tragedy learned of Mr. Reed's narrow escape. So Mr. Reed to-day has returned to the living, in the minds of several people. But he knows that only his presence of mind when he was faced with disaster saved him from possible injury. All the same, there were undoubtedly willing rescuers in the vicinity. Mr. Reed is a steelworker for the Fletcher Construction Company, and he lives at Kohimarama.