Valkyrie Will Leave on Long Cruise Today

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 667, 20 May 1929, Page 11

Valkyrie Will Leave on Long Cruise Today

— 6,000 Miles Through Lonely Pacific Waters RISKS OF WATER SHORTAGE Provisioned for a six months' deep-water cruise, cleared by the Customs and carrying a clean bill j | of health, the 44-ton auxiliary ! \ schooner-yacht, Valkyrie, owned ! and commanded by Captain Ernest j i Gilling, leaves Auckland this evenI • in at six o’clock on the first step j of her 6,000-mile cruise. I A call will be made at Russell or Whangaroa for the purpose of filling her tanks with 21 tons of water and then the little vessel will leave New Zealand waters for many months, j Besides her crew of five the Val- ; kyrie will carry the following passen- } gets:

Mrs. E. Scott Shaw, of Manurewa. Miss C. Scott Shaw, of Manurewa. Miss Doris Wilson, of Remuera. Mr. Cyril Paget, of Epsom, a keen I aquatic enthusiast who recently travelled 200 miles by canoe up the Waii kato River. Mr. F. R. Lowe, owner of the 24ft ! mullet boat, Maru. At the owner’s request The Sun’s j special representative was invited to I join the little knot of men who gath- | ered in the cabin just before the yacht ! left the Waitemata. In reminiscent | vein the captain recounted an early j voyage he had made when the crew j suffered great privation owing to a shortage of drinking water, and said j that on the trip just beginning his greatest dread would be to run short of water on the long 1,200 mile trip to Suva, which might take anything from five to 25 days. It will be remembered that on the return voyage of the yacht Victory from Norfolk Island, a few months ago, the crew found that its water had become rank and had to put into Whangaroa to replenish their supply thus breaking the law, as Whangaroa is not an official port of entry into New Zealand. The Valkyrie’s tanks are situated under the main saloon and the water is pumped into a special 25-gallon gravity tank suspended under the

main deck. By this means the .amount of water drawn from the main tank can be accurately recorded, and* it is Captain Gilling's intention to ration the daily supply during the trip to Suva. The galley is well equipped with a standard range fitted with "fiddles” or bars to keep the cooking utensils in place during bad weather. During the week-end an unusual sight was seen when coal for fuel was loaded on to the yacht. In the captain’s cabin is a .303 service rifle. "We shall be putting into many islands rarely visited." said Captain Gilling, “and it may be necessary to show the rifle to the natives to impress them. It’s best to be on the safe side." The Valkyrie carries two lifeboats, one of which is a double-ended surf boat for use in landing on the coral shores. Both boats are swung in davits between which an awning will be stretched to shade a part of the deck from the fierce tropical sun. This morniflg all was bustle aboard, getting stores on deck and stowing them safely away. The yacht moved out into the stream during the afternoon, and the passengers, several of whom are arriving by train, will join the yacht half an hour before she sails this evening.