THE HAWEA FOUND.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 214, 31 August 1908, Page 2

THE HAWEA FOUND.

S'L'OKV OF THE ACCIDENT. AT THE MERCY OF TILE WAVES. EXCi IX KICK'S SPLENDID ACHIEVEMENT. HERCULEAN WORK REWARDED. Received 111, 0.41 a.m. Sydney, Lust Night. After the second vessel left, the Hawea continued to drift. On 12ch August the wind increased to a gale. The ship rode it out broadside on. All available sail was set to get westward, but the vessel began driving eastward. On the Kith the wind was from the north-west. .Sails were stowed to prevent her going further east. A spell of Hue weather set in.

The engineers set to work to try to place a coupling over the broken shu.'t. They had to work waist-deep in the water. By means of steel hawsers the propeller was worked into position. Tin engineers were called upon to do dangerous work in the after tank, but they stuck manfully to the work, which was tested and found to work ■well, but they had to stop occasionally to tighten it up, and by the 2(ith they had the engines going. The vessel made three to four knots till picked up two days later i>/ the Rakanoa. Received 31, 1.2 a.m.

Sydney, Last Night. Even if the Rakanoa had not picked up the Hawea, she would have reached Sydney to-night under her own steam. Chief Engineer McLean and his assistants, after nine days' strenuous work, were able to inform the captain of the ship that they could reach Sydney unaided. 'McLean states that the shaft, snapped in fine weather. There was n couple of bumps, and then the engincH raced like sewing-machines. The smash was right at the forward end of the stern tube. It was believed at first that they would be unableMo repair it. During the first sixteen days they hud a lot of bad weather, and could nov get near the propeller. When the weather got fine they had a go ot it. First they had to cut away the after cross plate, and had to do it with such tools as they had on board. Then they had to cut away the angle irons on each side of the ship. After that they had to cut away eighteen inches of stern tube, which is of iron and an inch and a-half through. Following that they had to cut through four inches of stern lmsh and eight inches of liner on the broken shaft. All this had to be done

to carry a patent coupling. After snapping, the propeller had slipped back as far as the rudder would let it, and the shaft had to be" got back from outside. This job took two days. Hail the brcas been a little more after, the propellci would have gone to the bottom. At length the coupling was adjusted. The vessel had steamed 1117 miles towards Sydney when the Rakanoa picked her up. 'They had a four days' job stopping a leak in the main condenser. In repairing the shaft the men had t(. work in three or four feet of water. d The chief steward states they had a sufficiency of provisions, but they had to cut down supplies until' they got under their own steam. They never saw a sign of a vessel till 26th August, when an American ship spoke them the ni"ht before they fell in with the tug Advance looking for the Hawea. Apart from the drifting, all were comfortable. (Particulars of previous breakdowns appear on -fourth page.)