AN INTERESTING VOYAGE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 185, 14 January 1915, Page 4

AN INTERESTING VOYAGE.

THE REMUERA FROM ENGLAND. PRECAUTIONS IN THE ENGLISH ' CHANEL. THE "FARTHEST SOCTH" REACHED By Telegraph.—Per Press Association. Wellington, Last Night. One of the moat interesting voyages ol a New Zealand-bound steamer closed today, when the Rwnuera arrived here from London, via Capetown and Hobart. The six weeks' trip was full of-incident fiom start to finish, and the passengers of whom there were close upon"soo' found any amount of things to interest them. The liner left Gravespnd on No-> cember 27th, and anchored in the Thames for the night, as it is deemed (langoi'c 's for vessels to proceed to see in the darkness, owing to the possibility of submarine attacks. '

The next morning the passengers found a big French war vessel hovering close by, and with her as convoy the Remuera proceeded down the Channel. Many interesting sights wero to ■be seen. Warships of tile 'Allies were continually bobbing up on the horizon, audi frequently the French convoy ship would slip away in front, consult with the unknown ones, and return to her vigil close by the New Zealand-bound liner.

But the chief danger in that part of the passage was from mines. The Channel, according to the Remuera's officers, is a highly dangerous navigating ground just now. The Germans have let loos# mines from all points, and with an astonishingly accurate knowledge of the currents, the enemy has laid himself ouff to make matters as unpleasant as possible for British shipping. So risky is it that no merchantman is allowed to proceed through the Channel, and, indeed, a fairway out into the Atlantic* without the accompaniment of minesweepers. Two of these boats, formerly fishing trawlers, went ahead of the Remuera for nearly two days, sweeping clear the pathway for the liner. Necessarily this part of the voyage warunder. taken slowly, and the ship's company spent a most anxious time. After getting into the Bay of Biscay, however, the dangers of war were passed for tlio time being, and the voyage, was resumed under ordinary conditions.

A new danger presents itself nowadays, however, on the African coast. Usually vessels coming out to New Zealand by the direct route keep fairly close - in, but Captain Greenstreet took his ship by a lon™ course out to sea; in fact, safely out of range of any enemy • ship which might he hugging the coast. The explanation of this action is that in this region there are several small German gunboats of no particular speed' or power, but with one or two guns by which they could send ft merchantman easily enough to the bottom. These vessels are of such construction that • they cannot go far from land, but they are on constant watch for traders, and it is understood that two or three French and Portuguese vessels have fallen victims to these prowlers. Capetown was reached on December lflth, and the voyage from that port to iHobart was an historical one, in that Captain Greenstreet took the vessel the farthest south yet touched by any passenger ship, lie did' this to save time, for the bigger sweep toward the Antarctic a ship takes, strange as it may seem, the shorter is the distance between Capetown and the Tasmanian port. On December 30th last the Remuera was "farthest south." She touched the 50th degree line. That evening a huge iceberg was'sighted, and the passenger* were rewarded with a magnificent spectacle. The ship was then actually in a perfectly safe region, • but was on the fringe of the iee region. The weather was cold, but beautifully fine. The ne*t day a second berg was sighted, and tli(a monster was calculated to be forty miles long, while the stranger of the previous night was to he seen in the distance. The passengers f wlio were unaware of the expediency of the ship in going so far south w'ere most interested in the procedure, and the passage was made pleasant by the officers carefully explaining by charts and other means the reasons for this style of navigation.