BURNED AT SEA.

Taranaki Daily News, 16 July 1918, Page 6

BURNED AT SEA.

CKGW/S ADVIS-VfUiROUS VOYAGE m MILES IN BOATS. The Cardiff-owned barque Inverness, l'jiind from Durban to Jquiquc, in Chile, with a cargo of coal, was burned at sea in. the South Pacific on April 27. The crew, numbering 24, readied Auckland on Wednesday morning from Papeete by the steamer Flora, having made an adventurous voyage of COO miles in open boats to Rapa Island, the nearest land. Details of the vessels loss fti'o not available, pending the official inquiry, but it is understood that the fire was due to spontaneous combustion in the cargo. The crew were unable to check its progress, and when it became apparent that the ship was doomed all the stores possible were put into two boats, and the whole crew embarked. Their departure was hurried by the fear that the masts would fall, as the interior of the ship had quickly become a raging furnace, and it was plain that they could not hold up much longer. The boats stood by for a while, and then set sail northward, for Rapa,' which was the nearest land. Fortunately the weather was moderate, with generally favorable winds, and, despite the difficulties of navigation, the vise of the sextant in % boat being a hard matter, both boats reached land—one in nine days and the other 'in ten. Owing to the. fact that th.ey became separated, Captain Hughes and the first mate (Mr Totman), who commanded the boats, had to navigate individually, and their achievement in bringing the whole crew safe to shore is worthy to rank with some of the finest performances with British seamen in the past, not forgetting Captain Bligh of the Bounty. The boats were fairly well provisioned, and the men's chief anxiety appears to have been for the supply of vater, which they carefully husbanded. On making land they still had a supply in the tanks, but all suffered a good deal from thirst, the l\jis of some becoming cracked and brown in color. ON A TROPIC ISLE. On landing at Rapa they found that the only white man on the island was the French Administrator. The latter at once did everything in his power to supply the needs of the castaways. The natives, the crew say, were kindness itself. Pigs and chickens were roasted, -taros were cooked, and the men were given a good meal. Accommodation was found for them, and they set patiently to wait until a vessel should arrive to take them back to civilisation. Rapa is a very isolated spot, being the southernmost of the Oustral Isle, and about TOO miles S.S.E. Tahiti. It once was well known as a caljing place on the Panama mail route, but now the only vessel of any size that visits it is a steamer which comes from Papeete twice a year—in December and' June. As it happened, the castaways did not have very long to wait, for in about six weeks an auxiliary schooner, which had temporarily re-plac-ed the steamer, called at the island,'and they bade Rapa farewell. They had been extremely well treated, and the natives had taken a prjda in giving them the best of everything to eat, and thero was a great profusion of fruit, both oranges and bananas On the night of their departure a great feast was held, and.a number of pig 3 were roasted whole on piles of hot stones. CARED FOR AT AUCKLAND. On arrival at Papeete the crew were eared for by the British Consul, who got passages for them on the Flora, which was leaving for Auckland almost at once. When the twenty-four men landed here on Wednesday they were accommodated at the Sailors' Home by Captain Fleming, local Marine Superintendent, who is also representative of the Shipwreck Relief Society. The crew presented an odd appearance, all their shore-going clothes having been lost with the ship They were dressed in a great variety cf garments, and some of them wore gay banded hats given them by ] the islanders. All seemed in good health, despite the fact that there were several white heads and beards among the number. All agreed that though the weeks on Rapa, .where no war news was to be had, were pleasant ones, the boat voyage was an experience that they would gladly forget. The Inverness was a fine steel barque of 1059 ton 9 register, built on the Clyde in 1902. She was thus, for a sailing ship, quite a new vessel. Up to last year she was registered at Aberdeen, but at the time of her loss her owners were a. Cardiff firm.