ROUGH PASSAGE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 21 May 1938, Page 7

ROUGH PASSAGE

THE SEETEUFEL’S TASMAN CROSSING. VON LUCKNER WELCOMED IN SYDNEY. SYDNEY, May 20. Count Felix von Luckner was in a cheery mood when interviewed on board his yacht Seeteufel, which entered Sydney Heads early this morning. He said: “I am here for pleasure — looking over my old hunting grounds.” The “Sun” describes Count von Luckner as “once a bill-poster in Sydney and later the man who sent £5,000,000 worth of Allied ships to the bottom.” Count von Luckner at the outset denied that he was bent on propaganda. “I wanted to show the countess New Zealand and Australia as a wedding present, so here we are,” he said. “I was last here as a prisoner of war on the steamer Willochra. Before that I were here with a group of Hindu magicians as their advance agent and billposter.” Count von Luckner, who was wearing plus-fours and sandals, said that the Seeteufel encountered stormy weather after leaving Auckland. Wind from all directions forced the yacht back to the shelter of a small bay. The voyage was resumed, but the vessel fought the gale last Tuesday and Wednesday. The lifeboat was damaged and the propeller twisted. They ran into .a dead calm near Sydney and reached the Heads just after midnight.

Count von Luckner was given a warm welcome by members of the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club and representatives of the German community. Commonwealth investigation officers and local police also went«on board and chatted with the count and his wife. The visit will probably occupy three weeks.