Under Jury Rig

American Ketch Makes N.Z.

After Eventful Voyage

AFTER an eventful 25 days' voyage in heavy squally weather, the 32ft. auxil iary ketch Idle Hour, under jury rig, arrived at Auckland (New Zealand) from Pago Pago (American Samoa) on Decem ber 18. The owner, Mr, Dwight Long, a young American University student, was accompanied by a Tahitian boy, Timi Tefaoora.

Leaving Pago Pago on November 23, the Idle Hour ran into steep cross swells and fierce squalls. While Mr. Long was taking in sail, heavy seas wrenched the tiller free and the little ketch yawed alarmingly. With a loud report the main mast snapped off and, with all the rig ging, came crashing down on deck, nearly knocking the native overboard.

With no canvas set at all the yacht wallowed helplessly in the seas. Waves broke over her deck and torrential rain added to the calamity. In the middle of the hurricane belt, with Auckland some 1,300 miles distant, and a broken main mast, their prospects were anything but bright.

The ingenuity of the Tahitian boy, Timi, proved invaluable. In spite of the fact that the craft was like a* half sub merged rock and rolling heavily, he man aged, with the aid of a belt, to scale, in native fashion, up the 22ft. remaining of the mast, and lash a block and halliard to the top. With a little sail the ketch was put under way and the immediate danger averted.

Shortly afterwards the wind shifted

right ahead, and the yacht was hove-to for three days. Conditions were chang ing daily, and strong easterlies drove the craft among a chain of barrier reefs. By practically heaving-to each night and sailing carefully by day, these were suc cessfully navigated.

Once a huge sea crashed on board and took the craft on to her beam ends. Mr.

Long was washed from the cockpit and would have gone overboard had the native boy not made a dive and obtained a grip on his legs. From then on fair weather was experienced until nearing the N.Z. coast.