Yacht Wrecked At
pp. 13-14 · Read in the full issue
Pt. Moresby
Mistook Old "Pruth" Hulk For the "Montoro"
Prom Our Own Correspondent.
Pt. Moresby, May 8.
BAD luck attended the cruise of the “Nutara”, which began at Cairns in April and was to have ended at New Caledonia, but wound up at Port Mores by instead.
Mr. and Mrs. Wright, from U.S.A., bought the 35 ft. aux. vessel in North Queensland, and left Cairns with the in tention of sailing her to Noumea. Con trary winds delayed them; and, after a couple of weeks, during which they made only 400 miles, they decided to use the engine. But the engine de cided otherwise, and refused to function.
Mr. Wright then decided to run north in the hope of finding a repair shop somewhere on the island of New Guinea.
The “Nutara” made the Papuan coast near Hula, and turned north-west with a favourable wind; but there were no charts of the coast on board, nor any means of knowing even what coast it was. At this juncture the “Montoro”, on her way to Port Moresby, came up astern; and the voyagers spoke to her, asking for directions. Captain Rothery generously dropped a bundle of charts overboard for their use, and proceeded.
Unfortunately, the “Nutara”, was awk ward to handle; and before she could be manoeuvred to the spot where the charts floated, they disappeared.
At sunset on May 3 the navigators saw a steamer, apparently anchored, ahead of them; and at dark they could see the lights of Port Moresby. Decid ing to approach the steamer, which he took to be the “Montoro”, Mr. Wright kept confidently on; but the vessel was no other than the wreck of the “Pruth”, which has been standing on the barrier
reef at Port Moresby for 15 years.
The rest happened quickly. The “Nutara’s” keel caught the reef. She heeled to a breaking sea, and in a minute or so was lying on her beam-ends, be ing swept by heavy seas. A wallet of papers was all that the adventurous pair had time to save. By means of their small flat-bottomed dinghy, they got across the lagoon and landed on Ela Beach at about 11 p.m.
The vessel became a total wreck. Cus toms officials paid a visit to the scene the following morning, but no trace of her was discernible.