They Sailed For

Vatu Vara

Rut Found Brisbane

1,500 Miles of Nightmare

THOSE people who hold theories about the chance voyages of the early Poly nesians will be encouraged by the recent blow-away voyage of Mr. Jack Morris, of Levuka, Fiji, his part-Fijian mate, his crew of five Fijians and one passenger, Mr. Peter Jackson, in the 37foot cutter Fetu Moana.

Fetu Moana left Levuka on October 12 for Lomaloma where she was beached for cleaning. She left there for Vatu Vara, completely disappeared and .was not heard of again until four weeks later when she arrived at Stradbroke Island near Bris bane. Queensland.

After the 1 500-mile voyage, the storm battered cutter berthed in Brisbane on Sunday November 19. Her skipper said that she was blown there by two cyclones, one squall and two thunderstorms.

The craft showed signs of the terrific battering she had taken. All unsecured deck fittings had been swept overboard, the gunwale and bulkheads were smashed in, and the mainsail was tat tered. John Morris said the cutter struck her first cyclone, a 60 mph blow — while on a trading run from Levuka, to Vatu Vara, a small island, 110 miles to the east. The wheelhouse was washed overboard and waves crashed right in side the boat. Their charts, instruments, and all spare gear were lost. The crew had cut holes in copra sacks and got in side them to protect themselves from the cold.

Skipper Morris related how they lost sight of land. After the gale dropped he guessed where the south-west was and headed that way. He hoped to reach New Caledonia but they missed that island. They kept on for weeks. Their drinking water ran out, and if it hadn’t been for a dozen bottles of beer in their

cargo they would have been in a bad way.

Then they struck a second cyclone which blew them near the coast of north ern NSW at the Tweed River. They did not know where they were but steered north and reached the Brisbane River.

Skipper, passenger and crew were taker care of in Brisbane by the Mission for Seamen. Shortly after he landed Skipper Morris said that he had had the sea and would probably look for a job ashore in Brisbane. But this seems hardly pos sible in view of his past record.

He is a former pupil of the Levuka Public School, where he was an outstand ing student with a special interest ir mathematics, which he later applied tc problems of navigation.

After leaving school he began ship building, At Vagadaci, near Levuka where many fine craft have been con structed, be built the 7-ton Torokina ir which, nearly two years ago, he sailed tc Vavua, Tonga, with Mr. A. Storer. He also built the Tui Nakarawa, a 5-ton cut ter, for the Fijians of Batiki, and the Adi Teresa for the Fijians of Koro. The yacht Ebb Tide was also built by Mr Morris for Mr. Boris Maesepp of Suva