New Hebrides

60 Ft. Trawler For

(CAPTAIN George O’Brien, of Sydney, on j behalf of Kerr Bros., Island Mer chants. delivered a 60 ft. trawler type vessel, Three Cheers, to Mr. Stan Breusch, a trader of Santo, New Hebrides, in January.

Built by Settrie, well-known South Coast (N.S.W.) boat-builder, and equipped with a 6-cylinder Lister diesel engine, she carried a crew of five —Bill Davis (mate), Jeff Bourke (chief engineer). Bill Drum (assistant engineer). Tom Proctor (son of the popular Islands skipper, Captain Proctor), and Keith Cook.

She called at Noumea, New Caledonia,

en route to the New Hebrides, and half way on the journey struck a cyclone inn which she was successfully hove to on ae sea anchor for 14 hours.

The party returned to Sydney onn February 8 by Qantas aircraft, from Santo.( Captain O’Brien left shortly afterwards for Bundaberg to pick up the Rewenae and take her from Queensland too Yandina, in the British Solomon Islands,; for the Fairymead Sugar Co. Ltd.

Special O’Brien Sea Anchor

CAPTAIN O’Brien does not think muclr of ordinary canvas sea-anchors fon tough work. He uses, instead, the “O’Brien Special,” which consists of any thing up to a dozen old truck tyres chained together and trailed out at the end of a 300-ft. line.

The cyclone he met recently betweerr Sydney and Noumea was a ten-tyre job— but it held Three Cheers without any* trouble at all.

He says he never goes to sea without! making a round of Sydney’s tyre re treaders. Any old truck tyre that is tooc bad for retreading just suits him.