Hoodoo Name

For A Ship

By Our Tahiti Correspondent

YACHTSMEN and others plan

ning names for their Island craft might ponder over the following.

Inquiries in Tahiti about the history of the schooner Tahitienne, launched from the yard of Matthew Turner at Benicia, California, in 1892, brought to light some interest ing facts. This schooner—first in our records incorporating the name of Tahiti—was built for M. Emile Levy, of Tahiti, and she capsized in San Francisco Bay on her initial voyage. Righted, and given added ballast, she sailed again, to end her days in the terrible hurricane which struck French Oceania in 1906.

Captain George Dexter, her owner, perished with all but two of his crew. The two survivors drifted on a hatch cover for 5 days before reaching land.

Launched from the same yard, at about the same time, was the brig antine Tahiti. She capsized in mid- Pacific, and 330 Gilbertese labourers, bound for Mexico, lost their lives.

The little schooner Tahiti was built in Papeete about 1905. She was lost on a Tuamotu reef.

The steamer Port Kingston was renamed Tahiti when acquired by the Union Steam Ship Co. of NZ.

She rammed and sank a Sydney harbour ferry, with heavy loss of life —before herself coming to a watery grave 400 miles from Raro tonga when, her tail-shaft breaking, the propellor pierced the hull. No lives were lost. That was in 1931. tn 1929, entering Papeete Harbour, the reef had claimed two blades from the port propellor.

THE second schooner Tahitienne, a graceful 90-ton vessel of yacht-like lines, was launched in Seattle in 1923, for use as a rum runner. When it was partly com pleted, her owner died and she was Dought on the stocks by the Tahiti ftrm of Maxwell & Co., and com pleted. After what has been re ported as the fastest passage ever inade from San Francisco to Papeete under sail, she entered the nter-island trade there —and was iismasted on one of her early voyages.

When Maxwells went into liqui iation in the mid-1930’5. the Tahi ;ienne was sailed to Auckland for iisposal. She lay idle in Auckland larbour for years, and eventually vas acquired by Mr. D. C. Brown, )f Rarotonga, for trade in the Cook Islands. Sailing from Auckland for Rarotonga, she had to put back on wo occasions due to engine and >ther troubles.

On the third sailing she reached he island. There she did con iderable useful work, at a time

when the Cook Islands were desperately in need of inter-island shipping. Early in 1948 she figured in an incident. Her chronometer out of order, she was unable to locate Rarotonga, and she was seriously leaking. An extensive search involved two Catalina air craft and another schooner.

Resuming trade after this inci dent, all went well until November 24, 1948. She was lying at moorings in Avaura Passage, Rarotonga, when an abnormal freak swell came into the passage, causing the schooner to part her moorings and become a total loss. Perhaps it was fortunate that she ended her days there and then, for when she struck the reef she practically dissolved in a cloud of dust, so riddled was she with dry rot.

Last of the ill-starred series is the little Papeete schooner Vahine Tahiti, which led a peaceful enough existence until recently. But, not long ago, a fire aboard nearly de stroyed her. Then more recently, she ran on a reef in Papeete Harbour. Now the veterans of the Tahiti waterfront are saying “Jamais deux sans trois.” Next time, perhaps!

And now we hear that one of the new Messageries Maritimes ships for the Pacific trade is to be named Tahitien!

Mr. J. C. E. Taylor, engineer with the BPC at Nauru, arrived in Perth, WA, in mid-December on extended leave. He was accompanied by his wife and daughter.