News Of The Small Ships

Trans-Tasman Prize

Now £5Oo

The Royal Akarana Yacht Club of Auckland announced in Septem ber that the cash prize for the next trans-Tasman yacht race, to be sailed in January 1954, will now amount to £5OO. Earlier the Royal Hobart Regatta Association (PIM, August P. 127), had announced its intention of donating a £2OO cash prize. Tattersalls are donating £2OO, and the Royal Akarana will find another £lOO. [ It is expected that this large cash arize, previously never greater than Elso, will greatly stimulate interest among local and overseas yachts men for the ocean classic, which his time will commence from Auck and and finish at Hobart as part )f that city’s 150th Anniversary elebrations.

Charlotte Donald Refits

Captain Andy Thomson took A. 1. Donald & Company’s 300-ton Charlotte Donald out on the Cook slands run again in mid-September fter an overhaul at Avatiu, Raro mga.

The flag-ship of the Group’s mall-ships fleet was smart in new olours, the white superstructure

has been retained but the hull is now battleship grey.

Snowed Under By

Adventurers

When Captain Lund Lack sent forth his call for seven adventurous seamen to help him deliver the Wel lington, NZ, Harbour Board’s new 80-foot pilot cutter from England (see PIM July, p. 125) he did not expect the avalanche of applications that he unloosed upon himself.

Nearly 500 men volunteered by cablegram, letter or in person. One of the accepted men leaves Welling ton shortly for Bideford, Devon shire, where the motor vessel is fitt ing out in readiness to sail in Octo ber. The delivery route is via Suez.

Applications are emphatically closed.

Isa Lei Delivered To Navy

After a long spell of idleness in Suva the 207-ton Marine Products freezer ship Isa Lei left there for Auckland on September 11 in charge of a civilian crew attached to the Auckland Naval Dockyard. She arrived in Auckland nine days later after some minor engine stoppages and some bad weather. The work of conversion to a RNZN fleet aux illiary is already under way.

As chief officer for the voyage, Captain D. K. Matheson, formerly of the Tagua and Rawhiti, renewed friendships in Suva.

Old Cable-Ship Broken Up

The cable steamer Recorder, for merly the Iris and well known in

the Pacific, is at present being broken up at Plymouth, England.

As the Iris she first came to the Pacific Cable Board’s Auckland tion in 1902 and was employed in running stores and staff to Norfolk and in carrying out cable repairs along the trans-Pacific cable route when necessary.

Early in the first World War the Iris sailed from Fanning Island only 24 hours before the German cruiser Nurnberg called there and cut the cables to Suva and Bamfield. The Iris later repaired the damage. Later in the war she was associated with the re-capture of Count Felix von Luckner of the German raider

Seadler after he had escaped fro New Zealand in the scow Moa.

Renamed the Recorder in 19' ( the ship was transferred shortly aftJ wards to the Singapore station at has been in service in Australis Far East, and Indian Ocean watt; until quite recently.

She has been replaced by a nu 2,550-ton twin screw vessel namn Stanley Angwin which has alreae arrived on station at Singapore u der the command of Captain Lawrence, lately master of the R corder.

Scot Changes Hands

The 30-ton scow Scot whii Mr. Lew Graham sailed from Auo land to Suva (see August note:; was sold to Mr. Turner of Fiji August and entered the inter-islaf trade in September. Mr. Grabs and others who had helped deliv the little twin-screw auxilliary ves:< have returned to Auckland,

Seaward In Trouble

Seaward, the former Americ: owned yacht, acquired by the CU Foo Company of Papeete last ye from Mr. Williams of Texas for uj as a trading vessel in French Oo ania, was reported on a Tuama reef recently. She was fortunate

oming off without serious damage Dd was in Papeete repairing in IUgUSt.

Vseau Des Iles Completes

Refit

After four months refitting in uckland the Compagnie Francaise ;s Phosphates Oceanie’s 3-masted eel schooner Oiseau des lies sailed >r Papeete on September 17.

The vessel had been virtually ken apart while in Auckland, even e linings in the cabins being stripped chip and paint the plates. Rot in e lower masts necessitated reduc g their height by 15 feet, and at e same time it was decided to do vay with the topmasts, as the hooner is employed only on the 10-mile run between Papeete and akatea once per week and rarely es sail. However, the appearance the vessel is considerably marred the cutting and re-rigging of the rmer lofty masts.

The total cost of the refit is be ved to be in excess of £50,000 — d it may be the last under the osphate Company’s ownership, as akatea is said to be approaching j end of its productive life.

There were three passengers oard when the schooner cleared ickland. One was Mrs. Gordon, fe of Captain Gordon, recently pointed Assistant Harbourmaster Makatea.

Signed on for the passage north s Mr. Jack Spring as Chief Officer. is well known in Fiji, having m one of the ship’s company de ling the South Seas Marine Pro mts vessel Isa Lei from the US :ific Coast several years ago.

News Of Some Cruising

Yachts

Phe trim San Francisco 32-foot dlliary schooner Viator called at rotonga in September, on its sec -1 extensive Eastern Pacific cruise, e first cruise was in 1937.

Viator left on her present voyage August 19, 1951. Owned, built 1 navigated by Harry Close, who accompanied by his wife, she has led at Hawaii, Tahiti, Raiatea, ra Bora, Pago Pago, Suva, Moala, toya and Nukualofa, fwo original crew members left vessel at Honolulu and they re replaced by David Woodside, 1 aboard. fhe schooner (unusual rig for so all a vessel) has attracted great Test alongside the Avarua jetty Rarotonga, Mr. Close was re

ving many acquaintanceships of

years ago. n Papeete in September, bound New Zealand by easy stages was Brixham - trawler - type yacht

Arthur Rogers, and not far away was the little 24-foot cutter Wan derer 11, heading the same way and manned by Frank McNulty and Bill Howell, Sydney journalist and dent ist respectively.

Wanderer II is from the board of noted English yacht designer Eric Hiscock, who sailed the ship on a cruise to Portugal and the Azores and told the story in a well-known English yachting magazine some time ago. Hiscock is now reported as having completed construction of a new yacht, Wanderer 111, in which he plans an extensive cruise, prob ably to the Pacific, in the near fut ure.

Another Brixham-trawler, Inspire,

already well-known in the Eastern Pacific, arrived at Rarotonga via Nukualofa from Sydney in late Aug ust and began trading, her first voy age being a fast return run to Aitu taki.

During her year in Sydney, Inspire underwent a £3,000 refit, one of her two engines being replaced and hull renovations made.

Stortebecker 111, Dr. John Frank lin 32-foot yawl, cleared Auckland on August 30 in continu ation of her wanderings, after nearly 2 years in port. Bound for San Francisco, the first call was expected to be at Raoul, Kermadecs, thence Tonga or the Cooks depending on

the winds.

(Continued Page 117)

Dr. Tom Davis and family in their '■foot ketch Miru were reported at a again September 12 after their ill at Callao, Peru, en route to >ston via Panama. Miru had ar

rived at Callao August 24 from Wel lington via Rapa Island, having left New Zealand May 31.

Chiquita, the 35-foot Auckland built cutter which left NZ on June 4 for San Francisco, arrived at Hon olulu in mid-September from the Marquesas. Chiquita, manned by Jack Campbell and Donald McLean, earlier had called at Rarotonga and Tahiti.

Another New Zealand yacht plan ning to leave Auckland on an Islands cruise soon, was in the news during September. She is the 40foot ketch Pleiades, built in spare time over the past 5 years by three partners at Waitara. The yacht is

beamy—l4 ft. 6 in.—and will be sailed to Auckland in October. She is fitted with an auxilliary and ship shore radio equipment.

Lady Stirling, Mr. Edward Shee han’s handsome auxiliary yacht (photo June, p. 131) which has been on loan to the Catholic mission in Fiji, left Suva September 16, bound for Whangarei, NZ, her home port.

Mr. Sheehan was accompanied by two Whangarei yachtsmen.

Anna Elizabeth, Dutch 35-footer which has been cruising in French Oceania and Cook Islands waters in recent months, cleared Papeete in August for Honolulu.

Wakaya, Auckland ketch which

MANU MOANA, Mr. W. S. Holder’s 38ot sloop, at present in Fiji waters, OISEAU DES ILES, cut down, returned Papeete.

Lew Graham's hold-scow SCOT changed nds at Suva.

PLEIADES tries her wings before head- S Islandwards.

has called at Niue, Suva and Nukualofa in recent months, was expected back in Auckland from Tonga late in September.

Fitheach Ban , Captain Watchlin's beautiful 83-foot schooner yacht, arrived at Whangarei, NZ, from Suva on September 24 completing a voyage from the Mediterranean via

Panama commenced about two years ago. Only about 100 days of the cruise were spent at sea.

Fitheach Ban is one of the largest and best appointed yachts seen in NZ in post-war years.

The American 12-ton yawl Tropic Seas , owned and sailed by Mr. John Caldwell with the assistance of his

wife, Mary, and small sons Johnm and Steven, arrived in Papeete, T:' hiti, on September 12. Their destr nation is Australia.

Caldwell, an American who mai ried an Australian girl, sailed ai other small ship from America few years ago. He sailed alone am his intention was to reach his wit in Australia. However, he met ba weather in the South Pacific and hi boat was wrecked on an island o the Lau Group, Fiji.

Before making Papeete on tH current trip, the Caldwells called : other islands in French Oceania an were able to report “uneventfi voyage” on arrival.

Santa Teretia Afloat

Again

Brother Gautier MSC, skipper o the Gilbert Island Mission ship Sam Teretia, which was reported lost i September PIM, writes on October * from Suva to tell us that the repo? is “not quite true, thank God”.

Santa Teretia did go up on Vun Reef, S-W of Taveuni on August ! as shown page 119 in the photograp sent by Brother Gautier, but afte getting all cargo and heavy geai engine etc., ashore she was able t float. After temporary repairs to th hull they got off the reef. The ne; Carpenter ship Ai Sokula took he

i tow to Suva where a few holes re being patched up. Brother autier expects that she will eventu lly be “as good as new”.

He said that the unpredictable lifting of the current around Vuna «f was the cause of the mishap id that the day after the Santa eretia went up, the Fiji ship Tui na homba went up on the same reef it got off after a few days with tie damage. “So many ships have ;en wrecked on this reef,” he says, am surprised that there is no light l it”.

Santa Teretia on the reef.