News Of The Small-Ships

Ex-Servicemen’S Venture

:o sell, with a guarantee of ser vice and spare parts, craft suit able for Islands trade—especi- W converted war surplus craft— is the mission of Mr. Peter irockmorton, of Honolulu, who iited Suva and Noumea in June, jer a period in Papeete. as one of three ex-servicemen “tners in the Reliable Engine Re ;ir Service, of Honolulu, Mr. irockmorton says he is confident at his company can provide a wice to present owners of war *plus American vessels south of - Line, as well as to traders seek- T vessels.

Saving just completed the re fining of the well-known Taurua Papeete, and in anticipation of ling other vessels in that area, 5 company may organise a South cific service depot there. *lr. Throckmorton was recently charged from an Army hospital er service in Korea, and three irs as a repair foreman in an my yard in Japan. Another rtner Mr. W. (Red) Sholtz is an •chief engineer in US submarines; d the third partner, Jack Par is, is an ex US Navy CPO. oltz was formerly chief engineer the famous Cheng Ho junk- Jht, Throckmorton was engineer the Tahiti Public Works Depart nt’s LCT Porionuu, on its de cry voyage from Honolulu last ir. Combining business with that p, Throckmorton and Scholtz ho was by then in another hiti trading vessel) obtained a itract to re-engine the Taurua. [Vo of the partners, using a paid w, operated what they claim to the only non-US Japanese-owned ling boat that makes money, out Honolulu. The vessel, Sea Hawk, neered hand-line fishing in the mch Frigate Shoal, Maro Reef, i Palmyra atoll areas, and is jrating at the former locations the present time. ?he partners have plenty of en prise and deserve to succeed in dr present plans, but dollars may we an obstacle to business in ae South Pacific areas.

'Ui Cacau Away—The Tui

tau, normally on the Fiji inter mds service, cleared Suva under amand of Captain E. Hay, early ae, on a NZ Government charter bring leper patients in to Mako —four from Niue, seven from ' Cooks, and five from Apia. Re ning to Rarotonga as a passenger 3 CIMP Tou, who had been in 73. for some months on a special gical course. There were also ae boys who had failed to qualify the Central Medical School, re ning home. i/V. ALT AIR Morris Hed )m’s 260 g.t. AUair resumed on Fiji inter-island service late

June after refit. Captain George Whippy is now in command, replacing Captain J. Me. Arnot, who is bringing the South Pacific Shipping Co’s San Michele from Cyprus.

Vuniwai Stranding That

no blame was attachable to the Fijian master, as the shoal was unchartered and the topmarks miss ing from the beacons in the vicinity, was the official finding on the stranding of the 77-tons Medical Department’s Vuniwai at Moturiki Passage, near Qoma, Fiji, on April 28. The vessel was slipped in Suva, and damage was slight.

Writ On Vila Star— The New

Hebrides Trading & Shipping Go’s.

Vila Star, currently operating be tween New Hebrides, New Zealand and Australia, got publicity in NZ in May, when Northern SS Co., of Auckland, placed a writ on the vessel at Tauranga, in respect of a claim for £5,800, in dispute be tween the two companies. The debt was settled within a few days, and the ship sailed for Sydney.

Kaumoana At Papeete

Mervin Bros, single-screw, war surplus vessel Kaumoana, en route from France to Tahiti, broke her tail shaft 300 miles east of the Marquesas. Some members of the crew manned the boat and sailed

on ahead for assistance. Kaumoana was then towed to Marquesas by another vessel. Repairs were effected there with the aid of the workshop aboard the French naval sloop La Mouqueuse, and Kaumoana eventu ally reached Papeete under her own power.

Neo Hebridais Li—A Union

SS Co. vessel, formerly well known on the Australian coast and sold some time ago to a Sydney buyer, has been resold to Societe Maritime et Miniere Hagen, of Noumea.

Formerly Koranui —and before that Cleopatra —the vessel has been re named Neo Hehridais II and will replace the Neo Hehridais, which has operated on the Noumea-Syd ney service for 15 years. The vessel, built in Germany in 1914, is a steel steamer of 1,266 tons gross. Neo Hehridais, built in Holland in 1918, is a steel steamer of 793 gross tons.

Ada For G & E Charter—

Tasman SS Co’s recently purchased wooden motor vessel, Ada, went into service June 12, when she cleared Auckland for Tonga, fully laden.

The 300-tons-gross craft will operate a number of charter voyages for the Colony Wholesale Society, Gil bert and Ellice Islands. First of these was expected to be a general cargo from Suva to Tarawa, and the return voyage with empty drums. Other voyages were expected to be on the New Gilbertese settle ments on Phoenix Islands.

Boats For Trochus Fish

ING —Brought to Auckland recently by the Titanhank, four lifeboats salvaged from the ill-fated Kelvin hank (which was wrecked on Ocean Island some months ago) were put up for auction. They were purchased by the New Hebrides Trading & Shipping Co. and loaded aboard their Vila Star for transport to

Sydney. From there it is und stood that they would go north be used for trochus-fishing in No Queensland waters.

El Retiro In Trouble-

Retiro (formerly Kapiti, well knc in New Zealand waters) seems have ended her short and rat unhappy Islands career on a reel

iTew Hebrides in June. She was unit in Paisley in 1902. At first ' steamer she was later given a ;iesel motor of a type notoriously ckle. Captain E. Savoie, of Foumea, purchased the ship in uckland in 1950, used her for a •hue on the Noumea-Auckland ydney circuit, and sold her to an ther Noumea firm when he pur lased Maria del Mar (ex Margaret- V) from the same Auckland ivners.

San Michele On Way—South

acific Shipping Co’s wooden motor jssel San Michele, mentioned last onth, was expected to clear Cyprus 1 rout ® t 0 Suva > vi a Suez, late in me. The newly-formed company ugusf vesse * to arrive late fcoT MAOAE Another of ihiti s larger schooners, the aoae 145 tons gross (95 net) nk at her berth in Papeete on ay 30 after having lain idle for long period. Maoae was one of KLi a 5 g l two-masted schooners rchased by the local administrafrom North American owners nng the latter part of World War rhe others were Hotu (wrecked tne Tuamotu two years ago) and

. operatin g) • Together,

'Y iis ure d m a scandal during VJ 6g1 5? e °J S° ver nor Orselli, it ng alleged that someone had ;ri e fJS°?i, ey on th i ver y high price the?! aged craft. It is un u Maoae will be salvaged her hull is reported in very poor Klition and her useful life ended :JJ aa S Bluen °se-type of Grand iks schooner. Mervin Brothers the owners.

Nsurance And Moan A It

P Hmp d ? 9m Tahiti that

lerwr?t^r<j b v? ng ’ insurance

terwnters have refused to pay h« n J? e loss of the 161 -tons nff Moana, burnt at 0 “ o o A ?u a several months ago. second vessel to be by fire in the Tuamotus within tew months. The other was vntse. Another, had i on fire in the same area last

Yachts in the news. Left to tight: Moonraker, novia. Les 4 vents. and Ramona. All taken in Papecte recently.

year, but was saved by her master and chief engineer. All had dif ferent owners.

Kandavulevu For Sale—

The well-known little schooner Kandavulevu, of 32 gross tons, was for sale in Suva in June. Built in Suva by S. G. Griffin, in 1920, she is 50’ x 14V x 7’, with a 35 hp Vivian diesel. Owned by the Fijian Affairs Department she has operated for the Kandavu Island people until laid up some time ago. That service is now being maintained by the Mel anesia, which was purchased re cently from Mr. Frewen.

TIARE FOR REFIT— The French naval sloop Tiare was expected in Suva from Noumea early July for refit. The job was expected to take about ten days.

Aw A For New Guinea—The

wa , a former Navy Fairmile, which has been converted into a luxuri ous pleasure-yacht, 112 ft long, was in North Queensland waters in ™£ o, *r° n way from her h ome port Newcastle, to New Guinea and islands eastward. Her o w n e r skipper is Mr. J. T. Tillitzki, and he has three companions. The Awa has seven two-berth cabins, a din ing saloon, kitchen, lounge, bath

room and three wash-rooms.

Awala Arrives In Ng—Mr

C. E. Searle, of Awala Plantation, m the Northern District, Papua, has recently returned there from Australia with a 48-ft trawler.

He intends to use it to move plantation freight from Lae and other centres to Cape Killerton, the

Tui Cacau left Suva for the Cooks and [?]moa on a leper patient trip.

Schooner Kadavulevu on sale in Suva.

MH's Altair resumed in the Fiji inter island service after survey.

The new motor-vessel “Simbang,” re cently built in Brisbane for the Lutheran Mission, photographed as she lay al^” s ‘ the Mission wharf in Madang, New Guinea. It was a gala day at the Mission on June 14, when Dr. Kuder, President of the Lutheran Mission, dedicated the vessel to the service of his church, in an impressive ceremony. coast outlet for the Popondetta- Kokoda district.

He has renamed the craft Awala, and sailed it himself from New South Wales to the Territory.

Erica Blown On Beach—

The coastal vessel Erica was blown on to the beach at Wewak, NG, on the night of June 8 when a 50mile-an-hour wind hit the area.

She was refloated early on the morning of the 12th by the Gov ernment trawler Thetis and the Mission ship Fatima Star, which had maintained towing operations for three nights.