Acific Shipping And Cruising Yachts

Month's News of—

Happened In December

st 40 years ago this Christmas the Union Co.’s 24-year-old ■Pacific passenger vessel, i, 3,393 tons, met her end off a, Rarotonga. Auckland e court records show that the , built for Huddart Parker & 3 Miowera and later acquired le Union Co., cleared San isco, December 7, 1916, under and of Captain Charles in, with a crew of about 80, issengers and 900 tons of aboard. but 29 of the passengers were [ at Papeete, and the vessel 1 off Rarotonga in perfect ?r at 4.30 p.m. on Christmas oon. re anchoring it was the *’s intention to try to pick up ibles and anchors which had slipped by the vessel six s earlier, the position of had been buoyed. Meanwhile rge of cargo commenced into lighters. attempt to pick up the cables so at about 8.45 he vessel took a turn out then ran in to drop anchor

f ° r , ths night. The starboard m dr °PP ed in 16 fathoms and 60 fathoms of cable paid out the Master ringing slow astern' However, the cable parted, and full

DUt hnrH d rUng alld the helm ffafteffJiSK ° tUrn seaward - but ll ed to come round in time d f d -5 eavil y on the reef pTn«£ he f« W «? Slde ° f Avarua Pass, 2 n t 0 wreck of the Nor tSESS bar ? u T e . Trit on (one-time Bi itish vessel Kmtyre ).

Conditions then were dead calm. ®“f me was put astern—and ® bt fl ast s r s u f} tll the engine-room was flooded when the vessel began

First visit to the Pacific of the Royal Yacht "Britannia", shown here at Port Moresby wharf.

Photo: Papuan Prints.

to pound in a rising swell next afternoon. Meanwhile all stores, fittings of value, mail, and 400 tons of cargo were landed. The fires were doused in the furnaces at 3 p.m., Boxing Day, and the crew went ashore at 4 p.m. In the hope of towing the vessel off the reef as the cargo was discharged, the French steamer Cholita arrived from Papeete, Decemer 29, in response to a radio call, but by that time the Maitai, lightened, had been forced further onto the reef by wind and sea.

Most of the ship’s company were picked up on December 31 by another ship and taken to Auck land.

Contrary to some popular accounts of this wreck, there is nothing in the findings of the marine court to suggest that the weather was bad at; the time or that Christmas cele brations aboard the ship were in any way responsible. The court found that the Master misjudged his distance from the reef in the dark, and should have backed out stern first on parting his cable. (See page 71 for the 1956 salvage story ).

For Bp Fleet

Burns Philp (SS) Co. Ltd., of Suva, made a handsome addition to their Fiji fleet in November, when they purchased the 10-year-old Ratanui from Northern Steamship

Co., of Auckland, the same com pany which sold them the 248-ton Nikau in July, immediately follow ing the loss of Vasu.

As stated then, Nikau was a smaller vessel than BP’s would have wished, but evidently Ratanui was not then available. She has, no doubt, been released with the impending arrival of a new and larger vessel,

Poranui, now on her maiden voyai from a Dutch shipyard.

Ratanui was built in Quebec I May spring, and later sold to Dana owners and renamed Arrenak, ung which name she ran fish from Ic land to the Mediterranean ai fruit on the north-bound ru Northern Co. purchased her eat 1952 and she called at Papeete I

;livery voyage to Auckland, she still bore the name k. ain E. Harness, Suva Harbour , on leave in New Zealand, command of Ratanui for the 7 voyage. He was to fly back v Zealand, and will spend f his leave in England next

The Montoro

ugh BP’s Sydney office 111 e information on the ighter Montoro for the Syd st Pacific Islands trade, an shipping journal mentioned October date that this vessel tons dead-weight capacity, I by a M.A.N. diesel of 2,600 d been launched at the yard nds Werk, Norway, evidently ember. The vessel was to service speed of 13 knots, ssumably will have limited er accommodation. )ro is expected in Sydney ext March.

She’S No Flyer

ivin-screw Gleniffer-powered

Melva, latest addition to ok Islands fleet, reached ?a from Wellington, October luick check shows that the is no speedster—average r the voyage was just under n Keith, of the Holm - Co - staff, in command for /ery,-; returned to Auckland

per Viti, but Captain D. K. Mathe ?r^ h °. S 1 f ned as Mate > remained in the Cooks as reheving Master Archer & Brown vessel In

Ojjitc.

Cuptjiin Hugh Williams, owner of Melva, is now in command of his own vessel.

More Trouble For Inspire

The twin-screw Inspire, stolen for a period recently in the Cooks, was in worse trouble in November, when it was reported that the newer and more powerful of the two diesel engines, installed less than two years ago, had “done” the crank shaft and all main bearings—and the nearest spare crankshaft for this model was in England. How

ever Inspire will still be mobile with one motor and sail, pending repairs.

Adrift— But Not Missing

The 7,250-ton American freiehfpr some^OO^mil 1^111 a juiet November Sd 4 °LS es * north of Midway New d vn?t d trans-Paciflc, the iNew York-owned vessel cast hpr propeller on November 4. A tug was despatched from Honolulu but within back there November 20 ThnarH sus P ected appendicitis case aboard— and no Thunderbird in tow The tug was to depart again im mediately on a second attempt.

Sydney’S Nautical Hideout

Sydney’s mecca for Island leave men is generally considered to be

IN THE NEWS: "Kurimarau", which gone to Fiji to trade (see page 107); cott'', recently involved in a mis [?]ding with a Jap fishing vessel. (See[?]

ertain bar in Usher’s Hotel, but you’re seeking members of the nds maritime fraternity, there’s equally popular hideout—the ■left bar in the Exchange Hotel, [ Street. Like as not there are or two sipping their cool beers ■e right now!

Re—And More—Scrap For

Japan

i October, PIM reported the visit the 876-ton Panamanian re

erated vessel Sea rl to Rarotonga to it a cargo of latoes for Welling- There a hoped-for ;o of frozen beef Honolulu did not ;erialise, and Sea rl lay idle for ks, finally loading p metal for Japan, cleared Welling for Rabaul, No ber 21. There she to bunker, eanwhile the ise 1 ’ s attractive elling agent, Miss is Bettauer, from idquarters in

New York, was far from idle. Fly ing into Wellington—she had earlier met the vessel at Papeete prior to the Rarotonga call—she settled down to some hard bargaining with New Zealand ship-owners. Result: Purchase of the coastal veterans Holmdale and Storm, and the partly stripped hulls of Matangi and Totara. Holmdale was renamed Pacific Pearl.

She and Storm presently appeared in new colours and flying the

Liberian flag, registered in the name oi a company called Crescent Coipcration of Monrovia Both pro ceeded to load scrap.

Through November another w a rr 0r ran a shu ttle service from Wellington with cargoes of scrap iron to Pelorus Sound across Cook Strait where Matangi and Totara lay. Early December a Dutch tug was expected to take these laden hulks in tow, and the whole circus was to move off for Japan. (Over)

Burns Philp (SS) Co.'s Ratanui", purchased [?] the Fiji - Tonga - [?]moa-Gilberts petroleum [?]oducts trade.

Photo: J. P. Shortall.

With the hurricane season under way more may be heard of this con voy of veterans before they clear the Islands northbound. Late November, Miss Bettauer was re ported still wrestling with manning problems.

Mr. Les Ellis, of Auckland, well known in Tonga, who had been Second Officer in Sea Pearl, paid off that vessel at Wellington, and reported that en route from Cali fornia she had broken down with electrical trouble 18 miles before reaching Papeete.

Due to differences in radio frequencies, Sea Pearl could not contact Papeete, so Ellis was about to be sent on in a ship’s boat for assistance when the engineers man aged to restart a motor and the vessel made port.

PIM can vouch for the fact that the ship has a very fine radio tele phone installation, however, for the vessel was heard in daylight con tact with California from near Tahiti, and signals then were strong in Auckland.

Japs To The Rescue

In November, 1955, a few weeks before Arakarimoa went missing from Tarawa, two Gilbertese, fish ing outside the lagoon from the same port, went missing.

Thirteen days later they were picked up 200 miles to the westward

by the Japanese tuna boat Koya Maru and were landed in the Marshall Islands.

In October this year two more Gilbertese went missing from Marakei atoll There is nothing in the Tarawa news-sheet report to suggest that any search was made

for the men—or that they had 0 been reported missing.

But once again it was a Japai. tuna boat, homeward bound fl South Pacific fishing operatii which accidentally came to rescue on October 24.

Advice to this effect was recee

i the Foreign Ministry in Tokio, the men were to be landed at jalein on October 30. Point of ■up was not indicated.

He Lame And The Halt

e one-time Fiji Government 1 Viti, like NZGS Maui Pomare, h she is currently assisting on Zealand-Cook Islands run, aring the end of her economic as evidenced by the constant le repairs and general main ice work involved in her itions. te November, loading was d in Auckland when a leak ared below the waterline well ird. The vessel was heavily sted with iron blocks on the deck to cock up her bow and rs were effected without dry ng. t when that job was completed g was still delayed by engine rs. Though her owners, Tas- Steamship Co., are in bank y, the Government, which the funds available to estab the ex-servicemen’s company, m interest in the vessel, ana doubtless cheaper to use her e Cooks run with all her faults, to charter any other vessel he purpose, even should other jerated vessels be available.

Interesting Passage

;n on the regular trade routes surprisingly rare for vessels to one another on the high seas, he passage of the Canadian 1 White Hart from Samoa to land via the Lau Group re j was of particular note, ner Tony Reeves reported com p with a big Japanese fishing r-ship, with several 100-150una boats alongside discharg heir cargoes into her. Date, mber 28; location, 25.22 S., E., that is, due north of Cape , NZ, and outside the tropics.

Reeves exchanged light Is with the motor-ship as he close past, and got the names 'nye Maru. No vessel of this is shown in Lloyds Register, here are five vessels with the e Tenyo Maru, and one— erated—which answers the de ion, has called at Suva in the to land injured fishermen, s vessel is 11,224 tons gross wned by the Taivo Fishing Co., kio, known to operate a tuna g fleet south of the Line from i (not from Pago Pago). ew days later White Hart en ered the yacht Tzu Hang, as £d in November PIM.

Ie On Operation Tuna

1 Director of the Fisheries !y, Japanese Ministry of Agri e and Forestry, sheds a little light on Japanese tuna fish pera-tions. he says, in response to a

" fishing 0611 ’Wher f e° r th^y C go C i S o< up™ Apart from the vessels based at Pago Pago, three fishing fleets

tSrsst«

November 15, one of these was still operating (no doubt the one menturned. earlier) ’ and two had »- Three or possibly four such expeditions will operate next year. In addition, some vessels sail independently to south of the Line Generally speaking, the fleets decide on a general area of operations before leaving Japan, but if on

father

m&y consist of 20 to 30 vessels^

Leper Ve §|Lay E D Aunching

The Lener’s t?nn T 7„ •,

buiidingin Auckiand -“

( (Continued on Page ioi)

slowly. Launching of the first i now probably not take place 11 early February, but the second el. taking shape, should not be [behind. [tended names have still not selected.

Ws Of Cruising Yachts

BOUNTY, of Auckland, arrived f from her venturesome South ific voyaging on November 22. three years of cruising, Ken (ey and his merry men have had t than their share of trouble, nantled between Tonga and Fiji, yacht had just stepped a new t in Suva when the earthquake .seismic wave struck—and snap

went the new mast. But that was only a sample of the things that have happened to Bounty —and can be vouched for! • SOLACE, of England, cleared Rarotonga on October 23 for Aitu taki and Palmerston Island, thence presumably Rarotonga-Auckland • TAHITI, heading for Honolulu from Auckland, departed Papeete about November 11 for Hilo. Trip Auckland-Papeete, very rough, tak ing 43 days. • TAIHOA, of Auckland, was wrongly reported by our Papeete correspondent as heading back to New Zealand from that port Ere this appears the yacht should be in the Hawaiian Islands. (Cont. p. 102)

Royal Navy's fleet auxiliary "Fort Beauharnois" clearing Auckland late November with a cargo of supplies for the atom bomb testing ground at Christmas Island.

Photo: J. P. Shortall.