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Getting Around in the Cooks

With The Brown

And Other Lines

By Gordon Russell

Two monuments to the Brown Line, of the inter-Cook Islands shipping fleet, now dominate Raro tonga’s northern shoreline the weathered skeleton of the MV Rannah, that was lifted neatly on to the reef edge just east of Avarua basin in a northerly blow on No vember 16, 1954; and the auxiliary ketch “Inspire”, which sank in- Wloriausly at her moorings in Avatiu basin in April last.

I Inspire lies there still, an em barrassment to all except her operator, Dick Brown, and the odd visiting yacht that finds the rotting hull a convenient bulwark against wind and tide.

DICK BROWN’S turnover in inter island tonnage has been con siderable since he became the first local boy in the Cooks to make good as shipowner, trader and pearl shell king, back in 1945.

Earlier vessels of the Brown Line that founded or broke up on local coral strands were Tahitienne, Karoro, Mahurangi, in that order. Inspire is the first to die in bed, as it were, from natural causes.

But Dick always comes up with one more, his current vessel the Suva-built Taveuni, a blunt-nosed, powered ketch that has survived many maritime vicissitudes without covering many productive nautical miles. Her hour, or day, or week, of sailing is always a big question mark, and Dick is the first to admit that she sails “Maori time”.

There is much activity in the Cooks these days, with room, it would seem, for all four of the shipowners who compete for a share of the trade between the 13 scattered isles of this isolated group.

Never a Picnic never a ncnic Only Penrhyn, Suwarrow and Rarotonga offer any haven for even such small freighters as are in vogue, and working these craft in open water off reef-bound low-lying isles calls for constant vigilance and is rarely the dream-boat picnic so often conjured up in the minds of frustrated commuters.

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y parUcipants 6 seasoned operators, but they differ somewhat in their approach to the problem of keeping holds full and expenses down.

The manner in which the Brown Line gets by has been indicated, For many years the Charlotte Donald representing the old estab lished island trading firm of A. B.

Donald Ltd., has pulsated with gratifying regularity around the cooks with the redoubtable Capt.

Andy Thomson vociferously in com mand. He has now been succeeded by capt. Francis Bottoms, 1 charlotte Donald is in a class to B £g r g e if committed primarily to f eed i n g Donald’s chain of island £ Jig with supplies and hauling stores wun pp copra nomewaru. ° CCaSi ° nal charter magic w • As to profit or Joss— sne is out part of a considerable organisatmn and that answer is buried some

Cook Is. Fleet

-Past and Present

At left is the schooner Tiare Maori, with Dick Brown’s latest, Taveuni, on the right of the picture. Between them is the wreck of Rannah, blown on to the reef in 1954.

Picture below shows the Marco Polo, left, in course of a world cruise, tying up to the half-submerged ketch, In spire, in Avatiu basin, Raro- , tonga.

Photos: G. Russell.

where in a complicated balance

sheet.

Most recent entrant in this mari [time field is the graceful, powered schooner Tiare Maori, of the South Pacific Trading Company, Van- F couver registered, but with a strong American flavour.

Walter Johnson, a wealthy Ameri can, is the boss, and as he also owns a luxury yacht, the Nordlys, based on Tahiti, initial waterfront opinion ; was that this new competitor should not be taken too seriously. The novelty, we thought, would soon ' wear off.

But the speedy Tiare Maori has moved around to considerable pur pose over the last three years and ; her operators are showing a marked interest in local commercial t activities.

Latest iron in the fire is the freighting of motor spirit from Tahiti, a venture that seems to offer lucrative possibilities.

In command of Tiare Maori is a Ihustling young American, Don

Matthews. He has a Tahitian crew.

Completing the field of Cl operators are Skipper Hugh Williams and his faithful cobber, engineer Les Livingstone, the former the most colourful personality on the waterfront. Hughie is noted for his habitual grumblings; for his passion for haunting second-hand furniture emporiums, and his flair for buying and selling the right ship at the right time Hughie Gets Back It was Hughie and Les who brought Inspire to these waters from England and made good in her with fast passages here, there and everywhere over a period when local tonnage was at a premium.

Hughie then disposed of her to advantage and with equal sagacity and energy bought, operated and sold her successor. MV Melva. At the moment of writing he and Les are Rarotonga bound from Port Moresby with his latest purchase, the 83-ft Dobiri. Hughie and Les, with a local crew, are a self-con tained and mobile unit, and—half the battle—they live aboard.