She's Headed For The Scrappers

After one of the most entertaining careers in South Pacific smallships history “Tovata” ex-°Purple Sea” ex-SC67I (shown above at Savusavu Fiji), is to end now deteriorated. . the war as SC67l—a US sub-chaser. In 1947 she “Tovata began life during tn &nd engineless and in that condition was lying in Honoiulu. as w v fecently sailed a yacht to Tahiti she was bought by Ronald on the owner of another sub-chaser (this and sold her there. He arra w days out from Honolulu the one had engines) to tow him to «ni«. gub chaser two ordere d. then pleaded, weather deteriorated ami abQard his vessel Johnson elected to with Johnson to abar^°" l . S t^rned out to be four months drift—with occasional stay-put and began stem first, with sails he made himself. By the moments of sailing someti t north Qf piji and there he was picked first few weeks of February tQWed into Suva . H e sold the sub-chaser up by a freighter Fort Ca ™® fc ed her. (The full story of the drift was told there to £ arp ® nt fQf ßl^ h Johnson has had several nautical adventures since—the in PIM, March, 1948). . he left Sydney in a junk, headed islandwards. last, a couple of year,; «g when he W« ro .. pIM „ saw him ln , y He was j”between-adventures job ol Sydney street-photographer, mYnew pStTls ouls.de Mark Poy’s department store.