Dramatic End

To Tuna Catch

From Judy Tudor, in Papeete Mr. T. Playfair, export manager of CSR Co.’s Sydney building divi sion, who was a visitor to Tahiti, Mr. Rex McLaughlin , Papeete manager for TEAL, and Mr. Dave Cave, American owner of Hertz, Papeete, had a deep-sea fishing ad venture in mid-December that, at times, looked like being their last.

THEY left Papeete about 8.30 a.m..

December 14, in a hired fishing launch with two Tahitians as crew, and went about 20 miles out beyond Moorea in open sea before they be gan to fish. They got amongst some big stuff and at 2.30 p.m. Mr. Play fair hooked what turned out to be a huge tuna. (It was 350 lb and is believed to be something of a record although it cannot be claimed as it took two to land it.) Mr. Playfair fought it for three hours and when he became exhausted Mr. McLaughlin took it on for an hour. They eventually landed it at 6.45 p.m. and turned for home— the two local men were to attend a dinner party that night. Half an hour later the launch engine failed.

Limped

The two Tahitian crewmen patched it up and it limped to within 11 miles of base, in the channel between Tahiti and Moorea. before failing com pletely. By this time, it was 11 p.m., and in a night of howling wind and pounding rain the launch was tossed about like a cork. Those on it could hear the huge seas pounding on the reefs off Moorea and Tahiti but for tunately the boat drifted down the channel and again headed for the open sea.

At this stage it was found that the auxiliary outboard that is carried as an emergency had been taken off for checking a week previously and had been left ashore. The two-way radio, ship-to-shore, installed for just this sort of situation, was found to be only one-way—those on board could hear but not send.

The launch was equipped with

three standard-type flares—they are

attached to six-ft. poles and are more use for guiding rescue ships to the spot than attracting attention; and three self-igniting parachute rockets that are tricky for the novice to launch. The first took off into the sea, went under the boat and came up the other side to explode like a depth

charge; the second headed horizon tally for the open sea; the third, and last, did the right thing, went straight up and exploded into a purple star that could be seen for miles. But by this time it was near midnight and still raining and not even Tahitians spend much time looking out to sea under those conditions.

But on that night, a card party was in progress away down in the Paea district and the Tahitian driver of one member of the party, waiting in the car, saw the rocket out to sea.

He informed his employer who im mediately rang the authorities in Papeete who knew of the missing launch but were ignorant as to what direction it had headed the previous morning.

A powerful rescue launch imme diately left for the area where the rocket had been seen and although rescuers and the disabled launch were for the most part hidden from each other by the big seas, they finally made the rendezvous.

The fishing party was landed at Papeete about 4 a.m.—chastened, dampened but still in possession of that record tuna.

Mr. Playfair spends a lot of time travelling around the Pacific these days but reckons that, at the moment, he has had enough big-game fishing.

Tahitian style, to do him for the rest of his life.