The herald., 1922-03-09

enough TO anv sailorman with insight such most
sailors have into the ways of ships cats. HodS-
son, present custodian of Sinbad insists cats ana
sailors have much in common. cats instinct
and a sailors bunch the same thing, he de-
clares. only the cat can go ashore at any port
when dissatisfied and await another ship, while a
has to consider pay losses and other trites
like that which don't bother cats and so he sticks
to a craft he'd like to leave, against his better
judgment. Snbad left the Canastota because
warned by instinct of the ships impending fate.
and went ashore ut Sydney TO await homeward
bound vessel-sO the black gang of the West Wind
has it.
One hundred and fifty miles off the Mobiles
at Newcastle the Mobiles" being headands, Cap
tain Abbott ran into bad weather, beginning with
intermittent squalls from the southeast. increas-
ing to a gale as the harbor neared. and at
last assuming cyclonc violence The West wind
being in light trim on her beam ends half the
time.
There was a seventy-mile gale blowing when
we arrived off Newcastle the afternoon of July
"a" narrated the West Winds big bronZed skip
per- 81 had wireless orders to keep off. so we
went about just before dark and tried to beat out
to sea- but that's where our worst trouble was.
We hadn't enough power to make Roadway against
such a blow The West Wind Il turbine boat
during the war. Later they converted her into
coal burner. The boiler capacity wasn't increased
enough to properly supply her main engines. so
the best to be had out of her in fair weather was
a matter of six knots.
1--WE headed into that storm with every pound
of steam we could raise but our screw was out
Of water most of the time and the engines racing.
The vessel wouldn't obey her helm and was being
slammed about like an empty barrel in the nastiest
sea | ever saw. We were grabbing it for the rocks
at a lively clip, so at 4 80 p. m | ordered both
hooks away The anchors held for time, but
ABOUT dark both began dragging, and we were
off again for the boneyard.
From that time on it was ding-dong fight
steaming full speed into anchor chains and
losing way gradually spite of all we could do. One
minute she was burying her bows and singing her
stern in the air and the next she'd be standing on
her tail with the bow pointing skyward.
"We weren't alone in our troubles. The Kalapoi
out of New Zealand and the Chronos from Adelaide
for Sydney were the only ships to make port. Half
dozen other crafts were ordered to sea like our
selves The Century, plying between Melbourne
and Ocean island was to leeward of us. firing
rockets every minute so and exercising her sig
nal gun. She seemed to be making heavy weather
of it,
"The pilot steamer Ajax out of Newcastle went
to the Centurys assistance, and got line aboard
after some trouble She came through all right
after an all-night scramble. 1 understand there
were mighty sick folks aboard her when she finally
made port Other ships that had close calls were
the Armagh and Port Nicholson. The Macumba.
out Of Newcastle for Sydney, went by us blowing
her fires out of the tunnels under forced draught
She made port safely, too.
"Ours was the worst plight of all because OF
short boiler capacity. On top of that had five
hundred tons of coal piled on deck when the storm
broke having been compelled TO clean out the port
bunkers because of fire. Fire in your bunkers with
benzine slowed all around isn't what you'd call a
comfortable combination. Well didn't have t.
worry long that coal on deck, because every
n.l,;,N ono andy OF
ping most of the South Pacific about that time
between % and 30 tons went over the lee rail or out
the scuppers. By daylight our main deck was
swept clean.
zone important thing that helped pull the Wes
Wind through good crew. Every man aboard
stood by sailor fashion and the black gang beo"
kept steam on her, standing on their heads gooc
share of the time guess. There's lot in being