| New Acquisitions |
Creeping up on Auckland; C A Latimer; Seafarer Books, 2005; £8.95; CA16670 In late 1959, a group was assembled to sail in the Aberdeen Anzac, a 74-foot North Sea Trawler, from England to New Zealand. The crew financed the cost of their passages and some of them had chipped in to buy the vessel in anticipation of selling it at a profit at the end of the trip. They had all signed on for different reasons. Two were returning home after working in England, another couple went in expectation of jobs in a new country but most went simply because it seemed like an interesting thing to do. There were a number of mishaps en route and the various skills of the crew were well tested. Some of the problems could possibly have been avoided with better planning, others were unexpected. Soon after departure from Falmouth, they encountered a force 12 gale. With a smashed wheelhouse, no radio and the engine running at reduced revs because of low oil pressure, they limped into Corunna for repairs. Two months later (by which time they had decided that Galicia was not a natural wine growing area) they set off for Las Palmas, stopping at Vigo because of engine trouble. By the time they reached the Panama Canal, a serious leak had materialized. This was repaired by propping the boat against the side of a derelict barge and treating the hull at periods of low tide in between downpours of rain. Despite difficulties with officialdom in the Galapagos, they managed a week’s stay but their most serious trouble, and one which they didn’t realise at the time, started whilst they were at harbour in Papeete. To find out what that was, read this entertaining and delightfully illustrated book written 50 years later by one of the crew, an erstwhile CA member. - GHC |
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