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.DISTRESSED PARTY, RESCUED
j ft Y LAUNCH MALANDA.
/: YOUTHS' TOYING EXPERI- ;
A. , ENCE.
*<À Two sensational boating incidents,
'...1- In ffhUh 41neteen' Parsons ttarraWly
escaped death,1 have oeeurrtd off
Cairns, as a result t>t the present
boisterous weather. While 'attempt«
ingito reaçh,Cairns.yesterday, morn
'.? ingJin thc'.face of a heavy wind, th©
mojpr boat Olive found herself In
difficulties, ' and her occupants, in«
. ? clucuog women and children, were
picked pp by the launch Malanda,
ap4(taken to Port Douglas, In the
. 'other case/five'youths'spent an'éx
y citing night in a ilmall rowing boat,
moored'to one of the channel .-buoys,
theif light craft mercilessly buffeted
. by Heavy seas that threatened litó im
' minent "destruction. No sootier .bad1
'.,' they! been'rescued by the jHaçbpr
Board's'dredge than their %bb»t be-
came flooded, and sank.
On,-Friday last, a party comprising
ten men, three women and a child, «et
out in' Hodel's motor boat, Olivci for
u holiday at Green Islt.nd, and the
liomeivurd journey'wa« commenced on
Monday. According, to the meagre
facts bf a reliable, Mature,'so .far avail-
able, the latinen Malanda,' which left
here yesterday morning at 7 o'clock
for Port .Douglas and Cooktown, ob-
served ». motor boat, with ahother
craft ».stern, drifting three miles'south-
east Irom Double Island, and evidently
in, a state of distress. Thc Malanda
inmediately went to the boat's assist-
ance,! and its occupants were trans-
ferred to the launch.' The following
telegram was received by thc Cairns
Harbor Master, Captain Brewster,,
yesterday afternoon: "Malandá; reports
launch Olive, with another'launch
astern, driftlilg three miles south-east
from'Double Island, All crcwS/landcd
Port Douglas." ', " . '
It was'learht last nïjjbt that most of
the rescued party intend proceeding by
the Malanda to, Cooktown, and will re-
turn by the same .launch, which is due
to, 'arrive here between five and six
?o'clock to-morrow . afternoon.
THe1 motor " boat, is ' the property
of th,e Hodel Brothers, .and twp
partnhrs. is valued at about .£300,
The adventure of thc five youth's wno.
,J "'spenti-a night in a storm-tossed boat,
moored to a buoy in the channel,'was
equally exciting.?' Those in the,party,
I were: Mundy Murray, Stan Murray,
> !].ick i Porter, .Clem Cititmmings (ind
J? < larrie Martin, all of whom arc under
\l twenty years of age. On Sunday the
' party iwent to Plum Tree Bay'on a
camping excursion, in a flat-bottomed
boat, and when they set o.ut on', the re-
turn journey on Monday afternoon,
a Dont: 3 o'clock the weather occasioned
them'ho cause for apprehension. ..Im-
mediately they passed the .Point, how-
ever, they encountered squally condi-
tions aiut heavy seas. '1 ne "balloon"
vas flown, hut the small craft nose-
dived,'several times, and as the syas
momentarily threatened to overwhelm
thc .craft, it was decided,!, that canvas
be taken in, . The anxious crew's
troubles wyre just beginning, how-
ever, for \vhilst the balloon was being
lowered, as they entered lite port, tue
mast po'llapsed, and went overboard,
The-pr.rty then decided to row, but it
was 'Hoon found that they could make
no headway, even wiih two men al
each oar, and in spite of their desperate
efforts, made the more desperate by a
leen realisation of their serious plight,
tiley poon found that thc tempestuous
wind j , and heavy seas were actually
»weeping them out to sea. Thc expe-
dient ot attempting to moor the threat-
ened craft to one of the. buoys in the
channel was then resorted to, but tlte
jirst of these'was just missed, and it
was not tuitil .the last outward beacon
ivas reachetf that the party succeeded
in securing thc boat alongside it! Had
they missed it, their plight would have
.been serious, lt was tuen five O'Clock
an tho evening, About 7.J0 o'clock the
mooring rope broke, and two others
.wcrciattached tb thc beacon. So heavy
were ¡the seas that; the boat was cOn
, . linuolisly shipping 'water, aiid each
man th' turu carried out the ' work of
baling, itt a desperate effort to keep thc
small'Craft afloat.' -'It ".jvas"..also being
buffeted against thc/sidc.of .the' beacon,
and there waY a danger that it would
be stpye in. (j mit là
Filled with anxiety-at the non-arrival
of the party; who wer¿ expected-to ar
? rive liomc at fiyc .o'clock ou .Monday
evening, Police'Sergeant' Martin, lather
of one of the missing lads, communi-
cated in the'carly hours of Tuesday
moriuiig with Mi;. Chas, Neary, by
whom his son is employed, 'and to
nether they set put in Mr. Ncary's cat
v in quest of a boat, with''a view to pro
jPfcae'Cutilig a search. Although a nuinbci
Tpf owners pf vessels'^crd-icallediUpoti
tf it was, foltud. impossible to'obtain thc
desired, assistance; áriálietween 'six. aiitl
seveir1' o'clock Sér^èant Martin an
proached. this' 'HáYl&riM.a'si& ./.Captain
Bre w'stçr)', ^itJS'ln.r'crjWsi that ''he make
available>'TJoat1 for thc purpose of à
search'.! "Tlic'officer1 advised'LSerp(eatit
Martin to'ls'ee'Mr,'H. ;-Cahl, who,' ht
«aid, .wotild meet'his need?, but it was
found 'thal' a" boat' c'duld -not 'be 'obtained
from Mr, Cahljuid_t|lei4ïàt!b6riM.astci
( was subscquçnUv^isitçd, b;vMr8..'Altu,
ray. mother''bfwd or?'the nfe'mWfs-'bi
the missing .party. , If is " stated tha
Captain Brewster "replied tharhé wo'ulc
pick up'4he -youths'when'-he went Oui
1 to attend to the bease-hs af eighi'b'clbcl
in the morntng. In'the meantime "th«
Harbor Master .had*«sighted -thc "miss
ing'boat.with his glasses.
About 8.30,-thc vdrpd,f^e.. whilst ' pro
ceeding dowto the'c'hàïmcl.* noticed tin
party Is; plight. " It immediately "cami
alongside, and the hapless youths wen
taken aboard. No sootier had thci
steppçd ' 'pitt : of 'their ; boat than ' i
. swamped and. .sank.- The crew of tin
dredge';ilipwed' 4h'e -.ladsuevery kind
ness, one ipi their, most welcome minis
tratipnsSlicing; the-¡supply ing of break
fast. ^.Subsequently thc party \v¡en
transferred ¡to: the Harbor Master'
piJot'.bpal, .andi brought,on to Cairns
About the same time, Mr. Christen
sen was about.to proceed in his boa
to thc lads' rescue. - ...
Sergeant Martin expressed his keel
appreciation' '.bf CMesVrsi>''-ííearv ajii
Christensen's untiring efforts on th
?stranded? barty's behalf. \
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