The Heartease Adventure.

To journey three thousand miles in a 500-foot yacht requires more than average pluck, and yet that is what the crew of the Heartsease, the Auckland cutter, have done.

From Auckland to Tonga, to Suva, round the Fijian Islands, thence from Suva to Noumea, and on to Brisbane—that has been their itinerary.

In all those hundreds of miles down the Pacific seaways adventure must have crossed their path, and these extracts from a letter of one of the crew, Mr. H. C. Dixon, of Wellington, reproduced with his permission, make most interesting reading.

Here is his description of the journey from Suva to Noumea:—

Good-bye, Suva!

"Leaving Suva, we had a journey of some seven hundred and fifty miles ahead of us, Noumea being he next port of call. Our time of departure was about 10 a.m., and by daybreak the following day we dropped the last little knob of the Fiji Highland over the horizon.

"Moderate following winds and seas were the gift of the gods, and so we were in luck. This favourable weather was experienced throughout the journey, it being nothing more than a pleasant yachting cruise. On the morning of the fifth day we sighted Pine Island, the south-western reach of New Caledonia.

"By nightfall we had run past 'the island' and were lying outside the reef with all canvas furled, waiting for daylight to see us through the passage and on to Noumea, a distance of some 60 odd miles. With no pressure on 'top-side' of ship, we rolled all night and were very pleased when daybreak came and we were able to proceed. Our way lay through the reef, then on along the coast and through a long channel between When Island and the mainland.

"A terrific current was running through the reef passage, and we only just managed to make it. with engine running and all sails set. We gained about one knot in about seven, and to make matters worse, the outgoing tide meeting the incoming breakers made a choppy, overfalling sea. However, we soon worked our way out of that, and on we went, the tide changing later and pushing the ship along at a great pace.

"Running along the coast and up the channel, one could not help but think what a bleak and barren place, patches of red clay and barren hill forming the entire surface of the land. No green grass or waving tropical foliage here; just bleak bareness, with a few stunted cocoanut trees near the water's edge."

Then, again, this is a description of the run from Noumea to Brisbane:—

"Leaving Noumea at 10 a.m. on the Thursday, we were out of land sight by sundown of that day, well on our way to Brisbane, some eight hundred miles away. We were all in good spirits, for not only had the people of Noumea given us a rousing send-off, but we had Australia for a destination, which, I think, to a New Zealander sounds the next best thing to Home.