After
calling in again at Norfolk to bunker they started eastbound across the
Atlantic on 16th February. During this time Edward cabled Steel, Young to
advise them the passage was likely to be slow because the ship’s bottom was now
so fouled that her top speed was down to a meagre eight knots, and at the same
time he repeated his request for the ship to be dry-docked and cleaned.
As they
laboured eastward, making for Bishop Rock and three days from landfall, they
were again caught in a severe winter storm.
The Roddam was now in worse mechanical shape
than she had been then, for her bottom was heavy with weed, and she was
burdened with deck cargo which Edward feared could break loose as the gale
worsened. Before the storm’s onset he took the usual precautions of sending Mr
Laws down to ensure the on-deck lumber was battened down with plenty of manila
rope.
On 22nd
February while on the bridge and hoping the storm would soon subside they heard
the lookout shout down that he had sighted a mast.
Scanning
the horizon with his binoculars in the direction indicated and, despite the turbulent
irregular rise and fall of the ship, Edward managed to pick up a distant
object.
A
sailing barque laden with pitch pine was in serious distress. She was bare of
canvas with only the fore lower mast standing, and was floating heavily.
As they
closed they saw it was the Prinds Leopold,
a Norwegian ship under the command of Captain Nilsen. She had sprung a leak at
the start of the storm and soon discovered the pumps could not stop the water
pouring in. The captain and fifteen men on board had almost given up all hope
when the Roddam sailed into sight
three days later.
In such
circumstances at sea, despite danger, they could not just disregard a ship in
distress for the roles could so easily be reversed at some future date.
Ordering the launching of one of the ship’s boats Edward placed Mr Laws in
charge and told him to pick his crew, and second mate Mr Lawrey in charge of
the davits, lowering the boat and throwing scramble nets over the side.
It was
a perilous operation for Laws and the men but they reached the barque and
returned with all the crew of the Prinds
Leopold saved. The rescued men had quite a struggle to clamber up the
scramble nets for they were weak from exposure and the Roddam was being thrown about in the heaving water. It was touch
and go for the poor devils had not eaten for five days.
The
rescue lasted over three hours and Edward gave Laws and his men all the praise
and recognition he could. His only credit, he believed, was to have signed on
the bosun Hans Jenson and carpenter Larsen and the two ABs who accompanied Mr
Laws.
On 16th
March they reached Cuxhaven, Germany where the rescued men left the ship, and the
Roddam proceeded to Hamburg and while
there Edward was delighted to hear that Steel, Young had at last heeded his
pleas and arranged for his ship to be dry-docked in South Shields immediately on
their return.
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