Shipwreck of the yacht Sospan Fach on Middleton Reef in 1974.

Subject: Shipwreck of the yacht Sospan Fach on Middleton Reef in 1974. Category: Miscellaneous Asked by: kentheavonman-ga List Price: $50.00 Posted: 09 Oct 2003 19:31 PDT Expires: 08 Nov 2003 18:31 PST Question ID: 264782 In June of 1974, four people were plucked from Middleton Reef. They had attempted to cross from Auckland, NA to Sydney, AU, in a ferro-cement yacht called the Sospan Fach. Skipper Irfon Nicholas. Passengers Peter Lindemayer, Christine Braham, and Geraldine York. Nicholas was a Brit. Graham was an Aussie from Adelaide. The other two were, I believe New Zealanders. I need as much information as I can gather on the people and the vessel. Thank you. Ken Lord. Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 11 Oct 2003 10:06 PDT I've unearthed only one newspaper article about this incident, from June 18, 1974. The article is a few hundred words in length, and contains: --some details of the foursome's survival -- what they ate, how long they were stranded --the length of the yacht --the identity of the rescuing ship --how the survivors signaled the rescuing ship --a bit of background on the people themselves, but not much. Nationalities are given, one is identified as a former school teacher --there was apparently quite a bit of tension between Irfon and the rest, even before the wreck, and some information about this is given as well. All in all, there's some good detail in the article, but it certainly doesn't go into a great deal of depth. Would you like me to post this information as an answer to your question? Clarification of Question by kentheavonman-ga on 11 Oct 2003 22:12 PDT Probably I have this, as I have articles from NZ Herald, AU Herald, Adelaide News, Auckland Star, etc, for 6/12/74 and about 2 weeks thereafter. What I think I need is the ad that was run in an Auckland Paper. I will need to know something about the tension -- so go ahead and post it. Nicholas apparently had some reputation at Auckland. I need to know about that. Did he build the boat? Whose plans? Records of sea rescue services. Peter Warner of the ATA (vessel). Any background on the four before the voyage? Any follow up in the weeks post June 12, 1974. Any way to find the four people? My search of telephone numbers gives me nothing. Thanks. Ken Lord Clarification of Question by kentheavonman-ga on 11 Oct 2003 22:18 PDT Was the Sospan Fach registered? I know it did not pass customs or give notification of the sea journey. But was it registered? If so, what was the registration? Is air and sea rescue reachable about this either in NZ or AU? There is some reference to an Air Base in AU. Where is it? Is the ATA still working? Is Peter Warner still alive and working and can he be found? Thanks. Ken Lord Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 12 Oct 2003 17:03 PDT Clearly, I can only make a very meager addition to the information you already have. So here's the little bit I found about the in-fighting...you can have it gratis: According to a newspaper article dated June 18, 1974: The rescued were the Welsh skipper Irfon Nicholas, 38, Australians Peter Lindenmayer, 18, and Christine Braham, 23, and Geraldine Yorke, 23, of New Zealand. Nicholas' had gotten the crew together by advertising... ...Nicholas said he quarreled with his crew on April 9, two days after they left New Zealand, and after that they rarely spoke to him. "I had to get aggressive and to swear to stay in command", he said. "I was glad when we were rescued, so I would have someone to talk to at last".