A newspaper clipping saved by Captain Brian Agnew of SS Gothic shows him holding the lifeboat chart he used to navigate the ship back to New Zealand after a devastating fire destroyed parts of the vessel, including the bridge.
The Lifeboat Chart that is believed to have been used to navigate Gothic back to New Zealand.
Courtesy Agnew Family.
A close-up view of the Lifeboat Chart. In the lower right is Gothic’s position at the time of the fire (approximately 44°24’S, 149°04’W), just to the left of the first "E" in "THE WESTERLIES." From there, Gothic steamed West by South for the first day, then Northwest by West to pass north of the Chatham Islands, and finally West to Wellington, New Zealand.
Courtesy Agnew Family. Click for larger view.
Andrew Brian Agnew (right), son of Captain Brian Agnew, with his children Charlie and Eleanor, and some of the family’s SS Gothic records, including the Lifeboat Chart shown above.
Photo (2018): Ali Agnew
The fire-blackened SS Gothic off Cape Palliser. New Zealand
The fire-damaged Gothic in rough seas off Cape Palliser, South Wairarapa, 6 August 1968
The first ship to rendezvous with Gothic was the Union Steam Ship Company’s MV Navua
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