Part 01: Alan Fraser Fry letters, 8th August 1914- 28 January 1917 - Page 47
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[Page 47]
I felt the whole boat vibrate & quiver and knew there was something wrong. The cause of this shiver was the helm being put hard over, and the propeller forcing the water against the rudder causes the boat to vibrate more than usual. I had often felt it in the "Morinda" & "Matunga" when they were turning sharply – so the striking of the reef was not altogether a surprise. However we proceeded on our way, and the boat was only leaking very slightly, the pumps being able to keep the water under easily. As you can gather from this though, it was a very narrow shave.
Last night (Wednesday 17 Feb) I was sleeping on a roof out on the deck. Had been asleep a good while when a severe bump awoke me. I jumped up & looked over the side, and though the boat had stopped I could not see anything of a reef. In the morning however, there it was – high & dry right in front of us, and the nose of the "Seang Bee" almost out of the