Newspapers / Zebulon Record (Zebulon, N.C.) / May 14, 1937, edition 1 / Page 13
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Sailed aliny Goat 3400 Miles across the PACIFIC to Help Her STEPSON mWjMUBBWB wmm m—.wm.'ii..""w ■ ■■.,.. ■i.'." m " i.m." ... y .. .... ■->>xf * : .v. >i^: : '^ V : , ; , /;<— ir Vw- ltf iiif|-^ : "»■ 'lfflllgfiJ ; ..M| \' ' ~ ||jg| ~' v >|j Jk£ { '•’ , ‘ < 4k gs Jfsa« . ’ f .-,/.' v jHI 1 i/ | .■• t $ m ‘ /v,) RMS9M i t v;>x-i >'•-• -5 < •<, ' RITE down Wilma Madden. 37-year-old widow, as living proof that the old tradition which calls stepmothers heart- W less and unfeeling is all wrong While you’re about it. you might also write her down as one of the pluckiest young women on the face of the earth Mrs. Madden recently sailed across 3400 miles of stormy ocean in a boat smaller than the smallest of the “Queen Mary’s” lifeboats. Nor did this attrac tive woman have any crew of huskv sailors to maneuver her cockle-shell for her. The only person aboard beside her self was her 23-year-old stepson. Ward Madden, who would have lost his life during the voyage had it not been for Mrs. Madden’s extraordinary courage The voyage began in Seattle, Wash The Maddens sailed 1000 miles to San Francisco, then they sailed 2400 miles across the Pacific to Honolulu. Hawaii They spent 14 days at sea between Seattle and San Francisco, and 33 days between San Francisco and Honolulu Alone in the vast ocean, the intrepid woman and her stepson spent that total of 47 days on a sailboat only 25 feel long! This vouthful widow is feminine ana small —she stands only 4 feet, 10 inches tall. She u petite, frail, even, which makes her daring all the more remark able. This amazing sea trip was started by the death of Ellis C. Madden, the boy’s father and Mrs. Madden’s husband. After expenses of settling the estate stepmother and stepson needed to find something to do to assure a living the rest of their lives. Mrs. Madden was willing to sacrifice everything that her stepson might find a good career. He had shown that with training and experience he might be come a writer. What could be better for him then, thought Mrs. Madden, than a life of travel? A trip to the South Seas and on into the Old World? That would be a life worth writing about. But how about steamship fares and hotel bills? How to pay for them? She read about a man named William A. Robinson, who sailed a 32-foot boat around the world a few years ago She also read about Harry Pigeon, who cir cled the globe alone in a 34-footer shortly after that. And she read about Joshua Slocum, who, in his GO’S, sailed a 36-foot sloop around the world back in 1898. ->■' • JmSL 4 ffiHgn ' !j£X\v. tjk iWKftgflßH? . "•sy/ss ' ,y'- SXSSSBL SO these two adventurers found a sailboat, not too expensive, to suit them. It was only 25 feet long, but it was decked over, had good strong sails and rigging, and was sturdy and sea worthy. The pair stocked their boat, which they named “Teeni,” with supplies ana water, and started out. Ward had enough training in mathematics to feel that he could do the navigating. The “Teeni” was hardly out in tht Pacific ocean, bound for San Francisco when she met a storm. Tremendou waves knocked the midget boat aboui violently. Part of the time Mrs. Mad den and Ward dared not go on deck They hhd to lie on the cabin floor, hop ing the storm would end. It was sr fierce that a small dinghy they had torn loose and lost forever. Then the fog settled down. The> knew they were somewhere off the treacherous Oregon coast, but Just where they could not be sure. The> could see only a short distance. The> sailed on for days, not knowing when a black, cruel rock might appear right in front of them, nor when a steamship might run them down. One day it was clear, and they found Mrs. Wilma Madden at the tiller of her 25-loot sloop. Teeni. At left be low. the tiny vessel in Honolulu har bor after its voyage from Seattle. they were off northern California. They had been at sea two weeks. It wouldn’t be long until they were safe in San Francisco . . . they thought. Then, just as everything seemed at its best, came the worst storm of the voyage. That storm of last autumn will be long remembered along the Pacific coast. It destroyed many fishing craft The “Teeni” was right in the worst of it. For a day and a half the two sea farers crouched, helpless, on the cabin floor, while gigantic waves tossed the boat about, and water forced its way through the hatches. Somehow, the “Teeni” lived through the storm A calm day finally caine. and the pair sailed through the Golden Gate, to be heralded in San Francisco as heroes. But their journey was only begun They made preparations for the 2400- mile trip to Hawaii The gasoline stove for cooking, the gasoline lantern for light, the adio for entertainment —all these things and many, more had to be checked over to see that they would last throughout the weeks at sea. Wilma and Ward Madden, photographed in Honolulu after their amazing voyage. n 11l^ 7 j J Mrs. Madden uses the dinghy for a boudoir on a calm day at sea Later, the dinghy was carried away in a storm r PHE paSMige began pleasantly enough, 1 and as they reached warmer waters it became really idyllic Mrs Madden fished and brought up great fish They saw strange birds One day a aterproof coat was swept overboard Mrs Madden and Ward turned the boat quickly to recover it. but it was gone It had not sunk, but the great waves had hidden it from sight. Mrs Madden thought then of what would happen should she or Ward, not a coat, be swept overboard That very afternoon she was at the tiller, steering. Her stepson was below docks, working out some navigation Suddenly she called A small emer gency; a rope needed adjusting She could not leave the tiller to do it her self Suddenly, he was swept over board. He clutched frantically at a trailing rope—too late Mrs. Madden could not stop the boat at once. The rope Ward had been working at had to be retrieved and hauled into its proper place first She maae no outcry, but heaved silently on the heavy rope with all her might. That made it possible to turn the boat around, and she did so She could see nothing but white-crested waves Her heart must have sunk then Honolulu was 1200 miles ahead, San Francisco 1200 back How could she have the heart to sail—alone and miserable—so fai 1 But she was not beaten yet She climbed to the highest place she could find, clinging to any rope at hand, in the greatest danger of being knocked overboard herself. She looked and lis tened intently She heard a cry! Straight ahead! Skillfully she sailed the boat right up to her stepson. Safe and sound, he clambered over the side Fifteen days later they arrived in Honolulu Mrs. Madden was hung with flower leis and heralded for the heroine that she is.
Zebulon Record (Zebulon, N.C.)
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May 14, 1937, edition 1
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