RMS Mauretania (1906) and launched with passengers. When "Britannic", working as a hospital ship during World War I, sank in 1916 after hitting a mine in the Kea channel the already davited boats were swiftly lowered saving nearly all on board, but the ship took nearly three times as long to sink as "Lusitania" and thus the crew had more time to evacuate passengers. "Mauretania" departed Liverpool on her maiden voyage on 16 November 1907 under the command of Captain John Pritchard, and on the return voyage captured the record for the fastest eastbound crossing of the Atlantic, with an average speed of
Crossing the Ditch crossing, including strong winds and currents, saw them travel in circles for some time and added almost to their journey. As they approached the New Zealand coastline, the decision was made to head to New Plymouth instead. Cas and Jonesy paddled into New Plymouth harbour on 13 January 2008, landing on Ngamotu Beach at 12:20 pm NZST. The crossing took 60 days, 20 hours and 50 minutes. "Lot 41", along with a collection of associated artifacts, was later donated by the adventurers to the Australian National Maritime Museum. The Tasman Sea has for many years been referred to as "The