Month: February 2020

Rule 303

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Breaker Morant

Rule 303 a quote supposedly said by Harry “Breaker” Harbord Morant at his court martial in 1902, he was found guilty and shot by firing squad on the 27 February 1902, 118 years ago this week.

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Morant was played by Edward Woodward

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The film was released in 1980.

We loaded the last piece of cargo in Karachi at 4.30 pm during which time the ship had been prepared for sea – the pilot was on the bridge and our mooring lines had been singled up (one line forward and one aft), time was of the essence after the trouble with the previous deck crew. Our next destination was Bombay (now Mumbai).

On arrival in Bombay was on the 24th February at 6.00 am, we were told to anchor in the explosive anchorage, we were to load 303 ammunition.

I’m not sure if the Captain was aware that we would be loading the ammunition before we arrived or if he found out as the pilot boarded. We were told of our cargo and that it was safe, but few of us smoked on deck – just in case.

We all knew of a tragic fire that took place in 1944.

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The SS Fort Stikine (7100 gt) had sailed from Birkenhead UK, in February 1944 and arrived in Bombay in April.
She was berthed in the Victoria Dock, and her cargo consisted of cotton bales, gold, and ammunition, which included around 1,400 tons of explosives. She also carried 238 tons of sensitive “A” explosives, torpedoes, mines, shells and a Supermarine Spitfire.

In mid-afternoon on the 14th April a fire in number two hold was discovered. The crew and dockside labour were unable to put the fire out, even after pumping 900 tons of water in the the ship. The water boiled due to the heat.

The ship was abandoned at 15.50 hr (3.50 pm), and sixteen minutes later it exploded.

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The ship was cut in half, windows were broken 12 km (7 miles) away. Later there was a second explosion which registered on a sensor reading in Shimia 1700 km (1020 miles) away, a town which is north of Delhli.

Showers of burning material set fire to slum areas, and two square kilometres (about a square mile) was set alight. Eleven other ships close to the Fort Stikine were sunk. Burning cotton bales fell all around and much of Bombay’s developed and economically important areas were destroyed by the blast.

Overall it was estimated that more than 800 people were killed and being war time, the explosion and aftermath were not made public until some time later. Some figures have the death toll as high as 1350 people. Of those who were killed 500 were civilians. Over 2500 were injured, sixteen ships were lost or heavily damaged (see below) and 80,000 people were left homeless.

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You’ll be pleased to know that nearly all the gold was recovered . . .

So this is why we didn’t smoke outside of the accommodation.

We loaded the ammunition safely, and we weren’t too bothered because we didn’t have any other explosive cargo on-board.

After loading other (normal) cargo we were told that we had to go to Chalna, which is  in East Pakistan (now called Bangladesh).

Nothing is easy, because the relationship between Pakistan and India was not all that cordial in the 1960’s.
So now we had a problem – we had Indian ammunition on board and we were required to visit East Pakistan, but we couldn’t visit East Pakistan because we had a cargo of Indian ammunition on board.
Cable London!, and all we had to do was to remember the opening lines of Casablanca &  wait and wait and wait.

Finally, the powers that be came to a decision – carry the ammunition to Cochin and unload it to make room for tea out of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and then sail for Chalna.

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Maureen & I visited Cochin (now called Kochi) in 2016 on a cruise ship and as soon as I saw the harbour I recognised the shoreline and the 1960’s flooded back in to my mind.

DSC05667rChinese fishing nets can be seen. Sometimes ‘Time’ seems to have stood still.
The picture is not very clear due to early morning mist.

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A clearer picture of the fishing nets from the internet.

At home I have four pictures on the wall of my dinning room – I watched the artists in Cochin paint the final strokes of the multicoloured painting – I’d already bought the three sepia pictures, and I could see the scenes that he’d painted – all are painted on thick paper.

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They always remind me of Cochin in the 1960’s . . . .

To end this post as I started with Edward Woodward, but this time he is singing Soldiers of the Queen after the execution of Breaker Morant, the piece of film also notes that their defence advocate died in 1945.

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Next stop Colombo in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mutiny?

What do people think of when they hear of a mutiny? Perhaps cinema’s effort to re-enact a mutiny helps us to think of –

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the mutiny on HMS Bounty, in April 1789 might come to mind. .

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or would it be the Indian Mutiny of 1857. .

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or a later mutiny aboard the Russian battleship ‘Potemkin’ in 1905.

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Perhaps fiction comes to mind ‘The Cain Mutiny’, and Captain Queeg, played by Humphrey Bogart Cainemutinybook

 

We sailed from Bushire in Iran for Karachi in Pakistan oblivious of the future.

Our deck and engine-room crews were from Pakistan and mainly from Karachi and the surrounding areas.

So of course they would be expecting the opportunity of going ashore to see their families, once we were alongside and they were off duty. The system was that time ashore would be split between the crew so that we would always have enough crew on-board to man the ship.

The plan was to be in Karachi for twenty-four hours, it was to be a quick ‘turn around’, discharge and load cargo at the same time.

Of course, all the best plans can go astray if someone doesn’t do what is expected. Our agent in Karachi was supposed to arrange for shore side passes for all of the crew so that they could go ashore and see their families – he failed to arrange the passes, and even Pakistanis were required to have a pass to exit the dock or return to their ship. In the 1960’s security was not as ridged as it is now.

When the crew were informed that they were not allowed to go ashore because the passes were not available, they became very upset – and that is putting it mildly.

The Captain & the Chief engineer were told by the deck & engine-room crew, that if they didn’t receive the passes, they would walk off the ship, and she would not be able to sail.

I suppose a mutiny alongside is much more preferable than one in the middle of the ocean, at least the officers would not have to sail an open boat over 3600 nautical miles to get help, which Captain Bligh managed after the HMS Bounty mutiny.

The passes eventually arrived and as they were handed to the deck crew, who had been particularly aggressive, they were told to pack their bags and not to return to the ship, and that they would no longer be considered for a position on any British India Steam Navigation Company vessel.
I don’t know for certain, but I assume that their discharge books would be stamped DR – decline to report – which any future Captain hiring a crew would not entertain anyone with DR in their discharge book. A discharge book is the work record of sailors, and most would have VG or G stamped alongside the ship’s name – Very Good or Good, either is acceptable to allow a sailor to gain a berth and ship out again in a decent ship.

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The bottom of the Discharge Book is not clear so I cropped it and highlighted the title.

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The above is what the inside of a Discharge Book looks like  – ship’s name on the left, date and port of joining and date & port of the end of the voyage, description of voyage (British Coastal or Foreign), and report on ability (VG) & general conduct (VG).

The Pakistani seamen would have received at least DR in ‘conduct’, not sure what the stamp would have been for ability, considering they all left under a cloud of ‘mutiny’.

The engine room crew had not been as belligerent as the deck crew so the Chief Engineer decided to give the engine-room crew a second chance. The Captain would still have to sign all of the engine room’s crew’s discharge books at the end of the voyage.

Of course, we had to sign on a new deck crew before we could sail, this we did, and we managed to sail on time.

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Some years earlier, when I was a cadet, I’d stayed at the Beach Luxury Hotel in Karachi for eighteen days while waiting for a ship.
I’d signed off a ship because she was remaining in the Far East and I was to join a home bound ship, because I was due leave after a year or so out East.

I’d enjoyed my stay in Karachi, and the hotel was the first time I’d experienced a real ‘nightclub’.
I’d never seen a real floor show in a hotel or restaurant, except via the cinema, courtesy of Hollywood. The nightly show guaranteed at least one person in the audience.
Talk about being star struck, I was entranced with the nightly shows of singers or dancers during the evening meal.

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Another shot of the hotel – the picture was taken about the time I was staying there.

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The city at that time was a mixture of modern and traditional.

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In the early 60’s they still get around in a ‘garry’, which was the name of this type of horse drawn vehicle, and of course the tuk tuk.

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During the eighteen days waiting for a ship, the two things that I do remember about Karachi in 1964 was visiting the zoo, which I found to be a disappointment, because I saw a three-legged jackal (it wasn’t born that way), and I was not impressed with the poor conditions of the remaining animals.

I also visited a horse racing meet and noted a horse called Solomon Star, and in brackets (formally Woodland Star).
Never having been very good at gambling I thought the last horse to bet on would be an animal linked to me (Woodland) – so I didn’t bet on Solomon Star, but of course it romped home, thus confirming my lack of gambling skill.

The next tine I put money on a horse was in 1982 in Melbourne (Melbourne Cup) and I won $5, the last of the big betters. Haven’t had the urge to lose money since.

Karachi early 1960’s  check this small piece of film and note how they used to load certain cargo.

 

 

 

A taster weekend of pictures . .

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The advert was attractive for a weekend cruise that was classed as a ‘taster’ – a cruise that people might take to see if they would like cruising for their next holiday.

The ship was Royal Caribbean’s Voyager of the Seas and we hadn’t sailed with Royal Caribbean before, although we have sailed with two other companies in the Royal Caribbean International Group.
We thought it would be a nice break after the madness of the Christmas and New Year celebrations.

We made a mistake, because the ‘taster’ should have been titled ‘booze party’, but to be fair we should have realised that a three day cruise over a weekend (Friday to Monday) would not be a true ‘taster’ that we expected.

Regardless Maureen & I and another couple enjoyed ourselves, but we were glad that we were in company as we were ‘slightly’ older than most of the other ‘tasters.’
Plus, we felt a little out of place, because none of us had thought of getting tattooed before we joined the ship.

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Royal Promenade and shops

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A lovely library area, but not a large choice of books, and many were not in English, but German and other European languages.

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We had a balcony cabin, the balcony was smaller than we were used to, but the cabin was one of the best sized cabins that we’ve experienced on any ship.

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The above is from the internet, my photograph didn’t come out as clear, due to the light.

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The above came out a little better.

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A walk down the Royal Promenade & shops.

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The local pub was open of course.   :- o)

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Inside the Pig & Whistle.

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A short distance from the pub  . . I don’t think the phone box worked, as for the car I’m not sure.

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The casino area was one of the largest casino areas that I’d seen on any ship – slot machines, gaming tables, private tables, there was little chance that you would not be parted from your money if you chose to use the facilities. We had to walk through casino to get to the bar that we preferred.

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The Schooner’s Bar

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The Schooner’s before the daily rush  . .

The ship offered plenty of outside attractions, from pools, to surfboard riding, a helter- skelter, and for the more mature, put-put golf.

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Adults only –

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The Pool area was quite large.

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Or you can go surfing (costs about US $19 a day)

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On the other hand, perhaps not . . .

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But then when someone can surf he makes it look easy . .

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Some fancy rock climbing . . . the rock ‘face ‘ was the outside of the funnel.DSC06490r

Others may prefer a water slide with a difference –

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The end of the slide can just be seen – I expected people to come out like a shot from a gun, but they didn’t.
I was told by a lady who tried the helter-skelter that she was not travelling all that fast and at the end of the ‘run’ there was a flattish bit that slowed you further. None of the people I saw ‘shot’ out as I expected.
On reaching the exit that can be seen in yellow, they came to a dead stop in a large ‘bowl’ area of water, and the slider had to climb out, most did so on their hands and knees.

Before using the slide one had to be under a certain weight (but the weight in question was quite high), and over a certain height (small children couldn’t use the slide), and the user had to take in to account various medical conditions, bad heart, high blood pressure, joint problems etc.
If you had any medical condition listed you couldn’t use the slide.

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This was more my style, but I never even got to have a go – on the first day at sea the wind was so strong that this put-put area, the surf ride, helter-skelter & rock climbing were all closed for safety reasons, and we were not allowed into this area of the deck either. I’m not surprised because the wind was quite strong.

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The ship had an ice rink and at certain times they had a show.

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The ship’s skaters were very good, and the show went for about 40 to 50 minutes.. . .

They must be very fit.

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At the end of the show they would have about an hour’s break before repeating the show.

The theatre (a different area than the ice rink) was over three decks and could seat many passengers.
On other cruises we usually found a seat about 30 minutes before the show started to make sure we had a seat, so of course we did the same on the Voyager of the Seas.
It was a surprise to us that people didn’t arrive for the show until about ten minutes before the beginning, and there were still many empty seats once the show started. Perhaps the casino was a bigger attraction.

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The show was excellent and very professional.

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There were some very powerful singers, both male & female.

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and slick dancers.

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The scenery complimented the singers and dancers.

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What disappointed me was the price of the beers – all in USD, which included an 18% tip (for your convenience).
To take Corona (considering the current global problem, why not?) at USD $7.75 or AUD $11.92 at the exchange rate offered by the ship.
At a local liquor store near my home, I can buy a bottle of this beer for AUD 2.16, which includes Australian taxes.
I expect a business to make a profit, and my local liquor store is doing so, but cruise ship companies buy the beer tax free, and in such bulk that AUD $5 or $6 would give a decent return on their investment.

With my evening meal I like a glass of wine –

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The above is part of the red wine list – USD $9 to USD $14 per glass (AUD $13.85 to $21.54) perhaps you’d like to buy the bottle, which is cheaper than buying by the glass. USD $31.00 to $49 (AUD $ 47.70 to $75.38).

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Let’s use the NZ wine Kim Crawford at USD $12 per glass (AUD $18.46) or by the bottle USD $42 (AUD $64.62), as against my local wine shop at AUD $14.60 a bottle, and he is making a profit after shipping it from New Zealand to Australia.

The cruise companies buy wine in such large amounts, which will be tax and duty free, because it is being exported and drunk in international waters, so why the huge price increase?

When we booked the cruise we were given AUD $55.50 each ‘cabin money’ to spend on board by Royal Caribbean. If we didn’t spend it we lost it, which is normal for many cruise companies.
The ‘cabin money’ was appreciated and only because Maureen doesn’t drink alcohol our drinks bill at the end of the weekend was ‘acceptable’

The soft drinks were USD $3.50 (AUD $5.38) and a ‘mock’ tail was USD $7.00 (AUD $10.77).

On the Saturday & Sunday morning around 10.30 am we four attended a game of trivia, which we have enjoyed on most cruise ships.
On Saturday we were well down the success ladder, but on Sunday the Team Shire won! Team Shire being Maureen & I and our two friends.

Trivia is a popular game on most cruise ships and is always well attended for the social side of meeting other ‘cruisers’ rather than for the prizes.
Some cruise companies offer prizes of company logo pens or pencils, or a voucher for coffee or an ice cream, or even drinks at the bar, nothing expensive or elaborate.

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The above four signs were our prizes for winning. Whale done, Smarty Pants, I am a Clever Cookie, Our team is a-merzing at Trivia.     

We split our winnings, and I have Whale Done & I am a clever Cookie for my young grandsons.

In my opinion the cruise company made a big PR mistake during this weekend – the cost of all cruises from Australia / New Zealand include gratuities (tips) because the culture in each country is to pay people a decent wage, and we only tip for service over an above what is expected when buying a drink or a meal in a restaurant etc

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On the last night of the cruise envelopes were left in cabins – we had three nights on board, and we had paid the gratuities in our ticket price, which is to cover all those that we have contact with, plus the staff who support the system behind the scenes that we don’t see or meet.

Plus, we mustn’t forget the 18% drinks tip. . . but they still had a final squeeze, which left a bad taste.

Anyway, overall, we had a pleasant weekend, but I doubt that Royal Caribbean will be our future cruise company of choice, unless they offer particularly ‘sharp’ prices and destinations that we are keen to visit.

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Sydney at 5.45 am on the day that we returned. . . .

There are rivers and there are rivers

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You can sail the Danube or

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the Mekong

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or even the Amazon

for pleasure, and not have a worry, but I doubt that you would choose to sail up or down the Shatt Al Arab for your annual holiday.

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The map will give you an idea of where we were heading  – we bunkered (refuelled) at Abadan, then sailed to Basra (which is in the province of Al Basrah) Iraq for dates, and later to Khorramshahr  (Iran) for pistachio nuts.

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Shatt Al Aarab from the internet taken in the early 1970’s.

Shatt al-Arab, (which means the river of the Arabs in Iraq), but it is also known as Arvand Rud (Swift river) in Iran (Persia).

The river is 200 km (120 miles) long from the confluence of the Euphrates and the Tigris to the Persian Gulf.  Just above where these two rivers meet is thought to be the location of a well known garden – The Garden of Eden.

The pilot joined us at 4.00 am at the mouth of the Shatt al Arab and we made our shaky way upstream to Abadan in Iran. Being so light (empty of cargo and nearly empty of fuel) we didn’t have to worry too much about running aground, just the hope that the vibrations, caused by the propeller, would not shake us to bits.

The Shah had celebrated his coronation only three months earlier –

Shah,_Reza_and_Farah

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At that time Abadan was an international cosmopolitan city, and the people appeared happy and carefree. Eleven years later the Shah had been deposed and the people were under Ayatollah Khomeini. How things have changed in the last forty years.

After a short stay in Abadan to bunker (refuel) our next stop was Basra in Iraq.

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Ships alongside in Basra.

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Basra was the end of the line for the British India Steam Nav Co passenger ships from Bombay (now Mumbai). The above shows one of the passenger ships arriving in Basra. The picture is off the internet.

We anchored in the river and waited for about five days to go alongside, why we waited so long I don’t have any idea, perhaps because the cargo wasn’t ready, or perhaps the berth was occupied, or the agent hadn’t ‘looked after’ the right people, but for us it was stinking hot, and a very uncomfortable time.
Once again we swapped old pieces of wood for uncut water melons – wood was valuable to the locals and the water melons a nice change for us.
In the evening, during the our ‘beer time’ it was melon pip flicking time to see who could flick the pip the furthest as the river was only about 37 metres (120 feet) wide at this point and we were not far off the river bank. Life at sea could be stimulating at times. . . .

Basra was the departure port for Sinbad on his third voyage. It is also renowned for being one of the hottest ports to visit. 50 c (122 F) on the Persian Gulf run.
This port is a destination that has never been on my return ‘bucket’ list, even though it used to be known as the Venice of the East, due to the canals.

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Venice of the East?

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Venice of the East

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This picture is off the internet of one of the Company’s cargo ships, very like the one I sailed in, alongside at Basra in the late 1960’s.

The reason for our visit to Basra was to load dates – it was harvest time.

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While we loaded the dates and other cargo, the only form of distraction in our free time, was the British Club, which had a swimming pool and a bar that sold cold beer.

Khorramshahr in Iran was our next port of call where we loaded bags and bags of pistachio nuts, as well as general cargo.

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Pistachio nuts before harvesting.

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As we know them . . .

There wasn’t much to do ashore and after our shift we would sit on the river side of the ship, drink a beer or two and see how far we could flick the shells of the pistachio nuts, I told you a life at sea could be stimulating . . .

Once our cargo was loaded,we sailed down the river to the Persian Gulf, and to our next port, which was Bushire, which is a port in Iran. I’ve indicated the port on the map.

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We were warned before we reached Bushire not to bother posting any mail because it would never reach the UK, because the locals would steal the stamps and throw away the letter.
We were told to hold our letters until we reached Karachi. A small thing to remember so many years ago, but for us, at that time, mail was important. The internet was 25 or 30 years in the future.

We anchored off Bushire and barges came out to us – so to speed up the process we worked three holds.
The problem was that the labour was paid 1/ 9d a day or in today’s money AUD $2.52 a DAY! (USD$1.70).
If there wasn’t a ship in port to load or unload they didn’t get paid.

The Iranian company that hired the ashore labour considered that they were being generous, because they knew that the labour would steal anything from the ship that was not screwed down.
We had to post two crew members down each hold to stop the labour breaking into the cargo. At times the ship’s officers had to threaten violence to the shore side labour to stop them broaching cargo (breaking in to the cargo).
Even so some of the crew lost various items of of clothing, cargo went missing and various large crates were broken in to and some of the contents stolen.
The officer’s accommodation had been locked down, and all windows and other openings bolted shut, which made the accommodation extremely hot when off duty.

Stealing cargo was a common occupation across the world and it was a constant battle with shore side labour to put a stop to the thefts, but the labour in Bushire had it down to a fine art.

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MV Juna 

I was 3rd Mate of the above ship during our ‘cruise’ to Basra & the Persian  Gulf.

A couple of years ago I visited Dubai on the way to Europe, and I never in my wildest dreams thought I’d ever stop over for a ‘holiday’ of four days in the Persian Gulf, but I did because we flew with Emirates Airlines. At least the bus stops in Dubai were air-conditioned.