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Full & ByThe crew journal of the barque James Craig.

ISSUE 30 JANUARY 2013

2 Issue 30

Full & ByThe crew journal of

the barqueJames Craig.

CONTENTS.

Cape York. 3Peter Davey.

At the Overseas Passenger Terminal for the Labour Day Long-Weekend. 5John Cowie.

Voyage on the Lord Nelson. 6Sarah Rowsell.

A Visit to Port Kembla. 9Nick Brown.

Steering the James Craig. 10Peter Davey.

Terrible Ordeal Of Fisherman In Storm. 13

James Craig goes to Port Kembla for the Maritime Community Day. 14John Cowie.

Through the Panama Canal on a Container Ship. 15John Cowie

Web site: www.shf.org.au/JCraig/JCraig.html

Compiled & edited by: Peter Davey: pedavey@gmail.com

Contributors: various

Sub-editor & Layout: John Cowiepescelino@ihug.com.au

Cover photo: Pedro Miguel Locks, Panama. John Cowie

The opinions expressed in this journal may not neces-sarily be the viewpoint of the Sydney Maritime Museum, the Sydney Heritage Fleet or the crew of the James Craig or its officers.

Cape Horn. Photo: Wikipedia

1st watch. Photo: Sarah Rowsell

Two gangways Photo: Nick Brown

Bahia Bblanca Photo: John Cowie

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Situated at 550 59’S 670

16’W lies Cape Horn, or as it was known to scores of deep-water wind sailors, Cape Stiff. The names given to its prominent landmarks tell their own story - Dislocation Harbor, Desolate Bay, Deceit Island, Mistaken Cape and Fury Harbour.It was originally named Kaap Hoorn, in 1615, by the Dutch navigator Willem Cornelisz Schouten after his hometown of Hoorn. Other seafarers shortened it to Cape Horn.For centuries, this southernmost cape has always been one of the worst of places for sailors. They have suffered and died in the endless storms, killer waves and drifting ice of its surrounding seas. You could think of The Horn as the largest natural mass-grave marker in the world. The old shanties call it the “bloody Horn”; Herman Melville wrote of “the Spirit of the Cape” that it could destroy a man at will: “Woe betide the tyro; the foolhardy, Heaven preserve!”

Any modern sailor rounding the Cape for the first time must drink a toast and pour a libation over the side

while reciting the traditional tribute: “To the men who died there”. Traditionally, rounding The Horn (measured the time taken) was from 500S around The Horn to 500S against the westerly winds. The distance was 1000 nautical miles and with tacking about 1500 miles. True wind sailors, when counting the number of times they had rounded The Horn, only counted when they were going westerly against the prevailing winds. To go with the wind was to be merely passing The Horn. History provides us with many harrowing tales of its destructive power;

• In 1767 the Tamar and Dolphin took an incredible 110 days to round The Horn.

• Captain Cook round-ed The Horn with his studding sails set.

• In 1788 William Bligh, successfully beat round The Horn but was driven back by strong gales. The Bounty fought for a month before they gave up and reached Ta-hiti by taking the long easting down south of the Cape and Australia.

• In 1848-49 more than 1000 American ships rounded The Horn carrying would-be miners to California’s gold field.

• In 1905 the full-rigged ship British Isles, a ship with a reputation of having excessively heavy gear that killed seamen, rounded with 20 sea-

men onboard. She lost three men overboard, three others died of their injuries, (caused by boarding seas or breaking gear), while two were per-manently and three partially disabled due to injuries and frostbite. The Captain ampu-tated one man’s gangrenous leg with the cook’s knives. The ship took 72 days from 500s to 500s.• In 1907 six big wind ships disappeared off The Horn.

• Between 1904 and 1908, twenty-six big British Cape Jammers were posted as missing.

• In 1914 the American windjammer Edward Sewell logged more than 5000 miles and took 67 days.

• In 1939 the barque Priwall recorded official fast-est time of 5 days and 14 hours.

• In 1740, Commodore George Anson led an ex-pedition to attack Spanish holdings on the Pacific coast of South America and to take the annual galleon which carried treasure between Mexi-co and the Philippines. His fleet of eight ships were severely battered in their attempt to round The Horn. He lost over half his crew and two ships turning back, one these, the Wager, being wrecked on The Horn. The least damaged was the store-ship Anna1, although described as a “Pink”, she was an ex “North Country Cat”2. On board the Wager was a Midshipman Byron3, who

subsequently became an Ad-miral and, in 1770, Captain Cook named Cape Byron (Byron Bay) after him. Pat-rick O’Brien made Midship-man Bryon and the wreck of the Wager the central theme of his first novel on fighting sail,”The Unknown Shore”. “Foul weather Jack” Byron, (as he later became known), wrote that it was “the most disagreeable sailing in the world, forever blowing and with such violence that noth-

ing can withstand it, and the sea runs so high that it works and tears a ship to pieces.”

• In 1761 Anson became Admiral of the Fleet and has been described as the greatest naval admin-istrator since Samuel Pepys. He was responsible for many reforms that made the Royal Navy an effective fighting force in Nelson’s time.

Peter Davey.Seaman (sail)I have signed on for the Europ’s voyage from Auckland to the Falkand Islands in late 2013. We will be passing The Horn.

Cape Horn.

Cape Horn. Photo: Wikipedia

Studding sail. Photo: Old Picture of the Day

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References.• The Life of Captain James Cook J.C. Beaglehole. Stanford University Press 1974.

• Tiller and Whip staff, National Maritime Museum, Alan McGowan,

Her Majesty’s Stationary Office, London 1981.

• New Scientist, 22 November 1997.

• The Explorers of the Pacific.G M Badger. Kangaroo Press, 1997

• Looking for La Perouse (D’Entrecasteaux in Australia and the South Pacific 1792-1793).

Frank Horner, Melbourne University Press. 1995

• La Perouse Museum, La Perouse.

• The Oxford Companion to “Ships and the Sea” Oxford Press Oxford.

• Prize of all the Oceans, The triumph and Tragedy of Anson’s Voyage Round the World.

Glyn Williams. Harper Collins London 1999.

• The Internet. Endnotes.

1. This had an indirect effect on Australia’s history. When it became time to chose a ship for Cook’s second Pacific voyage, the Admiralty, had clearly read the chapter on the Anna in the authorised account of Anson’s voyage and decided in favour of the North Country Cat. Among the arguments was the contrast between the performance of the Anna and that of the conventional man-of-war

2. During the first 30 years of the 17th century, the Dutch developed a bulk carrier that was known as a “Fluyt” which became familiar in every harbour of Western Europe. Still another version, known as the “Katschip”, was produced. They were both designed to carry the maximum amount of cargo with the largest possible hold below her single deck. They were very efficient cargo carriers and England had no bulk carriers to match. Sir Walter Raleigh reported the ratio of tons per crew member, in Dutch ships, as being 20:1 compared with 7:1 in English ships. During the Dutch wars of 1652-1654, between 1200 and 1500 Fluyts were taken as prizes by England. They were sold cheaply to English owners who benefited from their carrying capability. Two other Dutch wars followed in 1665-1667 and 1672-1674. Neither of these wars supplied the numbers like the first haul but they ensured a reasonable supply as the first were beginning to wear out. They were particularly suited for coal carrying.When these vessels needed to be replaced the English merchants were reluctant to accept anything else. A number of contemporary shipyards close to the ports, such as Whitby and Scarborough, needing bulk carrying vessels were quick to adapt the Fluyts. The vessels they produced were not slavish copies of the Fluyts but a larger adaptation of them, with all the same qualities. They became known in England as the Northern Country Cat (Anglicisation of

Katschip) The Fluyts, Katships and Cats had a number of different sail plans.Tasman’s Zeehaen, the Pilgrim’s Mayflower, La Perouse’s Astrolabe and the Boussole, D’Entrecasteaux’s Recherche and Esperance were Fluyts (the French were so impressed with Cook’s voyages of discovery that they purchased Dutch Fluyts for these voyages and commissioned them as Frigates). Cook’s Endeavour, Resolution, Ad-venture and Discovery, Bligh’s Bounty and Providence (used during his second breadfruit voyage), Flinders’s Investigator and Vancouver’s Discovery were all later versions of the North Country Cat.

3. If you visit Byron Bay you will see that many of the streets are named after famous poets. The inhabitants like to think the town was named after Lord Byron the poet, (who was Foul Weather Jack’s grand-son). It would be far more fitting if they were named after British Admirals.

Fluyt. Photo: Captain Cook Society • In 1894 Courts defined a Seaworthy vessel – with her master and crew – as being fit to encounter the perils of the voyage that she is about to undertake. She must to tight, staunch and strong, and properly crewed, equipped and supplied.

• According to the old sailor’s superstition, certain persons (like clergymen, missionaries, freethinkers, advocates, criminals – and women) will bring bad luck for a ship; calms, foul winds and the slighter evils of all kind. In the book “The Sailor and the Women” you can read “Where there is a woman, there must be mischief” or “Aprons bring along mischief”, “Women skirt on board bring along brawl and murder” and as the German’s so succinctly put it “Seemann, Tod und Teufel” (Sailor, Death and Devil).

• In the 19th century there existed among British and American sailors the word “Hen Frigate”. Meant in a pejorative way and used for ships on which the captain took along his wife for the long journeys, it was used to indicate that she was the dominant one onboard. On the other hand, a woman’s presence used to lead to other kinds of behaviors with the seamen. They dressed less carelessly, their jokes were not as crude, and they sang only clean verses of certain shanties. It also happened that a good and understanding Captain’s wife soon moved the sailors’ hearts and she became a maternal sym-bol. It was only from the 19th century onwards that women were occasionally found as the cook and stewardess.

• In an attempt to keep down the large number of deserters in the British Navy, the sailors were kept on board their ships while in English ports. But “wives” were allowed on board; one per man, with no questions asked. Cramped conditions on the ships caused the “ladies” to sling their hammocks between the guns in the ‘tween decks. The phrase “son of a gun” originated here. In fact, the expres-sion questioned the legitimacy of anyone. The old definition of a man-o’-war’s man was “Begotten in the galley and born under a gun. Every hair a rope yarn, every tooth a marlin’s spike, each finger a fish-hook and in his blood, right good Stockholm tar.”

• Shake a Leg: originates from the days of the old wooden sailing ships when sailors slept in ham-mocks and when in port were allowed to have women on board. The bosun would rouse the crew in the morning, ordering them to show their hairy legs to prove they were not women.

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On Friday, September 28, the James Craig left Wharf 7 around 1400hrs to make her way to the Overseas

Passenger Terminal, at Circular Quay. She was to spend the Labour Day Long Weekend at the Terminal open to the public and to help raise the Fleet’s profile. Securely berthed with gangways in place at 1700hrs, the Watch crew settled in for a night of repelling boarders and fielding questions shouted at them by the late-night promenaders. Saturday morning dawned fine and the Watch crew readied the ship for the 1000hrs opening. As part of the profile raising the James Craig had a slung the new 12m “Sydney Heritage Fleet” banner between the fore and main masts. However, as the Westerly became more insistent the strain on lines increased until one line parted company with the banner. This left the banner to flap and work hard at separating itself from another of the lines. There followed some discussion on the logistics on lowering the banner to the deck in order the effect running repairs. Once the banner was on the deck, the crew passed a line through the eyelets along the bottom

edge of the banner and secured it with the ubiquitous cable ties. More discussion then followed on the best method of how to re-sling the banner between the masts, taking into account the Westerly. The climbers and the deck crew through shouted advice, orders and replies completed the whole operation with the minimum of fuss and only a few minor mishaps. This operation, along with the Guides, demonstrated to the visitors, both on board and on shore, the workings of the ship and enhancing their experience. On Monday afternoon, once the visitors had been cleared, the gangways loaded on board and the lines slipped the James Craig returned to Wharf 7 having managed to entice1700 people to come aboard and to raise over $7000 for the coffers. As a profile-raising exercise, the 3-day stay could be deemed a success and, dependent on the cruise ship schedule, the James Craig could return to the Terminal in the Autumn.

John Cowie

At the Overseas Passenger Terminal for theLabour Day Long-Weekend.

Photo: John Cowie

Photo: John Cowie

Photo: Gordon Blow. Photo: Gordon Blow.

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INTRODUCTION

After travelling on 5 airplanes, across 4 countries and all within 3 days I finally stepped out onto the tarmac

at Ponta Delgada Airport in the Azores, exhausted yet excited about my upcoming adventures on board the STS Lord Nelson. Although I had arrived, unfortunately my luggage didn’t! Luckily the ship didn’t leave our port for 2 days and my luggage made it safely to me just as we were about to lift the gangplank, crisis adverted!

FIRST VOYAGE

As we set sail on the beautiful Lord Nelson it was a picture perfect morning, the sun was shining, the

water was glistening, her majestic sails were filling with wind and murmurs of excitement were heard amongst the crew. Our voyage crew comprised of an eclectic bunch of 50 from various walks of life, some with little or no sailing experience and some who were veterans to sailing the seas. Within my watch were some truly amazing people who have taught me many life les-sons resulting in a new outlook of my life. It was from this moment on I realised that I wasn’t just on a sailing adventure, I was on a journey of self-discovery, both mentally and physically. And what an adventure we had! The Azores may look beautiful and serene however their seas beg to differ! We endured all types of weather; sunshine, rain, large swells and temperamental winds! A real diversity! And of course being the only Aussie on board I didn’t cope too well with the chilly weather, wear-ing numerous layers to try and keep warm I acquired the nickname of Skippy the Eskimo! But that didn’t affect our

daily routines which consisted of sail handling, keeping watch; the ship ran a 1 in 4 watch duty system, ‘happy hour’ to clean the ship from top to bottom, helping out as mess men and the tricky task of ‘learning the ropes’ all within the first few days.This voyage was designed as a special whale watching and sightseeing trip therefore we were able to set foot ashore every few days to explore the stunning sights and wilderness of the Azores. And what better way to see the sights than sailing on board a three-masted, barque-rigged tall ship.Easter Monday was a very special day for everyone. Not only was it the first day we could go ashore it was the day for assisted climbs. It was like any good story, there were tears of joy, peals of laughter, gasps of anticipa-tion, squeals of excitement and numerous rounds of applause as 8 of our brave crew mates scaled the fore and main masts. It was a truly awe-inspiring moment of solidarity as we worked together to assist these brave people aloft, both with and without wheelchairs.A highlight from our adventures ashore was hiring a

convoy of 6 taxis to explore the volcanic island of Faial. At first I felt a little inadequate wondering how on earth we could do this with 5 wheel chairs, but I dived into the deep end, buddying myself up and helping in any way I could. After venturing around the entire island, we ended our day by having wheelchair races down the main street, which Gary and I won! This experience definitely strengthened the bond between our crew, developing a strong sense of teamwork and interaction between all ages and abilities. I was able to experience firsthand what the Jubilee Sailing Trust promotes through their voyages, as the integration of all people no matter their physical abilities.On our last day of this voyage, I was fortunate enough to obtain the responsibility of helming the ship and her crew back into the port of Ponta Delgada. A tricky operation but under the watchful eye and instructions of Captain Chris I succeed! An individual achievement that I am incredibly proud of.

WHEELIES ON THE SEA

My voyages have taught me to believe in myself and that anything is possible no matter your capabilities.

I was inspired by my fellow crew mate John, who shared his traumatic story of how he lost the use of his lower

Voyage on the Lord Nelson.

Lord Nelson. Photo: Sarah Rowsell

Skippy. Photo: Sarah Rowsell

1st watch. Photo: Sarah Rowsell

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body in a flying accident and finding himself in a wheel-chair. His emotional journey of struggles, setbacks, challenges and regaining his independence is one I found at first hard to comprehend. However it was from a combination of his stories as well as some of my fel-low crew mate’s stories and my own Nan’s struggle with MS and life in a wheelchair that I have taken a special interest into not only sailing in a wheelchair but function-ing through a typical day.I set myself a challenge of sailing for 24 hours in a wheelchair. Simple tasks that we take for granted such as using the bathroom, eating at a table, getting dressed and hauling on ropes became a real struggle. I was in awe, constantly asking questions and learning the “tricks of the trade” of not only manoeuvring my wheel chair but how not to fall over board whilst completing my daily on-board duties and activities. The hardest part of this whole experience was in fact being extremely sea sick for the first time ever! I was grateful for the amount of support I received from my fellow watch mates dur-ing this experience as their job was made a great deal harder dealing with 2 wheelchair users especially during our 12 – 4am watch. While independence is a part of everyone’s daily routine I have discovered that it is okay to ask for assistance when the going gets tough whether you are able-bodied or disabled. This challenge has enabled me to better interact with my crew mates and appreciate everyone’s individual strengths and abilities, valuing what one can do and not what one can’t.

SECOND VOYAGE

The purpose of my second voyage was to return the Lord Nelson home to Southampton, a pas-

sage voyage that would take 14 days, travelling some 1579 nautical miles. A journey definitely not for the faint hearted! From the first moment we set sail from Ponta Delgada we knew we were in for a real adventure with prevailing winds at 30 knots, hardly ever below 20 knots, and reaching above 50 knots, with the ship racing at an astounding 11.4 knots under sail! The weather got colder, down to 9 degrees on average and the wind chill factor increased. The rain never seemed to cease and the swells only seemed to grow larger as we passed through several squalls day after day. There were mo-ments when we all asked ourselves why we were doing this, when we struggling to stand, keep our food down and to try and sleep during this tormenting weather. But it was also these times that make up some of my most memorable and greatest experiences of self-discovery

and teamwork. I learnt so much about myself, my strengths, my weaknesses, my limitations and my ability to carry on no matter what was thrown at me.However, after sailing 1200 nautical miles we had to make a dash for terra firma in Cobh, as during these treacherous conditions we managed to totally shred our main topgallant sail and the split the seams of our main course and fore topsail! So some emergency repairs were made in safer conditions which allowed us to sail on to Southampton.We took advantage of the Cobh anchorage to sit back and relax on board; sharing a fruity punch engineered by Mr Chipps and Marco (the ship’s engineers) and held a charity auction mastered by none other than our first mate Steve. I was made to feel right at home as we cooked a BBQ dinner and danced the night away.Finally we arrived safely at Southampton to the welcom-ing sounds of some of the voyage crew’s friends and family! A real treat after the rollercoaster voyage we had all endured!

CULTURAL EXPERIENCE

During both voyages I was part of a predominately British crew. A mischievous small toy kangaroo

and several hidden little koalas caused amusement on board during our passage voyage as well as numerous conversations comparing Australian and British lifestyle, language, music, dancing, sports and food. I indulged in several British delights, including treacle pudding, banof-fee pie, flap jacks and Cornish pasties. I have sung many a sea shanty and danced many a bush dance. In return, I shared my Australian culture and heritage by celebrating Anzac Day on board with a brief history and made some of my special homemade Anzac biscuits – a real challenge cooking them whilst rocking and rolling on the high seas!! This Tall Ships exchange experience has presented me with a wonderful opportunity to create and maintain the ties between the Australians and the British. I have made numerous new friendships that I am sure will last a lifetime!It is hard to describe in words the people I have met and the bonds I have formed. It has been an honour and a privilege to be a part of these voyage crews, to hear oth-ers stories about their life journeys and I am in awe of their phenomenal courage and their approaches to life. I have achieved far beyond what I ever imagined I could! This experience has taken me out of my comfort zone, pushed me to my limits and far beyond. Through this, I have developed a greater understanding of myself, of

24 hour challenge. Photo: Sarah Rowsell

Sea swells. Photo: Sarah Rowsell

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Anzac biscuits. Photo: Sarah Rowsell

others, grown in self-confidence and learnt that anything is possible.I wish that everyone could partake in what I have expe-rienced and meet the people I have befriended. It truly was an honour and a once in a lifetime opportunity that will never be forgotten. I am so grateful to the Australia- Britain Society, Jubilee Sailing Trust, Young Endeavour Youth Scheme and the Australian Sail Training Associa-tion for sending me on this amazing adventure! My love of the sea and sailing has only been enhanced by this incredible experience on board the STS Lord Nelson.

Sarah Rowsell“The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjust the sails”

STS Lord Nelson was two years in the making. Com-missioned by the Jubilee Sailing Trust she would be

the ‘flagship’ for the Jubilee Sailing Trust’s mission to enable people with disabilities to sail. Early trials aboard the barque Marques, the brig Royalist and subsequently the brigantine Soren Larsen, enabled Colin Mudie to design a ship that would meet requirements. In the summer of 1984 enough funds had been raised to enable a start on the building of Colin Mudie’s design no 342, Lord Nelson. A contract was awarded to James W Cook, and the decision announced by Lady Donald-son, then Lord Major of London at a press conference in July 1984. The ship was to be constructed at Wivenhoe, Essex.Work began in earnest. The keel of the ship was laid in October 1984 after funding was secured through a generous donation from Sir Jack Hayward. Sir Jack performed the keel laying ceremony on a date which was chosen to be as close to Trafalgar Day as possible,

the day in 1805 when Admiral Lord Nelson achieved his most famous victory.Many decisions had to be made about the final layout of the ship, to enable her to be functional and practical for people of all physical abilities. It was almost a year after the formal keel laying that the ship was launched, by Lady Aitken whose late husband, Sir Max Aitken’s generous donation had enabled the JST to set up its first office in London.On the 17th of October 1986, the newly completed Lord Nelson made her way out of Southampton and towards the challenge of changing lives for everyone who came on board.Lord Nelson and Tenacious are the only two class A tall ships in the world purpose built to enable people of all physical and sensory abilities to take an equally active role in sailing the ships. Some of the features on board that enable this to happen are:• Signs in Braille • Lifts between decks for those with limited mobility • Vibrator pads fitted to the bunks to alert people with

a hearing impairment in the event of an emergency • Power assisted and ‘joystick’ steering to enable

those with limited strength or movement to easily helm the ship

• An induction loop in the mess room to assist those with hearing impairments during briefing sessions

• Wide aisles below decks and low level fittings • Guidance tracks and other pointers on deck to help

visually impaired crew stay central • Speaking compass with digital screen to enable

visually impaired crew to steer the ship • ‘Unwin’ fixing points throughout to secure wheel-

chairs in rough weather • Bathroom facilities include ‘Closomat’ toilets (called

‘Heads’ on the ship), shower seats and adjustable basins with lever arm taps

• Portable powered hoists with various configurations suitable for most transfer needs

• Adjustable height mess tables • Specially designed and adjusted tools so everyone

can take part (we even alter the scrubbing brushes so everyone can take part in Happy Hour!)

Particulars for Lord Nelson• Length overall (Hull) 42.8m • Length overall (including bowsprit) 54.7m • Beam 9m • Summer draft 4.12m • Keel to fore masthead height 37.7m • Sail area (18 sails) 1,024m2• Displacement (Summer draft) 491 tons • Gross tonnage 368 tons • Main engines 2x260 bhp • Main generator 2x70 kva • Max speed under power 8 knots • Max speed under sail 10 knots

Jubilee Sailing Trust website (abridged)

‘With old sailors it was, and is, a matter of pride to be able to make knots, the more difficult and obscure the better.’

Albert R. Wetjen: Fiddlers Green, 1941.

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The visit to Port Kembla went very well with about 2000 visitors between 9 am to 3 pm. At the peak

times visitors were waiting up to 30 minutes to get on board, but most felt that was OK. We set sail from Sydney at 7 am on Friday 19 October with a good passenger load and full crew. We had good winds on the way down (and a helpful current) and were able to sail a lot of the way making an average of about 5 knots. Dolphins often kept us company and I think we saw a couple of whales. We arrived with plenty of time to sort out the problems with the wharf and were met by an enormous tug, possibly their smallest! The wharf was quite high and the gangways they provided did a good job once the hatch cover had been extended. After a rather noisy night (loud bangs when the wheels hopped over wooden ridges) our bosun (Steve) modified the cover and it worked well.

Visitors started arriving early on Saturday with strong Southerly winds helping them along. The marquee

they provided on the wharf was a great wind break for the guides handing out information and selling JC mer-chandise. Two entertainers, one on stilts and another with considerable windage (a swimming ring) had a hard time getting back against the wind, all good fun for the people waiting. We could only let three people at a time onto the gangways and they needed help with the steps, so by matching the people leaving with those arriving we kept the ship full but not crowded. Everyone was kept busy directing the visitors along the self guiding circuit (in our handout). Some guides drove down from Sydney to help and of course the crew pitched in. There was also a demonstration of the handy billy’s ability to

turn the tables in the family power struggle. By 4 pm the crowds were thinning out and we were thinking of rest and various hydration fluids. After an excellent BBQ some of the crew settled in to watch the game on TV - after some giggling with the antenna.

Sunday was another early start with all passengers arriving by 7 am. Unfortunately the wind had blown

itself out so we had to do a lot of motoring. But condi-tions were very pleasant and we saw about 6 whales, two groups of seals and numerous dolphins.The visit to Port Kembla was a financial success and I think a great morale booster for the crew. It was very well supported by the locals, the Port Authority and the local radio station. Everything worked well, even the weather!

Nick Brown.

A Visit to Port Kembla

Wharf, Port Kembla Photo: Nick Brown

Crowd on the wharf. Photo Nick Brown

Battling the wind. Photo: Nick BrownTwo gangways Photo: Nick Brown

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To quote from that great Australian square-rig sailor and author, Alan Villiers, in his book “The Set of the

Sails” The James Craig was “a lively, lovely, and highly responsive thoroughbred of a ship… She tacked like a yacht and ran like a greyhound.”Though she still runs like a greyhound she does not al-ways tack like a yacht. I was onboard when she had her first tack in over 70 years. At that time she did indeed tack like a yacht but such success is rare.

REASONS:

We are sailing her as though she was in ballast. This means we are not stressing rig and the ship is sail-

ing at least 300 tons lighter than in her working days. This extra weight in those days would have given the Craig extra momentum to make the tack.This also means that we have more hull exposed to the wind and sea which slows down the tack.Under any wind conditions the Craig would have stood up and spilled less wind and thus more power.We are dragging two 6ft diameter propellers, which take at least a knot off our speed. These free-wheeling propellers interrupt the smooth flow of water over the rudder which has a greater breaking effect than locked propellers.Normally at greater rudder angles, the water may be envisaged as ‘piling up’ before it actually reaches the rudder, thus applying greater turning movement. Now, water on the Craig is disturbed, slowed down and not a solid block as you would expect on a sailing ship with-out propellers. The Craig does not achieve the turning movement initially intended because it does not have the build-up of solid water. This effect is lost on an aux-iliary sailing vessel with an aperture between the stern-post and the rudder which allows the solid water to es-cape before it can build up. I would imagine such a ship would have a larger rudder to overcome this loss. In John Harland’s “Seamanship in the Age of Sail” - “The turning effort is proportional to the square of the velocity of the water and the square of the sine of the angle with which it strikes the rudder blade”.First, without the constant of proportionality we cannot give any absolute numbers. Nevertheless, we can work out things like the percentage change in Turning effect

(T) caused by a change in velocity (V) or rudder angle (A). The Formula is:T = C V2 sin2(A) = C x V x V x sin(A) x sin(A)Where C is the unknown constant of proportionality.Because the velocity is squared, it follows at once is that: If you double the velocity (i.e. scale by 2), then you qua-druple the turning effect (ie; scale by 2 x 2 = 4),If you scale the velocity by 1/2 then the turning effect is scaled by (1/2) x (1/2) = 1/4,If you scale the velocity by 1/4 then the turning effect is scaled by (1/4) x (1/4) = 1/16,If you scale the velocity by S then the turning effect is scaled by S x S.So if the effect of the propellors is to reduce the velocity of the water from 9 knots to 6 knots the turning effect is reduced from T to (6/9) x (6/9) x T = 4/9 x T = 0.44 x T. Put another way, a 1 - 6/9 = 1/3 reduction in velocity re-sults in a 1 - (6/9) x (6/9) = 1- 0.44 = 0.56 reduction in turning effect. Quite dramatic.The effect of changing the angle is more complex but probably not of such interest. NOTES ON COMPASS, CONNING AND STEERING THE JAMES CRAIG:

Compass; an instrument that indicates the direction of north and the means by which any other direction can be obtained. The compass is affected by the position of the Magnetic poles, ie; the Variation1, and by the magnetism of the ship, ie; the Deviation2.

• The Lubber’s line; a line fixed in the fore-and-aft line of the ship and represents the ship’s head. The compass card remains steady while the ship swings around it. The direction of the ship’s head is read off the compass card against the lubber’s line.

• The Head; the direction in which the ship is pointing.

• The Course; the direction in which the ship is steered.

• The Track; the path on which the ship is mov-ing. The path and course may differ owing to the effects of wind and/or current.

Steering the James Craig.

Photo: Ewa Kosczynski

Photo: John Cowie

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• Bearing; the direction of one position from an-other. It can be expressed as a ‘true’ or ‘relative’ bearing.

Compass cards and their graduation; the “Three-figuremethod” and/or the “Point method” will be used on the James Craig.

• The Three-figure method: the compass card is graduated in degrees clockwise from 000 (north) to 359. This is the method used by most ships at sea. The bearing 360 is not used.

• The Point Method; the compass card is gradu-ated in 32 named points, each point is 111/4 degrees. A point of the compass was, in the days of the older square-rigged ships, about the smallest division to which the average Helms-man could steer by wheel. With the growing effi-ciency of the rig in these vessels it became pos-sible for a good Helmsman to hold a course be-tween these points; this led to half and quarter points. Most novices try to make the compass card turn instead of the lubber’s line, the result in doing this is to take the ship further off course and they then compound the situation by put-ting on more wheel. This is called “chasing the compass” and everyone has done it. Remember the compass card never moves and remains stationary. The wheel makes the lubber’s line move in the direction the wheel is turned. By imagining the lubber line to be in line with the jib boom it helps to overcome this.

Conning; any person directing the Helmsman on where to place the rudder is said to be conning the ship.

Steering under sail; the Helmsman always stands on the windward side of the wheel. At the order “Standby by to come about”, the Helmsman will normally bear away a point to get more ship’s speed. This should be done slowly so as not to lose any speed. At the order “Lee helm”, the Helmsman brings the ship round into the wind, but he should not use too much helm or he will take the way off the ship.

• Starboard Tack; a ship sailing with the wind blowing against the starboard side, with her starboard tacks hauled on board, and her port sheets hauled aft, is said to be on the starboard tack.

• Port Tack; everything being the exact opposite to the starboard tack.

Tacking. Staying. Going About; an evolution performed by manœuvring the sails and helm by which means a ship is made to pass round head to wind from one tack to the other.

• Working or Beating to Windward. Tack and Half-Tack. Making a Long and Short Board. Making a Long and Short Leg; signifies a ves-sel proceeding as near as possible in the direc-tion from which the wind blows by constantly tacking.

• On a Wind. By a Wind. Close Hauled. Full and By. On a Bowline3; trimming the sails with the yards braced up sharp, and the bowlines (see diagram) hauled, to enable the ship to sail as close to the wind as possible.

• Hauling to the Wind; bringing a ship’s head as close to the wind as possible, by bracing the yards up, &c., and giving her lee helm.

• Luff. Give her Lee Helm. Put the Helm down; to bring a ship’s head close to the wind.

Steering by eye.

When the Captain requires the ship to be steered on a ship ahead or on a distant object the Helmsman

will be given the order “Midships” followed by “Steady on the lighthouse” or “Follow the ship ahead”. In the former example he steers the ship by keeping the lighthouse in line with the bowsprit and the centre of the wheel; in

the latter; he follows in the wake of the ship next ahead, keeping her masts and funnels in line dead ahead and turning astern of her wake if she alters course. The Helmsman should always be ready to revert to steering by compass as soon as this is indicated by the order, ”Steady”.Additional steering orders. Not always used by the Officer of the Deck. (I suspect they are not all familiar with old steering orders).

• Steer Large; used when the Helmsman can take advantage of a veering or backing wind to maintain maximum drive. The course may be 000 but the course being steered could be 20 degrees either side so as the Helmsman can take advantage of the actual wind.

• Steer Small; used when the Helmsman is using too much wheel or the ship might be tracking through a narrow reef.

• Steer Full and By; steering with the sails full and by the wind. Normally the highest sail on the mainmast is the steering sail. The Helms-man comes up into the wind until the sail

Photo: Ewa Kosczynski

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shivers4(stalls) and then comes back a few de-grees until the ship has maximum drive. This is repeated as required and is used when sailing as close as possible to the wind.

• Steering By and Large; this nautical phase (like many others) has come in command usage and means taking everything into account when making a decision. As a steering order it means to sail as close as possible to the wind but keep-ing as much wind as possible in the sails. The Helmsman should keep more wind in the sails and stall the sail less often.

ORDERS.

An alteration of course always starts with the direction and is immediately followed by the number of turns

or the rudder angle, Eg; “Port two turns.” The Helmsman repeats this. When the two turns are on, he reports, “Two turns of Port wheel on.” As the ship’s head approaches the new course he may be advised, “Ease to one turn.” The Helmsman repeats, “Ease to one turn”. When he has eased to one turn he reports “Eased to one turn.” When the ship’s head is near the new course the wheel must be taken off, so the order “Midships” is given. When the wheel is midships the Helmsman reports, “Wheel a‘midships”. Shortly after this the swing will require to be countered. The order “Starboard one turn” will be given. When the ship is within a few degrees of the new course the order “Midships” is given.A Helmsman is frequently asked:

• Ship’s head; the reply is the direction that the ship is pointing at that moment.

• Ship’s course; the reply is the course he is re-quired to steer.

When the Helmsman is required to steer a course by compass the ship is conned, as described above, until the head is on the required course when the order ”Steady” is given. Immediately he hears “Steady” the Helmsman notes exactly which degree of the compass card coincides the lubber’s line. He repeats the order and steadies on the course being steered at that time. He may also be ordered to steady on a geographical feature, eg. Middle of the Harbor Bridge, immediately after the order “ Steady” is given, the Helmsman moves his wheel in the direction required to return the ship to that course. The following examples how the orders, replies and reports of alteration of course from 000 to160.

Order. Reply. Report.“Midships.” “Midships.” “Wheel’s

a’midships.”

“Port two turns.” “Port two turns.” “Two turns of port wheel on.”

“Port another two turns.”

“Port another two turns.”

“Addition two turns of port wheel on.”

“Ease to two turns.”

“Ease to two turns.”

“Two turns of Port wheel on.”

“Midships.” “Midships.” “Wheel’s a’midships.”

“Steady.” “Steady.”

“Steer one six zero.”

“Steer one six zero.”

“Course one six zero.” (When the ship is on her course)

The normal reply to all the above is “Very good”.Immediately before another alteration of course is made the order “Midships” is usually given. This serves the double purpose of ensuring that any rudder angle that may be on is taken off, and warning the Helmsman that an alteration of course is coming.

• Nothing to port” or “Nothing to starboard; means respectively, that the Helmsman must not let the ship’s head pay off to port or the star-board side of the course, owing to the presence of nearby danger on the side indicated. This order remains in force until the order “midships” is given.

When the Helmsman is relieved he must hand over to his relief the course and the amount of rudder, which the ship is carrying, e.g. “course 040, ship carrying one turn of port wheel. The Helmsman should never turn over to his relief during an alteration of course, but should wait until the ship is once more on a steady course. At the change of the watch the new Helmsman should report to the Officer of the Deck “Helmsman relieved, course_______ Helmsman_____ at the wheel”.

The maximum effective angle for a rudder is 35%. Most ships have an instrument that shows the wheel indicator. That is, when you have the wheel hard a’port the pointer is on the Port side of the instrument on 35%. The James Craig is not fitted with such an instrument. There is an extension of the rudder fitted – when the rudder is hard a’port, the extension is pointed to 35% from dead head on the starboard side. With a minimum of practice this should not present a problem. 16 turns from hard a’port to hard a ‘starboard.CARRYING RUDDER.

When under power, unless the sea and wind are right ahead, if the rudder is kept a’midships she

will usually wander off course owing to the pressure of

Photo: John Cowie

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the wind on her superstructure or the force of the waves either end of her bow. Because of James Craig pivoting point she may tend to fall off to leeward. To counteract this tendency the Helmsman may have to keep a small angle on her rudder, and the ship is said to be “carrying rudder”. Ships which require rudder to keep them from paying off from the wind are said to carry “weather rudder”. Ships under the same conditions of wind and sea which require rudder to keep them from flying into the wind are said to carry “lee rudder”. James Craig, when under sail, would normally be balanced to carry “weather rudder”.

Peter DaveySeaman (sail)

1. Head. 2. Earring Crin-gles.

3. Bending Crin-gles.

4. Reef Cringles. 5. First Reef Band.

6. Second Reef Band.

7. Outer Leech Line Toggles.

8. Bowline Crin-gles.

9. Middle or Belly Band.

10. Buntline Lin-ings.

11. Foot Band. 12. Clews.

13. Reef Tackle Cringles.

References.• Ord seaman (sail)

Sources.• Manual of Seamanship Volume 1, 1951.• The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea

Oxford University Press 1992.• Square Rig Seamanship Captain R M Willoughby

1989• Boy’s Manual Of Seamanship And Gunnery. http://

www.pbenyon.plus.com/B_S_M/Contents.html (Well worth a visit)

Endnotes.1. See; The “Flinders Bar”, A Historical Perspective, F&B 2. October 2011 Issue 29, page 12.3. See; The “Flinders Bar”, A Historical Perspective, F&B October

2011 Issue 29, page 14.4. “On a bowline”: When sails were made from canvas a rig was

attached to the leach of the square sails and was used to tauten the leach and reduce flutter. This rig was called bowline. When the original crew were learning the ropes and the original pin diagram for the James Craig there was a pin for the bowlines

(and reefing lines). Because our sails are synthetic they do not require bowlines. When I crewed on the Our Svanen she had bowlines on the course. In “The Set of the Sails” Alan Villiers calls this “kissing the wind.”

mainsail image

Terrible Ordeal Of Fisherman In Storm.BRISBANE, April 15.

Two men, brought in by water police tonight, had lain injured and without aid in a 6-foot fishing launch in

a stormy open sea, some miles off Morton Island, for more than 24 hours. They were Richard Percy Simpson, of Bribie Island, a professional fisherman, and the owner of the launch, and Leslie Edward Key of Manly. At about 8 am, yesterday, the men decided to shift their anchorage at Brennan Shoals. As Key turned the handle of the anchor winch, a heavy sea jolted the boat over on its side. The winch handle slipped from Key’s grasp and struck him on the right hand and foot, breaking the bones in both places. Doubled in agony, he was assisted below by his companion. Shortly afterwards, the rudder was carried away in a heavy sea. Eight hours after Key’s accident. Simpson made a second attempt to raise the anchor, but another huge wave struck the launch and the winch handle struck him a terrific blow in the face. He was sent slithering along the deck and would have gone overboard, but for the fact that a bollard caught in his trousers and held him suspended and unconscious, swaying between the ship and the water. Key, suffering agony, crawled to his rescue, hauled him aboard with his one good hand and dragged him below. Key sat alongside his unconscious mate for seven hours until he regained consciousness. At dawn, Key hoisted a distress signal which was seen at Cape Moreton lighthouse. The signal station immediately diverted an Army vessel heading for the bay to investigate. When it was found that the Army craft was unable to give the necessary relief to the injured men, the pilot ship John Oxley was called and it towed the launch with the men to calmer waters. In the meantime, the water police had been contacted and a launch was sent out. The injured men were eventually transferred to it and brought to Brisbane. Simpson was then delirious and on the arrival of the launch at Pinkenba, he and Key were transferred to an ambulance and taken to the Brisbane General Hospital. It was later reported that Simpson received a probable fracture of the skull, fracture of the nose and lacerations to the forehead arid head. Key suffered a broken right hand and foot.

The Advertiser 16 April 1947

• Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea is an old nautical term; the devil being the caulker’s name of the longest seam in a wooden boat’s upper deck planking next to a ship’s waterways. It ran from stem to stern. There was very little space to get to this seam, making it a difficult and awkward job. When at sea and the devil had to be caulked the sailor hung from a rope and was suspended between the devil and the deep blue sea, a very precarious position.

• No Great Shakes; No big deal, make nothing of it is what we would mean today. But on a boat, the empty casks had to be broken down. To take them apart, it was called “shaken”. These “shakes” were stored away with little value.

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Once she was berthed the local caterers boarded to bump-in for the Dendrobium Mine Community Pro-

jects Awards function, hosted by bhpbilliton. The crew, with the exception of those on watch, were ferried to the Illawarra Leagues Club in the club’s Cour-tesy Bus for dinner and related activities.Saturday the ship was open to the Public and, thanks to good media coverage, around 2000 people visited be-tween 0900hrs and 1500hrs and some of whom queued for up to 30 minutes. The crew and the guides, well used to the requirements of an “Open Ship”, performed their duties with their usually good humour. A BBQ Sat-urday night was their reward.

Unlike the usual voyage BBQ, the Engineers were not in control of gas-powered barbeque, as this time

it was a Deckie. There was no hint of a demarcation dispute as the Engineers were quite happy at being re-lieved of the stresses and responsibility of cooking meat for a crew of 40. The trip back on Sunday missed out on a Southerly assistance (that came through on Monday) so the Craig motored back up the coast. Even so it was avery pleasant trip with the Saloon passengers having morning tea on the quarter deck with the Captain and Officers and sightings of 6 whales, two groups of seals and numerous dolphins.

John Cowie.

At 0700hrs, on Friday, October 19 the James Craig slipped her lines and set out for Port Kembla. She

was to be the main attraction at the third Port Kem-bla Maritime Community Day held there, on Saturday, October 20. The aim of the Maritime Community Day is the raise public awareness of the Port Kembla Maritime precinct as a part of the local community and to promote safe boating and fishing practices.Unlike previous years, when the main attraction was naval vessels, the attendance of the James Craig was a chance for the local community to view and experience a different piece of Australia’s Maritime History.The passengers for the down trip numbered 41 Saloon passengers (catered meals) and 3 Steerage passengers (BYOF). For the return trip there were 25 Saloon pas-sengers and 44 Steerage passengers, some of whom booked after visiting the James Craig on Saturday’s Open Ship.

With a 10 knot nor’easter helping her, the James Craig made an average of 5 knots on the trip down

but, unfortunately, the wind was not so helpful for the return journey on Sunday October 21. On her arrival, the Craig was met by a rather large tug, normally involved in the berthing of bulk carriers. Thus, the tug was uncertain as to how to treat a gracious but determined lady and this resulted in a rather extended berthing procedure. Any claims that the James Craig was flirting with a “toy tug” were immediately denied by the Master.

James Craig goes to Port Kembla for theMaritime Community Day.

At South Head Photo: Tim Swales

Seals Port Kembla Photo: Gordon Blow

dandy funk

Port Kembla Photo: Gordon Blow

Dandy Funk Photo: Gordon Blow

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Having completed a few 6-days voyages aboard the James Craig (as Victualler and Assistant Cook)

I thought it was time for me to take a voyage as a passenger to avoid the 16-hour working day and indulge myself in the pursuit of indolence. However, not being the least bit interested in travelling on a cruise ship, it was not until a crew member alerted me to “Freighter Expeditions” that I found what I was looking for – a 38-day voyage to Philadelphia (via the Panama Canal) aboard Hamburg Sud’s container ship the Bahia Blanca.Her dimensions are; LOA: 254.0m, Beam: 32.2m, Draft (freshwater): 12.7m, Height: 56.97m and Freeboard: 15.4m. making her a Panamax ie: the term used for the size limits of vessels passing through the Panama Canal and under the Bridge of the Americas at Balboa. These maximum dimensions are: LOA: 294.13m, Beam: 32.31m, Draft: 12.04m and Air draft (to pass under the Bridge of the Americas): 57.91m. The dimensions of the current canal locks are: 33.53m wide, 320.04m long and 12.56m deep, the new lock dimensions will be: LOA 427m, Width 55m, Draft 18.3m.

I boarded at 0830hrs and was allocated the Reefer Engineer’s cabin – as Reefer Engineers are no

longer required to monitor refrigerated containers. The monitoring is now carried out by the Junior Electrician – he plugs the container in on loading and checks the temperature twice a day. The cabin was well appointed, good bed, couch, coffee table, TV and sound system, bench space and an en-suite bathroom. The vacuum-assist toilet caused some consternation on the first use but I soon became accustomed to its workings. Facing forward, the cabin had rectangular port-hole which is usually blocked by stacked containers but I was able to watch the loading and unloading of the containers from my cabin. It is a very smooth and efficient operation, the gantry crane is lined up, the container is lifted on board, lowered into position and then set down accompanied by a clang and a shudder through the ship. The crane driver gets it right with the minimum of fuss and no second attempts.

There is no doctor or nurse on board but there is a “hospital” and I was obliged to take out extra

insurance to cover the possibility of the ship being divert

to the nearest port should I require hospitalisation. Our departure was, initially scheduled for 2200hrs, then 0630hrs, then 0730hrs as one of the gantry cranes had broken down during the night. At 0800hrs I was

up on the Bridge as they finished putting the lids on the holds and preparing to sail. However another ship scheduled to sail at 0800hrs, we had the tugs they had the Pilot so a swap was done - they got the tugs. Since Patricks had scheduled a port closure at 0900hrs, to unload a new gantry crane, we did not have enough time to sail before the closure so we were delayed until 1330hrs.

On coming away from the wharf with the assistance of 2 tugs, one being the PB Endeavour which was up at the Heads, in May, when the HMB Endeavour returned to Sydney from her circumnavigation of Australia.

Leaving Botany Bay there was quite a swell happening so it was quite rough on the leeside when we

dropped the Pilot. The swell abated during the night and we made up time, picking up the Pilot, outside the Rip, at 1830hrs and powering across the Rip into Port Phillip at 17knots. We took the south channel as far as Frankston then set our course for the entrance to the mighty Yarra and the DP World container terminal on the Swanson Dock. It was a bit of a squeeze passing under the Westgate Bridge, which has a clearance of 58m, and when we reached the Swanson Dock (at 900 to the channel) the Captain pivoted on the bow bringing the stern around 900 to port and then he backed into the dock. A totally amazing bit of manoeuvring and it was achieved with only 1 tug. We were due to sail 1800hrs on Monday but the loading/unloading

was completed ahead of time and we departed at 1600hrs. Getting away from the wharf was just as impressive as the berthing. Once again 1 tug (with a line attached amidships) pulled us clear of the wharf, the side-thruster on the Bahia’s bow made the tug’s job much easier. We nosed out into the channel, turned right, passed under the Westgate Bridge again, out into Port Phillip and down

to the “Rip”. We dropped the Pilot outside at around 1900hrs and as it was a bit choppy he had a few goes at disembarking.Two American women joined the ship in Melbourne for

Through the Panama Canal on a Container Ship.

Bahia Bblanca Photo: John Cowie

Loading containers Photo: John Cowie

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temperature across the Pacific stayed between 26o and 29oC except for when we were passing through the Humbolt Current, south of the Equator, when it dropped back to 23oC. The pool is in the gym (along with a bicycle, cross-trainer and weights, none of which I used - cross-trainers I do not like and climbing 3-7 flights of stairs numerous times each day is more than sufficient

exercise). As the salt water is replaced daily there is no need for chlorine and there is a plentiful supply of water quite close to hand. The size of the pool (3.5m X 4m) meant that you could do lots of laps but not really swim very far at all. I managed a bit of body surfing on the waves created by the ship’s rocking and had a full body massage - when you are close to the walls of the pool the ship’s vibrations are transmitted through

the water. The pulsations (60 revs) did not quite match the heart beat but they were close. Consequently I effectively swam across the Tropic of Capricorn, the Equator (Neptune Rex awarded me a certificate bestowing the name “Blue Marlin” on me), past the Galapagos, in the Caribbean, the Bermuda Triangle (I was somewhat hesitant about entering the water in the Triangle, not because sea temperature was 29oC but because of Erich von Daniken’s treatise on ‘The Bermuda Triangle’. I had a fear of falling through the time/space continuum and ending up on a US destroyer in the 1950s) and the Atlantic – I don’t think I have ever swum so far.

Eating at the Captain’s table every meal meant that I could get a daily update on the voyage and

it was during one conversation the Captain declared that the weather is better in the northern hemisphere, well it was certainly different. After leaving Auckland the weather was delightful, sunny, not much swell and winds around force 6. However having crossed the

line the skies, horizon to horizon, became cloudy with no evidence of the sun. Whereas on the south side even though there were occasional clouds there was a preponderance of sun. The Captain did agree with me when I suggested that he must be feeling better as the weather was just like England (he is from Hull) - he insisted that we were experiencing proper weather. He also bemoaned the fact that the weather

was so good and he really missed the rough weather. During the 17-day voyage across the Pacific we had two Friday in a row in preparation for crossing the International Date Line and the clocks were advanced an hour 6 times (Mon, Wed, Thurs) to compensate for

the Timaru leg of the voyage. They were particularly impressed with the number of non-chain coffee shops and restaurants that they came across on they travels. through Australia.

The 4-day voyage across the Tasman to Port Chalmers, in calm conditions, enabled us the make

up some more of the time lost leaving Sydney. The entry to Otago Harbour is very narrow and protected by a mole and a spit which on being safely negotiated in the dark, we turned 900 turn to starboard and crossed to the north shore of the lower harbour. On reaching the container terminal, at Port Chalmers, the Captain turned the ship 1800, this time with the help of 2 tugs, until she was parallel to the quay, the tugs then nosed her up to the terminal. The 6-day voyage up the east coast to Auckland included the ports of Timaru, Napier and Tauranga. Shortly after we left Timaru the weather close in and by the time we had reached Akaroa Head (near Christchurch) the wind speed had risen to force 9 and the spray from bow waves was coming over the top of the containers. During the night the gusts were up around 50knts with lots of rain and while sitting in my cabin with the wind hissing around and the rock ‘n roll I thought I was experiencing some heavy air turbulence and had to keep reminding myself that I was on a ship.The weather had calmed by the time we reached Napier and then, while crossing the Bay of Plenty, on the way to Tauranga I spied 2 islands off the stern. One island was much larger than the other and had what looked like smoke coming off it. It was White Island (Whakaari), an “active volcano constantly emitting steam”, and the first volcano for me. Two New Zealanders joined the ship for the Auckland to Panama leg.

The ‘‘Abandon Ship” exercise did not require us passengers to line up on the Starboard side to be

checked off against the Manifest but the Chief Steward did escort us down to the life boat. Unlike the James Craig we sat in the lifeboat, were strapped in and were taken through the launch procedure. The lifeboat is lowered on a davit rather than being launched from the stern. The Captain says the stern launch is not something to be experienced. He has been through a few launches, strapped in a harness with the head strap secured. He said you hear the rattle of the boat sliding down the track then silence, which seems to go on forever then you hit the water.

Four days out of Auckland the sea temperature finally reached 23oC and I had my first swim. The sea

Lifeboat Photo: John Cowie

Canal Excavation Photo: John Cowie

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the changing time zones and causing havoc with the curtains by fading them rather quicker than normal.

In order to transit the Canal you are given a 2-hour window to be at the entrance, should you arrive after

the window closes you are subject to a 10% penalty (the transit fee is around U$ 250K). As the weather across the Pacific was so pleasant about 3 days out from Panama the Captain had to cut back on the revs so that we did not arrive too early. We anchored off Balboa around 2130hrs, the Pilot came on board at 0215hrs and when we passed under the Bridge of the Americas (high, long approaches, central arch similar to the Sydney Harbour Bridge) I felt as though my trip was just starting. Under the bridge and on the right was the Balboa Container Terminal (the ship visits there on the way back to Australia) and a bit further on is the entrance to the Mira Flores locks, the start of the Canal. It consists of 2 parallel locks of 2 chambers each, gravity fed and a tight squeeze - probably less than a 1 metre clearance between the ship and the walls of the lock. A very smooth operation, ship in, gates close, water in, ship rises, gates open ship moves to next chamber and the process is repeated. The whole operation is controlled by the Panama Pilot and the Panama crew (they come on board at the same time as the pilot). The ship’s crew really have no involvement in the transit until we exit at the other end.

Once through the Mira Flores we travelled a short distance to the Pedro Miguel locks (2 parallel locks,

1 chamber each) which we cleared at 0540hrs but owing to fog on the Canal we were held at the chamber until the fog lifted around 0730hrs. Just before reaching the Centennial Bridge (of a similar type to the Anzac Bridge, but much higher) you can see the excavations for where the new Pacific locks will link up with the Gaillard Cut. The spoil from these excavations (blasted out of the rock) is then barged and shipped to the eastern end of the canal. It is used in the construction (crushed and mixed with concrete) of the new Atlantic locks, as the terrain there consists of mostly sand, soil and very little rock). The Gaillard Cut (originally the Culebra Cut) is the artificial valley which links the Pedro Miguel locks with the Rio Chagres arm of Lago de Gatun. The Cut is quite spectacular, in some parts the sides are bare and quite steep, in other parts it is a lush tropical jungle. Just before the Cut links up with Rio Chagres we passed a prison (overlooked by watchtowers and surrounded with razor wire but with good water views and Canal frontage). The Pilot said it

was for “soft crimes” ie; for people who had committed political crimes, money laundering or fraud. Most of the prisoners would have been fairly affluent so life inside is not nearly as desperate as in most of the other Panamanian prisons. A short distance further along the arm of the Chagres River is the depot for the tugs working that section of the canal. When we reached Lago de Gatun there were a number of vessels waiting

for our convoy to finish passing through the Cut before they could transit to Balboa. Then the rains started, heavy black clouds and lightning, obscuring the entrance to the Gatun Locks until we were about 1km away. The Gatun Locks are a similar format to the Mira Flores and the Pedro Miguel locks (ie 2 parallel locks) but, instead, have 3 chambers. We entered the 1st chamber at 1100hrs and

exited the last chamber at 1315hrs. As the 2nd chamber was lowering us to the level of the 3rd chamber another vessel was entering in the 1st chamber behind us. That vessel was in the 2nd chamber, with another vessel entering the 1st chamber, when we were in the 3rd chamber being lowered to sea level. With vessels in the parallel chambers they can move a number through very quickly. It is very efficient, the locomotives (linked to the vessel by lines) which travel beside the vessel (1 each side fore and aft - 4 in total) on a rack-and-pinion rail. Their function is to keep the tension on the lines so that the vessel does not hit the side of the lock. They also tow the vessel through the lock chambers and act as an anchor to slow its momentum and stop it from hitting the forward lock gates. Once we had cleared the Gatun locks we made our way passed the entrance to the original French Canal excavation, abandoned when the Americans took over the Canal construction in 1904, and which is where the new Atlantic locks are now being constructed. We headed for Cristobal and, 3 hours after our arrival unloading containers and

picking up some new crew we sailed for Manzanillo, a few hours further along the coast. When we left Manzanillo the next evening there were about 15 or so vessels waiting to enter the port and around 40+ vessels anchored off Cristobal waiting to transit the Canal.Two days later, after drifting overnight 12km off Cartagena (it being too deep to anchor), the Pilot met us at 1300hrs and we

berthed at the Manga Terminal at 1500hrs. The entrance to Bahia de Cartagena is between two islands - Isla Baru and Isla Tierra Bomba. Guarding the entrance, on Isla Tierra Bomba, are the remains of a Spanish fort - Fuerte de San Fernando de Bocachica. We only had a

Gaillard Cut Photo: John Cowie

Lake Gatun Photo: John Cowie

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few hours in Cartagena (crew leave finished at 2000 hrs - sailing 2130hrs) so all I saw of Cartagena was from the container terminal to the supermercado and back to the ship but that was quite an experience. I had mentioned to the Captain that I would like to buy some coffee and as he was planning to do the same I went with him - fortunately. We arrived at the main gate - very busy with people passing through an electronic gate, card ID activated. The Security Officer held us up for about 20 minutes, not sure why, but whatever the problem was and after much radio contact between the officer and Control another officer arrived with an electronic pass card and we were through the gate. Only to be confronted by a group of touting taxi drivers, through which the Captain barged with me trailing behind. He spotted a taxi driver that he uses when in Cartagena and we set off to buy the coffee. Traffic is chaotic, confused but functions well, we crossed diagonally against the traffic of a 4-lane main road - one lane stop, next lane pause, jump to next lane stop, go quickly. This was all done without any fuss and no scrapes.

The area we drove through was very interesting, one and two storey building s in various states of

repair, some with additions, streets full of people, lots of stand-arounds, busy and fascinating. Arriving at the HomeCenter, the Captain arranged a pick-up time with the driver and we set off to change some money at Western Union. The HomeCenter is like every other mall you have ever been in - recognisable chain outlets, Columbian specific outlets and all designed to cater to the tourist. Amidst all the chaos and movement things do not move fast - we waited at Western Union for two other people to be served, lots of forms printed out on a dot-matrix printer, form signing plus finger print, patience, patience. Money changed we then went to buy the coffee, back to the taxi. Held up again at the entrance gate - this time security had the electronic card to get me through the gate but the coffee seemed to cause him some problem. Well the Captain’s ground coffee, my beans did not. He said ‘fattura’ to me which, calling up my Italian archive, I finally work out that he wanted the sales docket. That presented, more radio traffic and I continued to wait. At this point the officer decided that he should give my backpack a thorough search - a cursory search is done on every bag that leaves or enters the port. He checked out my camera case, my glasses case, the eucalyptus cough drops, my hat and pens. Suddenly I was given the nod and I continued on my way to the

ship via the Transit Bus. Two hours in Cartagena was an experience, enjoyable, fascinating, chaotic and mesmerising. A few days out of Panama the Captain started to take a particular interest in the hurricanes developing in the Caribbean (Isaac and Joyce) as they could have a major effect on our passage from Cartagena to Philadelphia. On leaving Cartagena the Captain chose the Mona

Passage [between the islands of Hispaniola (Repubblica de Domenica) and Puerto Rico] rather than via the Windward Passage [between Cuba and Hispaniola (Haiti)] in an effort to pass between both of the hurricanes. This route added another 200kms to our passage and delayed our arrival in Philadelphia by a day. That evening the Captain has advised the Chief

Engineer to make sure everything was stowed below as he expecting the remnants of Isaac and the predicted approach of Joyce to cause a bit of rock and roll. However, Joyce decided that she preferred to remain out in the Atlantic and after going around in circles she just ran out of puff. Isaac did not leave much in his wake except lightning, rain and a bit of roll (no rock).

It took four days to reach Philadelphia and in that time I revisited the Engine Room in the company of the

Chief Engineer. That was an eye-opener – the Control Room spacious, air-conditioned and quiet, the Engine Room hot (40oC) noisy and most impressive. The heat generated by the engine is recycled to heat the diesel fuel, to distill fresh water from sea water and to recover oil & water from the sullage. Organic waste is incinerated, the resultant ash and metallic waste is disposed of in port. Sewerage is recycled to extract the water and the solids digested. All-in-all the pollution control methods appear to be very effective in reducing the ships environmental footprint. Then reality finally kicked - I could have quite happily

stayed on board and made the return trip to Sydney. It had been a most enjoyable voyage and it did not feel as if I have been at sea for nearly forty days and nights (well, I have been at sea for years but have managed to keep it reasonably well hidden). The 7-hour voyage up the Delaware River eased me back into the real world with its various signs of civilisation; a nuclear power

station, bridges over the river, bunker barges, naval dockyard, high-tension power cables strung across the river, ships and aircraft landing – the voyage and the pursuit of indolence was over.

John Cowie

Control Room Photo: John Cowie

Engine Room Photo: John Cowie