大象传媒

The first two days the weather was glorious with the sea like a sheet of glass but this was not to last as on Friday it started to blow up a bit and on Saturday we were hitting it head on and pitching pretty badly, it was quite nice up top though as the sun continued to shire, several ships were passing going in the opposite direction, our speed was knocked down considerably by the head on sea and wind so that were only making about 8knots, on Sunday the weather picked up slightly although it was very dull with poor visibility the sea calmed down somewhat and we made better progress.

On Monday morning the sea was much better just being slightly choppy and we made up for a lot of the time we had lost owing to the bad weather so that by Tuesday morning we were not so very much behind time and several islands were in view off the coast of Malaya, by noon we sighted the mainland itself and the end of the trip was in sight, we steamed down the coast and so thought eh straits of Singapore and eventually into the harbour proper where we dropped anchor about a quarter of a mile off shore after wending out way through a maze of shipping of all shapes and sixes while were at anchor there.

Although we are not allowed shore leave as we are only staying about 18hours, what we could see of the town from the ship, it seemed fairly large and there is some very large white concrete buildings on the water front, look to be about twelve or more stories high, the land is very low lying with an occasional hill here and there, it is well wooded with what look to be very large trees, whilst the shore line is of silver sand.

The actual time of arrival at Singapore was 4:30pm on the 25th June so doing the trip from Hong Kong to there, a distance of approximately 1,300 miles in six days seven and a half hours which is not too bad for this ship considering that the wind and sea was against us all the way.

The weather here at Singapore was far different from what I expected it to be, seeing that it is only about 80miles or so off the Equator it was quite cool, with a slight breeze, the sky was very heavy and overcast and as we were coming up the Straits a thunder storm could be seen over the Malayan main land with lightning zigzagging intermittently across the sky, but that rolled away to the north west, so leaving the weather fine but dull.

Our object is calling at this point was to refuel and re-store and also to pick up a number of RN and other personnel for passage to the UK. These came on board about 30minuites after our arrival there. I would have liked to have gone ashore there to have a look around but as we only stayed 18 hours there was on shore leave.

The harbour that night was ablaze with lights of many ships in there, it was very close and heavy all night but the next day the sky cleared so it was not so heavy although it was hotter. At noon the preparations for leaving harbour were complete so at 12:30 the anchor was hauled up and we slipped out of Singapore and into the Straits of Malacca on the next stage of the journey home. The sea was very calm with just a few ripples disturbing the surface so we made very good time.

The weather remained fairly cool all the time we were in the straits and the sea very calm until we reached the northern end of the straits and then as we passed the island of Sabang off the tip of Sumatra a high wind suddenly sprang up and the sea was whipped up into a foam spewed mess of seething water, this was about 4pm on Friday the 28th June and as we altered course to the westward we had this high wind hitting us head on, we began to pitch a bit but the sea was not very heavy so it was nothing much.

Sumatra is a fairly high coast line at the northern end, with some very high peaks jutting up farther island, the island of Sabang of which we had quite a good view as we passed very close to it, is very heavily wooded with trees of a very dark green shade and there was very little beach, the shores coming down very steeply into the water and being wooded all the way down.

Whist we were in the Straits of Malacca several ships passed us going in the opposite direction, these straits supposed to be the most shark infested waters in the world, but when we passed through the sharks were noticeable by their absence, and not one was seen, all we saw were a few porpoises playing around the ship. Just before dark on the 28th we passed out of the straits into the Indian Ocean with the weather still warm but still dull. To make things better for us whilst we are in the tropics a swimming bath has been rigged made of canvas on the foredeck not very big mind you, but just the job for a dip to cool off.

During the night of the 28th 鈥� 29th, the wind increased to gale force and by the next morning were hitting it good and proper, and being tossed about like a cork in a mill race, the seas were breaking right over the fore-castle, it makes you realize the power of the sea when you see 10,000 tons of steel being thrown around like this. All day Saturday the 29th the heavy seas continued and into the night, on Sunday morning we seemed to be running out of it and the wind had dropped and also the sea. By noon on Sunday the weather was much better the sun was shining and the sea was abating, but this was not for long as during the night it sprang up again and by Monday we were rolling heavily once more although the weather itself was good, there being glorious sunshine all day, the heavy broadside on swell is just caused by the high wind.

On Tuesday the 2nd of July the weather was lovely with a clear blue sky and a slight breeze, the ship has just a very slight roll, we had made good time on the trip and were right on the schedule laid down for us. Tuesday night brought a big change in the weather as about 5pm black clouds loomed up ahead and in about five minutes it was pouring down with rain and very misty, its amazing how quick the weather changes in these tropical climates, one minute sunshine and the next pouring rain, and how it rains, nothing short of a cloud burst can equal it in the UK climate.

About 9pm on Tuesday night we sighted the shore lights of Colombo, or rather Ceylon, it was 9am on Wednesday the 3rd July that we entered Colombo harbour, after hanging around most of the night waiting to go in. We tied up to buoys about a quarter of a mile off shore, the harbour fairly large but not very wide and it was packed with shipping of all binds both RN and Merchant Navy.

Our stay lasted for three days so on Thursday I went ashore in the afternoon, it is a very modern town although not very big, the roads are in perfect condition and very clean, shops are the same as English and there is an abundance of goods (all British) for a price. After walking around for a while sight seeing I went to one of the Services Clubs and had a very good meal, after which I went to the pictures, these also are built on up to date western lines, except for the seats which are ordinary chairs, electric fans were everywhere so it was quite cool inside.

There was a big change on the streets when I came out as all the natives had disappeared, this was about 7pm the only natives to be seen were the taxi drivers and the rickshaw men. It was not all that hot there so it was not unbearable ashore in the afternoon, the temperatures was 87 degrees in the shade at 3pm Tea is the only commodity that is cheep here and that is about 1/I per pound.

At nine-o鈥檆lock on Saturday the 6th of July we said good-bye to Colombo and headed our bows out into the Indian Ocean once more on the next stage to 鈥淎den鈥�, the weather was glorious and fairly hot. There was quite a strong swell running so the ship was lifting pretty well, this abated the following day and we were making goods time. The weather remained good until Friday 12th, and then it began to blow up rough and by noon we were rolling very heavily, shortly after dinner we stopped to allow the sea-men to make the forward derrick a little more secure, not a very nice job to have to do when she is rolling badly, about one thirty we got under way again. The wind continued to increase in force and by supper time we were hitting it good and proper with the seas breaking over the fore-castle and all hatches battened down.

Numbers of flying fish were being carried inboard by the sea and once when I went on the upper one of the ship鈥檚 cats was having a high time with one as it flopped around on the deck. Things were beginning to fly around on the mess decks and if you took your hands off your cup it was away down the other end of the table or in bits on the deck. The screw was continually coming high out of the water causing lots of vibration, our speed was knocked down to about 4 knots, very irritating when one is on the way home. By this time we had left the Indian Ocean and were in the Arabian Sea, the rough weather continued throughout Friday night and until about 4pm on Saturday when it began to calm down some what, the wind dropped and we were just rolling slightly. About 5:30pm we altered course into the Gulf of Aden, then we ceased to roll altogether as we now had the seas head on.

On Sunday the 14th July saw a very big improvement, the sea was calm and the weather was perfect, in the afternoon the heat was terrific as the wind had dropped altogether and the sun beat down out of a cloudless sky. To allow bare skin to touch the metal deck was asking for a nasty blister, the deck was so hot. Once the sun has set though the air soon cools off and between 6pm and 9pm is the best part of the day, it is quite chilly some nights after dark.

We were about 18 hours behind time when we arrived at Aden on Tuesday the 16th as we should have arrived there about 4pm, on Monday, it was 8am on Tuesday that we tied up to fore and aft buoys in the harbour there, the weather was boiling hot and what bit of breeze that there was came from the shore so it was only a draft of hot air. Aden itself is a very desolate hole with not a tree or anything green to be seen all there is, is a large hill of dull grey slag worn to all manner of shapes but the wind and rain, a very forbidding coast line towering up through the heat haze to the eye searing blue of the sky with the sun like a ball of molten brass blazing down pitilessly from the moment it tops the eastern horizon until it sinks in the west. I wouldn鈥檛 advertise Aden as a holiday resort. AS for the town itself, if it can be called such, for it merely consists of buildings straggling up from the harbour front, widely spaced apart on the lower slopes of these slag hills. In fact all the place looks like a large tip similar to those that can be seen outside any put head, only of course it is on a much larger scale. The hills I should imagine are around about a thousand feet in height.

Our stay here as not for long as we only put in for fuel and water, this was compelted by noon, so at 1pm we prepared to put out to sea again. During the forenoon we had the usual motley of natives alongside trying to sell fruit and the like and also there was something new here to other foreign ports we have visited and that was, numbers of natives wait for you to throw a penny or any coin over the side and then they dive down to fetch it, an expensive pass time if you鈥檝e no small change, but these children are really fast class otters, although there is very little style attached, they are very much at home in the water.

鈥楾his story was submitted to the People鈥檚 war site by Jim Salveson of the CSV Action Desk 大象传媒 Radio Stoke. On behalf of Elizabeth Adams and has been added to the site with his permission. The author fully understands the site鈥檚 terms and conditions.鈥�

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