Bowbelle, Wreck of Souls.

[Captain Kong]

This is my involvement with the BOWBELLE,.............

After taking early retirement from ESSO at the age of 53, on a good Pension and a large Lump sum , it was good , for a while, then getting a little bored, home alone, The wife had previously done me a favour and disappeared with another man during the time I was away for seven months. Two sons away in Uni.
So I saw the News of the incident in the Thames. I thought, they will need a new Master there, it cannot be worse than sat at home bored, and if I don't like it can always come home again, nothing lost.
I got the job. Doug Henderson had been `suspended` on full pay so he could deal with all the various inquiries etc.
The BOWBELLE was a crappy little vessel, with the most demoralized crew I have ever seen. She was a Challenge.
She dredged for sand and Stone in various patches around the coast, These were planned by the Companies Geologists. The sand and gravel was of different qualities used by the construction companies. The Parent Company was RMC
The dredging patches were monitored by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, and heavy fines could be had if dredging exceeded the limits on the patch.
These were south of the Isle of Wight, the Hastings Bank, off Great Yarmouth, on the east coast and up near the Humber.
and then taken into the Thames, Southampton, Port Slade, Newhaven, and so on.
The job was interesting, 24/7, none stop. It made a complete change from a nice comfortable voyage on a VLCC, where you get into a nice comfortable daily routine sailing all the way down to the Cape and up to the Gulf and back. taking four and a half months .
We did four weeks on and four weeks off, so that was again a nice change.
But, the THAMES run really was a challenge.
Starting at the Thames Barrier, then Tower Bridge and all the way under around 10 bridges to a berth, Nine Elms, at Battersea Power Station. The berth dries out at low tide, and when the tide turns we go on stand by, and wait, then as the vessel starts to bounce a little she is afloat and then it is full away. You have to get through all those bridges on a rising tide to mind your Air Draft, any delays you could hit the span of a Bridge.
When sailing a call to Woolwich Radio is made and this is repeated by Woolwich Radio to all traffic on the Thames.
eg. Woolwich Radio, BOWBELLE, we are approaching Waterloo Bridge and taking all Centre Arches out to sea,
Woolwich Radio to all vessels in the Thames, BOWBELLE is approaching Waterloo Bridge taking all centre Arches to sea.
That is so any vessel would know our intentions. and hopefully leave the centre arches vacant for our passage.
Now these Disco boats, they are blasting out deafening music continuously all night as they wander around like moths around a candle.
To be in command of these Disco boats , inland from Tower Bridge, all that is required is a Boat Mans licence.
In most cases they cannot hear the Broadcasts, due to the noise of the discoes and the shouting and screaming that goes on.
Indeed the radio on the Marchioness was found to be turned off when it was recovered.so they did not hear the Broadcasts. Cannot blame BOWBELLE for that,
They usually have a wheelhouse the size of a telephone box, No designated Look out man as they just meander around.
Then coupled with the Disco boats, the dazzling lights of the City on both sides reflecting on the river it is very difficult to see any vessels ahead.
So the stress levels when on passage at night is greatly increased.
Indeed one time in Daylight, fortunately, I had broadcast and also Woolwich Radio had repeated the broadcast, that we were taking all centre arches to sea and approaching Westminster Bridge, As I was almost at Westminster Bridge the sister of Marchioness, the Viscountess came through the centre arch and almost hit us, I had to stop engines and slow down of would have caused another disaster.
I called up the River Police and they chased the Viscountess in a boat and the skipper was arrested. They never learn.
So that is probably the situation that Captain Doug Henderson found himself in, and is Not understood by shore side people who make up there own mistaken decisions
One day we had a visit from MAIB, DTI and the Lawyers from the families appeared and we sailed down the Thames to where the collision occurred, Then STOP. Full astern was rung. Cameras and stop watches were activated to see how far she would travel before stopping ,
It took two more bridges and around four minutes to stop, the stern had swung to port colliding with the buttress of the bridge leaving a large dent in the plates on the Port quarter
I do not recall any mention of this evidence at the Inquiry, as she was accused of not stopping and going to pick up the people in the water as they were swept up stream in a fast incoming tide.
Maybe they didn't like it.


Now regarding the ship, as I said before, the most demoralised ship I have ever been on, It was used by the Company as a punishment ship.
Do anything wrong they got sent there.
I got rid of the Cook, and got a better one, then the second mate dropped dead in the wheel house, with a heart attack, so a new one came down to join us in Port Slade, I looked at his book, He had been a Master on Ben Line for many years, a real nice fellow, he said he had been redundant and wanted to do a couple of more years to build up his pension. then the Mate paid off and another great fellow, ex Mate with Matco Tankers turned up, so we had a great bridge team and all got on together fantastically.
I had all the accommodation repainted, new washing machine and tumble dryer installed.
The atmosphere changed completely and she was now a happy ship.
Unfortunately the ship was in bad condition, down below in the void space fountains of water would appear, cracks in the hull we hammered wedges covered on cloth into the cracks to stop sea water coming in. The bulwark amidships had split due to the bending in a sea. I called the Company, told them she was going to break in half, I was That is rubbish. It was only a year after the Bow sprite had done just that, and killed four men.
Then we were coming alongside in Chatham, I saw the ship manager on the quayside, in an immaculate suit.
The AB on the poop was stood by with a heaving line for the boat man, I told him to throw it at the manager, he did and he was shouting he had dirtied his suit, the AB shouted back , Sorry I thought you were the boatman. He came on board shouting, I am going to kick ass.
I shouted to him , I am here come and kick it. Any way he didn't, but he did say I have come to see these cracks you complain about.
He got his meter and measured the thickness of the steel in the Void space. He was testing at each frame, I said that is OK at the frame, in-between it is like a lace curtain. It is Ok he says. and then left.
We were not happy with it , But two weeks later we were told to take her into Southampton and lay her up. Sad to see her go but we were living on our nerves just in case she did break up and go down just like her sister ship.
She was sold to an Irishman from Cork and then sailed to Madeira and then she broke up and sank taking some crew with her. so I guess we were lucky
I have some fond memories of the old BOWBELLE. It was a good experience of a style of Seafaring I had never come across before and so I am glad to have been a part of her life.
cheers
Brian.

[Des Taff Jenkins]

Why defend the man, London beer at the time was both excellent and most high gravity. The time also had some great low and non Alcohol beers.


K.

It's already gone up two pints, next thing hell be paralytic.
Des

[Des Taff Jenkins]

Had your man that all seem to defend, done his job properly, pos there may have been no deaths ?

K.

The one on the pleasure boat you mean?
Des

[robpage]

It's already gone up two pints, next thing hell be paralytic.
Des

This was back in the days before all day pub opening so if you had consumed 5 pints between 12 and 3 when the pubs would be shutting 5 pints of lager would be equivalent of 10 units of alcohol .. the collision happened at 1:45 a.m. that alcohol would have had between 10 or 12 hours and would have dissipated before the dredger left the berrh so I don't know why people keep making a point of it

[happy daze john in oz]

I totally agree with John Arton, the two replies to posts put in by Des show exactly what is meant.

Both had little to do with the tragedy and were of no merit.
With posts such as this one on a major disaster it would be very rude of any other member to post trivial details that contribute nothing to the original concept.

With postings such as this one if any member cannot add definite evidence that woule enhance the post then they should post nothing.

13 postings mainly little to do with the event to me is a misrepresentation of the facts.

[cappy]

###it would be interesting to know what this person does for a living ....he seems to know more about seafaring than the seafarers ....and yet we know nothing about his occupation what about it keith you know about what we did ....what do you do......

#####no answer was the strong reply ......cappy

[Captain Kong]

I have just spent a hour typing a post all about this subject and then it completely disappears , Where does all that Typing disappear to, is there any way to recover it????
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I agree with the posts above,

Another story of when I was on the BOWBELLE, .....,...

Every time we sailed up or down the Thames under the bridges people would wait for us and then shout, Murderers, and throw bottles and cans and garbage down on top of us. even Urinating on us. What kind of people are they.?/
One day I was approaching the Thames and called Gravesend Radio on VHF to report in and ask for a gate thet the Thames Barrier, ..Gate D, he replies.
I then telephone the Office to give them my ETA, He tells me there are some Policemen and a couple of Lawyers waiting for us to "Nail a Writ to the mast"
an old sailing ship term, What they do is stick a legal notice on the wheelhouse windows, and they wanted Half a Million Pounds to be paid in the Courts

I took the ship to a local anchorage and with the two Mates and Engineers we discussed what we should do, we certainly did not want to be arrested..
I decided to take her up the east coast and anchor in the WASH. and wait to see what happens,
We were fugitives, no matter where we went the police and the Lawyers would be after us.
Meanwhile we passed the BOWTRADER, a sister ship , He asked us why we were outbound with a full cargo, so I told him the Courts were after us, so he said OK I will go up and discharge.

That night on BBC TV News we saw that the BOWTRADER had been arrested. as she was a Company asset, a big lot of Legal wrangling then started.
and the commentator said, "The BOWBELLE is missing , no one knows where she is."
We had a chuckle over that.
we stayed there for a week, totally silent, no communications with anyone. no one knew where we were,

A week later we heard on TV that the Company had paid the Half a Million Pounds into Court and the BOWTRADER released.
So then I phoned to Office and told them where we were, We were then told to take our cargo down to Newhaven and then told Not to go into the Thames again, keep away.

I only got the job because I was bored sat at home in early retirement, didnt know it would be so exciting.
Cheers
Brian

[Roger Millard]

I have just spent a hour typing a post all about this subject and then it completely disappears , Where does all that Typing disappear to, is there any way to recover it????
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I only got the job because I was bored sat at home in early retirement, didnt know it would be so exciting.
Cheers
Brian

Another story of when I was on the BOWBELLE, .....,...

Every time we sailed up or down the Thames under the bridges people would wait for us and then shout, Murderers, and throw bottles and cans and garbage down on top of us. even Urinating on us. What kind of people are they.?/
In answer to your Question, Misinformed and self righteous. Which is how the vociferous minority respond after most tragedies, the silent majority tend to reason with compassion over a pint, a Coffee, or a wee dram the frailty of there fellow beings. Regards R