Anchors Aweiigh

[Doc Vernon]

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Newsletter 15 - April 2016 Editor: Jack Secker (jake11a@optusnet.com.au)
Ph: (07) 3134 3678
12 Hampton Street, ALEXANDRA HILLS QLD 4161
www.seq..viindiicattriix..com
Anchors Aweiigh
S..E.. Qlld.. Viindiicatriix
&
MN Mariiners Associiatiion Inc..
Trip to the Ilnam Estate Winery
Not only is ILNAM Estate the only winery in Tweed, it is also
Australia’s most easterly winery, boasting amazing ocean and
hinterland views. Ilanam Estate Winery is located just 20
minutes from the Gold Coast Airport, 40 minutes from Surfers
Paradise and only 1 hour 20 minutes from Brisbane.
The visit to the Ilnam Estate Winery was a very congenial occasion, the winery is family owned and run by the
Quinn family. The drive into the hinterland afforded stunning views and scenery, considering only 30 mins drive
from Tweed Heads. On arrival and waiting for a few to board, the club put on tea and coffee for everyone. Despite a
couple of the lads jumping ship and a couple of
others missing the ship, we still managed to sit
down eighteen for lunch and the obligatory wine
tasting.
The writer of this missive enjoyed every one of the
wines tasted, but then he is easy to seduce. I saw a
couple of the lads buying a semi-sweet fruity red
called “Butterfly Kiss” this wine is best served
chilled, great.
From our seat in the outdoor restaurant the whole
of the coast and ocean could be seen, quite
remarkable views. We had a choice of three main
courses and every one of those was chosen and all
with the same response of great tucker, beautifully
presented and served with ample proportions.
A few red grapes were still to be picked and those that jumped off the vine into my hands and thus distributed were
met with universal acclaim as of the sweet variety, probably ended up as “Butterfly Kiss”.
Despite the lamp continuing to swing, we had to haul up the anchor and depart a very enjoyable berth, a repeat visit
is on the future itinerary…….
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The SS United States Capture US.JPG
An ocean liner bigger than the Titanic that
once carried celebrities across the Atlantic at
record speeds, may one day sail again.
Crystal Cruises luxury travel company
announced plans recently to overhaul the ship
at a cost of at least $974 million. The massive
steamship has been docked in Philadelphia
for two decades, gutted and rusting at an
unused wharf on the Delaware River. But
before it can be turned into a state-of-the-art
commercial vessel, the SS United States must
undergo a nine-month feasibility study.
In its glory days in the 1950s, the ship carried
everyone from royalty to immigrants across the Atlantic Ocean, accompanied by three on-board orchestras. On its
maiden voyage in 1952, the liner’s 268,000-horsepower engines propelled it across the Atlantic in three days, 12
hours, 12 minutes, (34.51 knots/63.91km/h) a “Blue Riband” unbroken liner record. The ship was decommissioned
in 1969.
The SS United States is now owned by a conservation group, with a purchase option signed by Crystal Cruises. This
is not the first time that plans were in the works for refurbishment. In 2003, the Norwegian Cruise Lines said it
planned an overhaul that did not materialise.

Capture SUB.JPG
Nazi Submarine from WWII Discovered in Great Lakes
February 18th, 2016 by Barbara Johnson
Divers from the U.S coast guard took part this
morning, in a delicate wreck recovery operation to
bring to the surface a Nazi submarine discovered two
weeks ago at the bottom of Lake Ontario
The U-boat was spotted for the first time by amateur
scuba divers in late January and they had contacted
the authorities. Archaeologists associated with
Niagara University of and master divers from the U.S
Coast Guard were mobilized on site to determine
what it was, and they soon realized that they were
dealing with a German submarine that sank during
World War II.
A wreck recovery vessel of the Great Lakes
Shipwreck Historical Society was mandated to refloat the ship and bring it back to Niagara Falls, where it must be
restored before becoming a museum ship. The delicate recovery operation took nearly 30 hours to complete, but the
submarine was finally brought down on the bank with relative ease.
The divers of the U.S. Coast guard braved the frigid water temperature to go attach cables to the wreck for the
recovery operation. The submarine was identified as the UX-791, a unique experimental German submarine, based
on the U-1200 model, and known to have participated in the “Battle of the St. Lawrence”. It was reported missing in
1943 and was believed to have been sunk near the Canadian coast. Professor Mark Carpenter, who leads the team of
archaeologists, believes that the U-boat could have travelled up the St Lawrence River, all the way to the Great
Lakes, where it intended to disturb the American economy.
A report dated February 1943 suggests, that the ship could have attacked and destroyed three cargo ships and two
fishing vessels, even damaging the USS Sable (IX-81), an aircraft carrier of the U.S. navy that was used for training
in the Great Lakes, before finally being sunk by anti-sub grenades launched by a Canadian frigate.
“We have known for a long time that the Nazis had sent some of their U-boats in the St-Lawrence River, but this is
the first proof that they actually reached the Great Lakes,” Professor Carpenter told reporters. “This could explain
the mysterious ship disappearances that took place in the region in 1943, and the reported “Battle of Niagara Falls”
which had always been dismissed as a collective hallucination caused by fear.” The restoration of the submarine
could take more than two years, but once completed, the museum ship is expected to become one of the major tourist
attractions of the region. Ha, good story but a HOAX………..
The claim that a “UX-791” submarine was found has after significant research, been proven to be a non-existent model. The
submarine pictured above is actually a K-159 Nuclear Submarine. In addition to what we’ve debunked, it is worth noting that
the US Navy has never affirmed submarine activity in the Great Lakes, much less from a Nazi war vessel.
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The Real Story of the Great Lakes Sub
The Sub was in fact K-159 a nuclear-powered
submarine of the Soviet Northern Fleet. Her keel
was laid down on 15 August 1962 at the
Severodvinsk “Sevmash” Shipyard.
On 2 March 1965, K-159 suffered an accident
involving radioactive discharges into her steam
generators, almost certainly primary coolant leaks
from the tubes into the steam chest and thence into
the turbines, contaminating her entire propulsion
plant. If so, the leaking tubes were plugged, because
she continued to operate for another two years
before entering the shipyard from 1967 through
1968 for overhaul and to have her steam generators
replaced. She returned to the shipyard from 1970
through 1972 for further repairs and refuelling, and
then again from 1979 through 1980 for still more
repairs.
K-159 was decommissioned on 30 May 1989 and laid up in Gremikha, her reactors were probably not defuelled. She
remained in layup with little or no maintenance for 14 years. Her outer hull rusted until in many places it had “the
strength of foil”. The poor condition of Russia’s fleet of decommissioned nuclear submarines concerned many other
countries, and in the summer of 2003, five countries made a combined donation of more than US$200 million in
support of decommission and disposal of those hulks. In anticipation of receiving those funds, Admiral Gennady
Suchkov, Commander of the Northern Fleet, decided to tow all the 16 laid up submarines from Gremikha to
shipyards where they would be dismantled. K-159 was the 13th hulk to be towed.
Because K-159’s hull was rusted through in so many places, it was kept afloat by spot-welding large empty tanks to
her sides as pontoons. Those tanks, however, were manufactured in the 1940s, were not air-tight, and were no better
maintaining than the submarine’s hull.
On 28 August 2003, K-159 and her pontoons were manned by ten Russian sailors and taken under tow to Polyarny.
That crew kept the pontoons pressurized and the submarine hull pumped out, but during the early morning hours of
30 August they encountered a squall that ripped away one of the pontoons. K-159 did not sink immediately, but was
clearly in distress. Northern Fleet was notified at 0120, and Admiral Suchkov arrived at headquarters 20 minutes
later. By 0300 the wreck had sunk in the Barents Sea, 200 meters down, with nine of her crew and most likely 800
kilograms of spent nuclear fuel containing some 5300 terabecquerel of radionuclides.
The Military Prosecutor General’s office brought charges against Captain Second Class Sergei Zhemchuzhnov who
was overseeing the towing operation. President of Russia Vladimir Putin removed Suchkov from service on the
recommendation of Navy Chief of Staff Vladimir Kuroyedov. Putin appointed Vice Admiral Sergey Simonenko
acting Commander of the Northern Fleet. Before that, he headed the headquarters of the Northern Fleet.
The Russian government is considering plans to raise the wreck of K-159. Admiral Kuroyedov believes that “we
should not leave nuclear objects lying on the seabed”. Initial plans were to do so in August or September 2004, but
they were postponed. In 2007, the
British Ministry of Defence began
preparations for a salvage operation. As
part of that recovery planning, the
Scottish company Adus was hired to
evaluate the wreck. A high-resolution
sonar generated image of K-159 was
published on 1 April 2010.
Shortly after the loss of the submarine,
the widows of four of the nine deceased
submariners filed a lawsuit against the
Russian Defence Ministry demanding
compensation of one million rubles
(about $37,500) each in moral damages,
a lawyer acting for them said. The
Ministry objected to the suit, saying that
the widows should press charges against
Suchkov, who was convicted by a court
martial of criminal negligence leading to
the submariners’ deaths.
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“The Porthole Murder Case
Capture PORTHOLE.JPG
All was quiet on board the Union Castle liner Durban Castle, steaming through
smooth seas off West Africa en-route from Capetown to Southampton.
It was October 18th, 1947, and at about 1.15 a.m. the boatswain’s mate
glimpsed the shadowy figure of a woman on the promenade eck. In the glow
of her cigarette he recognised the smooth features of one of the passengers, the
beautiful 21-year-old actress Eileen “Gay” Gibson. At 3.30 a.m. Seaman
Frederick Steer, on the second night watch, was alerted by the ringing of the
bell on the room stewards’ board. Two lights were flashing, one summoning
the steward, the other the stewardess, and both signals were from Gay
Gibson’s cabin, number 126.
Responding immediately, Steer went to the cabin and knocked on the door.
There was no reply. Then he heard someone moving in the cabin, and after
hesitating a moment he opened the door slightly and announced, “Steward.”
Through the two-inch crack he saw the indistinct figure of a man wearing only
dark trousers and a white vest. “It’s all right,” the man said, and slammed the
door.
But Steer was uneasy. He promptly reported the incident to the senior watchman, James Murray, who took him to
the bridge to repeat his story to the ship’s second officer, who told them to go to the cabin to make sure all was well.
It was about 3.45 a.m. when Steer knocked on the door again. There was no response, so Murray tried the door. It
swung open and he saw the cabin was in darkness and silent. He closed the door quietly and they left. At 7.30 a.m.
Stewardess Field went to the cabin as usual to wake the actress for breakfast. When her knock went unanswered, she
tried the door and was surprised to find it was unlocked. Gay Gibson wasn’t there, and that too was unusual.
Ordinarily she would be asleep. The dress she had worn the previous evening was draped over a chair, and her shoes
were in the middle of the floor. The stewardess tidied them away and began to make the bed. Alarmed to see what
appeared to be bloodstains on the sheets, she checked the actress’s wardrobe. Having unpacked for her, helping her
to dress for dinner each evening, she was familiar with every item.
Everything was there except the actress’s yellow dressing gown and black silk pyjamas, in which their owner would
hardly have gone out to stroll the deck. Now doubly alarmed, the stewardess hurried off to inform the chief steward,
who took her to the ship’s captain. He told her to return to the cabin with the master-at-arms and take another look.
They reported back that the cabin’s porthole cover was open. So had Gay Gibson gone overboard in the night?
The ship’s public address system was used, asking her to report to the bridge. There was no response, so the ship
was turned about to make a predictably fruitless search. Yellow and black fibres found on the rim of the porthole
confirmed that, dead or alive, the actress had gone through it. Then one of the passengers, Mrs. Esterbrook, reported
that at around 11 p.m. she had heard voices in the corridor outside her room. A man had said, “Miss Gibson, I have a
bone to pick with you.” “Indeed, the actress had replied. “What have I done?” That was all Mrs. Esterbrook had
heard. She had not recognised the man’s voice.
Then Stewardess Field recalled that one of the stewards, 30-year-old James Camb, had told her he had found Gay
Gibson to be quite chatty. He confided she had told him she had left South Africa because her romance with a
wealthy married man in Johannesburg had made her pregnant, and he had paid for her passage, also giving her a
substantial sum of money. It seemed incredible that the actress would share such a secret with a mere steward, but
one element of his story was known to be true: a wealthy Johannesburg industrialist had paid for Gay Gibson’s
passage. Questioned by the captain, Camb
said he had prepared a drink for Gay Gibson
at her request shortly before 1 a.m., and that
was the last he had seen of her.
He was then questioned again. This time
Steer and Mrs. Esterbrook were concealed
behind a screen. When the interrogation
finished, Camb was taken to the infirmary
to be examined by the ship’s doctor.
“Well?” asked the captain as the
eavesdroppers emerged from hiding. “He’s
the man I heard with Miss Gibson outside
my stateroom,” said Mrs. Esterbrook. Steer
looked uncomfortable. “I’m sorry for
Jimmy,” he said, “but I’m sure he’s the man
who was in Miss Gibson’s cabin.”
In the infirmary, the doctor found scratches
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on Camb’s arms, just the kind that would be left by
raking fingernails. Camb protested his innocence, but
when detectives questioned him at Southampton he
changed his story. He admitted being the man Steer had
seen in the cabin, but claimed he was there at Gay
Gibson’s invitation. He said that while they were
having sex she had an asthma attack which must have
triggered heart failure. She suddenly went limp, and all
his attempts to revive her were unsuccessful. Then he
panicked when Steer came to the door. “All I could
think of was getting rid of the body, so I shoved her out
of the porthole.”
At his trial for murder, however, the prosecution
punched several holes in his story. If he and the actress
were having sex with her consent, why was she still
wearing her pyjamas and dressing gown when she was
pushed through the porthole? And the pressing of both
buttons in her cabin indicated that she was trying to get
rid of him. Then there were the scratches, suggesting
that Gay Gibson had fought her attacker. Camb’s story
that she was pregnant, the Crown claimed, was an
invention designed to blacken her reputation and
suggest she was suicidal. The jury were absent for only
45 minutes before they returned to find James Camb
guilty and was sentenced to hang, but cheated the
gallows. At the time a no-hanging bill was being
discussed by Parliament so his sentence was commuted
to life imprisonment.
It was after this commutation that several women came
forward to tell how Camb had sexually attacked them
on previous voyages of the Durban Castle, two of them
claiming they had been raped. Another woman said that
she had been attacked on deck by Camb who dragged
her into a tool room where she fought desperately as he
tried to strip her clothes away. He had lost patience and
strangled her. She passed out, she claimed, and when
she regained consciousness, she said that Camb was
standing over her, grinning.
Camb was paroled in 1959; he changed his name to
Clarke and was working as a head waiter in May 1967
when he was convicted of sexually attacking a 13-yearold
girl. He was, incredible as it may seem, merely
placed on a two-year period of probation.
He later went to Scotland where he worked once more
as a head waiter in a restaurant. A short time later he
was charged with sexual misconduct with three
schoolgirls, this time Camb’s parole was revoked and
he was returned to prison
to serve out a life term. He
was finally released in
1978 and died the
following year of heart
failure.
The Durban Castle
continued to sail between
South Africa and Britain
until 1962 when it was
sold to a German firm
based in Hamburg to be
broken up.
Some new dates and times for
our next social outings
Please note new fixtures:-
April 21st Port of Brisbane Tour, Coach leaves South
Tweed Bowls at 9.30 am, tour starts at 12.30 pm.
June 16th Eltham Hotel luncheon. Coach leaves South
Tweed Bowls 9.30am, either Alstonville or Clunes for
morning tea, then lunch at Eltham Hotel.
A reminder now for the CONDONG Bowling club
Memorial fund-raising event as organised by our
President Brian. To be held (at Condong) on
Sunday 10th April commencing at 9:00am. NSW
time.
The annual ANZAZ March this year is on Monday
25th April – the March itself commencing at
10:00am. From the Jack Evans Boat Harbour, cnr
of Boundary and Coral Streets
Nicaragua Canal Construction Works
Poised to Start in August 2016
The construction on the fuel terminal and a ship wharf
within the USD 50-billion Nicaragua canal project is
set to start in August, Bloomberg reports citing the
project contractor HKND Group.
According to HKND Group Vice President KW Pang,
the construction is part of building a port facility for
importing machinery needed for “major works” such as
dredging and financing would come from debt and
equity sales and a potential IPO, Bloomberg writes.
As disclosed, the financing is not dependent on the
economic situation in China and would see financial
backing from numerous international investors. The
construction was scheduled to start in 2015 and was
expected to be completed in five years with the canal
becoming operational by 2020.
However, the project start on the construction of locks
and the big excavations was delayed as HKND Group
said it needed more time to fine-tune the design of the
project. Nicaragua Grand Canal is a proposed 172-mile
waterway, 230 to 520 metres wide and 27.6 metres
deep, making it longer, wider and deeper than the 51-
mile Panama Canal to the south.
Based on the project design, it should include 6 sub
projects: the Canal (including locks), 2 ports, a free
trade zone, holiday resorts, an international airport and
several roads. In addition, there will be construction of
a power station, cement factory, steel factory and other
related facilities.
HKND Group received an environmental permit from
the Government of Nicaragua for the canal project in
November 2015 having determined that it would have a
positive environmental and social impact. The approval
came despite environmental concerns voiced by the
local population and several NGOs claiming the project
would pollute water supply.
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The Barb Battle Flag
Forty years ago, an Italian submarine was sold for a paltry
$100,000 as scrap. The submarine, given to the Italian Navy in
1953, was originally the USS Barb. An incredible veteran of
World War II service. With a heritage that should not have
been melted away without any recognition.
The USS Barb was a pioneer, paving the way for the first
submarine to launch missiles and it flew a battle flag unlike
that of any other ship. In addition to the Medal of Honor
ribbon at the top of the flag identifying the heroism of its
Captain, Commander Eugene ‘Lucky’ Fluckey. And the
bottom border of the flag bore the image of a Japanese train
locomotive. The USS Barb was indeed, the submarine that
SANK A TRAIN !
It was after 4 A.M. And Commander Fluckey rubbed his eyes as he peered over the map spread before him. It was
the twelfth war patrol of the Barb, the fifth under Commander Fluckey. He should have turned the submarine’s
command over to another skipper after four patrols, but had managed to strike a deal with Admiral Lockwood to
make a fifth trip with the men he cared for like a father. Of course, no one suspected when he had struck that deal
prior to his fourth and should have been his final war patrol, that Commander Fluckey’s success would be so great he
would be awarded the Medal of Honour.
Commander Fluckey smiled as he remembered that patrol. Lucky Fluckey they called him. On January 8th the Barb
had emerged victorious from a running two-hour night battle after sinking a large enemy ammunition ship. Two
weeks later in Mamkwan Harbor he found the mother-lode. More than 30 enemy ships. In only 5 fathoms (30 feet) of
water his crew had unleashed the sub’s forward torpedoes, then turned and fired four from the stern. As he pushed
the Barb to the full limit of its speed through the dangerous waters in a daring withdrawal to the open sea, he
recorded eight direct hits on six enemy ships.
What could possibly be left for the Commander to accomplish who, just three months earlier had been in
Washington, DC to receive the Medal of Honour? He smiled to himself as he looked again at the map showing the
rail line that ran along the enemy coastline.
Now his crew was buzzing excitedly
about bagging a train! The rail line itself
wouldn’t be a problem. A shore patrol
could go ashore under cover of darkness
to plant the explosives, one of the sub’s
55-pound scuttling charges. But this early
morning Lucky Fluckey and his officers
were puzzling over how they could blow
not only the rails, but also one of the
frequent trains that shuttled supplies to
equip the Japanese war machine. But no
matter how crazy the idea might have
sounded, the Barb’s skipper would not
risk the lives of his men. Thus the
problem. How to detonate the explosives at the moment the train passed, without endangering the life of a shore
party.
If you don’t search your brain looking for them, you’ll never find them. And even then, sometimes they arrive in the
most unusual fashion. Cruising slowly beneath the surface to evade the enemy plane now circling overhead, the
monotony was broken with an exciting new idea, instead of having a crewman on shore to trigger explosives to blow
both rail and a passing train, why not let the train BLOW ITSELF up?
Billy Hatfield was excitedly explaining how he had cracked nuts on the railroad tracks as a kid, placing the nuts
between two ties so the sagging of the rail under the weight of a train would break them open. “Just like cracking
walnuts”, he explained. To complete the circuit (detonating the 55-pound charge) we hook in a micro switch. And
mounted it between two ties, directly under the steel rail. We don’t set it off. The TRAIN will.” Not only did
Hatfield have the plan, he wanted to go along with the volunteer shore party.
After the solution was found, there was no shortage of volunteers, all that was needed was the proper weather. A
little cloud cover to darken the moon for the sabotage mission ashore. Lucky Fluckey established his criteria for the
volunteer party:
1. No married men would be included, except for Hatfield,
2. The party would include members from each department,
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3. The opportunity would be split evenly between
regular Navy and Navy Reserve sailors,
4. At least half of the men had to have been Boy Scouts,
experienced in handling medical emergencies and tuned
into woods lore. FINALLY, Lucky Fluckey would lead
the saboteurs himself.
In the meantime, there would be no harassing of
Japanese shipping or shore operations by the Barb until
the train mission had been accomplished. The crew
would ‘lay low’ to prepare their equipment, practice and
plan and wait for the weather.
Waiting in 30 feet of water in Patience Bay was
wearing thin the patience of Commander Fluckey and
his innovative crew. Everything was ready. In the four
days the saboteurs had anxiously watched the skies for
cloud cover, the inventive crew of the Barb had crafted
and tested their micro switch.
When the need was proposed for a pick and shovel to
bury the explosive charge and batteries, the Barb’s
engineers had cut up steel plates in the lower flats of an
engine room, then bent and welded them to create the
needed digging tools. The only things beyond their
control were the weather and the limited time. Only five
days remained in the Barb’s patrol.
Anxiously watching the skies, Commander Fluckey
noticed plumes of cirrus clouds, then white stratus
capping the mountain peaks ashore. A cloud cover was
building to hide the three-quarters moon. So, this would
be the night.
The Barb had crept within 950 yards of the shoreline. If
it was somehow seen from the shore it would probably
be mistaken for a schooner or Japanese patrol boat. No
one would suspect an American submarine so close to
shore or in such shallow water. Slowly the small boats
were lowered to the water and the 8 saboteurs began
paddling toward the enemy beach. Twenty-five minutes
later they pulled the boats ashore and walked on the
surface of the Japanese homeland.
Stumbling through noisy waist-high grasses, crossing a
highway and then into a 4-foot drainage ditch, the
saboteurs made their way to the railroad tracks. Three
men were posted as guards, Markuson assigned to
examine a nearby water tower. The Barb’s auxiliary
man climbed the tower’s ladder, then stopped in shock
as he realized it was an enemy lookout tower………..an
OCCUPIED enemy lookout tower. Fortunately the
Japanese sentry was peacefully sleeping. And Markuson
was able to quietly withdraw to warn his raiding party.
The news from Markuson caused the men digging the
placement for the explosive charge to continue their
work more quietly and slower. Twenty minutes later,
the demolition holes had been carved by their crude
tools and the explosives and batteries hidden beneath
fresh soil.
During planning for the mission the saboteurs had been
told that, with the explosives in place, all would retreat
a safe distance while Hatfield made the final
connection. BUT IF the sailor who had once cracked
walnuts on the railroad tracks slipped or messed up
during this final, dangerous procedure his would be the
only life lost.
On this night it was the only order the sub’s saboteurs
refused to obey, and all of them peered anxiously over
Hatfield’s shoulder to be sure he did it right. The men
had come too far to be disappointed by a bungled switch
installation.
1:32 am Watching from the deck of the submarine,
Commander Fluckey allowed himself a sigh of relief as
he noticed the flashlight signal from the beach
announcing the departure of the shore party. Fluckey
had daringly, but skillfully guided the Barb within 600
yards of the enemy beach sand.
There was less than 6 feet of water beneath the sub’s
keel, but Fluckey wanted to be close in case trouble
arose and a daring rescue of his bridge saboteurs
became necessary.
1:45 pm. The two boats carrying his saboteurs were
only halfway back to the Barb when the sub’s machine
gunner yelled, “CAPTAIN!” There’s another train
coming up the tracks! The Commander grabbed a
megaphone and yelled through the night, “Paddle like
the devil!” knowing full well that they wouldn’t reach
the Barb before the train hit the micro switch.
1:47 am. The darkness was shattered by brilliant light . .
and the roar of the explosion!
The boilers of the locomotive blew, shattered pieces of
the engine blowing 200 feet into the air. Behind it the
railroad freight cars accordianed into each other,
bursting into flame and adding to the magnificent
fireworks display. Five minutes later the saboteurs were
lifted to the deck by their exuberant comrades as the
Barb eased away - slipping back to the safety of the
deep.
Moving at only two knots, it would be a while before
the Barb was into waters deep enough to allow it to
submerge. It was a moment to savour, the culmination
of teamwork, ingenuity and daring by the Commander
and all his crew. Lucky Fluckey’s voice came over the
intercom. “All hands below deck not absolutely needed
to maneuver the ship have permission to come topside.”
He didn’t have to repeat the invitation.
On August 2, 1945 the Barb arrived at Midway, her
twelfth war patrol concluded. Meanwhile United States
military commanders had pondered the prospect of an
armed assault on the Japanese homeland. Military
tacticians estimated such an invasion would cost more
than a million American casualties.
Instead of such a costly armed offensive to end the war,
on August 6th the B-29 bomber Enola Gay dropped a
single atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima, Japan. A
second such bomb, unleashed 4 days later on Nagasaki,
Japan, caused Japan to agree to surrender terms on
August 15th.
On September 2, 1945 in Tokyo Harbor the documents
ending the war in the Pacific were signed.
The story of the saboteurs of the U.S.S. Barb is one of
those unique, little known stories of World War II. It
becomes increasingly important when one realizes that
the eight sailors who blew up the train near Kashiho,
Japan conducted the ONLY GROUND COMBAT.
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The ship “SAMUEL PLIMSOLL”
During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and even well into this
century, some of the thousands of sailing vessels that had outlived their
economical sailing lives were relegated to serve as hulks in one port or
another around the world. Vessels of many different hull and rig types
became floating warehouses for all manner of goods ranging from coal to
convicts.
Stripped of spars and rigging, and with large holes often cut in the hull
for easy access, these neglected hulks sank one by one, were abandoned,
taken away to ships’ graveyards and scuttled, or burned for the metal
they contained. The Falkland Islands is one of the few places left in the
world where hulks are still regularly used because of the islands’
proximity to Cape Horn, with its notorious weather conditions, and the
lack of available repair materials and facilities for storm-damaged ships.
The area has naturally become a mecca for people interested in old ships,
and a number of the lucky survivors have been taken away, at great
expense, to be restored in the UK and USA.
One of the best known of the hulks to end her days in Western Australia
was the “Samuel Plimsoll”. Her claim to fame rests on the fact that she
was one of the fast and glamorous clipper ships of the latter part of the
nineteenth century, a contemporary of the Cutty Sark and the
Thermopylae, although built a few years after them.
The Samuel Plimsoll was launched in September 1873, by Mrs. Boaden,
the wife of her first master, Captain R. Boaden. At the launching was
none other than Samuel Plimsoll (1824-1898), after whom the vessel was named. Plimsoll had entered Parliament in
1868 and had tried to get a Bill passed on unseaworthy and overloaded ships. He failed, but wrote a book entitled
Our Seamen and through the interest aroused by its publication managed to have a Royal Commission appointed by
Parliament. A second Bill was introduced in 1875, but this too was abandoned because of political pressure from
shipowners. The following year the Bill was reintroduced, and passed as the Merchant Shipping Act. Samuel’s name
is immortalised in the Plimsoll line, the markings on a ship that regulate the extent to which she can be loaded.
The registered measurements of the Samuel Plimsoll were: tonnage- 1444 tons; length- 241’ 3”; breadth - 39’; depth
of hold - 23’ 1”. She was built of iron by the Aberdeen firm of Walter Hood & Co., for George Thompson’s
Aberdeen White Star Line. The ships of this line all had their hulls painted green, with the spars and lower masts
white. This company also owned the famous Thermopylae, launched in 1868, a composite ship also built by Hood,
and arguably the fastest of the tea clippers.
At this stage in the history of shipbuilding there were three main types of construction for vessels: wood, iron and
composite. Wood was the predominant construction material. All the major components that made up a vessel were
of wood fastened with a mixture of metal and wooden fastenings. During the middle of the nineteenth century, most
fishing boats, coastal trading vessels and the majority of conventional cargo ships were of wooden construction.
An iron ship was built of riveted iron plates on an iron framework of keel, frames, beams, stem and sternpost, etc.
This was the “new” method of construction, which included the Samuel Plimsoll and the famous “Great Britain”,
although the latter’s keel construction was commenced as early as 1839. Iron construction had been around since the
late 1780’s in smaller vessels but was still in its infancy as far as building large ships.
Composite construction utilised wooden planking over an iron skeleton. It had the benefits of imparting stiffness,
lightness and a little more internal space because the frames were smaller. Composite construction also facilitated
maintaining a cleaner hull below the waterline because of the ability to use copper or copper-based paints, which
reacted adversely to iron. The Cutty Sark and the Thermopylae are the best known examples of composite
construction.
The Samuel Plimsoll was specially fitted out for passengers and emigrants and carried between 350 and 400
passengers from Plymouth on each voyage. Her first fifteen voyages were to Sydney. The remainder under the
Aberdeen White Star’s flag were to Melbourne. On the homeward trips she carried cargoes of wool but, as Basil
Lubbock states “... she could never rival the earlier wood and composite-built clippers on this passage”.
She departed Plymouth on her maiden voyage on November 19 1873, and made the trip to Sydney in 74 days,
arriving on February 1 the following year. This was the year’s fastest passage, beating the Cutty Sark’s time by four
days and Patriarch’s by five. Her second voyage took 88 days out and 103 home. The third was again a fast trip- 75
days out and 83 home; her fourth passage was only average, 78 days out and 92. On her fifth voyage, in 1878, and
carrying 405 passengers, she could only manage an outward passage of 86 days, but her return, loaded with wool,
was the fastest of the year only 80 days.
In 1879, when fifteen days out from Plymouth and near the equator, the Samuel Plimsoll was struck by a squall
9
which broke the bobstay and consequently the bowsprit, the foretopmast, and then the main topgallant mast. An
American clipper sailing in company and also bound for Sydney offered to carry the passengers on to Sydney, but
Captain Boaden declined the offer and set about repairing his ship. When the American reached Sydney the captain
reported having left the Samuel Plimsoll dismasted in the North Atlantic- only to be told that the Samuel Plimsoll
had beaten him to Sydney by a few days, having only taken 83 days and despite the mishap!
The ship was under the command of Captain A. Simpson for the round voyage of 1881 due to Captain Boaden being
in poor health. A Captain Henderson took over the passage home from Sydney of the next voyage, again because of
Captain Boaden’s health.
The following year, 1883, Samuel Plimsoll made her fastest passage to Sydney, taking only 72 days. She had passed
Wilson’s Promontory in Bass Strait only 66 days out, but had a slow six-day trip up the coast to Sydney. In 1888 the
ship made the first of what would become regular voyages to Melbourne. This first trip took 79 days, and subsequent
voyages were of a similar duration. In 1895, on her return trip and heading for Cape Horn, she covered 4020 miles in
fifteen days. She remained under the command of Captain Henderson until sold at the turn of the twentieth century,
to Young Savills.
Her first, and only, voyage to New Zealand commenced in June 1902, from Glasgow. A reasonably fast passage out
found her off Cape Saunders. Here she hove-to in a south-east gale - until the mainmast snapped about four feet
below the main deck. Basil Lubbock states: “The result was perhaps the most extraordinary in all the annals of
dismasting – the main cap carried away and the mast somehow leapt overboard, taking with it the fore and mizzen
topgallant masts, without doing any more damage than slightly bruising the teak topgallant rail.”
The Samuel Plimsoll then headed for Napier under
foresail and foretopsail, after plugging the hole in the
deck. She travelled so well that a trawler that put out to
offer assistance could not catch her. However she was
eventually towed into Gisborne and afterwards Port
Chalmers, where she was sold as a coal hulk. She
subsequently sank within Fremantle Harbour in 1945
(actual date unknown) and was raised, in pieces and
dumped at Beagle Rocks off the South Mole.
Beagle Rocks are marked with a black buoy about 1
km west of the Fremantle Round House:- That is
looking straight through the tunnel. The Round House
was the first permanent building built in the Swan River
Colony. Built in late 1830 and opened in 1831, it is the
oldest building still standing in Western Australia.
A photograph of The Round House in the late 19th century
Intended as a prison, it had eight cells and a jailer’s residence, all of which opened onto a central courtyard. Worked
commenced in August 1830 and was complete in January 1831. In 1833 a well was dug in the central compound. It
was calculated that the depth of the well needed to be 45 feet. The Fremantle Whaling Company in 1837 requested
that a tunnel be dug through Arthur Head to High street.
The tunnel was 57 metres long and linked the Bathers Beach Whaling Station to the High Street. The tunnel was
constructed in five months and completed in January 1838. This rapid progress was possible because prisoners from
the Round House were used and the rock, although load bearing and sound, was capable of being mined with a pick
axe.
The Round House was used for colonial and indigenous prisoners until 1886, when control of the Convict
Establishment prison (now Fremantle Prison) was transferred to the colony. After that the Round House was used as
a police lockup until 1900, when it became the living quarters for the chief constable and his family. Now a popular
tourist attraction.
In Fremantle very few vessels appear to have been reduced to hulks and only one figurehead the Samuel Plimsoll
survives from a sailing ship hulked in 1904.The figure stood around Fremantle until obtained by the museum in the
1960’s
When a vessel is reduced to a coal hulk, the figurehead was removed and sometimes stored on board. This was the
case of the Samuel Plimsoll, hulked in Adelaide, which is why the figurehead went with the vessel to Fremantle and
saved.
SEQ member Tony Harben writes When she was sunk the Fremantle Port Authority used a large amount of high
explosives which completely tore the hull into just large plates of steel which even today are home to dozens of
“Western Rock Lobster” where I and my dive buddy would dive on Christmas Eve and pick up half a dozen or so.
Beagle Rocks was used as a bit of a dumping ground when the new Fremantle harbour was being built making the
original “Long Jetty” obsolete.
10
Hello Sailor
Capture sTATION.JPG
She was beautiful, her bow and stem would gladden the
cockles of any sailor’s heart. I was not looking at the SS
Tongariro which was tied at the wharf at Port Chalmers,
but rather at a tall young lady that stood out among a
small crowd of New Zealanders young and old that had
made the short journey from Dunedin to look at the SS.
Tongariro dressed in her drab war paint.
I was on my way to the train that had stopped at the end
of the wharf; for my first look at Dunedin then minutes
from Port Chalmers, looking back I noticed the black
haired beauty, that stood out from the crowd. She
appeared to be with two female companions. I watched
for a minute or two, as they pointed and giggled, but the
train warning whistle alerted me, I turned and walked to
the train, climbing aboard at the first empty carriage.
My luck was in for as the train sounded its second and
final blast, the three girls almost fell into the carriage as
the train lurched on its way.
The tall black haired beauty sat directly opposite a big
smile as she looked at me “Hello sailor” she said. “Hi” I
replied. What did you think of the ship I asked? “Well it
looks pretty big to me but Tabby”, she indicated to her
girl friend “says, she has seen bigger in Wellington”, so
our conversation went from one thing to another. “Have
you been to Dunedin before?” she asked “No” I replied,
her voice had that lovely Scot’s burr but I could tell she
had Maori or Tongan blood because she had a European
nose, but who was looking at her nose, she was tall,
lovely figure, green eyes, pearl white teeth and a smile
that would melt an iron pot.
We made our formal introductions her two friends
Glady and Tabby took a very small part in our
subsequent conversation, then when the train pulled into
the beautiful Dunedin Station they disappeared into the
gathering twilight.
Heather McDonald was the youngest of the three born
to a true Scot and a Tongan islander, however her father
had died some years before in a mining accident.
Leaving his wife and three daughters to fare best they
could in New Zealand’s rather harsh Southland. But the
Tongan side of the family had kept their support and
Heather and her sisters contribute to the home and
health of their diabetic mother. I found all about this as
we sat on the Dunedin Railway Stations hard seats.
“Come” she said grabbing my hand I will show you
around town, and then I will take you to meet my
family. I thought my chest would burst with pride
walking around Dunedin with this beautiful being. We
did a round of the milk bars, looked at the cinema then
the churches with the wondrous facades then back to the
Octogan which is Dunedin’s version of a city square
only it has eight sides.
Each side had two wooden seats, again we sat and
talked and then a short walk to Heathers home and
family. I was received like along lost son and brother,
Heathers family fussed over me and truly made me feel
their home was my home. The girls all had strong Scots
accents the mother too, whilst definitely Tongan had the
burr and from what I could gather Dunedin was built
and populated by early Scots settlers. Their beautiful
railway station designed and built by Scots, even the
streets were named after Scotland’s famous areas and
places.
In fact you could easily believe you were in Scotland
for the cold wind that came from the South Pole then
onto New Zealand’s southernmost city Invercargill, The
Bluff then on to Dunedin was reminiscent of the very
blasts I had experienced in the far north of Scotland at a
place called Loch Ewe, North Minch where our convoy
had assembled prior to a disastrous run across the
Atlantic. This trip had held all the terror and heart
throbbing moments of many subsequent trips but none
had ever scarred my memory as my meeting of this
beautiful girl in New Zealand’s great Southland.
When I met Heather’s family on the first occasion and
was made so welcome I knew I had fallen in love for
the very first time not only with Heather but with New
Zealand. What a wonderful difference between grimy,
noisy, crowded London especially since Germany was
so intent on flattening parts of the city I knew so well,
even when we got home the Docklands seemed to
receive specific attention. Dunedin was quiet, tranquil
and I was in love.
New Zealand Wharf Union had decided to call a general
strike, this came, as wonderful news to Heather and her
family because S.S. Tongariro would remain tied up
until it was over. One of Heather’s sisters had quietly
told me I was the first boy she had taken home and there
was no doubt in my mind that the mutual attraction of
Heather and I was in fact love. Our first kiss was in the
open on one of the Octogan wooden seats under the
stars. Our lips were glued together for fully half an
hour. The more we kissed the more we became
inseparable. From there on we always went back to the
same seats in the Octogan for our passionate moments.
We had been in Port Chalmers for about ten days when
Heather asked me if I would like to visit her
Grandfather who lived in Timaru about a hundred and
thirty miles away. It would be an overnight trip because
the time the train got there we would be unable to return
the same day.
I received permission to miss my board duties by the 1st
Mate but only after I had received a warning from him
not to make the girl pregnant. Colouring to a beetroot I
tried to explain that I was definitely in love and would
never contemplate anything as shocking as he was
suggesting, with a grin he waved my away.
11
With Heather’s oldest sister as chaperone we arrived in Timaru. Whilst I loved looking at the passing scenery I was
not impressed with Timaru. On my arrival however Heather’s mother relatives more than made up for any
disappointment I felt about the city. They were definitely Tongan - big people - big smiles - laughter - big meals
mostly vegetables and fish. They took great delight in showing me their carvings both in wood and shells. In fact the
whole trip was overwhelming especially as Heather’s Grandfather insisted I joined him in drinking some almost
tasteless drink that put me to sleep within minutes and left a headache for days.
We arrived back in Dunedin, got rid of our chaperone and went back to the seats in the Octogan where our passion
exploded like a bomb. No, not sex but our bodies carried the heat and excitement of lovers all over the world. We
could not bear to be parted even for the few short hours I had to return to the ship daily for my duties. Sometimes
Heather would accompany me to Port Chalmers then sit and wait dockside until I was free, such was our love.
My meeting Heather undoubtedly changed my life and my personal appearance for the better, my hair was always
neatly cut, my clothes clean and pressed and shoes polished and shining like twin mirrors. Then as I still did not have
to shave my teeth got special attention. I always wanted to make a good impression on the McDonald family so I
always arrived with a gift, a cake or a bottle of wine and always for Heather. In fact I was on board this particular
day thinking about presents for the family when I received the news that the wharf strike was over and we would be
leaving in three days. Heather was devastated, the tears were immediate, her whole family cried. I felt terrible,
however during an interlude in their unhappiness they decided to have a going away party for me.
The very next evening three male members of the family from Timaru had arrived and a feast prepared. Heather sat
with me, both her arms holding me tight as all the family sang mostly Tongan songs, some Scottish melodies. Then
towards the end they sang a beautiful harmony, the Maori’s farewell which really upset me, then I was presented
with a Paua shell Tiki which I carried close to my heart throughout the war years.
Heather and I sat on the seat in the Octogan for the last time holding one another tightly, suddenly she said, “Give me
your penknife” which I did. It was razor sharp,
opening the blade she proceeded to cut around her
ring finger. I did the same and we let our blood join
and I swore no matter what happened I would return
on this day, to this seat in what ever year I could get
back and she would do the same every year until my
return and we would be together forever.
Over the rest of the war years I never got back to
Port Chalmers or Dunedin, but I often fingered the
scar on my left hand and dreamed of my beautiful
Heather, if I heard the famous Scot’s burr in either
man or woman I would ache for the love I did not
have.
There are a million reasons why at the end of the war
I did not go back but that is another story. I married
an Australian girl, however yesterday my wife and I flew to New Zealand for a holiday and at my insistence caught
the train to Dunedin. On arrival at the beautiful station we were whisked by taxi to our hotel only half a block form
the Octogan. I deliberately left it until it was late before saying I was going for a walk. In the hotel foyer a picture of
Timaru on a wall calendar caught my eye, a chill ran down my spine what was the date. Oh God, no it wasn’t
possible the date was exactly the day we had made that vow all those years ago.
With a fast beating heart I walked the short distance to the Octogan it had not changed, the seats were the same. I
stopped! I could not believe it, a grey haired old lady was sitting on the very same seat. My head was spinning and
my thumping heart threatened to choke me. A
gust of wind ruffled her hair, her hand went up
and then I saw her profile….. “Oh God”. What
could I say, how could I explain, I took a couple
of steps more towards the seat.
“Rob - Rob for god sake wake up”. The voice
was coming out of the darkness. “Rob wake up the
taxi will be here in a minute to take us to the
airport”. The stentorian tones of my wife finally
made me sit up. I looked around our lounge room,
our bags were stacked by the door, ready for our
first trip in forty years.
by Rob Lynde
12
Twin Towns RSL
President, Brian Hunt BEM JP
241/2 Falcon Way
TWEED HEAD SOUTH NSW 2486
Ph: (07) 5513-0178
Email: eandbhunt@aapt.net.au
An Australian seaman on shore leave visits one of
those Japanese bath houses and pays for the deluxe
treatment.
So three bath maids start
working him over from
head to foot, first they dunk
him in the hot water and
lather him up good, then
dunk him in the cold water
and back in the hot water.
They washed his hair, manicured his finger nails and
toenails, scrubbed his knees, elbows and behind his
ears. Massaged him long and deep then again in the
cold then hot tubs.
He was feeling totally cleaned and refreshed when one
maid asks, “Ah sooo, you want the wax job?” The
seaman says, “Well I want everything I’m supposed to
get since I paid for the deluxe.”
So the maid deftly takes his peter out from under his
towel and lays it out on a marble bench. She quickly
raises her right hand and with a ‘Hi Yahhh’ she karate
chops his peter with enough force to break 5 planks of
wood - causing wax to shoot out both of his
ears…………….
Following the problems in the
financial sector of the world,
uncertainty has now hit Japan in a big
way. Their entire culture has been hit
hard. In the last 7 days Origami Bank
has folded, Sumo Bank has gone
belly up and Bonsai Bank announced
plans to cut some of its branches.
Yesterday, it was announced that Karaoke Bank is up
for sale and will likely go for a song, while today
shares in Kamikaze Bank were suspended after they
nose-dived. While Samurai Bank is soldiering on
following sharp cutbacks, Ninja Bank is reported to
have taken a hit, but they remain in the black.
Furthermore, 500 staff at Karate Bank got the chop and
analysts report that there is something fishy going on at
Sushi Bank where it is feared that staff may get a raw
deal.
The nurse asked a patient to remove his clothing
and put on a gown to be checked by the doctor. “In…..
in front of you?” He mumbles, shy. The nurse says
“Don’t worry, I’ve seen the naked human body before.
The man said, “Not one like mine. You’d die laughing
at my naked body.” “Of course I won’t laugh!” said the
nurse to the patient, “I’m a professional. In over twenty
years I’ve never laughed at a patient.” “Okay then,”
said the patient, and he proceeded to drop his trousers,
revealing a huge male body with the smallest adult
“Boy Bits” the nurse had ever seen in her life. In length
and width, it was almost identical to a AAA battery.
Unable to control herself, the
nurse tried to stop a giggle,
but it just came out and then
she started laughing at the
fact that she was laughing.
Feeling very badly that she
had laughed at the man’s private part, she composed
herself as well as she could. “I am so sorry,” she said,
“I don’t know what came over me. On my honour as a
nurse and a lady, I promise that it won’t happen again.
Now, tell me, what seems to be the problem? “It’s
swollen”, Brian replied.
A community was celebrating the 100th
anniversary of its church, and several former pastors
and the bishop were in attendance. At one point, the
minister had the children gather at the altar for a talk
about the importance of the day.
He began by asking, “Does
anyone know what the bishop
does?” There was a short silence.
Before, one little boy answered
gravely, “He’s the one you can
move diagonally.”
Secretary, Terry Docker
96/22 Handsford Road
COOMBABAH QLD 4216
Ph: 0415 145 311
lamsur@virginbroadband.com.au