THE DORSET TO AUSTRALIA



It was Monday the 20th ofNovember 1967,and i had been working on the M.V. Surrey, which was just up thedock system from this ship the S.S. Dorset. with my suitcase i made it up thegang plank and reported to the watchman at the top. he directed me to the chiefstewards cabin, so that I could report for duty. I was the new steward’s boy,and my area of work was the saloon pantry. The pantry was adjacent to thegalley, the galley had a separate butchers and baker’s area, the pantry iswhere all the food was served, for the officers and engineers who dined in themain dining saloon. The remaining crew members had their own areas to eat in,as did we the catering staff. After reporting to the chief steward, i wasescorted to my cabin, this was on the main deck and it was a double berth. init were bunks, wardrobes, chest ofdrawers and a chair. We had decent flooring which was lino. the main alleywayswere of lino as well, and it was my job to keep these clean. I had to get on myhands and knees and scrub from the aft end of the ship right up to the galleydoor. These alleyways also had wood panelling, which had to be cleaned withvinegar to remove the salt, on a regular basis.
Once we were signed on, on Monday 24th November all 54 of us ,I wasto be earning £23.00 per month on thisvoyage, our cargo for the outward voyage consisted of, wines, spirits, beers,engineering products,fabrics,machinery,car parts and from the USA,news print.
We set sail on Monday 27/11/67 out ofLiverpool and then traversing the docksassisted by two tugs into the locks, out into the river. I did not see much ofthis as i was working, but i did manage to sneak out now and again to see wherewe were, we were on our way to Avon mouth, arriving there on Tuesday 28/11/67to load more general cargo of all kinds and leaving on Friday 01/12/67.
We then made our way around the coasttowards the royal group docks in London, arriving in the docks on Sunday03/12/67.more general cargo was put in the holds; there was plenty of room tospare for more cargo. Once all the loading was finished and we had a new crewon board, again it was now a crew of 57. We left London on the Friday 15/12/67,with a pilot on board, who was there to guide us out of the docks and down the rivertowards Gravesend. This was where he would get off the Dorset and another pilotwould get on board. This pilot was there to take us down the rest of the riverand into the English Channel. This was where he would get off, and he would betaken to the main pilot ship, which was anchored in the English Channel. Oncehe was off. We were on our way towards Canada.
Once we were at sea, the walker’s patentlog was put to use. This was an age old device, which streams a 65 fathom lineastern. at the end of which is a bronze 18 inch long streamlined rotator, withcurved fins, so designed that its revolutions, caused by the ships movementforward through the water, and measured the distance travelled. This was thentransferred and read on a special clock fitted to the ships rail. This wouldthen transmit electronically to a similar clock on the bridge. it was asaccurate a measure of our progress and speed through the water as could beattained. Note. This item was used every time the ship left port.
Satnav was not yet available, so the oldfashion sextant had to be put to use, when plotting a course using charts andthe stars as guidance.
I was working normally one day, when all ofa sudden the alarm bells started to ring all over the ship, it was afire/lifeboat drill, to make sure everything worked correctly in case of anemergency. Everyone had to attend except the following, one on the bridge, onein the galley and one in the engine room. We had to gather at our respectivelifeboat station that we were previously allocated to and our names called out,with an answer of here. it was then the fire hoses were unrolled and the tapsturned on to see if they worked. Or leaked. Then it was the turn of thelifeboats, we had four on this ship. Three had the capacity of 47 and one hadthe capacity of 43, this one was less because it had an engine.
The procedure for lowering the boats was asfollows, someone removed the front chocks that held the boat secure, and thentwo of the crew started to hand wind the boat gear. This allowed the boat toadvance towards the side of the ship. Once it was at the side of the ship, theboat was lowered to deck level, where some of the crew boarded the boat.
Once the officer in charge was satisfiedthat everyone had completed the procedure correctly, we started to rewind theboats back on board. Once in place the front chocks were secured. And the arealeft in a tidy condition.
The captain would always inspect the shipevery Sunday morning including everyone’s cabin to ensure they were kept clean.He would wear white gloves to check for cleanliness, not once was I caught outby him.
But some other cabins he did get his glovesdirty. Also on a Sunday, an officer gave a small church service in the mainsaloon, for those who wished to attend.
It was an eight day crossing to st Johns New Brunswick,Canada, arriving on Christmas Eve sunday,24/12/67.where we picked up the pilotwho took us to our berth; here we celebrated Christmas and the New Year. Attachedto the forward main mast was a Christmas tree, undecorated, and in the mainsaloon was a decorated Christmas tree. Some of the general cargo was off loadedand more taken on board. There were many times ashore during this period. I doremember thinking how cold it was, just like someone grabbing hold of your earsand squeezing them hard. The hospitality of the local people was great. Somegood times were had. One of the shops was like a cowboy town hardware store.itsold everything.
Once partly loaded we were on our way,leaving the port on Tuesday 02/01/68.
Our next port of call was Philadelphiaarriving there on Thursday 04/01/68 and loading commenced straight away, moretrips were made ashore, for various reasons. Such as sightseeing and drinking,the local booze. We left here on Monday 08/01/68.for our next port of call, NewYork.
We arrived at New York on Tuesday 09/01/68,where the loading of the ship took over a week. A lot of spare time was spentashore, seeing all the sights possible. Including Times Square and the seaman’smission, it was here that i took several photos. I also went on a coachsightseeing bus, to see all the main places. we left here on Wednesday17/01/68.bound for Hampton roads, in this area are two ports that we visited onthe same day, to load more cargo the first port was Newport news and the secondport was Norfolk, we arrived here on Friday 19/01/68, and left the same day19/01/68.we were heading to our last usa port savannah.
we arrived in savannah on Sunday 21/01/68,not much time ashore here, as wewere only here for one night, and left the next day Monday 22/01/68.once allthe cargo
Had been stowed safely. We were on our wayto Australia. It was on our way to panama, that I celebrated my seventeenthbirthday (Thursday 25/01/68) a party was held in my cabin, with a few of my mates.
After an uneventful voyage, skirting theCaribbean, we were soon looking out to sea trying to spot land, and as if bymagic, there it was on the horizon. we were arriving at colon, the entrance tothe panama canal, the date Friday 26/01/68, this would be a night time passageto transit the canal, we waited for our turn to transit the canal, at thestart, the massive lock gates were opened to let the Dorset in, stopping theengines, we gently drifted inside, with the help of two tugs. The gates closedand the water started to cascade into the lock. The ship slowly rose until thedeck came level with the top of the lock, we then caught sight of the mulesthat were to pull us into the second lock, huge diesel electric locomotives,which ran on a toothed track to assist them in climbing the steep gradients upthe side of the next lock. I wonder how many people over the years were connedinto saving the left over bread for the mules. Finally we exited the third lockand steamed into Gatun Lake, the largest artificial body of water in the world.Some of us that were still on deck watched as the canal gradually began tonarrow and i wondered how many ships had used the canal since the first transiton august 15th 1914. We passed several ships going the other way aswe made steady progress. Eventually the canal began to widen and we entered theMira Flores Lake before we entered the Pedro Miguel locks, going through thelocks again pulled by the electric mules and finally we reached balboa on Saturday 27/01/68, the other endof the canal. Having disembarked our pilot, what a lovely job he has? It waswhilst we were at this port, I remember seeing some big “wizards”, don’t ask Icannot remember all of it.

We were soon on our way across the Pacific Ocean, which was to last threeweeks, with nothing to see but the sea, oh! And the occasional ship in thedistance. Also as much time as possible was spent lying on deck sun bathing,sometimes I spent time on deck at night because it was too hot to sleep in myown cabin.
The crossing of the line ceremony did nothappen, i was expecting it,
As there were new boys on the ship,thankfully we were saved from the disgusting dunking of water and muck, that’swhat usually happens during this ceremony. it was about this time that inoticed that the water went down the plug hole in the opposite direction
Soon land was sighted, we were about toarrive at Brisbane, Australia
The date was Saturday 17/02/68.once we weretied up, unloading commenced. We were here for only a few days, but I didmanage to get ashore for some sightseeing,
etc. leaving on Tuesday 20/02/68.our nextport of call was Sydney, we arrived hereon Thursday 22/02/68,and we were to behere for a whole week, for more unloading of the cargo. Again I made my usualtrips ashore. For various reasons such as sight seeing and frequenting thelocal drinking places, we left here on Thursday 29/02/68 .our next port of callwas Melbourne, arriving here on Saturday 02/03/68,another long period ofunloading and more trips ashore, for more sightseeing etc. We left here onFriday 08/03/68.we were then on our way to Adelaide. We arrived at Adelaide onSunday 10/03/68 again I had to go ashore with the lads, where we visited a fewbars and had one too many and probably staggered back to the ship. Some of mytime ashore was spent sightseeing. We left on Thursday 14/03/68, then we wereon our way to port Pirie, we were only here for one day, arriving on Friday15/03/68 and leaving on Saturday 16/03/68.our last port for unloading was Hobartin Tasmania. We arrived here on Tuesday 19/03/68, where unloading commenced andonce that was finished and the holds cleaned out, we started to load a cargo ofapples and frozen beef carcasses, for the UK.again I made more trips ashore.Nearly every day was a sunny day. We left here on Wednesday 27/03/68.andarrived back in the port of Melbourne on Friday 29/03/68.we were to spend along time here in this port for loading, again more apples and beef, along withfrozen butter. Many trips again were made ashore. Until the money ran out. Wefinally left here on Tuesday 09/04/68.with Easter over and gone. Our next portof call and our last in Australia was Adelaide. We arrived here on Thursday 11/04/68,only staying for a shortwhile, again more trips ashore for the usual things, whilst we were ashore,more apples, beef and butter, were being put down in the holds, until thestevedores could get no more in, and we left on Tuesday 16/04/68.we were on our way home.
Our final call on the way home was at Durbanin South Africa. We arrived here on Wednesday 01/05/68 and left the next day onThursday 02/05/68.this is where we had the ship refuelled
Then it was a steady voyage up the coast ofAfrica, we were hoping not to be a statistic of the skeleton coast, this waswhere over time ships have broken down and drifted ashore, many of thesestranded ships now lie miles inland. Note; many of these ships can be seen on acomputer program known as Google earth. On past the Canary Islands. Thencrossing the bay of Biscay and into the Irish Sea and on to Liverpool arrivingon Tuesday 21/05/68.
Once tied up, we were able to sign off andwhen the relief crew came on board I was able to leave the ship. Making my wayto lime street station for the train to London and home. When I arrived home,the very first question I was asked, was “when are you going back”






NOTE
On the home voyage i paid off with£12.11.11.
On the deep sea voyage i paid off with£79.11.09