There is an Article on Capt Roberts here, quite interesting. You can Increase the Text size , by using the side Units!
Hope it opens correctly.
22 Apr 1937 - RUNNING OF BLOCKADE - Trove (nla.gov.au)
ss "SEVEN SEAS SPRAY" in Bilbao,1937 | Ships Nostalgia
Potato Jones | Penarth Times Just s wee bit of info on a few of the Captains mentioned!
Cheers
Just a short snippet told by a person named Derek ??
“We departed Bordeaux after discharging coal from South Wales, and then we were bound for Bilbao to pick up another cargo. The weather was beautiful as we steamed south. Captain “Ham and Eggs” Jones, was in a hurry to make port and all was going well until suddenly we became enveloped in a dense fog. The ship had to proceed slowly with a watchman posted on the bow, and the foghorn sounding constantly. We proceeded for a time like this until the skipper became impatient and decided to increase the speed. I was having a mug of tea on deck, when suddenly there was an almighty crash, mug and contents flew over the side, and the ship came to a very sudden stop. Quickly the engines were stopped, and almost instantly at that very moment, the fog lifted. It revealed that we had hit a rock the size of the Grand Hotel, and water was entering at the bows. Lifeboats were put over the side in case we had to abandon ship, whilst the captain and engineer went to inspect the damage. It was decided that we could plug the hole and pump some of the water out. The other thing that had to be done was to flood the stern tanks as the propeller was right out of the water. By this time, a number of fishing boats had gathered alongside, probably waiting for us to leave so they could do a little looting. Anyway, the stern end was eventually back in the water, and with engines astern we floated off. One of the fishing boats told the skipper he would lead us in to a small port nearby. After tying up it was decided after informing the owners, that she would be taken to a nearby dry dock and repaired. The following two-month period in Spain the crew and I had a ball”.
