What happened to all the good stuff on site like stories of when we were at sea?
Tony, Hold in there mate. Here's an excerpt from a time when I thought prostate was lying flat on your face - perhaps with aspirations of a priesthood!!!!
Richard
It was five o’clock in the morning of the 21st January, 1947 when the night watchman poked his head around the door of the cabin and shouted “Hands off cocks, on socks - It’s 5 o’clock – what do you think this is? Your Daddy’s Yacht!”
The night before I had been sent up from Port Line’s Sydney office to Wickham Docks in Newcastle to join the Motor Vessel “Lowlander” to replace the pantry boy who had just “jumped ship”.
I threw on my clothes and scampered up to the bridge to join a line of men who were there to replace those who had also jumped ship in Australia. My pay was to be 5 pounds a month. Plus 5 Pounds a month war bonus which I was told was still payable as floating mines were still the scourge of the sea.
As a steward led me off to the pantry I asked him “where are we sailing for?” “New York “ he says “We’ve a full load of cargo and 24 passengers. They are all American war brides going there to join their husbands.”
I must say, they must have been the most fantastic wives considering the amount of practice most of them enjoyed with the officers during the voyage.
The hawsers were lifted from the bollards, the tugs pushed and pulled and hooted and the “Lowlander” slid out of Newcastle Harbour with one very awe struck pantry boy, 15 year old Richard Quartermaine.
We set out across the Pacific Ocean, I got so seasick I thought I would die – then worse still, I thought I wouldn’t! But I never ever got seasick again.
The first port of call was Papeete, Tahiti.......
