Shangri-La

[Keith at Tregenna]

Hi shipmates' -- but dont go on any Ropners you never see earth again.

Wish we knew of each other when I was deputy Manager at the Royal Hotel, St. Mary Street. K

[John Callon]

Have only just seen this thread and many places mentioned brings back memories. However for me Shangri La is the Hawaiian Islands of Oahu, Maui, Kuai and Hawaii. The first time I went there back in the early 60's I fell in love with the place. Back in those days the tallest building was the Aloha Tower in Honolulu. Since then I have returned to the Islands 7 times and seen how things have changed. Honolulu is now the Pacific Financial Center whilst Pearl Harbour still remains the base of the US Pacific Fleet and along with this you have the Skyscrapers and high rise hotels but one can go down to Waikiki and visit the Sheraton Moana Surfrider Hotel and sit under the Banyan Tree with a cold beer which was where Robert Louis Stevenson wrote his novels. Outside of Honolulu the Island is very much how Captain Cook found it. The other islands are less commercialised but still cater for the tourist. My daughter was married in Waikiki and when my grandson was born we went back to Hawaii to have him christened giving him the Hawaiian name of Kai. Today he is in his first year at Northumbria University. So yes, Hawaii is my favoured place on this planet.

[j.sabourn]

#42... Remember sitting in a pub on Hawaii must have been 1967. We took volkswagon cars there from Germany. Sitting slumped at the bar the tellie was shown them landing on the moon, I thought it was a science fiction movie. When you say Northumbria University do you mean the one in Newcastle/Tyne, as my granddaughter attends there at moment also her sister later on at the turn of the year. Cheers John S

[Doc Vernon]

There have been some very interesting places mentioned on this Thread and of couse why not,as so many of us have travelled Wordwide,seeing some of the most Exoctic of places !

I have had my little input as well,but now must add that I really believe that my Ultimate Shangri-La
will be the Day that I meet my maker,how wonderfull that will be!

No not being morbid at all just believe !!

"My Sweet Lord"

George Harrison-My Sweet Lord (Studio Version) Original - YouTube

[happy daze john in oz]

#33, You can be anyone you want on this virtual ship John

Just imagine Marian if thisa was one of those old sailing ships you could be the figure head. LOL

[John Albert Evans]

Very sad Brian BA was such a great place even with the marineros and the vigilantes.

John

[Captain Kong]

However for me Shangri La is the Hawaiian Islands of Oahu, Maui, Kuai and Hawaii. John Callon.
.
I too love Hawaii, and Honolulu. Last year in the Queens Medical Centre they saved my life with two operations, I was given Four days to live without treatment. Beautiful Nurses.
When I came out of hospital after two weeks one Nurse gave up her day off and took Anne and I all around the Island of Oahu in her car, bought us lunch in a restaurant with wine.
We stayed on the 39th floor of an excellent hotel. Anne was on her own for the two weeks and the kindness she found off all the people there was fantastic. Never get that in England.
We are going back in February to all the islands there, Lovely.
Cheers
Brian

[Ivan Cloherty]

but dont go on any Ropners you never see earth again.

Hi Louis

Spent a few years with Ropners' longest trip 22 months, but one of my best trips, covered the world on that trip, good places and bad, good ship, good skipper (Churchill), good food, good crew, only one bad apple but he was hospitalised in Japan and flown home after picking a fight with a bunch of Japanese fishermen, not the wisest move he ever made, he needed 200 stitches, rest of deck crew quite happy as they shared his short hand money for the next 15 months. Would certainly do it again even the bad parts.

[j.sabourn]

Most landfalls were exotic, especially after being weeks at sea looking at the ocean in its varying moods. However before the landfall usually came the different hues of the ocean and perhaps large amounts of seaweed, usually more schools of fish and porpoises, before the smell. The likes of Bombay could be smelt a long time before a landfall, the same as other parts of the world. The likes of making a passage from Panama to NZ. and making a landfall within a couple of miles of your calculated position was more job satisfying than what it can ever be again with all the modern technology of GPS systems and such. There will never be another job I should imagine, that captured the adventures of going to sea. People pay money to see the dolphins and whales and hoo and hah when one is sighted, this was all in a days work with us, and was a common part of ones surroundings. The storms some of us experienced at sea would leave the average shoreworker thinking his last days on earth were nigh, all part of the job, can envisage cappy now on the old Avonmoor struggling down from the Galley via the deck lifelines to the after accommodation with his food dixies, especially in his infamous seaboots. The sea will always be there but never as it was for us again. The North sea in winter with its steep high seas running and the various distant maydays going out or previous to Radio Telephony the Auto Alarm signal going at frequent intervals. Hanging on yourself hove to and hoping everything battened down good, and stayed afloat yourself. Then some shore people think seafarers are hard drinking and always in trouble. A seamans life was one of a different lifestyle to any other I can imagine, they were treat not too good by the shipowner in most cases, but still came back for more. The attraction of the sea was like a good woman and was and is always beckoning... JS

[cappy]

yes john those were the days those were the men those were proper ships.....what happened ........but i dont know whats happening on the site at the moment we had the biggest no of additions in membership .......but non of them seem to participate in the general patter .......do you think they are all in the silent service ie submariners .......or just peeping at us through the keyhole or listening at the door regards to all the new crew from cappy