Shanghai

[Louis the fly]

In the days of Mao Tse-tung and the cultural revolution I was on the Brighton ( Chapmans ) . We were bound for Shanghai with a full cargo of fertilizer.
The Vietnam war was ongoing and we had a large Union Jack pinned down on No. 2 hatch. American war planes shadowed the ship making sure she did not divert. These planes were so fast that they were on the horizon before we heard the roar of their engines overhead.
When the Pilot came aboard an armed guard came also, he stood behind the wheelman watching the coarse changes. The radar had to be turned off and all cameras locked away.
It was winter time, heavy snow, freezing cold. All the Chinese dressed the same including women and children, blue boiler suits and caps.
There were only two places we could go to ashore, the mission and the Friendship store. The store was an amazing place, everything under one roof and everything half price.
It took four weeks to discharge the cargo. The next loading port was Eureka, California. It was not possible to go directly to the States from a Communist country so we went to Moji in Japan to have that on the manifest. Moji was such a great run ashore that the Newcastle Skipper contacted the office saying he had to stay another 24 hours for urgent engine repairs.
As it was said on another post there were some good Skippers, he was one of the best.

[j.sabourn]

Louis been quite a few times to Moji. Sailed with one master from Gateshead who sailed in and out of there during the Korean war, carrying war materials. Said there was a fortune to be made with the Script money used by the US army. He did explain at the time but have forgotten a long time ago. All the ports in Japan were good. A port I only went to once was a place called Onahama, way up on the east coast of Honshu. Spent the night in a Buddhist Monastery, there were a couple of Japanese Housewives believe it or not in attendance. I was with a Japanese out of the shipping office who knew his way around. Cheers JS

[Louis the fly]

All the ports were good in the early days John, but became more and more expensive in later years. A sub did not last too long then.
I used to like the Ginza in Tokyo with the music coming from the shops and all the technology we did not have at home.
Didn't meet any " Japanese housewives " .

[cappy]

first whent nippon 58 about 1100 yen to the pound dont know how many today not a lot i guess

[j.sabourn]

Ref. Above re Onahama, have looked in the back of Nories in ports of the world and cannot find, also on Atlas and cant see. There was a post on here way back for I believe a daughter looking for her Father a Capt. Wilde. He was the master on this ship the Maratha Envoy, I was the mate that trip, and we had a good friend of mine as Ch.Eng. ( now deceased) the rest were an Indian Crew and mates and engineers. Capt. Wilde did not go ashore and told me to go ashore with the shipping agent, which I did, he turned out to be the son of the Shipping Agencies owner and loaded, he flew up from Yokohama. He was only a few years older than me and spoke English with the usual American accent, think he was the Black sheep of the family. He was trained as a naval cadet at 13 years of age towards the end of the war was taught to fly an obsolete plane and was on a list of Kamikaze pilots. I asked him what he would have done and he just said he would not have thrown his life away. This was in 1969 in Onahama so if Capt. Wildes daughter is still around and reads this and if I didn't tell her at the time sorry. The Ch.Engs wife was on board and saw her last year, she says she can remember your father bringing you as a baby on board in I believe Venice. I was not there then and was only with your father for a few months. However she could not remember if this was the Maratha Endeavour or the Maratha Envoy. I will never forget Onahama as we were coming from the States and had not had sights for 3 days and had to get df positions taken by the Indian RO, they turned out to be wrong and we made landfall on the radar, matching up these positions they all seemed to line up and we proceeded into this big bay in fog, all you could hear was the chugging of fishing boats. The fog lifted and we were in the wrong port, one of the fishing boat skippers pointed north and said Onahama 50 miles. So of we went on a Friday night full belt as had to get in before 1700 hours to hand in notice of Readiness and it was a Friday. We found the port but the Custom House was closed. Cheers JS.

[cappy]

thats something of interest to remember john.......strange things happen at sea .....same thing happened between shields and sunderland during or just after the war two or three royal navy ships turned into a bay in fog and all ran aground in line.....instead of the tyne i believe

[j.sabourn]

When the Zephros went aground in Tynemouth about 1948, she was a greek freighter. The newspaper story that went out was that she had mistaken a belisha beacon at a zebra crossing in Tynemouth for the south pier light. Belisha beacons had just been brought out. If the papers don't have a story they will make one up. Doubt very much a belisha beacon could be seen at any sort of distance over a hundred yards. Cheers JS

[cappy]

i always remember my granny saying the black middens oh the black middens as another ship or trawler or someting went aground ....but many have come to grief in the tyne were they should be safe on the black shi..houses

[j.sabourn]

Seen pictures of my great granny selling crabs ( the ones from the sea) outside the old fishermens cottages in Cullercoats. Hard to believe they made a living from a small cobble fishing. Everything gone now Cottages Cobbles and Fishermen. Is it a better world??? JS

[cappy]

well john at least they had food on hand and plenty of it for the taking .......not likenow on the tele last night the last white fish trawler left in whitby .....once upon a time there was depth in things ...now nothing lasts at all ....remember the calloherrin men coming round the back lanes selling mackerel 12 for sixpence ......morrisons today about 2 quid for two and skinny littlens at that