Hurricane Flora1963

[Douglas Baker]

My ship Matina was completing loading in the port of Montego Bay, Jamaica. We had only one day left before sailing for England, during the afternoon the old man received a message that a hurricane was swiftly bearing down on Jamaica, he swiftly abandoned the remaining cargo,issued orders to batten down and sail immediately.the wind was wild so were the seas, the following morning during the 0400/0800 watch the Mate received a general alert to watch for castaways who had been washed out to sea, at 0800hrs the 3rd Mate got a blip on radar, further investigation proved this to be 8 castaways desperately clinging to what remained of their home.The old man ordered a lifeboat lowered, in those seas this proved very difficult, however the lifeboat was successfully launched, the boat crew pulled on the oars making slow progress to the castaways, the old man ordered the helmsman to circle the rescue area hopefully to minimise the rough seas.The lifeboat successfully brought the survivors back to Matina, these men were completely naked, once aboard ship they were interviewed as to where they came from, the language barrier prevented this, so the old man took them into Cuban waters, the authorities refused to take them so we took them to Haiti,once again total rejection, the old man made the only decision available and that was to take them to England. On arrival in Liverpool the media and the popular T.V program Blue Peter were there to get the rescue story. The lifeboat crew didn't want to be interviewed, they just payed-off quickly and quietly then disappeared into the crowd without fuss.
For many years I've been angry that these brave Seamen never received any recognition for the dangerous rescue they performed, I often wonder had the rescue been done with R.N personal would there have been bravery awards?
The Hurricane in question was Hurricane Flora, October 1963, this system is recorded as one of the worst hurricanes to ever hit the Caribbean.

[Keith at Tregenna]

Very interesting Douglas,
regards Keith