Fitheach Ban Topsail Schooner

[Richard Quartermaine]

Cappy, thank you and the "Sea Spray" would more than likely have been at anchor or tied up at the CSR jetty (with that little steam engine hauling the freight waggons backwards and forwards along the jetty to the mill) in the mornings and afternoons after sailing to the Mamanuca Islands.

[Don Rafferty]

............... and Stopping over with Yvonne on my way back to Oz after leaving the MN.
Richard

What date is the fourth picture Richard, looks like the Orcades in background. I was on her '65-'66.

[Richard Quartermaine]

Don, it is the the Orcades and I was on my way home from Toronto, where I spent nearly three years after signing off the Gothic. I joined her as a passenger in San Francisco in October 1955 calling at Honolulu and I disembarked in Suva on 8 November, 1955. A beautiful ship.
Richard

[Richard Quartermaine]

Richard, I will try this :-

> She was officially owned by Capt Tregidga from at least 1960 until 1968 when

Captain Tregidga was the owner during the TV screenings and John and Yvonne Pettitt bought Fitheach Ban from him and it was operated by John and Michael Pettitt as Schooner Ferries. Captain Tregidga was quite a character and his daughter was the ship's engineer.

I spoke to my sister Yvonne today and she is sending me information that should make an interesting post. My nephew Michael is in Lautoka and will be back at the week end. He was manager of company and I will be talking to him.

Cheers

Richard

FB postcard 2.jpg

[cappy]

Ri chard two memories of lautoka about 5 to 10 mins walk from the jetty was what appeared to be a posh little club I thought an ex pats type bar all were drinking pymms I had neverhad that before didn't much like it......did like the karva with the roots and bowl and etc but thought it was illegal it was very potent remember a lautoka withgood memories and have told many people over the years one of the nicest places ever .............not like a seamans normal haunts I met 3 young aussies who had sailed over and was offered a trip back to oz but did not take up the offer as had already skinned out in oz before and twice would have finished my time at sea altogether.....must have been a nice place to live best wishes to you and yours cappy

[Don Rafferty]

I am moving this thread to a more permanent location.

Thanks Tony, on that note, is there a way this could happen more often with the quizzes? I know quizzes are supposed to stay 'on topic', but often they unintentionally stray, like this one, and I see that as good rather than bad. I have in the past wanted to add a memory or anecdote to a quiz, which can really only be added to that thread to give it context, only to find Closed Thread - not very inviting.

[Richard Quartermaine]

Thanks Tony, this brings the extension into the right thread.
Richard

[Richard Quartermaine]

Cappy, that could have been the Northern Club or perhaps the Lautoka Hotel. I have a very large tanoa (kava bowl) hewn out of a slab of rain tree and four bilo (pronounced mbilo) - polished half coconut shells. Saturday mornings offices were open and meant a few of us would visit the Harbour Master at Suva Wharf just a few hundred yards away where a tanoa with freshly prepared yaqona (yanggona) i.e. kava - was waiting to accompany the weeks gossip.

In days gone by the kava roots were chewed and spat into the bowl supposedly by pretty maramas (girls) but the missionaries put tops on the dresses and pounding mortars in the tanoas. There was usually ceremony attached to drinking yanqona and even in ordinary occasions you were expected to down the bilo in one go. More formally, as only one bilo was in use and passed around the circle it was downed whilst those sitting cross-legged around the tanoa all clapped three times and called out MACA (Ma......tha, it is empty).

A lot has changed over half a century. John Pettitt (not petite - he was 6'6'' tall) his friend Jack and me once took my launch around Viti Levu island to Lautoka from Suva. It took a few days and we'd stop the night at a Fijian village. When we arrived a tura(n)ga (man) would come out in a canoe to where we were anchored, with fruit and in turn we would respond with fish we had trawled along the way.

All the best to you and yours to Cappy.
Richard

[cappy]

as already said lautoka was my idea of a south sea island very beautiful and all friendly .....idrank the kava and watched it bieing made with like a mortar and pestle tipe thing sitting on the beach with some Fijian folk we went fishing in a boat with a Fijian and caught some big 15 20 pound fish don't know there name whent adrift about 3 days and got logged accordingly 6 or 7 did the same but at the end of the trip the old man a true Geordie didn't take it if all places were like lautoka I would have stayed at sea forever .....my grandson is a big rugby player and one of his buddies is a boarder at the school from Fiji also a rugby player the young man flies home to Fiji at summer and xmas a fair journey but not when your going home .....off to do some shopping now no wonder we all come back to the site here I hate shopping regards cappy

[cappy]

just looked at ship movement card for lautoka 16 to 24 july 1961 a nice 8 days cappy