Strange holiday destinations

[John Arton]

For those of us living in the U.K. or Europe, most of us will be aware that Dubai promotes itself as a great holiday place (not to me though, spit, spit).
Imagine my amazement when reading Sundays paper that Ras al Kaimah is promoting itself as a great place for a holiday.
For those non tanker people, in the 70's/80's Ras Al Kaimah in the Emirates was a place where you joined (or left) your ship by crew boat and where your ship could receive stores, again by crew boat. It was easier and cheaper doing it this way rather than when being berthed at Kharg, Ras Tannurah etc. Crew change and stores were done whilst underway just after (or prior to) clearing the Straits of Hormuz. The outfit that started out doing this service became very successful and as far as I am aware are still going today and believe it was started up by a couple of ex. Brits.
My one and only memory of the place is one that I certainly could not recommend it as a holiday destination.
I was third mate joining a tanker inbound with a couple of others and we flew out 24 hhrs before she was due off Ras al Kaimah and so had a night in one of the only two hotels there at the time. I recall the road from Dubai to the place was not even completed back in 72/72. You would be zooming along a well made macadam road and it suddenly came to a halt and for a couple of miles you bounced along a rubble track in the desert before picking up the road again. On arrival at the hotel (at least modern and clean) we checked in and went for a meal. The menu presented to us with a great flourish by an very smartly dressed waiter , was typed on onion skin paper and consisted of;
sup of day
hamburger and chips
ice cream
and that was it (spelling and all) and this in the first class hotel. (There was another hotel there which was supposedly lower class for, sorry, crew members joining) , our hotel being for the officers joining. After eating we turned in early as we were due at the dock early to go out to join our ship. Upon getting up in the morning not only was I suffering from a raging toothache (having had two teeth removed the day before flying out) but the contents of that burger (camel most likely) was beginning to have an adverse effect on my stomach. We were taken down to the creek where we were to join the crew launch, a filthy smelly place with just a few warehouses and offices and off we went on an hour or so jolly out into the Persian Gulf to meet up with our ship. Hand over consisted of an on deck hand shake and then it was straight on watch. There would be quite a traffic jam in the area as by this time the service had become very popular.
As I was suffering raging toothache and Delhi belly it was only after loading at Kharg Island and sailing that, apart from watch keeping, I was able to eventually catch up with the rest of the lads. It was then that I learnt that the kerfuffle on departing Kharg Island was due to the 3rd Engineer jumping ship there and refusing to come back on board even when the guards ordered him. AS the terminal were demanding we left the berth we had no alternative but to leave him behind in the hands of the Iranian guards. Never did find out what happened to him but assume he got sent back DBS as there were other British ships waiting to load.
So Ras al Kaimah a holiday destination! you should cocoa.
rgds
JA

[Captain Kong]

I agree John
been there many times. the Gulf ports were always my idea of hell on earth, even Dubai.
If I won a free holiday there I would give it to one of my neighbours. for free.

Sometimes we would join with GAC from Dubai, sometime with Gray Mackenzies boat from Ras al Kaimah, and then Court Helicopters of Cape Town who I used to fly with in 1976 on assignment, out of Cape Town, started an operation there flying across the Peninsular to join so that watches could be doubled up through the Qoins passage.

Cheers
Brian.

[John Arton]

Brian
Only joined by helicopter off the Cape once.
It was a VLCC and we had an underslung load to drop off first.
After the load was released the helicopter was hovering and the load master signalled for me to go to the door. He put the harness on me and then sorted pushing me on my shoulders, I thought "cheeky bugger, thinks i'm frightened to get out" so I just stepped out into thin air only to be grabbed by the load master and hauled back in. It was then I realised that what he had actually been indicated was that I should have sat on the floor and only gone out when he indicated so. By this time , having never really liked flying in helicopters and looking down at the deck some 20/30 feet below, I was starting to get a bit nervous and in the end the load master just shoved me out of the paraffin budgie and down I went spinning around like a spinning top, arms and legs all over the place, eventually landing on deck to be greeted by the mate who was laughing like crazy after seeing me first go out, get hauled back in and then eventually get shoved out, best laugh he had had in a long time according to him. Then it was straight up to the bridge to be greeted by the old man. "Neat landing chummy" being his remark before he gave me course and speed and buggered off the bridge leaving me in charge. 3rd Mate and my first and biggest ever ship I was a watch keeper in charge of.
Bet that load master who shoved me out was you!!!!!LOL
rgds
JA

[Captain Kong]

Hi John
here is an account of my experience of Flying with Court Helicopters. ......................
.




SIKORSKY S61N HELICOPTER.
Details…..
2 x 1120KW or 1500 SHP General Electric 1402 Turbo Shafts driving a 5 bladed main and tail shaft rotors.
Cruising speed, 120 knts.
Ceiling 12500 feet
Range 450 nautical miles
Main Rotor 62 feet in diameter
Fuselage length 59feet. Height 17 feet 6 inches.
Main Cabin, 26 to 30 people.
Payload with a sling 1100 lbs.
Weight empty 12,336 lbs.

THE ASSIGNMENT.
In 1976, I was sent to Cape Town, South Africa by my Company, on a three month assignment to re-write and update the Helicopter / Ship Operations Manual, for the safe working practice of transferring stores, crew changes and rescues. An interesting and exciting job.
I was with Court Helicopters based at Green Point, Cape Town.
I had relatives who lived there at Sea Point, walking distance from Green Point. So it was just like home.
I was signed on as Observer and usually sat between the Pilot, `Stretch` and Fritz the Co-pilot when flying and helped the Winch man with loading and unloading.
In those days the Cape Route was quite busy with shipping as the Suez Canal was closed after the last Israeli / Egyptian war. As the ship came around the Cape we would take out the stores, food, machinery parts and crew changes on all kinds of ships, tankers, cargo, bulkers and so on.
The first few days I made notes on the various operations and took the advice of the Pilots on what maneuvers the ships had to take for the Helicopter to land safely.

Some Captains were very uncooperative, especially on the FOC ships,

Pilot, “Captain please alter your course to 270 degrees.”
Captain, “No I am not altering Course”
Pilot, “Please alter course to 270 degrees, I want make a safe approach to your vessel, I want the wind to be 45 degrees on your port bow so I can approach on the starboard side from aft”.
Captain, “I tell you I am not altering course for anyone”.
Pilot, “Captain, if you do not alter course in 30 seconds I am taking your stores back to Cape Town.”
Captain, “OK I alter course.”
We would land the sling of stores near the H with the safe working circle around, and when clear land on deck to disembark passengers and any other stores from inside.
The ships had to have the deck crew wearing fire proof protective suits and manning the fire monitors with foam in case of an accident.
I soon had the Manual typed up ready for approval by the Shipping Company, DTI, and the Helicopter Company and for the printers.

The rest of the tour was interesting.
Every Friday we went to the Pollsmoor Maximum Security Prison, in Tokai, a suburb of Cape Town, one of the toughest prisons in the world. Mandella was imprisoned there before transferring to Robben Island.
We would land in a very secure area and then the guards, armed with automatic weapons would march out a few , maybe a dozen prisoners, feet and arms shackled, they would shuffle to the Helicopter and two at a time would board craft. The guards would shackle their legs and arms to the seat frames, then the next two, until they were all chained up.
With four armed guards on board we would then take off and fly to Robben Island, across Table Bay. a bit like the film, `CON AIR`.
On landing at Robben Island near to the main gate, the guards would unshackle the Cons two at a time from their seats and escort them off the Chopper, They were then taken over by the armed prison guards and escorted two at a time through the gate. Once they had all been taken away we would then load any prisoner who was being transferred back to Pollsmoor, usually if they were due to be released. It was top security at all times. Sometimes we had a sling underneath with stores etc for the Island. One time I was unloading stores with the Winch Man,
the Cons were not allowed in the chopper, we passed them out to them, he told me, “That one over there is Mandella”, I said “Who is Mandella,?”, I had never heard of him at that time. “He is a notorious terrorist, a bad bastard”. Oh.
Many of the ANC terrorists, or depending on your views, freedom fighters, were incarcerated on there for many years.
In 2001, I went back to Robben Island and sat in Mandella`s cell and had my photo taken. It was a museum and tourist destination then with ex Cons as the tour guides.

Every two weeks on a Saturday we took three light house keepers and their stores to Dassen Island.
Dassen Island is situated about 8 miles west of Yzerfontein, approx 40 miles north of Cape Town. Dassen Island's name is derived from the large amount of dassies ("rock rabbits") that live there. The island is also a big bird sanctuary (it is inhabited by 68,000 African penguins) and a provincial nature reserve managed by Cape Nature.
It is not open to the public and so I am one of the very people not involved with the Island’s nature reserve or Light house and meteorologists, ever to visit there.
It is one of about 34 underwater mountains along the west coast of South Africa, whose pinnacles rise above sea level. Dassen Island is two and a half miles long and just over a mile wide. The highest point is about 30 feet above sea level.
As we approached Dassen, `Stretch` our American Pilot, he was 6 feet 8 inches tall, hence the name. Ex Huey helicopter pilot in the Viet Nam War, said “Watch this, did you ever see penguins fly?”.
The whole Island coast to coast was full of the African Penguins, shoulder to shoulder, we circled the Island and came in low from the opposite side to the Light House, I was sat with Tikki, our Winch Man in the open door with our legs hanging over the outside. As we passed over the Penguins they were flying up into the air from the down draft of the rotors and bouncing all over the others. Looked like thousands of flying Nuns. Funny to watch but I don’t think the Penguins were amused.
We landed near the Light House, there were three cottages there for the Keepers, some times they had their families with them, especially in the school holidays, The three Keepers got out and went to see their mates for the hand over while we unloaded the stores. Tikki and I then went for a walk around the Penguins, fascinating creatures, not afraid of humans, all squawking and shuffling around. They stink horribly of bad fish and crap and with up to 68,000 of them that is one big stink.
Then when the relieved Keepers were ready we took off again and flew back to Cape Town.
Once a month we were required to do the free fall test, for the aviation certificates. Just behind Table Mountain is a large reservoir. We would have to fly to 1500 feet above the lake and then stop engines.
We would then free fall and the Pilot would feather the rotors and use these as a parachute effect. A very strange feeling falling in a silent helicopter, then crash and a huge spray of water every where as we hit the surface. The Sikorsky had a boat hull, and we could float just as a boat would do. Then we would `steam` around the lake using the engines. The exercise over then fly back to Green Point. Quite exciting.

One day we got a Mayday, a Cyprian cargo ship, the `AROSA`, registered in Limassol was in distress up the coast just north of Hondeklip Bay, before we got up there she had grounded on the rocks and had a steep list to starboard, She was a traditional cargo ship, five hatches, and 10,000 tons.
The crew were on the Port side waving to us as we approached, seas and spray was flying over the ship in a strong sou`westerly gale.
Tikki got himself ready and rigged the harness and then went down to pick them up. I was in the door way and as they came up I pulled them inboard, Tikki went up and down 27 times and was really exhausted and collapsed in the doorway as I heaved him in. I got them all sat down in the seats. Lucky we had the size to do it. Then back to Cape Town. The Immigration Authorities, the Padre from the Seamens` Mission where there at Green Point waiting to receive them. They were extremely thankful for being rescued from certain death.
Two days later the gale subsided and we had a quiet day so `Stretch` said lets go look at the wreck and see what we can get. So off we went.
She was in the stages of breaking up. So Tikki and I went down in the harness and he said we wanted a fridge for the Mess room at the Base so with great difficulty against the sloping deck we got one out on deck and hooked it up, then I got a lifebuoy, with the name AROSA LIMASSOL and took that up as well. It was quite dangerous in there, she was grinding on the rocks and at a dangerous list so we got out of there. we didn’t hang around. It was quite scary. So when we got back to Base we had a fridge in the Mess and the lifebuoy was hung on the wall.


One day I heard that my brother was on his way to the Gulf and was coming around the Cape. They wanted some engine parts to be repaired at Globe Engineering in Cape Town. This was quite a common practice, we would head north and rendezvous with a ship about 400 miles north of Cape Town pick up the parts, like a motor that needed rewinding, take them to Globe, they would fix them and we would fly them back out when the ship got past the Cape.
When my brothers ship was due we flew up to the Orange River on the Namibia border, refuel and then we headed out into the South Atlantic.
We saw the ship as a tiny dot through the blue haze then we descended and landed on deck, the parts were waiting for us, we loaded them and then `Stretch` said “You stay here and we will pick you up in two days when you get off Cape Town”. Good idea. `ar kid was turned in, watch below and so I would have missed him.
The chopper flew off back to the Orange River and then on to the Cape.
I walked down aft with the crowd and then up to the bridge and introduced myself to the Captain. He took me down to his cabin and got a couple of cans of ale out of his fridge, and then he ask me to describe what I was doing down here. I then asked to see my brother, the Captain said “Tell him he is finished working until Cape Town so you can spend some time together“. and then I left to find him. On the stairs I met the Second Mate and he said come to the Officers bar and tell us all what your doing, so I was having a pint with them telling my yarn when he said come and have lunch in the Officers saloon. I said I am going to see my brother, so he said he can come as well, so I said can he come in there all the time and he said no he is only a rating. I said I wouldn’t embarrass him, I would eat in the Sailors mess room.
I went and put him on shake, he was surprised to see me in the middle of the ocean, `Kinnell, where have you come from. `?.
We went on the ale then and all hands joined in, one big party, it went on all day and all night and into the following day and night.
I was totally bombed out of my skull don’t remember anything.
When the ship was off the Cape the chopper was returning with the stores and repaired motors, the crowd put me on the stores barrow and pushed me up the foredeck to the H. The chopper landed and the crowd lifted me up and put me in the chopper and followed me in, I climbed out and was waving Good Bye to them all, they were all bevied as well. They thought they were going to Cape Town.
The Mate had to sort us out and get the crowd out of the chopper and then get me back into it again.
I don’t remember any thing after that until I woke up in my hotel room next day with a king sized hangover... The mates from the Helicopter had taken me back and turned me in.


One night I was on duty from 10pm, we loaded the sling and then filled the inside with boxes for the `KATRINA MAERSK` a BIG, 350,000 ton tanker, she was light ship and outward bound for the Persian Gulf.
These ships were always around 15 miles south of the Cape, as per South African Regulations, that was to keep tankers away from the land in case of any mishap.
It was blowing bad that night, around 60 plus knots, it was in the middle of their winter and the gales were atrocious with that big heavy swells and seas that come up from the Antarctic. It was going to be a bumpy flight.
Around 2am we came across the KATRINA MAERSK 15 miles south and came in to land on deck after landing the sling. All the deck lights were on and the men standing by.
Tikki jumped out on deck and I was passing the boxes out to him when a huge green sea crashed over the bow and covered the helicopter, the wave swept Tikki down the deck with the boxes and with some of the sailors, the tanker had a freeboard of over 60 feet so it was some big wave. Then another one came over and then a third one.
`Stretch` shouted “Let’s zap“, and heaved on the throttles and began to take off “Get in your seat” he shouted, as we had lift off, we left Tikki behind on deck.
I strapped myself in and we climbed to about a hundred feet up and the whole aircraft started banging and shaking, bouncing up and down, “Oh ****” shouted `Stretch` Both pilots were pumping the throttles frantically. I could see the tanker deck lights below us and saw them getting closer, we moved over the side just as we plummeted past the deck level and it went dark as we crashed into the ocean.
I could see the side of the tanker gliding past us and hoping it didn’t hit our rotor blades or we would have flipped over and good bye world.
I looked ahead and could only see water and then I looked vertically upwards and could see the top of a huge Cape roller towering above us.
All this time the two Pilots were pumping the throttles frantically. We went back wards and we slid all the way up this huge wall of water until we hit the crest then we fell forward down the valley of the next one.
I could hear Fritz calling “Mayday” Mayday” on the radio. I was wetting my knickers, this was real fear approaching, my scalp was ice cold, and my hair standing on end. I was gripping on to something with white knuckles. Fortunately the Sikorsky has this boat hull and that kept us afloat as long as we could stay upright, and the only way was to get some revs on the rotors. With continuous pumping of the throttles we got a little rotation, the Tanker had moved away from us now and was trying to give us a lee to keep the worst of the wind and sea off us.
We then got a couple of feet of altitude and then we went up and down with the swells, The only thing we could do was to try and make for land, we turned and headed for the lights of Cape Town in the far distance, and eventually the Coast Guard cutter came out and stood by us.
`Stretch` told them we would try and make the shore but if we couldn’t then we would have to abandon and they could pick us up from the water. We continued on our way at a walking pace and around a couple of feet above the water going up and down It took nearly three hours to get the 15 miles to the shore, the Pilots were exhausted pumping continuously, I relieved them in turn to take the pressure off them. Then we arrived at Green Point and just slid into the concrete ramp and the engines stopped. Just made it. What a relief that was.
What happened was the salt water from the waves had gone into the twin turbines and the water evaporated and left the salt crystals to jam the turbines. We were the luckiest men alive that night.
`Stretch`and Fritz then had to get the small chopper out of the hanger, a Sea King, and said they had to go and find Tikki on the Katrina Maersk, somewhere off the Cape. I had to stay behind and get the fresh water hose and give the turbines a good flushing out to clear out the salt while they went for Tikki
A couple of hours later they returned with Tikki who was quite relieved to be back. What a night. The day crew had turned up and relieved us, they started to check over the Helicopter and made it safe to fly again while we all went back to my hotel to have a few whiskies. It felt good to be alive.
Soon my time was up and it was time to go home on leave, I was sad to leave my mates, we had had a few adventures together.




POST SCRIPT…..
Eleven years later, I had taken early retirement from the Company, I got a telephone call asking me to go for an interview by a Pipeline Company. They knew that I had the helicopter experience in South Africa.
They had petroleum pipelines running the length of the country, Milford Haven to Birmingham, to Manchester to Glasgow.
These were 36 inch diameter pipes buried to a depth of about six feet, and under very high pressure. If a construction operator with an excavator hit one of these lines then the devastation would be terrible.
Helicopters were used to fly the line every day to see if there was any digging or construction near the pipeline.
The Manchester to Glasgow line had just come on stream and they wanted air crew to monitor the line, which ran north from Manchester and most of the way alongside the M6 Motorway.
I got the job, I was home getting a little bored, What does action man do in retirement.?
It was the ideal job for me, just what I wanted. I jumped at the opportunity. I was given all the plans and location and other documentation all ready to start next Monday. There would be a Pilot and me as the observer to fly the line daily from the Manchester depot.
A few days before I started to have a strange feeling about the job, voices in my head told me not to do it.
Reluctantly I phoned the Company, and told them I did not want to do it, they were not pleased, as another man would have to be trained and delays incurred, they pleaded with me to change my mind, but I could not.

Six months later the helicopter came down near Preston by the M6 Motorway. Pilot and Observer were both killed.

Sometimes it pays to listen to voices in your head.

Last year 2014 I was on the world cruise on the AMSTERDAM, and when we were in between Easter Island and Pitcairn's I bumped into a lady passenger and when she spoke she had a South African accent. We got talking and I mentioned that I used to fly with Court Helicopters,, she said , `My husband flew with them as a Pilot.` her face looked very familiar, I said I know you from 38 years ago, who was your husband ? ` and she said` Fritz,` I had met her when we had parties at their homes in those days. I asked if he was on board and she said `No he was killed when the helicopter crashed south of Cape Town in 1977`
I was shocked, we had survived one crash in 1976 and I had heard there was another crash and one fatality but didn't know it was Fritz,
An amazing meeting in the South Pacific.

So flying in helicopters can be a little dangerous.

Cheers
Brian.

[Peter F Chard]

Hi John, My wife has a niece who graduated from Technical College in Auckland with a Diploma in Interior design but could not get a job in NZ. After about a year out of work she landed a three month job in Singapore as an Interior design consultant and whilst there she met a Gulf Arab sheik who offered to bankroll her into an Interior Design consultancy in his native Dubai. She finished up going to Dubai,staying 30+ years and did very well for herself. But one thing she missed was that she could not walk into a coffee shop, have a flat white or long black coffee and eat a freshly made sandwich made with freshly baked bread and fresh fillings. So, she opened a sandwich bar and hoped it would be a success. It was more than a success, it was an unbelievable money maker, attracting ex-pats and locals alike. She eventually had two or three branches but sold out to an offer she could not refuse and returned to NZ and retirement. Regards Peter in NZ.