D is for Dockers,E is for E-Types....

[Keith Tindell]

Same problem here Lewis, down our country lanes the groups of cyclists are riding single file, but in groups of 15-20, and its fine, its a lovely Island for walkers and cyclists, but i wish they would leave a gap between them, so that you can overtake when its clear to do so, but when you are overtaking large groups it becomes too dangerous, so you sit behind them in low gear for miles, kt

[j.sabourn]

Ref. The jaguar . There was one particular period when they lost their flavour of the month. If remember correctly it was mainly due the affordability of their petrol consumption and their 2 hand value dropped drastically. Their price new here in Oz does not show that today , so imagine the UK they are still an expensive motor. I never had a driving licence apart from a learners as never passed a test in the uk. . However have a recollection of about 1957 whilst ashore back for the 12 weeks , one of the students had his dead fathers ,think it was a ford prefect, and think it was something again to do with the Middle East oil problems but in the uk we were driving around in this car on L plates , no one had a full licence can anyone clarify that situation , or did I just dream it all ? It was legal at the time to do so for some reason, JS

[happy daze john in oz]

Took xk 150s to LA and frisco in 57 .....a famous film star of the time came down to the quay to pose for television cameras etc us boy ratings tried to get in the picture ....i dont know why as i didnt know anyone in our street with a tele ....kim novak was the name of the star ...ah the pleasure ....happy days.....cappy

And no doubt being the cavelier man you were shed sat on your knee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! in your dreams mate

[John Arton]

When containers first came in some bright spark at jaguar thought they would be an ideal method of transporting E types from the U.K to Canada, so they drove one into a 40 foot container, parked it up with just it's hand brake on , loaded it onboard and off it went to Canada. After a typical north Atlantic crossing, upon opening the container they discovered a load of scrap parts but no shiny new car. Jaguar then built a rig that held 3 E types securely inside a 40 foot container by having them loaded into the rig so the all sat at an angle with the front end of each one sitting in the frame atop the one in front. This was long before purpose built car carriers came on the scene where the only danger of damage to the vehicles is from the drivers loading the cars practising there hand brake turns. LOL
Rgds J.A.

[Duke Drennan]

In 1958, I was on the MV Dundee and we took 150 E’types to Boston usa, the were difficult to store , they could not be stacked on top of each other so we were light ship crossing the Atlantic in February, not a pleasant voyage.

I may have mentioned this on a previous post. Loaded a cargo of Morgan sports cars and Jaguars in Immingham bound for N.Y. A couple of days into the Atlantic, we turned to one morning and told by the bosun to open #4. We leaned on the coaming in laughter at the sight of every car under water. Apparently, an engineer had been instructed to flood deep tanks and those with more technical knowledge can imagine what happened. If memory serves me right, I think alcohol had something to do with it. When I think about that incident, I often wonder who pays for the consequences. I should add that in an attempt to dry out the cars, we worked our way through them opening a plug hole in the trunks and placing clusters in the cars in the hope that the heat from them would help. I remember looking at the gauges on the dashboards half filled with sea water.

[j.sabourn]

It must have been a floodable hold was it ? Was on a similar ship but the hold filling line was blanked off . Cheers JS.

[Duke Drennan]

It must have been a floodable hold was it ? Was on a similar ship but the hold filling line was blanked off . Cheers JS.

Like I said John, I can’t remember the technical details only that the tanks were flooded due to ship having a light cargo and crossing the Atlantic in December.
The ship was the Salvada, one of Salvesen’s Sal boats.

- - - Updated - - -

Can anyone elaborate on who would suffer the cost of the loss?

[Bill Cameron]

I may have mentioned this on a previous post. Loaded a cargo of Morgan sports cars and Jaguars in Immingham bound for N.Y. A couple of days into the Atlantic, we turned to one morning and told by the bosun to open #4. We leaned on the coaming in laughter at the sight of every car under water. Apparently, an engineer had been instructed to flood deep tanks and those with more technical knowledge can imagine what happened. If memory serves me right, I think alcohol had something to do with it. When I think about that incident, I often wonder who pays for the consequences. I should add that in an attempt to dry out the cars, we worked our way through them opening a plug hole in the trunks and placing clusters in the cars in the hope that the heat from them would help. I remember looking at the gauges on the dashboards half filled with sea water.

Duke, the MV Dundee was specially built for working on the Great Lakes, she was flat bottomed, and just fitted into the smallest lock in the Lachine canal in Montreal, before the Seaway was build, she also had variable pitch propellor, so her engine speed was controlled from the bridge, her fore and aft winches were also special, for getting her through the locks they could ease off, or take the strain as required, 28 of a crew, all east coast of Scotland only, in 10 months one logging of 10 shillings , great crew. Best 10 months of my life aged 18.

[Duke Drennan]

Same here Bill. I often regret and wonder what trajectory my future would have taken had I not paid off the Salvada after 8 months. Best trip of my time in the M.N.
Funny thing last night when watching the telly. A scene took place in the printing facility of a newspaper, and in the background I saw the massive reels of newsprint. It reminded me of leaving NY having unloaded the wet cars and heading to the Bowater paper plant in Liverpool Nova Scotia. There we loaded a cargo of newsprint for Oz. Given that it was December and snowing almost constantly, we were continually opening and closing the McGregors to keep the paper dry. This resulted in a 2-3 week stay in port. You can imagine the relief after passing through the Panama into the Pacific headed for the warmer climes of Oz. It didn’t take long for our wish to return to more moderate weather. If I remember, Brisbane was the warmest weather I had ever experienced in my time in the MN. Following Brisbane, it was Sydney, Melbourne and then Peru. The tramps were my preferred choice, long voyages and no headaches.

[Dennis McGuckin]

Hi Duke,
Didn't know that Bowater's had a plant in NS.
Always thought the only one they had was in Newfoundland.
Thanks for the info.