union castle.

[wilky]

Hi Michael , going on the dates it looks like you signed on just after I signed off. It was an old ship but great fun to be on. Loved every minute.

[Les Phillips]

Hi WikiE I sailed on the Bremar Castle, She went to genoa, Suez. Mombasa, Beira, Dara, salam, Durban, East London,, Sailed on the Eddy, She went around the Cape ( good times in Delmonicos, and the Catacoombes) Also sailed on the fruit boats! Rowallen Castle, Rochester, and Riebeck Castle. First Ship was the Queen Mary in !964, Sailed on 4 BP tankers a Radcliffes Tanker, Horomya (shell) on the vietnam run. Two fyffes, Blue Star line Empire Star, Dagestan (common Brothers) I jumped The Medic (Shaw Saville) in New Zealand Got caught and spent a month in nick, Came home on the Iberic. We did do Stupid things in our youth!! Would not have changed anything. Regards Les

[happy daze john in oz]

Ah Les, the wonderful Lavender ladies of UCL. Good list you have there, any specific dates you can add? Might just jog a few memories of some who may have been thete the same time, you may get some replies. So sit back with a cold one and enjoy the voyage.

[Doc Vernon]

Blly Monk the Bouncer of the Les Catacombs Club in Lomg Street Cape Town in the Sixties took this Picture in the Club ,just one of many that went that way,me included a few times!
Oh yes those were the days!
cheers

Poor Lass must have woken with a terrible Hangover!

[donald w gillies]

Hello Rothesay Castle Crew!
Anyone remember me? I sailed with the Rothesay (EDH) September 1964 to August 1965, sorry names escape me, but I do remember it being a happy ship. Anyone there who was at the Smuggler's Inn, Durban Sat 1st May 1965? Why do I remember that night? Or Tuesday the 4th playing football against Tantallon Castle at East London (4-4) and the mission dance in the evening? And can anyone remind me what happened at Dalmonica's and Darro's on Friday 7 May because I slept all day Saturday! ( my rough diary)

[James Tindill]

i was on the good hope castle from may 1954 until july 1957 started as engs. and finished 2 steward our skipper was captian black he was one of the best stwd

I remember youhooooooooo! I joined the Good Hope Castle on Sept 13th, 1955 at the Victoria Docks as Catering Boy, my first ship straight from the Vindi. Signed off January 2nd,1956 and rejoined on January 30th 1956 after she'd completed a trip around the continent. I can't recall the name of the Chief Steward but I do remember he had a gammy leg. I finally signed off on 25th May 1956. The Captain for that voyage was not called Black. I seem to recall he was tall, thin, and a Plymouth Brethren! I think it was during my first trip I got scalded by a large pot of coffee during a bad storm in the Bay. A 2nd/Steward called Harry Haggis took over from you for the last voyage I did. I guess you must have taken over from him again? On 6th December, 1968, I joined Safmarine's S A Merchant as 2nd/Steward. A few years later Harry Haggis joined the same company!! Small world as they say.

[Michael Rossouw]

Wilky just checked my seamans book and I joined the Richmond Castle on 8/4/67 to 31/6/67 so we must have passed each other on the gangway . Michael Rossouw AB

[Captain Kong]

I did three trips on the Good Hope Castle, sometimes know as the Bob Hope Castle or No hope Castle, great ship on deck then from Mombasa to Mauritious, Singapore and Hong Kong for a week at the breakers before flyng home on an old Dakota.
I am writing about the trips
Cheers, Brian.

[John Arton]

Hi there
any of you old Union Castle boys on the Dover Castle in 78.
Reason being I was mate on a cape sized bulker (E.W.Beatty) north bound from Richards Bay to Le Havre when we answered a call for assistance from a swedish ro-ro that was on fire. A engine room fire had ignited CKD's in her car decks and she was well alight when we got there. Think her name was something similiar to the one that picked up all those refugees off Indonesia a number of years ago and was refused entry into Auz because of them. The Swedish skipper got an award.
Back to the fir. When we got on scene the Dover Castle was already there. The Swedes wanted their B.A. bottles refilling so as to enable them to carry on fighting the fire. Fortunatley we had a B.A compressor on board that fitted the bottles so we said we would send our spare bottles across and take theirs for refilling for as long as it took them to fight the fire. Before we could get our boat out the Dover Castle jumped in and insisted that they would use their lifeboat to ferry the bottles abetween the us and the ro-ro (Scan something on its side). So thats what happened. The Dover Castle lifeboat came alongside us and and took our spare bottles over, returning with the empty ones for re-charging. This would take some time so we asked the lads in the lifeboat to hop on board us to get out of the heat (we were near the equator), blow me if they did not refuse, saying they had to stay in the boat, even refusing the offer of some coldies. This went on for some considerable time from around 0600 through to late afternoon by which time I would have thought the lifeboat crew would have been well pizzed off having to sit in the boat all day!!.
Eventually the skipper of the RO-RO said they had the fire under control and his engineers had got the machinery plant up and running. We exchanged Company Names and address's etc. and he thanked us for all we had done.
Turning to the Dover Castle he thanked them too, giving out the Companies name etc. and telling them his regular route saying that they were going to carry on to Cape Town. The skipper of the Dover Castle gave him his companies name etc and told him that they were on a regular run with fruit from S. Africa to the U.K. and if he wished he would follow him to Cape Town just to make sure everything was o.k. and as a fruit boats service speed was 16kts he would adjust his speed accordingly to match that of the RO-RO.
(Imagine a swedish accent for the next bit)
"That is fine, we have zee one engine working and on zee one engine we make 17 knots"!!!!!. Bit of coughing and spluttering from the Dover Castle.
Anyway off the two went asouthbound and we resumed northbound. They both got to Capetown o.k. and i think the RO-RO was repaired there.
Anyone remember that little incident?
rgds
Capt. John Arton (ret'd)

[Gulliver]

Good story John and I probably have seen her during those years. I can just imagine the whole pompous British bullshit flying around her bridge during that incident - but then that's how things were !
Quite a fine looking ship especially in U-C colours.
Here’s a bit of her history for those who like to know these things:-

m.v CLAN RANALD (O.N.307627) Cargo (ref.)vessel) 10,542 grt Diesel 17.5knots. built 6/65 by Greenock Dock Yard,Cartsdyke East. Named CLAN RANALD but owners stated as Union-Castle (Of course they were both members of the parent British & Commonwealth group.)
Renamed DOVER CASTLE 77-79.Owners still U-C
Renamed DOVER UNIVERSAL79-81 Owners still U-C
Sold Renamed GOLDEN SEA 81-85 Greek Owners named as Invergordon Shipping Co.of Piraeus which seems a fitting final nod towards her Scottish ancestry !
Broken Up Gadani Beach 5/85

Best Regards
Gulliver


FOOTNOTE

She had three other sisters,all built 65/66 and were the last ships to be constructed at this particular dockyard.
They were :-
CLAN RAMSAY-which became WINCHESTER CASTLE
CLAN ROBERTSON which became BALMORAL CASTLE
and CLAN ROSS which became KINPURNIE CASTLE