too close to this area the magnetic compass reacted and being on autopilot, the ship would take a veer. On board we were prepared, but the river pilots would be highly alarmed when this did occur!


After my RNR training (List 1, course P71), some time was spent sailing to the Baltic with the United Baltic Corporation. The ships were ice-strengthened and that was just as well. An interesting experience while on watch one evening was running the ship hard into a free-flowing ice field. I had never seen what ice looked like on the radar and I misinterpreted the image on the screen and piled the ship into the ice, so much so that an ice breaker had to be called to free the ship! Occasionally, while sailing along the ice channel we would become stuck. One method used to “free” us was to place a heavy weight on a runner and swing the derrick from side to side. This caused the ship to roll slightly, thus breaking free and able to sail onward!


Having obtained my Mate’s certificate (Class 2) and married, the short deep-sea trips to West Africa were appealing and I sailed with Palm Line. Ships sailing round this coast (Dakar to Lobito) we called at many ports. Loading logs while at anchor in a swell was challenging; huge 10-ton tree trunks would swing about and the skill was to stow them without damage to the ship. Navigationally, the creeks in the Niger delta offered some interesting ship handling experiences. One was to round a sharp bend by digging the bow into the soft mangrove mud and allow the current to swing the ship onto the new course required. Another ruse when sailing loaded from the creeks across the Escravos Bar, where the water depth was, say, 21 feet, was to load the ship to 21ft 3 ins and go full speed. The action of the riverbed on the ship’s hull was to clean off all the debris that had built up in the bottom plating and leave a smooth hull bottom.


This had the effect of giving us an extra half knot at sea speed, which resulted in gaining a tide when docking in Liverpool or Europe, thereby paying off early!


Shore side employment


After passing my Master’s Certificate of Competency (Class 1) and sailing as Chief Officer I was encouraged to take my BSc in Nautical Studies at Southampton University and the School of Navigation at Warsash. This was not an easy option as I had to abandon my dreams of command, but given the decline in the British Merchant Navy in the 1970s the only realistic option was the offshore supply sector. Having seen the North Sea at its worst, the option of “driving a desk” seemed more appealing. Limited space means this paragraph is a precis of my shore career. Essentially, I ended up as a marine surveyor working out of the City of London. I did travel worldwide between 1980 and 2005 and had many interesting experiences. I ended up specialising in major casualty response and investigation. There are far too many tales to recount, some quite harrowing, where a casualty involved loss of life. I recall back in 1979, while still lecturing at Warsash, becoming involved in the training for “entry into enclosed spaces” following a tragedy when several individuals had died. It worries me today that there are still too many incidents resulting in death following entry into an enclosed space.


Throughout my career the number one consideration has been “Safety of Life”. Nothing, even pollution response, must ever be allowed to impinge on the safety of life message.


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