Vancouver City (3)
Comments from the forum - 2
Reminds me of the albeit a lot less time we spent on the Vancouver at anchor off the Shatt el Arab for Basrah for 3 months with Capt. Jake Vaughan on his first trip back to sea after being in the office for a long time and I was 2/O, and of course being joined by the PRC at the anchorage. This has been recounted earlier by Brian Boyer in his joining the PRC across the desert. Its probaby anecdotal but we were told that the Iraqi minister responsible for ordering all the grain was taken out one morning and..well shall say " despatched" very quickly ! Whatever, it was certainly a strange introduction back to sea for Capt.Jake and also for a first trip 2/O. He was a good master and I can still smell his pipe coming up the bridge stairs and I like to think that he actually learned a lot about the then " modern ships" from us. Graham Mapplebeck. Posted on Forum on 16th November 2010.
You are quite correct, Graham, about the "despatch" of the Minister responsible for ordering all the grain. I mention it under thread 59, and the information, apparently shown on TV, was given to Bryan and myself, by the Lloyds surveyor who was attending the PRC for continuous survey. Mike Jones. Posted on Forum on 16th November 2010.
I joined the Vancouver City in February 1973 when she was in Dry Dock in Amsterdam. It was cold an snowing.
I was there for ten days only when taken off and promoted to await the Victoria City so I had three more weeks at home. The personnel on the Vancouver are a bit sketchy after all this time but I remember Sandy Bruce (2/E) one of life's gentlemen. The Third Engineer was Phil Morris. It came as a surprise to me when Phil Julian arrived as Phil and I were school mates back in the fifties in our home town of Penryn. we sort of lost touch until he arrived on the Vancouver which was the last time I saw him apart from a fleeting glimpse of him on television on a cross channel ferry at the time of the Zeebrugge disaster. I last heard of him working for the bunkering company at Falmouth.
One lasting memory is of Phil and myself and (I believe a deck cadet borrowing a really beat up old bicycle that appeared abandoned as it was in this particular place very time we passed it. We soon found out why as with me pedalling, Phil on the handlebars and the cadet on the pannier the thing collapsed throwing us off into a snow pile. David Ricketts. Posted on Forum on 14th December 2010.
Myself and 3 others joined the Vancouver city on the 28th January 1975, the day we joined everyone who could went ashore to watch Benfica (which I think play in Lisbon)play football, I had to stay on board as duty engineer. From what I recall the others guys telling me on the return to the ship all armed soliders had been place on street corners and tanks were roaming around the city centre.
Until last night when I checked on the internet I always thought that it was because it was the day President Salazar had died, however on checking he had died a few year earlier, clearly the goverment of Porugal was worried about an uprising or some sort of revolution.
Lots of warship from NATO were visiting the city and I guess supporting the goverment.
The Vancouver was alongside not very far from Black horse square as it is known & Danny John was the skipper, I think he was quite nervious as the gangway was hoisted and a state of readiness was required.
The Fresno city was also in Lisbon at anchor, I believe she was being part discharged in order to go to Oporto to finish discharge,
furthermore when the Fresno was up in Oporto a Maersk Tanker the Maersk Jason blew up with lots of lives being lost.
I visited Oporto in 1978 and on the beach there is a huge bow section of this tanker, I guess she would have been over 100,000 tonne.
Both these incidences were over 35 years ago and may not have been as I remember them, however if anyone can correct me please do so.
Both these topics are worth remembering. Willie Davies. Posted on Forum on 15th December 2010.
Captain: T. W. D. John, C/O: R. E. Baker, 2/O: R. G. Hayton, 3/O: P. C. Roberts, R/O: A. J. L. Cottle, C/E: E. R. Morgan, J/C/E: J. Fitzsimmons, 3/E: O. G. Williams, 4/E: A. McNally, Jnr. Eng: A. K. Sinclair, M. G. Evans, B. F. Brooks , Elec: K. E. Roberts, C/S: D. C. M. Trinick, Cadets: S. R. Breedon and J. C. Neale.
As you correctly mention, Willie, you were one of a part Officer change on 28th January, at Lisbon. After that date, the Officer List appeared as follows: -
Captain: T.W.D.John, C/O: J Sharples, 2/O: R.G.Hayton, 3/O: P.C.Roberts, R/O: J.R.Mathews, C/E: E. R. Morgan, J/C/E: J. Fitzsimmons, 3/E: O. G. Williams, 4/E: W.D.Davies, J/4th Eng: J.Prophet Jnr. Eng: P.Ridley, M.G.Evans, Elec: K. E. Roberts, C/S: P. P. Delaney, Cadets: S. R. Breedon and J. C. Neale. Mike Jones. Posted on forum 18 December 2010.
Disclaimer: The statements on this page are the views of the person who posted them on the forum. The events took place many years ago and in most cases rely on those people's memories, and so we cannot guarantee the accuracy although every effort is made to check it.
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