When passing the Canary Islands we had a following wind and temperature on deck began to rise. A mean daily run of about 400 nautical miles was about normal for the old ship. The days dragged on at sea, a leisurely routine developing for almost everyone. My day started with checking on hold temperature, then at 9 there was an early sun observation to be taken. At noon there was the noon sight, which affords an easy way to calculate the ship's latitude. In between I was allowed a few hours' study - navigation and seamanship - and in the afternoon I was either sent on watch with the Second or sent on deck to work with the crew.

During the trip, as the fuel tanks in the ship's bottom are slowly becoming depleted, the ship will roll easier due to the reduction in stability. We had a roll time of 8 seconds in the Bay of Biscay, which in the Southern Atlantic had doubled, greatly enhancing quality of life on board. On the way south we saw a sperm whale, dolphins, and close to the equator, flying fish, which occasionally end up on deck during a strong wind.

Tapeworms and seaman's fare

In those days, and perhaps still, apprentice officers were said to have a pair of tapeworms running watches: six hours on, six off. True or untrue, after a few weeks I noticed that my uniform shorts didn't fit anymore. The food may have been to blame, but equally the Chinese laundryman who always washed our things at near-boiling point temperatures, causing my shorts to shrink. Shipboard fare is funny stuff - we ate soup with firetubes, tennis ball steaks or hand grenade with camouflage net (translates as soup with macaroni, tough meat balls and a burger with cooked spinach).

Rounding Africa

During the Suez Canal's closure and the ensuing circumnavigation of Africa we got mail and fresh supplies delivered at sea off Cape Town - it was brought alongside by a fishing boat chartered by the Company Agents. Regrettably we were off Cape Town at night - there was nothing to be seen but the city lights in the distance. It was only the next morning that I saw a strip of South African coast. I made a bad photo - the pointed mountain must have been Cape Hangklip, somewhat east of Cape Town and False Bay. According to my letters we encountered heavy winds two days afterwards, approaching the Mozambique Strait on our way north. I think the first photo on this page was made there. I also wrote that every change in movement of the ship caused us to feel unnaturally weary.

Remedy against seasickness

Seasickness, after a time on board, was almost eradicated, even though our 4th engineer was quite sensitive to it and got green in the face every time the ship started moving another way - changing from rolling to pitching or back. Evidently he had chosen the wrong profession. A good remedy? Swallow a piece of bacon tied to a string, then pull it back up again...

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