[jim brindley]

was on banana boat was i think one of fyfes . signed in liverpool went to tampa .in west afrika cant rememeber name she was a captured german merchant ship . but i rember the name on the oringel ships bell was panther .any one still around with a memory.

[Ron Stringer]

Originally Posted by jim brindley

was on banana boat was i think one of fyfes . signed in liverpool went to tampa .in west afrika cant rememeber name she was a captured german merchant ship . but i rember the name on the oringel ships bell was panther .any one still around with a memory.

Think she would be the Elders & Fyffes "Reventazon", see http://www.shipsnostalgia.com/showthread.php?t=3125. There are photos of her in the Gallery.

Fyffes sailed out of Garston Dock on the Mersey. Possible ports to fit the given "Tampa" are Tema in Ghana (Gold Coast) or, more likely, Tiko in Cameroon. Hope this helps.

[gdynia]

Fyffes traded also to Doula in Cameroon which was a Banana port

[Ron Stringer]

Originally Posted by gdynia

Fyffes traded also to Doula in Cameroon which was a Banana port

You're right Gdynia, and also to lots of other places but none that I can think of that approximate the "Tampa" West Africa referred to by Jim.

[gdynia]

Ron
Ive looked thro all the Banana ports I was in with Salems then Cool Carriers but cannot find a Tampa, so as you say probally Tema

[jim brindley]

thanks everyone for info. im still pretty sure it was tampa .i remember the guy in pool saying he wished he was going .was having me on thinking tampa .u.s .remeber this was in the 40s maybe there has been a name change.

[jim brindley]

me again the silly old pom.just searched site again and got more info .from r58484956 she was german buit in 1939 just shows what a great site and crew we have on s,n

[R690639]

hi jim,i joined s.s. chicanoa 6.7.60 in avonmouth my home port.she sailed to
Tiko British Camaroon. she was one of three shallow draught ships,able to
go up the creeks. she was a captured german ship and given to Fyffes as
war raperation.the two others were chirripo, changuinola. i was asst/stwd for
three trips. a/mouth- tiko-s/hampton. s/hampton-tiko-garston, garston-tiko-
a/mouth. a great ship,clean,great food.carried twelve passengers,steam
turbine driven. off/no 300194.gross 6282,95 net 3094,04.salt tablets taken
in true fyffes tradition,with rum. like elder,demstersalso sailed on s,s sinaloa
two trips,but on the carribean run. hpe this is some help. john

[KenLin39]

Tiko was a banana port Camaroon creek, rode a narrow gauge railway to nearest bar as too dangerous to walk through plantation owing to creepy crawlies. Ouch.

[bobarr]

Once did a trip to Tiko in the Camoorons in the 'Tortuguero'. Signed on in Southampton and paid off in Garston. Happy days, indeed.
Bobarr

[John Rogers]

I did one trip to Tiko West Africa on the Corrales in march of 1952 and that was enough for me,up that dirty creek with all the mossys. There is a picture of said creek in my gallery watching the gals fishing bare chested, I was more interested in what the were fishing for.
John.

[Tony Breach]

Originally Posted by R690639

hi jim,i joined s.s. chicanoa 6.7.60 in avonmouth my home port.she sailed to
Tiko British Camaroon. she was one of three shallow draught ships,able to
go up the creeks. she was a captured german ship and given to Fyffes as
war raperation.the two others were chirripo, changuinola. i was asst/stwd for
three trips. a/mouth- tiko-s/hampton. s/hampton-tiko-garston, garston-tiko-
a/mouth. a great ship,clean,great food.carried twelve passengers,steam
turbine driven. off/no 300194.gross 6282,95 net 3094,04.salt tablets taken
in true fyffes tradition,with rum. like elder,demstersalso sailed on s,s sinaloa
two trips,but on the carribean run. hpe this is some help. john

John,
The CHANGUINOLA (2) 1957, CHIRRIPO (3) 1957 & CHICANOA 1958 together with a later 4th sister CHUSCAL 1961, were built as indicated & were not war captured German ships. All were built at Alexander Stephens' yard in Glasgow.
Due to their small size & inefficient steam turbines they didn't last very long being scrapped at ages between 13 & 18 years

The German war prizes were:
PACUARE (2) 1934 ex EMPIRE ALDE 1947, ex PELIKAN II 1946, ex PELIKAN 1939.
NICOYA (3) 1935, ex EMPIRE MOWDDACH 1947, ex PONTOS 1946.
ZENT (3) 1938, ex EMPIRE WHARF 1947, ex ANGELBURG 1945, ex VIATOR 1939.
REVENTAZON (3) 1940, ex EMPIRE MOLE 1946, ex SALZBURG 1945, ex PANTHER (2) 1940.

Tony

[jim brindley]

hi john thanks for info. funny icant.emeber name but remember panther on ships bell maybe becouse i pollished it thanks again and to you all .old sinner jim the pom

[Tony Breach]

John,

The CHANGUINOLA (2) 1957, CHIRRIPO (3) 1957 & CHICANOA 1958 together with a later 4th sister CHUSCAL 1961, were built as indicated & were not war captured German ships. All were built at Alexander Stephens' yard in Glasgow.
Due to their small size & inefficient steam turbines they didn't last very long being scrapped at ages between 13 & 18 years

The German war prizes were:
PACUARE (2) 1934 ex EMPIRE ALDE 1947, ex PELIKAN II 1946, ex PELIKAN 1939.
NICOYA (3) 1935, ex EMPIRE MOWDDACH 1947, ex PONTOS 1946.
ZENT (3) 1938, ex EMPIRE WHARF 1947, ex ANGELBURG 1945, ex VIATOR 1939.
REVENTAZON (3) 1940, ex EMPIRE MOLE 1946, ex SALZBURG 1945, ex PANTHER (2) 1940.

The SINALOA was built in 1932 by Bethlehem Steel at Qunicy, Mass., as the VERAGUA for United Fruit Co. She had accommodation for 113 passengers & about 100 crew. She became USS MERAK IN 1942 & was returned to United Fruit in 1946 as VERAGUA where most of her passenger accomodation was removed in 1954. In 1957 she was transferred to United Fruit's Biritsh subsidiary Elders & Fyffes & she was scrapped in 1964

Tony

[gatline]

I sailed on the Reventazon on 20th Dec 1955/22nd Jan 1956 to the West Indes.
She was a german captuer, not a bad ship, and if I remember right you just had to keep an eye out for spiders

[geordielad]

hi i was part of the last crew on the Chirripo under Fyfes Managment, we sailed from Southhampton Nov1969 went through Panama up to Golfito in Costa Rica for a cargo of banana's, then up to L.A where we were told the ship had been sold to the Honduran's, we paid off in L.A. in Dec 1969, the skipper was A. thomson and the chief engineer was P. Inverarity.
Cheers Jack Todd

[Jim S]

Originally Posted by geordielad

hi i was part of the last crew on the Chirripo under Fyfes Managment, we sailed from Southhampton Nov1969 went through Panama up to Golfito in Costa Rica for a cargo of banana's, then up to L.A where we were told the ship had been sold to the Honduran's, we paid off in L.A. in Dec 1969, the skipper was A. thomson and the chief engineer was P. Inverarity.
Cheers Jack Todd

Jack,

There were two Masters with the Thomson surname - One was known as "Aberdeen Thomson" the other also a Scot was from Isle of Arran.
It looks like this latter one was the one you sailed with. - He held his head to the side as a result of damage to his neck in an assault in his younger days I believe.
He became regular Master on Camito where I sailed with him for nine trips.
My only experience of C/Eng Inverarity was a trip from Southampton to South Shields for drydocking on Chicanoa.

Jim

[Ron Hamilton]

Tetela , '53 , to Tiko . Heat,torrential rain, tarantula spiders galore in your cabin,,daren't put out the light!. tuck your dungarees in your socks down the hatches. As night-watchman & waking my mates in the morning , I introduced them to a brilliant coloured snake ( dead & on a string) which had some of them climbing up the bulkhead. The shanty-man was a character & earned his pay stimulating the workers. Capt. Philott, a nice & slightly eccentric gentleman, asked me why nobody came back for a 2nd trip , so I told him to sample our food, what there was of it , this after he caught us down the hatch one night ,looking for ripe bananas to supplement our diet, I believe the ch. Steward was responsible ( Aren't they always?). Ron Hamilton, Tokoroa, N.Z.

[terence]

ron cant remember fyffes being bad feeders what i do no is a lot more
came out of tiko than bananas if u no what i mean terry music man

[nobby s]

Hi Jim & others,
I joined "SS Chicanoa" sometime in 1960. Did four 28 day trips to Tiko in the French Cameroons. Sailed under capt. Mullens as ass. steward. Joined her in Southampton and paid off in Garston. (with malaria).Got to Southampton my home town and spent weeks in hospital. May have sailed with Tony.
All the best ,Nobby S

[joecandive]

I am just looking at my uncles Discharge books.He also joined The Chicanoa on 21/10/1960 in Garston Liverpool.His nme was Tony Summers.Then he done a few more trips on her.