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Sir John Hunter my first trip 1977
Joined in Rotterdam 18th Nov after discharging the ship went into dry-dock for 48 hours to repair a leaking stern tube seal after this we sailed to Port Gentil, Gabon to load crude oil. At Port Gentil we went for a walk along the beach and ended up in a small village. The locals were very friendly and we spent some time in the village talking with them or trying to as they spoke French and no English and none of us could speak French still we managed to converse somehow. They said we should come back at night, so that evening a few of us walked back along the beach to the village. They were made us very welcome and we stayed there a few hours. There was no bar but the local village shop had a fridge with cold beer and they also sold draft diesel. There was no electricity supply and the power came from small generators which each house seemed to have. In the corner of the shop was a 45 gall drum of diesel with a hand pump on the top. So the shop sold food mainly canned stuff, beer and diesel. Typical sailors we had very little cash so we chipped in what we had a few Pounds Sterling and few dollars some change some bars of soap nicked off the ship. The photos show the R/O Steve and his wife Karen and a couple of J/Es with the locals in the village. It was a great night and we all managed to make it along the beach and back to the ship.
We sailed from there to Golfo San Matias, Argentina, the SJH was too big to go alongside so we discharged into smaller tankers. We did not anchor, if I remember right, but steamed along very slowly while the small tankers came alongside we then connected the loading manifolds and transferred the cargo. The crew were fishing all the time we were in Argentina and caught a load of strange looking fish even the captain had a go. We were there for a few days before heading to Saldana bay, South Africa
In Saldana Bay we loaded iron ore for FOS in the South of France. We went for a walk into the town for a drink it was during the apartheid days and the bars and shops were clearly marked white and black. It was a Sunday and there were three of us, myself the radio operator and his wife. Most bars were shut but we tried the hotel and they would not let Karen in, no women were allowed in the bar and the lounge where she could get in was closed. It all seemed very strange so we bought a few beers from a local shop and sat on a bench overlooking the sea drinking them before wandering back to the ship.
We arrived and discharged the iron ore in FOS, a couple of the cadets were paying off, an engine cadet and a deck cadet. I was doing the 12 to 4 watch with the cadet and he asked me if it was alright for the deck cadet to come into the engine room after midnight as they had a project to do. The project was to make a skull and crossbones flag out of a bed sheet. I just looked the other way and never saw what was going on but the day they left they ran up the newly painted flag on the main mast. It was actually there a few days before anyone noticed but I got a good photo of it. We also had a few runs up the road where I was introduced to the French Pastis similar to Pernod and had a few sore heads with that.
We then moved back across the Atlantic to Tuberao Brazil to load iron ore for Rotterdam. I had a run up the road with a few guys of the ship. The taxis were VW beetles and five of us squeezed in. The town was great with bars on every corner, I even saw two guys riding horses through the streets and they were wearing revolvers in gun belts it looked like something out of the Clint Eastwood movies. The bars were full of girls of all colours but we were warned that some of them were not actually girls.
I left the ship, 13th March 1978 with the First mate and they took us to Vitoria, nearest town, and put us in a hotel room for the day the flight to Rio was later in the evening. The mate had been working all night and wanted the get his head down, and get some sleep, but I was wanting to go out for a walk around the town. I had a couple of drinks with the mate and then went to explore unfortunately I had a few more drinks and got completely lost, also I did not know the hotel name or address so could not find the hotel, no mobile phone in those days they had not been invented. I was eventually passing a bank with a bureau de change and thought they should speak English so I went in and explained my predicament. The guy was great he knew of a ships agent whom he phoned and eventually got me the address of the hotel and made me a map with directions. I got back to the hotel and the mate was still sleeping. Later that evening we went for a meal and got the flight to Rio, then to Zurich, another flight to London and then yet another to Glasgow.
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Joined in Rotterdam 18th Nov after discharging the ship went into dry-dock for 48 hours to repair a leaking stern tube seal after this we sailed to Port Gentil, Gabon to load crude oil. At Port Gentil we went for a walk along the beach and ended up in a small village. The locals were very friendly and we spent some time in the village talking with them or trying to as they spoke French and no English and none of us could speak French still we managed to converse somehow. They said we should come back at night, so that evening a few of us walked back along the beach to the village. They were made us very welcome and we stayed there a few hours. There was no bar but the local village shop had a fridge with cold beer and they also sold draft diesel. There was no electricity supply and the power came from small generators which each house seemed to have. In the corner of the shop was a 45 gall drum of diesel with a hand pump on the top. So the shop sold food mainly canned stuff, beer and diesel. Typical sailors we had very little cash so we chipped in what we had a few Pounds Sterling and few dollars some change some bars of soap nicked off the ship. The photos show the R/O Steve and his wife Karen and a couple of J/Es with the locals in the village. It was a great night and we all managed to make it along the beach and back to the ship.
We sailed from there to Golfo San Matias, Argentina, the SJH was too big to go alongside so we discharged into smaller tankers. We did not anchor, if I remember right, but steamed along very slowly while the small tankers came alongside we then connected the loading manifolds and transferred the cargo. The crew were fishing all the time we were in Argentina and caught a load of strange looking fish even the captain had a go. We were there for a few days before heading to Saldana bay, South Africa
In Saldana Bay we loaded iron ore for FOS in the South of France. We went for a walk into the town for a drink it was during the apartheid days and the bars and shops were clearly marked white and black. It was a Sunday and there were three of us, myself the radio operator and his wife. Most bars were shut but we tried the hotel and they would not let Karen in, no women were allowed in the bar and the lounge where she could get in was closed. It all seemed very strange so we bought a few beers from a local shop and sat on a bench overlooking the sea drinking them before wandering back to the ship.
We arrived and discharged the iron ore in FOS, a couple of the cadets were paying off, an engine cadet and a deck cadet. I was doing the 12 to 4 watch with the cadet and he asked me if it was alright for the deck cadet to come into the engine room after midnight as they had a project to do. The project was to make a skull and crossbones flag out of a bed sheet. I just looked the other way and never saw what was going on but the day they left they ran up the newly painted flag on the main mast. It was actually there a few days before anyone noticed but I got a good photo of it. We also had a few runs up the road where I was introduced to the French Pastis similar to Pernod and had a few sore heads with that.
We then moved back across the Atlantic to Tuberao Brazil to load iron ore for Rotterdam. I had a run up the road with a few guys of the ship. The taxis were VW beetles and five of us squeezed in. The town was great with bars on every corner, I even saw two guys riding horses through the streets and they were wearing revolvers in gun belts it looked like something out of the Clint Eastwood movies. The bars were full of girls of all colours but we were warned that some of them were not actually girls.
I left the ship, 13th March 1978 with the First mate and they took us to Vitoria, nearest town, and put us in a hotel room for the day the flight to Rio was later in the evening. The mate had been working all night and wanted the get his head down, and get some sleep, but I was wanting to go out for a walk around the town. I had a couple of drinks with the mate and then went to explore unfortunately I had a few more drinks and got completely lost, also I did not know the hotel name or address so could not find the hotel, no mobile phone in those days they had not been invented. I was eventually passing a bank with a bureau de change and thought they should speak English so I went in and explained my predicament. The guy was great he knew of a ships agent whom he phoned and eventually got me the address of the hotel and made me a map with directions. I got back to the hotel and the mate was still sleeping. Later that evening we went for a meal and got the flight to Rio, then to Zurich, another flight to London and then yet another to Glasgow.
