Twenty Years Before the Antenna Mast

Trip: Fourteen and Fifteen

Call Sign: ZCAZ

Company: Canadian Pacific (CP)

Specs: 44473 NRT (120000 DWT) 21120 BHP

Rank: R/E/O

Joined: Tobata Japan 6/5/74

Resigned Articles: Seven Islands Canada 25/7/74

Departed: Port Walcott, Australia 23/9/74

At this time, the majority of C.P. Ships vessels were registered in Hamilton Bermuda. It was a strange set up, but typical for many flag of convenience companies. There was a small Bermudan office with a staff of only around 4 or 5. The main office was in London England, from where the orders generally came from and where I had to report ship's positions and data. The Bermuda shipping regulations were virtually identical to those of the U.K. but there were considerable tax advantages. As the ships' were Bermuda registered I had to approach the Bermudan authorities to apply for an amateur radio license to operate from the ship. The ship's Captain as well as the company agreed to this, so I applied for my Bermudan amateur radio license. The Bermudan authorities were also agreeable so I received my amateur call sign VP9HX. It would have to wait however until the next ship to be used, as I had no equipment with me on this one.

The C.P. Ships radio installations were virtually standardized. Almost all the ships carrying very similar systems. This comprised a Redifon R551 main receiver; a Redifon RMT1500 synthesized 1500 watt HF/MF SSB/CW transmitter as main equipment. Often, a Sailor HF/SSB 400 watt transmitter/receiver was also fitted for use with telex or as a reserve HF system. It could be battery powered if required, but could not cover 500KHz. A Redifon auxiliary rack was also carried including battery-charging equipment, antenna switching, the auto alarm for 500KHz, and an emergency transmitter and receiver for 500Khz and 2182 R/T distress use. Later, when it became mandatory, a 2182 auto alarm receiver was also fitted for R/T distress signals. This was usually fitted on the bridge.

All ships had at least 2 VHF R/T systems. One on the bridge for navigational and Pilotage purposes. One in the radio room, mainly for ship to shore telephone calls. These were Sailor 80 channel synthesized sets, and very reliable. We also had several sets of maritime VHF walkie-talkies to keep in touch around the ship. The tankers were later fitted with the maritime SITOR radio telex systems, which helped tremendously with reducing costs and time required for receiving and sending cargo orders. Some of these messages could be several hundred words long. Before the telexes were fitted, it was a major work-up to receive and send them.

The bridge equipment included a Decca autopilot, a Microtechnical gyrocompass, a Magnavox satellite navigation system (Navstar), a Redifon Omega navigation system, and a Decca Navigator for coastal use around the UK and Europe. A Japanese Furuno weather fax receiver, a Decca echo sounder, Marconi Automatic DF receiver, together with sundry telephones, alarm and engine movement logging systems completed the installation. Some of this equipment was new to me. The gyro for instance, was a watertight sealed hollow sphere containing the actual gyro motors, which floated with neutral buoyancy in a tank of fluid. This was a solution of Benzoic acid; Glycerin and distilled water kept at a constant temperature by heaters and thermostats. Servicing it required amongst other things, that I play boy chemist with various chemical powders and fluids. I quite enjoyed it really once I got to know how it all worked.

The radars were mostly the same on all CP ships. An older Decca 16 inch display for navigation, and a smaller more modern Marconi or Decca for general use. Both being X band (3 cm) 50KW output systems. The scanners were fed with copper wave-guide and fitted on the very top of the main mast. They gave an excellent view but were sheer hell to service, especially when the weather was bad or the wind blew the funnel gasses towards the radar platform. To service the upper scanner, one had to stand on the upper safety rail of the radar platform, hanging on like mad with one hand, whilst loosening screws and doing any checks with the other. Even with a safety harness, it was not a job I relished, particularly as the odd nut or screw would often be dropped, and entail a long labored climb down to the radio shack for a spare. No matter how many types of screws, nuts and bolts one had in ones pocket, the one required would always be missing (Murphy's law of displaced objects).

The HF and MF radio antennas were generally wires strung around the funnel in the usual modern ship practice. We had either wire strung to the triatic stay as receiving antennas or vertical 5-meter whips. On a few ships (notably the big bulk carriers) the main transmitting antenna was a self-supporting 20meter center loaded vertical mast. This worked quite well but was very prone to static pick up, with the resulting noise on receive (and occasional large sparks!). Otherwise the main and reserve antennas were usually double spans of wire approximately 20metres long, strung over the accommodation. This wasn't terribly efficient but the high transmitter output power helped. The large bulk carriers made long boring trips with Coal or Iron Ore over very long distances, hardly touching land at all. This was the time of the Oil crisis and economical (slow) speed steaming (12 Knots) to save fuel. The profit margins for bulk transport are generally low and every effort was made to save costs in any way possible. If the cargo arrived a few days later it was not generally a catastrophe and the charter was so negotiated that strict arrival times were not often required. The saving of a few tons of fuel every day however can add up to a considerable total saving. A 50 percent reduction in power usually only meant a loss of 3 to 4 knots in speed, but saved many tons of fuel per day. My longest trip ever was 63 days at sea from NW Australia (Dampier) to Taranto (Italy) non-stop via the Cape with a cargo of iron ore. The Suez Canal was still closed, and the huge bulk carriers could not pass through anyway.

On this very long trip, we paused at Cape Town for a few fresh stores and mail as usual, but we still had very little left to eat on reaching Europe. The menu became very boring toward the end, with no fresh fruit or vegetables until reaching Gibraltar. Some of the Indian crew was getting very upset as we had no salt, and virtually no Muslim killed meat. (Muslims will not eat meat killed in the usual manner, requiring it to be done according to their own customs).

As Electronics Officer, I used to spend considerable time in the Engine room, that being where most of my troubles occurred or originated. One of the main problems for me, was the various alarm systems for the main engine and Auxiliary Machinery. These were usually TTL logic cards placed in a large box under the control console. Despite the control room being air conditioned, they became very hot in operation due to limited ventilation and the TTL logic sometimes used to lock up, or at least not switch correctly. The other problem was the Electro mechanical relay interface between the logic and the outside world. I was forever replacing reed relays until I modified the circuit to stop the capacity of the long leads welding the relays closed.

When I was on the Northern Star, I had met an Australian girl with whom I was still in contact. I decided to spend some time in Sydney with her when I paid off at Port Walcott NW Australia. The immigration was very understanding and even though I had no visa for a longer stay in Australia, I was granted permission and a waiver was put in my passport. The Chief Immigration officer asked me to be a good lad and not do a "runner", as he had signed the permission and would have to face the music if I disappeared. I would probably also not be very welcome in Australia any more.

Port Walcott is an Iron Ore town in North Western Australia. It is dry and dusty, with a deep red-brown soil. It had some Aboriginal shantytowns and the mineworkers lived in air conditioned "containers". They were quite nicely fitted out inside but still looked very temporary. It had a few permanent buildings, but did look a bit like a campsite, or maybe a little bit like the old Wild West. There was however one very nice bar/restaurant which we used to visit. It contained a huge aquarium as a wall separating the bar and restaurant sections. It was the full length of the bar and the full height of the room. Very impressive: with lots of beautiful tropical fish swimming around inside of it and for all to view.

On leaving the ship, I first flew to Perth. If the company had not paid for the flight to Sydney, I had decided I was going to go by train across Australia. It would have taken 3 days, but would have been an unforgettable experience. The company however did agree to fly me to Sydney and then on to London, so I never did get to see the Australian Nullabor Desert. It saved me some cash, but I was quite disappointed really, as it was an opportunity missed!

It was a 4-hour flight to Sydney and I stayed 3 weeks. I visited Canberra (which was still being built at that time), the port city of Newcastle, the Blue Mountains, (Katoomba) some small outback towns and various tourist attractions in and around Sydney. It was a very interesting and enjoyable time.

One of the most spectacular thunderstorms I have ever seen took place over Sydney as we approached the city, returning from a trip into the Blue Mountains. Blue-black storm clouds covered the sky, and vicious lightning speared down into the city skyline ahead of us - all very impressive.

After the three weeks were over, I said my good-byes to Australia and flew back to London.