Silas Parks Runs Out of Drink

A Terrible situation it certainly was and I am still to this day unsure as to how it actually came to pass.

You see, we where halfway across the Indian ocean from Durban to Singapore when we ran out of booze. Not that we had been drinking a lot, no more than usual anyway but suddenly the cupboard was bare.

The first I knew about it was when the Chief Officer (bit slow up top this guy) who looked after the bar said "Cap, we are down to the last case of beer".

"What", I replied in genuine shock.

I remember then thinking "oh my God": Its okay to run out of baked beans, or milk but alcohol is a completely different kettle of fish.

10 days to go and dry.

I cannot for the life of me ever remember never having a drink to-hand before, the very thought of it sends shivers up and down my spine. I can never remember before this time not being able to pour a tipple or two yet it was about to happen and I was breaking out in a cold sweat at the mere thought of it all. Apart from diverting the vessel upwards to India there was not much we could do. I appropriated that last carton of beer and ordered full revs on the engines (110% and sod the engineers).

The Dry Days at Sea .
During the first few days without (that appropriated case only lasted five minutes) life went on normally and we ploughed our way slowly closer to Asia and dry land. Unfortunately though I contracted some sort of Virus, an unusual circumstance for myself normally being extremely healthy, but down I went and bad. I had no energy left to fight back and no whisky to kill the devil that was running loose in my body and soul. It consumed me like nothing has ever before and I spent most of my time suffering in bed, sweating and groaning - unable to sleep.

This virus or whatever it was caused me to become very irritable and aggressive towards my fellow seafarers. Normally I am a very calm natured bloke but whatever had consumed me controlled me and jerked my strings in unusual ways. Little things made me shout and rave in anger, the cadet I reduced to tears on numerous occasions and didn't even pause to feel guilty as he stumbled off the bridge with a broken heart. I reduced mates to shivering wrecks and Chiefs to anger, the chief so much that he was on the warpath with a large hammer in his hand and I resorted to locking myself in my cabin for the last three days of the voyage.

I shivered and shook during a lengthy voyage that never seemed to end and I lived on dry biscuits and an insufferable amount of water - to quench a thirst that would never go away.

During those three days, although I only remember lying in bed with a very high fever I have recollections of seeing naked woman on the f/castle, rats with teeth like chisels and I constantly tried to prevent the ship from sinking. It was without doubt the worst illness that I have ever encountered and despite emptying into my stomach every pill and drug inside the medical locker nothing seemed to reduce my excessive symptoms and in-short I feared for my very survival.

Land Ahoy
How we ever got to Singapore I will never know and how we ever managed to berth the ship alongside I know even less. But one day I was shivering in my bed whilst reciting my own last rites and the next we where alongside the jetty and unloading cargo. When I woke up and found that the ship was no longer moving and when I realized that help was at hand I forced myself, with energy that I never knew I still had, into my clothes. I unlocked and un-barricaded my door and proceeded to go ashore - direct to the port Doctors Office to see what he could tell me about my illness.

I never actually made it to see the fine Doctor and I never managed to find out what had assailed me and sent me under in such a bad way. I am just thankful that none of the other crew caught the same disease that I had been inflicted with, that nobody was injured or hurt during my fever days and that I fully recovered without any side effects whatsoever.

In actual fact, whilst I was dragging each foot in a painful manner closer to the clinic I passed by the Port canteen and decided to quench my thirst to aid my continued progress forwards. And strangely enough after a few beers my shakes and sweating vanished and I actually felt like a normal human being once again. I have never liked Doctors and decided that as I felt fine I would not attend on this occasion.

Yes, I certainly do find it strange that the illness vanished at that particular moment but I am not one to question the strange ways of our world. I am just glad that whatever had sent me under brought me back in fighting form.

We left Singapore the next day with a full load, plus more, of beer and spirits and I patched and mended the rungs between myself and the cadet and the Chief Engineer - the last taking more than his fare share of beer on my account to become pacified. And slowly life returned to normal and the days flowed by, always with a well stocked fridge and plenty to spare.

That would never happen again whilst I was in command!