Blue Star Logbook

Stephen Harrison Deck Cadet - Rocky 1973- Doncaster
Jim Massey CEE "
Jim ( Doddy) Harrington 5/E " British West Hartlepool

Barry Mcardle CEE, - Welly boot '74
Dave Coles CRE - Welsh, moved to New Plymouth "
Paul Rewcastle J/ eng -3/Eng " Believed sailed on Welly 2 also.

Dave Geekie 3/E Dundee area I believe - America Star
Trevor Horne CEE Scarborough area originally "
Dennis Smith Engineer - York - served his time BR workshops "

A few of us get together for a ad hoc reunion south of Sunderland every year, if it comes off it will be the 4th this year, virus permitting. Just a duty mess lunch, a beer or two and swing the lamp. Normally October/ November tba, not tfa.

Happy to report Captain Stephen Harrison made contact with me. Long way and time from Deck Cadet in 1973.
Thanks JimB for passing it through.

Reading Ricks Tales , he eventually gets to the Halifax Star up at the Shat-el-Arab
(they certainly named that place right), and his story was starting to sound familiar.
I joined the Halifax whilst at anchor, with Rolly Coult C/Eng, Graham Wilson, 2/E, Mike Santi CRE, Harry Eastham Lecky. Graham & Harry were a bit late checking in at LHR and their luggage never arrived ( until we went alongside 6 weeks later).
I believe they had to pay off the Mate due to illness so everybody was given a battlefield promotion. The 2nd Mate only had his Mates, old Donald (horlixs he would say or something similar to every question) liked his whiskey being a Scotsman, was suffering from Cirrosis of the Liver as was the Sparkie (beer pre-lunch cocktail, whiskey in the afternoon and rusty nails ( whiskey & Drambui) after 6 pm.
So yes I sailed with Rick, but cannot remember him unfortunately, he seemed quite a lad in his younger days reading his blog. I was 5/E at the time. 3/E was John Frost an Aussie who got a bit more than he bargained for when going ashore off Davao, having to be on softees for a week or two. We did stop at Singapore Eastbound for a few days for bunkers, CocoCola girls and to have a turbocharger rotor replaced as from the Gulf it was shaking to bits being out of balance. There was permanent snow falling from the asbestos lagging.
Ricks account brings things back with the added Duty Mess descriptions.
I may have recalled that voyage earlier. After discharge of bananas in KrShah it was down to PE for apples then UK discharge.