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A discussion in another thread has promted me to ask a question of everyone.
Have any of you been around the world "both" ways? By that I mean Panama and Suez Canal and Cape of Good Hope and Cape Horn?
I did it back in about 1984. The reason was that I was on one of the OCL Bay boats. A reefer container ship that was on the Europe and Australia/New Zealand run. I did a double header, which was 6 months and 2 weeks, by request as my sister was getting married and I wanted to be at home and the company was obliging.
On the first voyage we went through Suez, and because of a row with the pilots, were put to the back of the convoy. As we were the fastest ship in the convoy it caused us no end of trouble in the transit and for many hours afterwards as we had to overtake eveything. The company had a wappy and decided that the next voyage we would go around the Cape of Good Hope. The return passage on the first trip was via Panama as usual.
On the second voyage we went around the Cape of Good Hope as planned, with a mail stop in Table Bay, and then when we got to New Zealand we loaded 18 Polo ponies in containers on deck. 6 to a container with flat beds in between. We also had containers of feed and a couple of "stable lads" to look after them.
The owners of the polo ponies worked out that the horses would have to be quarantined when they got to the UK because of the Panama Transit. So they worked out the extra cost associated with the company sending the ship via Cape Horn and paid the difference to OCL. Because the ponies came from New Zealand direct to the UK they only had to do 1 month low level quarantine instead of a lot longer.
It was so unusual, even then, that the Captain was the only person on board that had been via Cape Horn on a ship. It was amazing. So much so that the company even looked into the costs of the pilotage to transit the Magellan Straits, but I have a feeling the quarantine people in the UK said we would pass too close to land and so we went right around the Cape.
There was one small footnote to the voyage which backfired on the company.
The lids on top of the hatches that the Horses were positioned on, just aft of the accomodation, did not seal properly. As we were an airblown reefer the hatch under the lid had over 1000 tons of frozen butter in it. Because the hatch covers leaked the hatch was tainted by gallons and gallons of horse pee and when the hatch covers came off the stench was unbelievable. The whole hatch full of butter was condemned and the Insurance Company had to cough for the lot!
The C/O was planning to make us cadets clean the hatch until it was pointed out to him by someone shoreside that it was too much of a job and would take us days to do so a specialist team was called in to clean the whole hatch. (Whoever did that - thank you!)
So has anyone else here been around the world by both Capes?
Ian
Have any of you been around the world "both" ways? By that I mean Panama and Suez Canal and Cape of Good Hope and Cape Horn?
I did it back in about 1984. The reason was that I was on one of the OCL Bay boats. A reefer container ship that was on the Europe and Australia/New Zealand run. I did a double header, which was 6 months and 2 weeks, by request as my sister was getting married and I wanted to be at home and the company was obliging.
On the first voyage we went through Suez, and because of a row with the pilots, were put to the back of the convoy. As we were the fastest ship in the convoy it caused us no end of trouble in the transit and for many hours afterwards as we had to overtake eveything. The company had a wappy and decided that the next voyage we would go around the Cape of Good Hope. The return passage on the first trip was via Panama as usual.
On the second voyage we went around the Cape of Good Hope as planned, with a mail stop in Table Bay, and then when we got to New Zealand we loaded 18 Polo ponies in containers on deck. 6 to a container with flat beds in between. We also had containers of feed and a couple of "stable lads" to look after them.
The owners of the polo ponies worked out that the horses would have to be quarantined when they got to the UK because of the Panama Transit. So they worked out the extra cost associated with the company sending the ship via Cape Horn and paid the difference to OCL. Because the ponies came from New Zealand direct to the UK they only had to do 1 month low level quarantine instead of a lot longer.
It was so unusual, even then, that the Captain was the only person on board that had been via Cape Horn on a ship. It was amazing. So much so that the company even looked into the costs of the pilotage to transit the Magellan Straits, but I have a feeling the quarantine people in the UK said we would pass too close to land and so we went right around the Cape.
There was one small footnote to the voyage which backfired on the company.
The lids on top of the hatches that the Horses were positioned on, just aft of the accomodation, did not seal properly. As we were an airblown reefer the hatch under the lid had over 1000 tons of frozen butter in it. Because the hatch covers leaked the hatch was tainted by gallons and gallons of horse pee and when the hatch covers came off the stench was unbelievable. The whole hatch full of butter was condemned and the Insurance Company had to cough for the lot!
The C/O was planning to make us cadets clean the hatch until it was pointed out to him by someone shoreside that it was too much of a job and would take us days to do so a specialist team was called in to clean the whole hatch. (Whoever did that - thank you!)
So has anyone else here been around the world by both Capes?
Ian
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