Author:
Leighton Yeo (Remeniscent)
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Date Posted: 04:56:26 04/22/10 Thu
Uganda was a beautiful ship, a triumph of British shipbuilding. I had the splendid opportunity of two voyages on her in the early months of 1984, the first Ascension - Stanley as a passenger & the second, working as a Royal Army Educational Corps Instructor Officer running an NCOs promotion exam preparation course on the return journey north. My accommodation, a single cabin in what used to be first class, was very confortabl - a little cramped - but I was not complaining. The state rooms, the library & the dining room with its splendid fresco of the port of London in the 18th Century were superb. The P&O crew could not have been more helpful & sunshine & blue seas made it feel like a holiday cruise.
Disembarking at Stanley, jumping 6 feet on to a moving mexefloat with all my kit was challenging but everything remained intact. Feeding bread rolls to the trigger fish at Ascension was another experience - can you imagine the sea boiling with those beasties? Plastic bags & bottles in the sea 1500 miles from the nearest land is an unfortunate memory but Uganda's 30 year old British built engines & hull kept us sailing through with only the barest perception of rocking by waves.
Instructing over, the return south to Stanley by RAF Hercules on a mail & cargo flight was also something to remember. It involved mid-air refuelling which can have 3 results -
1. it works;
2. a diversion to Montevideo to find out all about customs restrictions & South American food; or
3. seeing if a Herc can float.
Fortunately, the RAF crew got it absolutely right but the tangible tension on the flight deck during refuelling suggested that it was not a foregone conclusion, not quite like pulling into Watford Gap services. Landing at Stanley Airfield was also something not to be forgotten. I hadn't experienced such a steep angle of descent since I was a 9 year old on the Barry Island roller coaster. I have not always been very kind about the "Crabs" but those chaps did very well that day.
In contrast to my experience on Uganda, my final voyage home back to Berkshire via Ascension on MV Keren, formerly a North Sea ferry was, quite frankly, miserable.
Ashley, thank you for giving a sad old git the oppurtunity to witter about his limited nautical experiences. Uganda was the finest of ships & should have been preserved to teach our young boys & girls about how things should be built & run.
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