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MORE ON "THE LAST SURVIVORS" BY "PONY" MORE trades with cross sea rolling like hell. I suggested to the skipper that I could make our life better if we employed the sail. His report was "whose Navy did I think I was in?" We caught a couple of good broaches. Then order was quickly given to set sail. Set from mast aft, to the weather quarter made for a 100 percent better situation. Day Two: Saw engineer suffering chronic sea-sickness and the call went out to our escort for a transfer "of body" before he went cold. With a four metre swell running, the ship stopped, we came in downwind alongside Kaniere rolling decks under, we were lucky to not get caught in bilge keels, next moment we were level with the deck, the body trussed up on a makeshift stretcher. He was hurried on the Kaniere's deck. Not our problem an anymore. a "fanny" To leave, our coxswain the late Fred transfer at se nd, Kaniere Viti to Auckla the cook on H Hanson's only option was to power t pasties from od for three days. with ho – last hot fo t aft n the last issue of this magazine a alongside, get the bow hard starboard. Note: Sail se there was a story on Harbour S Ship rises, crashes down on ML's bridge Defense Motor Launches ("The d demolishing most of the superstructure Last Survivors" Professional w were on our beam ends with water we Skipper March/April page 30), I can pouring on board, but managed to get hopefully fill in a gap or two. free. Nobody was hurt, everybody still HMS Viti and another were wrecked on board, cleared away timber, I was off Te Kumua Harbour in the late 50s. demoted to engineer. In 1957 Viti was to be returned to the e Day Three: Saw us no being able to cook – the Primus suffering not New Zealand Navy, a crew of Fijians started south and foundered from the swim. Arranged for a transfer of hot food, the port engine off Cape Washington, the crew abandoning ship – all were rescued. was running rough. A week later she was found submerged and towed back to Suva. Day Four: Saw the engine running rougher, using a gallon of Being "Queen's property" she was hauled up at Government oil every three hours. A "bucket brigade" was required to bail out slipway and Ministry of Works had the job to make it seaworthy excess water throughout the boat. We were steering from inside the which meant shaking out "Toredo" worms which had stopped wheel house. holding hands in the hull. A semi overhaul of GMs including the Day Five: Out of lube oil and bailing out the sump and two cylinder Coventry Victor Twin opposed diesel engine driving re-injecting it into the engine now down on two cylinders running the bilge pump system. rough. Also the outside sea state was equally as rough. Need to Now this is my part of the story. We were on a last visit pump diesel from the aft deck 44 gallon drums into the main tanks of Governor General's cruise of Cook Islands to Suva. I was – not easy – should be enough to get us to Auckland. "volunteered" by our electrical commander (for reasons you don't Day Six: Port engine dies, not to be revived. 70 miles from need to know) to be part of the delivery crew to Auckland. Before Auckland we get a radio message to proceed to east of Great we left for the slipway I borrowed a whalers try sail, having done Barrier for exercises with other naval vessels. Cockroaches have some miles in these craft, hoping to use it to stop rolling. Seven eaten the last of our bread. Bully Beef, a can each, was our daily others from the Lock Class frigate Kaniere, including a lieutenant fare. On telling the skipper the good news, I was given the order (what he'd done to deserve this, who knows) as skipper. to "decommission" the radio, cleverly done! We then set course A quick trial run with engines, slip workers still joining up wires, for Auckland. we fuelled up, got food on board and with a full compliment of Limping into the naval base on one engine, we tied up to the copra cockroaches we sailed for New Zealand. ML pontoon base for HDMLs. We were told straight away to Our engineer was having trouble with water in the fuel system go back to our ships. Doing this we were stopped going through and the only way to get the bilge pump engine to go was to wind dockyard by some "ponsy" naval officer and were reprimanded cotton waste on a screw driver soaked in diesel and light it and then for having dirty work clothes. That night I walked straight into a start winding the handle, applying fire to air intakes. Sometimes it night watch – an hour off, a day on, not on your nellie. As for the would fire, most times not, in the heat of engine room it was easy skipper, forgot his name, turned out he was a good bloke, never to forget and concentrate on the not so smooth running GMs. These seen or heard of him again. were in a pitiful state and were a credit to GM that they even went Now the boat was hauled up on slip, condemned, chain-sawed up at all after the dunking they had been given. and taken to land fill in Ngaturinga Bay, including the engines. Day One: We took off following Kaniere into 35 knot south east So, that was the last voyage of HMS Viti. HMS Viti ex-Fiji Navy 1957 on passage to Auckland, the day before disembarking the "engineer" to Kaniere. No damage to bridge yet, note tow line rig I 58 Professional Skipper May/June 2013