Page 193 - Michael Frost-Voyages to Maturity-23531.indd

The mate, Peter Love, was a charming man, who subsequently became the
company’s Marine Superintendent. I never heard a bad word spoken about him,
and probably would not have believed it if I had. Next down in seniority was
Malcolm Rushan, the thoroughly professional Navigator, as on the albescent
Oriana, whom I increasingly felt was under-employed; a natural commander,
calm and competent, he could organise people and things, and would probably
take easily to a corporate executive job ashore.

The 1st mate, John Christey, was an amiable though high-strung man (with
whom, as 3rd mate, I would be keeping the twelve to four), but who, despite
his competence, was permanently on edge about everything with which he was
concerned; he was the finest ulcer candidate that I had ever met, ashore or on a
ship. He was happily married, without a roving eye, and, I believe, had a young
and revered daughter. I could hardly have asked for a better companion with
whom I could expect to spend nearly 70 hours a week in close proximity. His
cabin as next to mine, two decks below the bridge.

The 2nd mate was an altogether different type. Pocock was aptly named,
but better would have been ‘Peacock’. As handsome as the Captain was plain,
this boy/man strutted his stuff in the full awareness of his grandeur, and he
regarded any attractive woman as meat for his grinder. It irked me that he
seemed to have the pick of any girl that he liked, regardless of the fact that to
me he was completely transparent.

By this time, I was happy not to be at the bottom of the tree, the two 4th
mates (Woollard and Tadman) being good fellows with whom it would likely be
a pleasure to sail. I knew that the trip that we were to undertake, much the same
as Oriana’s round-the-world voyage, would inevitably throw up a few challenges,
and this somewhat variegated group was likely to be able to manage without
trouble anything thrown at it.
After we sailed from Southampton, I was apprised of some of the
characteristics of the ship. Because there was more aluminium in the structure
than was the norm, it was supposedly the tallest passenger ship in the world,
but some of its features were less notable. Firstly, it had some difficulty in
maintaining the twenty-seven knots that Oriana had maintained without
effort, and secondly, because the engines were in the stern, she operated, unless
carefully trimmed, by the stern and at a draught greater than specified. She also
had cameras at the stern for aft visibility from the bridge; they never worked
after the maiden voyage. Additionally, there was a sophisticated anchor cable
isotope mechanism whereby the bridge could without watching the cable exit
the hawse-pipe know how much cable had been let out. A neat idea, but I was
told that it had never worked, even on the maiden voyage. Lastly, if the wind
was blowing from bow to stern, smoke would ever land on the passenger decks;

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