Author Interview - John De Silva - Troubled Waters
John de Silva is a master
mariner and Author of Troubled Waters.
Troubled Water
reflects on the highs and lows of the professional seafarer’s life. Troubled
Waters I the story of a voyage that Captain John de Silva undertook with all
its attended vicissitudes and death-defying miseries.
John, thanks so much for granting us this interview.
John
as a start, tell our readers a bit more about yourself? How did you come to
this stage where you decided to put all your experiences down on paper?
I was born in the post independent era of
Ceylon, as Sri Lanka was known then. I come from a Catholic family. My
father worked for the Sri Lanka government and my mother was a housewife. I am
the eldest in the family of three. Both my brother and sister are married and have
families. My father , who was everything to us, passed away in April 1989; my
mother is still living, at 83 years of age.
I had
my secondary education at a leading Catholic school in Colombo, St Joseph’s
College.
I
ventured into seafaring in 1974, and I got married in 1983.
Now I live in New York with my family, wife,
son and daughter. My son works in graphic design, and my daughter studies
medicine at City University of New York. My wife works for Davids Bridal. Now that they are pursuing things they love, I
allowed myself to do the same.
I
used to tell stories of things I experienced on ships and ashore , and also
about some of the people I have met in different parts of the world. Having
listened to my stories, my wife and few of our friends persuaded me to put my
stories on paper. And, I first started to write in 2007.
My
first book was Through Deep Waters
which was published in Sri Lanka in April, 2008. I knew that I could write as I
came under the tutelage and influence of Rev. Father Mercelline Jayakody, a
versatile writer and Sri-Lankan national literary figure. I had my writer’s
baptism under his watchful eyes during my college days. Father Jayakody is now
gone to his eternal rest.
What
made you decide to strive for Captain? How many years did it take in the field
to take up the rank of captain?
My
parents, naturally, had very high hopes for me, I being the eldest in the family.
They expected me to become a medical doctor or some sort of professional. But a
chance meeting with a naval officer and a visit to a ship berthed in
Colombo harbour developed my youthful fascination for seafaring.
The
ship in the photo is the one I visited, the “Lanka Rani.”
I
joined the merchant Navy as a Officer Cadet in 1974. My total time in training
– cadetship-- was three years and three months. At the end of training period I
enrolled in Sir John Cass Nautical College in London and studied there and
passed my Second Mate- Foreign Going Exam. Thereafter I sailed as Second
Officer (Navigating Officer), on various cargo-ships and all of those were
trading on international voyages. I should have entered College in 1981 to study
for my First Mates Exam but there was a delay mainly due to financial reasons.
Finally
I joined Lal Bhadur Shastri Nautical & Engineering College in Mumbai and
studied for my First Mates – Foreign Going exam. I passed the exam in July 1985
and returned to sea. I sailed as the First Mate or Chief Officer, the executive
officer on board and second in command to Master. Thereafter I completed four
years service as Chief Officer on board ships. I joined the Australian Maritime
College in Sydney and graduated as a Master Mariner in 1989. I earned my first
command in June 1990, since then have been commanding merchant ships round
the globe. I am also a marine surveyor and a consultant.
Do
you have set routes you travel?
No. We
do not have set routes. It all depends on the ship’s charterer and the charter.
For
example: the last ship that I commanded was chartered by Safmarine, Belgium. And
the route was between North Europe and West Africa including some off lying
Islands like Las Palmas, Malabo (Equatorial Guinea).
The
vessel I am in command of now is chartered by American President Lines. The
route is between Central American and South American ports on Pacific-side.
Tell
our readers a bit about the dangers you encounter at sea.
The
above photo was taken after a storm, on the following morning when one of my
Officers could go out and by this time the sea and rolling had reduced to a
great extent.
There
are myriad dangerous encounters I have had at sea.
I
will touch on the most recent one. December
7, 2011 became another important day in my Life. It was evening on that day and the weather was
very bad -- very bad indeed. The ship was in the North Sea on a voyage from Aberdeen,
Scotland to Lisbon, Portugal.
The ship
was going through a storm. In this condition of heavy sea a swell was on the
beam of the ship and the ship was rolling heavily and violently at times. At
that time the swell height ranged from 20 to 25 metres. Unfortunately, at this
time no adjustment of our course was possible due to the presence of numerous
oil rigs on one side and underlying dangers such as reefs and shallow water on
the other side. And once the vessel was on the trough between two waves the
main engine stopped. What a precarious situation it was!!!
I looked at the next wave that was coming toward
the ship which was in dead condition, and thought, Oh NO SURVIVAL!!! Because I
knew the ship could not ride the wave in that condition, and capsizing was
imminent.
My
immediate thought was about my wife and children and about other sixteen people
on board and their families. What a way to die! When in the water of sub zero
temperatures there was no chance of survival without thermal protection. There
was no time for that anyway.
I
prayed silently and asked God, Is this your final call for all of us on board? Still
looking at the wave I thought of the hymn, “Nearer my God to Thee....” and
turned toward my first Mate who was standing in front of the radar. I am sure
he was also staring at the wave. He then turned toward me in the dim light of
the radar and said, “Good bye, Sir. It was great...” and suddenly he got very
busy with responding to Main Engine control orders from the Engine room.
We
believed that God’s hand came in and started the Main engine. Later we found It
was our Electrical Engineer who had started the main engines. And, that is how
God works, I think. The Chief Engineer was injured – he suffered a head injury following
a nasty fall in the engine room due to heavy rolling.
As
the engine started the ship rode the wave taking a very dangerous roll. But we
were
saved. Thank God!
I
suggest you see the film The Poseidon
Adventure which dramatizes what I experienced—though there were no
survivors on that ship.
For
your information, the ship on which we had this precarious experience was 143
metres long and was about 12,500 tonnes.
Is
the book – Troubled Waters the only book
readers can expect or are there more to come?
No.
My next book will be ready in few months. It is also based on seafarers and
seafaring. I am planning to re-publish that with Story Merchant Books. The one
that I am writing now is of a different genre. I’m also planning to do a
Romance, too. And no doubt more than one more based on seafaring.
Tell our readers a bit more about what they
could expect from your book.
I
have never been an 8 to 5 person. Then is this the reason I decided to quit a
good shore job – a very good job, actually, and return to sea. In other words
when I am on dry land and my life is flowing smoothly, that is when I long for
the wide open spaces of the ocean, the life of a seafarer.
How
I paved my way to a job at sea.
Then
all the experiences – bad ones: Collision to mutiny.
And
so begins an almost picaresque voyage up the coast of West Africa, where almost
everything that can go wrong does. From a plague of cockroaches onboard, to the
seasick chef who can’t cook, and the assistant cook who won’t cook.
The
crew themselves are mostly from Myanmar, silent but deadly. Then there is the
Sri Lankan, second engineer, Wije, whose work is appalling but whose cooking is
sublime, whose crowning achievement
during un-berthing of the ship at port of Matadi, Congo, is the attempted
murder of the Chief Engineer.
But
the ship’s management refuses to get rid of him, and it says much for the
Captain’s generosity of spirit that on Wije’s last night he takes him out for a
slap-up dinner and a night in town, the port of Dar-Es- Salaam.
Then
there is Reema, a Tanzanian born Indian girl who gets pregnant and is
subsequently abandoned by her Tanzanian boy friend, and is forced into lifetime
of prostitution. The Captain
goes
to meet Reema’s estranged parents, and against the wishes of her aggressive
brother manages to persuade them to take their daughter back.
The
villain through the whole book is the ship’s management, which unaccountably
fails to answer messages when the needs of the ship are at their greatest.
Add
to this the stowaway who creeps onto the ship and needs to be disembark.
From
your blog I have noticed that you show a lot of interest in ancient Navigation
– can you elaborate a bit more on some of the history and your favourites.
When
I started my sea career there were Electronic Navigation aids such as Decca and
Loran already in existence and were fitted in some ships. This is in addition
to Radar and Directional Finder (DF).
But
none of the ships that I sailed on during my first few years of sea faring were
fitted with Decca or Loran. Then the Satellite Navigator was introduced. But I
never had the luxury of that either. For me it was navigating with the aid of
Celestial objects when in open ocean, terrestrial objects near the coast, and older
electronic aids such as Radar and DF.
Let
me tell you briefly about navigation. Navigation is to take a ship:
In
the safest
the
shortest
and
the most economical route.
So,
we use celestial objects--sun. moon, stars, and planets--to obtain the ship’s
position whenever possible.
My
favourite was obtaining the ship’s position in the morning and in the evening
by taking the angle of few stars which are perpendicular or nearly
perpendicular to each other. Also watched the Southern Cross and Pole Star
whenever possible.
During
the days of sailing vessels, the old navigators also used the magnetic compass
and celestial objects as navigational aids, especially for ocean crossings. On
a day with clear skies, after sun set, a ship heading North would take the Pole
Star as reference and heading South would take the Southern Cross as reference
or guiding mark.
Then
there is the sun rise and sun set to find East and West.
Let
me introduce briefly some historical mariners who have made invaluable
contributions by their marine products-navigational aids:
Admiral
Zheng’s most important technology was the compass. Chinese scientists knew as
early as the third century AD that iron ore, called magnetite, aligned itself
in a North/South position.
Then
the marine chronometer designed at sea by Yorkshire born clock maker John
Harrison. Until the 18th century there were no clocks that could
accurately keep time at sea-the rolling waves, changes in temperature and
humidity played havoc with inner working any mechanical timepiece.
And,
it says that John Harrison’s product was critical to the success of Captain
Cook.
The
compass, marine chronometer and sextant was all that old navigators had at
hand, and they used them well.
The
sextant had been invented by Thomas Godfrey in 1731. The first marine sextant
had been built by Jesse Ramsden of London, England, in 1795.
What
hobbies do you have besides writing? I’m sure days out on sea can get fairly
boring and even I know that there is a time where one just can’t write.
I
read and read as much as possible about shipping, especially the material
relevant to safety and new inventions. Then, I also read romance stories,
because I am hoping to do one.
In
the evening, that is after about 4 PM, I do write and after that I watch video
films and/or listen to music. I love
country music.
My
third officer who is also in charge of entertainment, arranges parties to
celebrate birthdays of Officers and Ratings, farewell parties and welcome
parties.
Celebrating
my birthday on the ship “Safmarine Longa” on 18th December, 2011.
Standing behind me is our Chief Cook.
Yes
the days can get boring but we should not allow that to happen. I plan my day
in such a way that I am very busy the whole day.
The
Masters who did not get this part right ended up as alcoholics or one way or
the other a nuisance to all others on board.
How
did you start the book? Did you plan it out or did the words simply appear as
you went along?
I
was very guilty for something that I did: quitting a good shore-job that I had
and leaving the family and proceeding to sea by taking up a job at sea.
I
lied to my boss where I worked shore to quit the job, and my family was very
unhappy about my leaving them and going out to sea on my own. It was not
necessary, at all. Above all, I got a message: a word of knowledge from God at
a prayer meeting that, “It is not his decision and for me to read scriptures.”
Whenever
I read scriptures the message I got was: A man who has riches without
understanding is like beasts that perish. Psalm 48:20
I
still took the job and went join the ship. Troubled
Waters is all about what happened thereafter.
Yes.
I had a few short notes. But most of the time words just appeared.
Where
can people read your work and stay in contact?
The
book Troubled Waters is available in following places:
Kindle
store ebooks – on line
Amazon.com
– on line & Amazon digital services
Barnes
& Nobles paper back copy.
More
information from my blog and Facebook page:
http://captainjohndesilva.blogspot.com/2012/05/captains-diary_2.html
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Troubled-Waters/301488699934966#
Webste:captainswriting.com
sfgdjohn@hotmail.com
Any
inspirational words for aspiring authors?
They
must have a plan. Know the genre very well and know your audience, know
thyself.
The
thought you need to write is sometime not there when you need it but you may
have thoughts pouring in when you travel -- when you are in the subway. Keep a
notebook handy all the time and jot down what comes to your mind as soon as you
get an opportunity.
Write
on a schedule, separate your work from your life, be tenacious and don’t quit.
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