Re-joining A Ship

On completion of studies at the INC, I returned to London. It was the month of December, and the Christmas feeling was setting in.

I had a good Christmas in London with relations and friends. There were parties almost everyday! In February the following year I was informed by the company where I had my onboard training, to be prepared to re-join.   

I left London on the 14th of March 1979, and arrived in Venice after about three hours of flying. On arrival at the Venice Airport, our local agent was there to meet me. After completing arrival formalities, the agent took me to the ship. Prior to leaving, I was made to understand by our London office that most of the officers including the Captain were from the Philippines. It was the first time that I was going to work with them. When I went on board the Captain was not present. Therefore, I reported to the Chief Officer. Fortunately for me the Purser was a Sri Lankan. He had a long name, and hence all officers called him Thanam.

Thanam was very happy to have me on board as he was the only Sri Lankan on that ship prior to my joining. He immediately ordered the Chief Cook to prepare some dinner for us and showed me my cabin. The ship did not have a Second Officer when I joined. The Third Officer had been doing the second officer’s duties while the Cadet had been doing the third officer's duties. Therefore, my cabin was vacant and ready. After a few drinks, Thanam and I had dinner and went to sleep.

In the morning I went up to see the Captain and he was in a very bad mood. He was very rude to me but I remained calm and handed over my appointment letter to him. I immediately understood his attitude and also thought that I was going to have some rough weather, on board, for the next few months. That's a seafarers life!

However, our relationship improved with time, and it was not as bad as I thought. From Venice the ship sailed for Koper in Yugoslavia. On the first night there, the Chief Officer joined Thanam and me to go ashore. Three of us went into a night club and had a good time. Thereafter, Rudolfo T. Nunez, the Chief Officer, became friendly with me and was good company, too.

Photo of the ship

Photos of old port of Venice