Voyage from Bombay to Avonmouth

                                                        Part of Avonmouth dock

Bombay to Avonmouth through the Suez Canal was a long voyage. It took nearly three weeks for us to reach Avonmouth. During the voyage we experienced very bad weather in the Bay of Biscay. Apart from that, the railing on the forward deck came off the welded joints. Dockers in Avonmouth refused to believe that it was due to bad weather. The ship arrived in Avonmouth on the 22nd of December. It was my very first visit to England. We received our mail on arrival. There was some good and some bad news for me. The good news was that my father had been promoted to the position of the Deputy Head of his department and my brother had joined the Hotel school. The sad news was that mother's eldest brother had passed away of cerebral malaria.

The Christmas feeling had already set in Avonmouth. The nearest big city to the port was Bristol. We received our salary in English pounds. We were all paid two months’ salary by the Purser on the Captain’s instructions. Peter and I went shopping and I bought a suit for myself. It was terribly cold there. On the morning of the 24th the Captain told me that he and the Chief Engineer were going to their homes to spend Christmas with the family. There was no work in the port on the 25th, 26th and on the 27th, being Sunday. On the 24th evening, Peter invited me to go to London to spend Christmas with his friends. I obtained permission from the Captain and joined Peter. We left the ship around 3.00 p.m. on the 24th. We were brought to Bristol station by the Stevedores Foreman who was attending on our ship. I was enjoying every bit of it. As for Peter he had lived and studied in England. That was where he had got married to his South American wife. They had later moved to Sri Lanka.

We arrived at the Bristol station and bought two tickets for Paddington in London and boarded the Inter City Express train, from Bristol to London. Peter was already in the Christmas mood and wanted to go to the bar in the train. We went into the bar and were there until the train arrived in London. All what I remember was that it did not take very long to get to London. It was a very comfortable train ride.

Suez Canal

The Suez Canal located in Egypt, is a 101 mile (163 km) long canal that connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Gulf of Suez, a northern branch of the Red Sea. It officially opened in November 1869.

Suez Canal Construction History

Although the Suez Canal wasn't officially completed until 1869, there is a long history of interest in connecting both the Nile River in Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea. It is believed that the first canal in the area was constructed between the Nile River delta and the Red Sea in the 13th Century B.C.E. During the 1,000 years following its construction, the original canal was neglected and its use finally stopped in the 8th Century.

The first modern attempts to build a canal came in the late 1700s when Napoleon Bonaparte conducted an expedition to Egypt. He believed that building a French controlled canal on the Isthmus of Suez would cause trade problems for the British as they would either have to pay dues to France or continue sending goods over land or around the southern part of Africa.

Studies for Napoleon's canal plan began in 1799 but a miscalculation in measurement showed the sea levels between the Mediterranean and the Red Seas as being too different for a canal to be feasible and construction immediately stopped.

The next attempt to build a canal in the area occurred in the mid-1800s when a French diplomat and engineer, Ferdinand de Lesseps, convinced the Egyptian viceroy Said Pasha to support the building of a canal. In 1858, the Universal Suez Ship Canal Company was formed and given the right to begin construction of the canal and operate it for 99 years, after which time, the Egyptian government would take over control of the canal.

Promoted to Second Officer

In mid-November 1976, our ship was called at Bombay and loaded cargo for Avon mouth and Rotterdam. To load the full ship, it took about three weeks. Just two days prior to sailing, Nevis our second Officer had some bad news from home and wanted to sign off.

The problem was to find his replacement. Finally, The Marine Superintendent met me in the presence of our Captain and asked if I could handle the Second Officer’s job for one voyage. That was to Europe and back. I said "Yes". He asked me a few questions and decided to promote me to 'Acting Second Officer.' The Captain told me not to worry, that he would help me. From there onwards, until I signed off, I was the Second Officer on that ship.

                                                            John Priyantha De Silva

Transferred to Another Ship

The Regent Reliance, from early 1975 became a regular caller at Bombay. I liked it and I was sure the others did too. Around the 23rd of July the ship arrived in Bombay from Aqaba in Jordan. During this voyage we experienced very bad weather in the Arabian sea due to South West monsoons. Soon after arrival, the Second Officer, Nevis Caxton and I were informed that we had to fly to Colombo the following day to join another ship of the Company.

It was very good news for me. Getting an opportunity to come back home, after about five months. I sent a cable to my father, informing him of our arrival.

Nevis spent most of his time with us at home and only went to the hotel to sleep.  We joined the "Regent Liberty" (later the name was changed to "Climax Ruby") in Colombo on the 29th of July 1975. "Climax Ruby" is on a voyage from Bombay to Avon mouth In Bristol, England

                                            "Climax Ruby" transiting the Suez canal