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I was horrified when joining instructions arrived for my fifth ship to discover that I was going to be back on the Irish Wasa, a ship held together by rust. There had been many adventures and a good ‘crowd’ during my first trip on the Irish Wasa in 1974. Fortunately, there was also a good crowd during my second trip, as mentioned in my previous post, with one or two notable exceptions!

Back on the rust bucket! mv Irish Wasa somewhere in the North Atlantic – 1975

Another morale booster on the Irish Wasa was that although we visited some run of the mill ports where shore leave was either undesirable or impossible, we also ended up off the beaten track. During my five-and-a-half month trip we clocked up twenty ports. The boring included Dunkirk, Antwerp, and Dagenham, where we discharged iron ore at Ford (the motor manufacturer). Then there were the more regular iron ore ports such as Amsterdam and Koverhar (Finland).

mv Irish Wasa – loading iron ore in El Ferrol, Spain. Nov 1975

Next there were the unusual ports including Gdansk in Poland (loading sulphur over Christmas) Malm (a jetty miles up a Norwegian fjord), Odda (a proper dock miles up a different Norwegian fjord), Storugns (a port on the Baltic island of Gotland), and La Pallice in France. The Irish Wasa also ended up in some ‘exotic’ locations with visits to Melilla (a Spanish enclave in Morocco), El Ferrol in Spain, Dakar in Senegal, and Takoradi in Ghana, were we spent two weeks alongside.

mv Irish Wasa after a lick of paint – Takoradi, Ghana March 1976

Takoradi was a very interesting place. I have fond memories of the seamen’s mission there, especially the padre’s wife who had a wonderful sense of humour, much of it directed at Takoradi. She showed me how to fold a local banknote so that it read 1 Banana (contraction of Bank of Ghana). Then there was the open-air disco on top of a local hotel where locals danced under the stars.

mv Irish Wasa – iced in. Botwood, Newfoundland, January 1976

While I enjoyed Takoradi the one port I will never forget is Botwood in Newfoundland. We were there from 15-19 January 1976. The Irish Wasa was escorted in and out of port by a Canadian Coastguard icebreaker, CCGS John Cabot. As I recall the Irish Wasa was the last ship to load in Botwood that winter because of the ice. I had been in ice before but not like this. After experiencing a significant storm that caused a lot of damage to the Irish Wasa before arriving at Botwood most people were relieved that the ship was lying quietly alongside instead of violently pitching and rolling while hove-to in the storm.

Botwood, viewed from the port side bridge wing of the mv Irish Wasa – January 1976.

Botwood was much more to us than a well-earned rest after the storm. This friendly little town seemed to welcome us with open arms. And for three young deck cadets the discovery that young women significantly outnumbered young men in Botwood added to our enjoyment of the town, despite the cold! It was good to have good company even for a few days. Thank you Botwood. 

Odda, Norway. A rusty Irish Wasa discharging the cargo we loaded in Botwood. January 1976

While Botwood and other places remain fixed in my memory, none of them were home. Having travelled for most of my working life I know that there is no place quite like home. Except that even home isn’t home, just a temporary residence. I’m looking forward to the eternal home Jesus promised to all who follow Him. Will I still remember my earthly home and places like Takoradi and Botwood? I don’t believe that my earthly memories will be that important. Unlike now I will have no need to reminisce. Until then I hold onto the words of Jesus to His disciples:

Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. John 14:1-3