1972 - 1984 | The Voyage to Milford Haven

NOTE: Some of this is identical to what is written on Wikipedia, as both were written by the author of this website, stardust5980 (aka celesteshipping5980). 

NOTE TWO: Huge thanks to Kenneth Kennedy and Kerry Kennedy for providing Kenneth's book 'ALL AT SEA' which provides almost all of the information on this page.

The Voyage to Milford Haven

- Come Tuesday, March 22nd, 1977, they set sail at two o' clock. The departure was not watched by many, as the information wasn't publicly known. The weather was good for March, heading down the firth for Toward Point at about six knots. Come 4:30 PM they had passed the Cumbries, the island of Ailsa Craig visible far ahead. Darkness had fallen by the time they had put Aisla Craig behind them, but they could already see their next guiding light at Corsewall Point. Visibility grew poor, and as there were a lot of ships in the area, mainly fishing boats, a sharp lookout was necessary. They eventually came to Black Head light, heading down the Wigton peninsula. Heavy seas eventually came from the east as they cleared the Mull of Galloway, causing the ship to roll so badly that the largest foresail was launched to steady her. Many things were thrown about, including a seven-ton jar of jam which smashed against the floor, its contents going everywhere. Alec had the jar put back in a tin, and with that, they continued onwards. At 8 o'clock they sighted the Isle of Man to the east, and come nightfall they passed the Calf of Man lighthouse. Tiredness crept up on them all, so they each took short naps one at a time. After eating, Kenneth fell sick, and upon retiring and giving control of the wheel to Alec he hung over the after rail, watching the propeller whirring as the ship crawled on towards its destination. He 'cursed the BBC soundly, as he had lost his tea'.[1]

Later he would return to the wheel and had Alec wake Mike to fill the header tank with diesel. They were steering a compass course at this point due to how poor visibility was, and expecting to see 180 degrees in the binnacle he instead found zero. Alec had chased the needle, and as a result of not being used to steering by compass, he set the ship on a course back home. By the time Mike was awake Kenneth had fixed the error and put the ship back on course, and by 4 AM they passed South Stack light. Anglesey was behind them by breakfast time on Thursday and they were crossing Cardigan Bay. Visibility was rendered to about a mile, so they steered a course of 190 degrees to avoid the bay. By now the whole crew was exhausted, but they had no other choice but to keep going. Following ships, they were now well in the Irish Sea, and by 3 AM they could see Stack Light on Stokholm Island, but progress was at a snail's pace.[1]

To everyone's bad luck, the generator failed due to the lever keeping the valve lifter from shutting the engine off being dislodged by the rough motions of the ship as it was handled by the heavy seas, plunging the ship in total darkness. Mike took a torch with him as he headed for the Lister generator. At the same time, Kenneth called for Alec, who was asleep, to light a lamp on the stern. Fortunately, the generator was back on within a few minutes, and light was restored to the ship. Dawn was breaking once more as they sighted Ann's Head, rounding the head by 8 o'clock. They had entered sheltered waters at the right time, narrowly missing a southerly gale. Half an hour after they dropped anchor in Dale Roads, signaling for a pilot to come aboard. They hoisted a signal flag for this as they had no radio. After an hour of rest, they were awakened as a pilot cutter came up alongside, and they were led upriver to a mooring buoy where they would have to wait for full tide. Now secure, they all retired for some well-earned rest. In late afternoon the cutter was back and they were escorted into Milford Dock, tying up at the fish wharf. This meant the end of their journey, having arrived two days early. Those two days were used purely for sleeping and eating, which arguably wasn't enough for what amounted to a sixty-hour voyage with very little sleep. Mike left the group on Sunday as he had duties to attend to back home. Using a bargain car as transport, it took him three days to return home.[1]

References

1.  Kennedy, Kenneth M. (1985). All At Sea. Retrieved 2023-12-16.