WEARFIELD / BENHIANT / CRAMOND / ALEXANDRA / FAIR WIND

BUILT BY AUSTIN PICKERSGILL OF SUNDERLAND IN 1964 AS THE WEARFIELD FOR NORTHERN PETROLEUM TANK SS CO LTD AND MANAGED BY HUNTING & SONS LTD ( OTHER HUNTING & SONS SHIPS WERE AVONFIELD, DERWENTFIELD, GRETAFIELD, TEESFIELD, THAMESFIELD, INVERFIELD AND DALHANNA  TO NAME A FEW )   SHE CHANGED HANDS TO THE NORTHERN PETROLEUM  & BULK FREIGHTERS LTD ( SAME MANAGERS ) SHE WAS  ACQUIRED BY BEN LINE IN 1973 AND RE-NAMED BENHIANT. IN 1974 SHE WAS RE-NAMED CRAMOND.SHE REVERTED BACK TO BENHIANT IN 1977. IN 1978 SHE WAS SOLD TO THE DOVER CIA NAV S.A PANAMA AND RE-NAMED ALEXANDRA.SHE WAS RE-NAMED FAIR WIND IN 1980 AND ON 15TH MARCH 1985, SHE ARRIVED AT A SHANGHAI BREAKERS YARD AND WAS SCRAPPED.  WHEN SHE WAS UNDER THE BRITISH FLAG HER RADIO CALLSIGN WAS ' GNJE '. I SAILED ON THIS VESSEL ON TWO SEPARATE OCCASIONS. MY FIRST TRIP ON HER STARTED IN OCTOBER OF 1974 , I JOINED HER IN DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA SHE HAD COME FROM ROSARIO/RECIFE  IN BRAZIL WITH A CARGO OF WHEAT DESTINED FOR COMMUNIST CHINA, FROM DURBAN WE WENT STRAIT  UP THROUGH THE YELLOW SEA AND INTO THE PO HAI SEA ( BRIEFLY STOPPING AT SINGAPORE FOR STORES AND MAIL ) TO A SMALL PORT AT THE BOTTOM OF THE RIVER FROM TIENTSIN, I'M SURE THE PORT WAS CALLED SOMETHING LIKE TSING KANG, BUT COULD NEVER FIND IT ON A MAP. WE ANCHORED OF FOR QUITE A WHILE BEFORE WE COULD BERTH ( THERE WERE LITERALLY DOZENS UPON DOZENS OF SHIPS LAYING OF THE COAST WAITING TO BE BERTHED ) FROM CHINA WE WENT TO HONG KONG AND THE VESSEL WAS RE-NAMED 'CRAMOND' WITH A CHANGE OF ARTICLES DUE TO THE SHIP NAME CHANGE.  ( THE RADIO OFFICER ONBOARD AT THE TIME OF MY ARRIVAL AT DURBAN  WAS WILF PARKINSON, WHO HAD BEEN AT SEA FOR YEARS AND HAD BEEN AWARDED THE M.B.E , HE HAD BEEN TORPEDOED SEVEN TIMES DURING THE WAR, TWICE ON ONE NIGHT WHEN HIS OWN VESSEL HAD BEEN SUNK, THE VESSEL THAT PICKED HIM AND HIS CREW MATES UP WAS ALSO TORPEDOED ) FROM HONG KONG WE WENT TO WAKAYAMA IN JAPAN FOR A CARGO OF PLYWOOD AND FROM JAPAN TO INCHON, KOREA. WE DEMOLISHED THE LOCK GATES  ON ENTERING INCHON HARBOUR, SO  WE WERE IN PORT FOR A WHILE   UNDER GOING TEMPORARY REPAIRS, WHICH I DIDN'T MIND TO MUCH AS I HAD  FOUND A KOREAN GIRL FRIEND AND SPENT HARDLY ANY TIME ONBOARD CRAMOND WHILE WE WERE AT INCHON. WHEN WE LEFT INCHON WE WENT BACK TO HONG KONG TO DRY DOCK FOR AN OVER HAUL. WE LEFT   DRY-DOCK AFTER A COUPLE OF WEEKS OR SO AND WENT TO A COUPLE OF PORTS IN TOKYO BAY, YOKOHAMA AND ONE OF THE CHIBA'S ( THERE'S TWO PORTS  CALLED CHIBA IN TOKYO BAY ) IN JAPAN FOR A CARGO OF STEEL BARS AND THEN ACROSS THE NORTH PACIFIC TO NANAIMO ON VANCOUVER ISLAND, WHERE I LEFT THE VESSEL AND CAUGHT THE FERRY FROM VANCOUVER ISLAND TO VANCOUVER ON THE MAINLAND AND GOT A FLIGHT BACK TO THE U.K. IT WAS A  BIT EMBARRASING FOR ME AS I HAD TO BORROW THE PRICE OF THE FERRY TICKET FROM THE TUG BOAT GUY WHO HAD FERRIED ME FROM BENHIANT TO THE DCOK, AS I HAD NO CANADIAN MONEY AND THE SHIP'S AGENT HAD NOT TURNED UP AT 5 A.M IN THE MORNING AS HE WAS SUSPOSED TO HAVE DONE TO GIVE ME SOME MONEY AND PUT ME ON THE FERRY. IN MAY OF 1977 I JOINED HER AGAIN, THIS TIME IN AVONMOUTH ( MY HOME PORT I GUESS, AS I LIVED IN BRISTOL AT THE TIME, ONLY A FEW MILES UP THE AVONMOUTH RIVER ) FROM AVONMOUTH WE WENT TO HAMBURG,  AND THEN ACROSS THE NORTH ATLANTIC AND INTO THE ST.LAWRENCE SEAWAY, ALL THE WAY UP TO SUPERIOR, WHICH IS THE PORT OPPOSITE DULUTH, MINNESOTA. HERE WE LOADED SOYA BEANS FOR THE U.K, STOPPING BRIEFLY AT PORT CARTIER, TO TOP THE CARGO UP WHEN WE WERE THROUGH ALL OF THE LOCK GATES. FROM PORT CARTIER IT WAS BACK TO LIVERPOOL, WHERE I LEFT THE VESSEL FOR SOME LEAVE.HER RADIO CALLSIGN WAS 'GNJE 'I REMEMBER THAT THE MAIN TRANSMITTER WAS A MARCONI COMMANDER BUT THE RECEIVER WAS AN ATALANTA WHICH MADE IT DIFFICULT TO DO SSB H.F TELEPHONE LINKS, I COULD NEVER WORK OUT HOW THEY EXPECTED THAT COMBINATION TO REALLY WORK WELL, BUT IT WAS FINE FOR C.W TRAFFIC WHICH WAS THE BULK OF THE WORK ANYWAY.