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The "Right Let's Do This Properly" Round the World Club, what!


SeanG

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6 hours ago, DaveLTB said:

Sean I love your diary - definitely something different to flying.

That ship of yours sure travels fast.

But I suppose that called "doing it properly" B)

 

Dave Britzius

(Cape Town)

Hey Dave!   Yes, the Leanders do move quickly, making an honest 21 Knots, just not for as long as I have...  The old girl needs a wee rest from time to time, with a more normal cruising speed in the 14-18 knot range :)  I just in rather a hurry, so we are pushing the steam turbines this time out!

 

Shame we won't be passing by your part of the world on this trip....  It's nice rounding the Cape by sea!

 

SeanG

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I did my two cents worth of helping you do this even more  properly :cheers_s: by alighting my Catalina next to your ship in the Arabian Sea and delivering a couple of crates of posh Prague beer, I appreciate the return gift of Canterbury Ale that you so generously provided. Please see my latest post for pictures of this exchange. Best wishes.

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3 hours ago, kalizzi said:

I did my two cents worth of helping you do this even more  properly :cheers_s: by alighting my Catalina next to your ship in the Arabian Sea and delivering a couple of crates of posh Prague beer, I appreciate the return gift of Canterbury Ale that you so generously provided. Please see my latest post for pictures of this exchange. Best wishes.

 

Mercy Flight low-pass

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Transfer in progress...

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Now to drink some lovely Beer!   Hope you enjoy the Canterbury Draught!

 

See you in Bombay!

 

SeanG

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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On 10/14/2017 at 5:29 PM, harrry said:

I see there is a pilot who believes in "No more than 12 hours between bottle and throttle."  Cheers.

 

You keep throwing this "pilot" word around.... by jove, I'm no pilot!  I'm merely a spectator old chap, I have "people" to look after the tiresome bother of navigating and aviating!

 

Chin Chin!

 

SeanG

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17 minutes ago, SeanG said:

 

You keep throwing this "pilot" word around.... by jove, I'm no pilot!  I'm merely a spectator old chap, I have "people" to look after the tiresome bother of navigating and aviating!

 

Chin Chin!

 

SeanG

so you are one of these:

an individual that is an expert at getting something from those around him/her for free. Usually obtains free drinks, drugs, money, a free meal... Just as a pilot fish attaches itself to a shark for a free ride.
Sure I'll buy this round. 
 
pass that bottle over please....thursty work all this typing.....
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Indeed!  That sounds like a fair appraisal of my... err...  "Position" in this venture ;-)   And what would you prefer, red or white?

 

SeanG

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On 14. Oktober 2017 at 03:49, SeanG sagte:

 

Mercy Flight low-pass

 

Transfer in progress...

 

Now to drink some lovely Beer!   Hope you enjoy the Canterbury Draught!

 

See you in Bombay!

 

SeanG

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fantastic! 

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7 hours ago, PeSt said:

Fantastic! 

Why thank you, but alas I can't take all the credit... the first photo was shot by my esteemed photographer, (and son) Nathan... who is 6 years old!  And what makes that shot all the more remarkable... he had to hold 3 keys on the keyboard at once to get the view right!

 

SeanG

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Final day at sea dawned, foggy and a little bit of a chill!

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Expected arrival in Bombay is around 6 hours time, well ahead of schedule!  Once we get into Bombay, the ship will be re-provisioned then will head the long way around to Calcutta to meet us for the leg to Hong Kong.   As the plan goes, that's it... we haven't yet confirmed our passage across India, but as we have a few days before we need to leave I am sure we can negotiate something suitable!

 

See you all in Bombay, may even take in a show Kalizzi?   ;-)

 

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SeanG

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Land at last!  India finally revealed itself from behind a veil of fog this afternoon as we crept up on our anchorage.  Lookouts posted, and the radar screens scrutinized by watchful eyes as we threaded our way carefully through the multitude of coastal vessels on our approach to the Harbor.

Sadly, as we had arrived early we are still aboard awaiting the arrival of the Indian Customs chaps.

 

Later this afternoon we bid farewell to the captain and crew of Canterbury, as we now make our way into the city, and our quest for a passage across the subcontinent.  Our "Fixer" Mr. Jerimiah Weed (of New England no less!) has promised to have our conveyance arranged by the time we arrive, but I have my doubts!  Time, as they say, will tell.

Tonight we shall be at The Oberoi in the city if any weary travelers wish to join us for a drink.  May I suggest a Gin and Tonic, perhaps with Bombay Sapphire? 

 

Tomorrow is another day, and another adventure!

 

SeanG

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Good grief... You sailed to India before I could fly there...

I'll only make it by Wednesday...

 

That last Pic for sailing into Bombay really catches the right atmosphere somehow.

 

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10 hours ago, robertorizzo said:

Breitling 2 is scheduled to reach Bombay in a few hours: see you in Oberoi.

Right, I'll get the first round in then!   What will it be good sir?

 

9 hours ago, DaveLTB said:

Good grief... You sailed to India before I could fly there...

I'll only make it by Wednesday...

 

That last Pic for sailing into Bombay really catches the right atmosphere somehow.

 

 

Tortoise and the Hare?  ;-)   And I agree, sailing into the harbour at 30º/90% Humidity, hazy.... you could almost feel the sticky heat.. and it just felt "right"  :)

 

See you for a drink on Wednesday then?

 

SeanG

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A quick transfer from the Ship and we are ready to explore India!  Still no sign of Mr. Weed...   I have a terrible feeling we may have to sort our own transport across to Calcutta!

 

SeanG

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While we are lazing about in Bombay, seeing the sights, and enjoying our time on dry land, the lads aboard the Canterbury have made good time heading around the sub-continent and are well on their way to meeting us in Calcutta...  Assuming, that is, that Mr. Weed *ever* actually materialises with some acceptable form of transport!  I don't fancy riding a bicycle all the way!

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Offers from other participants in this adventure to give us a ride have been well received, but we don't feel that it would be in the true spirit of the trip to do so.  Anyway, worst case I am certain there will be some sort of charter operator here in Bombay from who we can hire an aircraft!

 

SeanG

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On ‎16‎/‎10‎/‎2017 at 5:17 AM, SeanG said:

Final day at sea dawned, foggy and a little bit of a chill!


Expected arrival in Bombay is around 6 hours time, well ahead of schedule!  Once we get into Bombay, the ship will be re-provisioned then will head the long way around to Calcutta to meet us for the leg to Hong Kong.   As the plan goes, that's it... we haven't yet confirmed our passage across India, but as we have a few days before we need to leave I am sure we can negotiate something suitable!

 

See you all in Bombay, may even take in a show Kalizzi?   ;-)

 

 

SeanG

 

Hahah Bollywood is there, or even the ancient musical "Bimbo of Bombay"

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On ‎17‎/‎10‎/‎2017 at 12:30 AM, SeanG said:

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A quick transfer from the Ship and we are ready to explore India!  Still no sign of Mr. Weed...   I have a terrible feeling we may have to sort our own transport across to Calcutta!

 

SeanG

 

Wow Sean I haven't seen a Westland Wasp for donkeys of years. Are you sure it is still airworthy? is there a helipad on the roof of the Oberoi, or will you land at Juhu?

-love this twist btw!

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16 hours ago, kalizzi said:

Wow Sean I haven't seen a Westland Wasp for donkeys of years. Are you sure it is still airworthy? is there a helipad on the roof of the Oberoi, or will you land at Juhu?

-love this twist btw!

 

I'm not *entirely* sure they were ever that airworthy!   Although, talk to pilots that flew them and they LOVED them!   As for the alighting point, luckily the Wasp is small, so we didn't have any real issues landing on the roof.

 

Now it's only 3 days till we head across to Calcutta, and apart from a cryptic message from Mr. Weed we *still* have no idea how we are getting there!

 

All the message said was "VABB/G4/230730".  Stranger than the Times crossword!

 

I am hopeful that something comes of this all!

 

SeanG

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What I adore about the Wasp is the supermarket-trolley-type undercarriage. And to be used for shipboard operation, which is extremely demanding, they have to handle extremely well, so I wouldn't be surprised if they were a pilot's aircraft.

 

 

VABB/G4/230730

 

hmmmm... lets analyse this cryptic message by Mr. Weed...

 

VABB is the main Mumbai international airport (CHHATRAPATI SHIVAJI INTL)?

G4 could be a place in the cargo terminal area http://virtualairlines.eu/charts/VABB.pdf (see it on pages 38 and 41)

23 is 23 October? The start date of 3rd leg, Bombay to Calcutta?

0730 is the time in the morning?

 

I could be completely off the mark, but that's my two cents' worth?

 

 

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By jove I think you have the right of it!  The 'G4' part was causing us consternation indeed!  So, after a quick trip to the airport in a local cab (the mighty Mindustan Ambassador!) we found that there was indeed a Cargo Ramp G4!

Excellent detective work indeed sir!

 

Now, worryingly, what we found there was a jumble of service stands, old *old* packing crates, and 4 quite large puddles of oil... but no aeroplane!  There were however some clues amongst the crates.. one was labeled with "Handley Page" logos, and another carried the logo of "Bristol Aero Engines".  The largest clue however was a trail left from the oil which led to a rather dilapidated hanger near the cargo ramp.  As yet we have not been able to gain entry to the hanger (no one is around at all in fact!) so we still have no idea if this is our transport or not!

Things are getting a little tense, given that we are less than a day out from the "off", so to speak!

 

We will endevour to get a look inside the hangar and report back!

 

SeanG

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13 hours ago, SeanG said:

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This just arrived at the hotel....

 Looks like a Halifax to me? only this has seats in lieu of bombs. This is beginning to sound more like a golden age detective fiction, such as the works of Agatha Christie or maybe Ngaio Marsh and her detective Roderick Alleyn? :cheers_s: nothing like a beer to help one think properly!

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Well....  What a mission!

Hot humid weather leaving Bombay, the Halton was waiting for us on apron G, looking resplendent in polished aluminium, and BOAC legends.

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Once we were all safely aboard, it was kick the tires and light the fires......

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Minor issue getting No.3 started, but start it did!  Plenty of smoke, and a healthy roar!

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Departing the Cargo apron, past some interesting local traffic.

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Waiting our turn was excruciating in the heat!  But soon it was our turn to depart, and into the murky, humid air we went.

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Farewell Bombay, it has been a damn fabulous time!

 

Now, to introduce the latest member of our party, Miss Christina Columbus, our Navigator (or Navi-guesser as Jeeves referred to her as).  Jeeves, who also hasn't been properly introduced is our "Fixer", and is skilled at sorting those annoying issues that one encounters on these sorts of adventures.

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As we closed on Calcutta the weather started to deteriorate, and as the old Halton is a 40's vintage aircraft, IFR was going to be a very high-workload effort.

 

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About this point, the temperature was so high that we could only manage to make 19,000ft, and conditions inside the fuselage were getting extremely uncomfortable!  We had all but drained the bar, when Marc, or radio operator had a brilliant idea;  "Call for help with refreshments" he suggested, immediately crouching over his wireless set and tapping out a Mayday-of-sorts....  We all thought he was off his rocker, that young Mr. Koni had been in the heat for too long!  Nevertheless he sent his message, and we all applauded his idea....  Little did we realise that our "Guardian Angel", in the shape of a Twin Otter was at hand.   Through a frankly genius idea to use a net-transfer between the two aircraft we were soon replenished with ice cold local beer!  No sooner had the transfer been completed our Guardian Angel vanished into the clouds and was gone, before we could even say "Thanks"!    We couldn't believe our luck, receiving alcoholic deliveries, from two different aircraft, on two legs of this amazing journey!

We all agreed, that once we made Calcutta we would seek out the Good Samaritan and deliver something suitable by way of thanks!

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After a shade less than 4 and a half hours we turned onto the approach in Calcutta.  By now the weather was really closing in, making the approach, on old fashioned needles quite a challenge!

 

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Thanks to our competent Navigator Christina we dropped out of the clouds, through the turbulence right on the glideslope!  Jeeves has not made any further disparaging remarks regarding Miss Columbus! 

 

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Down safe!

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As soon as the door opened the agent approached and handed us a telegram:

WELCOME. ROOMS AT GREAT EASTERN. BAR TAB OPEN. F421 IN PORT. SEE YOU AT THE BAR. J.WEED.

 

.....and now!  Off to the bar, and to locate and properly thank our Guardian Angel, and maybe finally catch up with Jeremiah Weed!

 

SeanG

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Well what a night, made it to the Great Eastern for refreshments and a meal before heading out and looking for our Good Samaritan..  many hours, many bars and many, many drinks later and we are still none the wiser!

After a somewhat hairy taxi ride back to the hotel we were greeted by the bellboy with two messages for our party.

The first was from Mr. Weed, saying that he had been called away to deal with something related to our onward journey, and that he would be in touch in due course...

The second, and of much greater concern, was from Commander Jones, Captain of the HMNZS Canterbury.  In all our revelry of the evening no-one had thought to check the departure time and date for commencement of the next leg!  Now Commander Jones was demanding that we be on board by 0300 to be sure of making our departure time.

Well, that was somewhat of a rude shock.  It was now close to midnight, and we were expect aboard in a little over 3 hours.  After a quick conference it was decided to catch some sleep, then head for the Port.

 

..... fast forward 3 hours......

I believe that the average condition of our party is somewhere between "feel like death" and "actually dead".... too much drinking, not enough sleep... and now we are in the world's most bizarre collection of taxi's making our way through the still busy streets of Calcutta at 2:30 in the morning. A completely uncivilized hour, and the mood of the group is low.  Through the gloom, and misty rain, bathed in the garish glare of sodium lamps we see HMNZS Canterbury amid a flurry of activity dockside as last minute supplied are being put aboard in preparation for sailing.

We join and organised pandamonium on the dock and slowly make our way to the head of the gangway, and finally on board, and off to our staterooms for a much needed sleep!

 

Sometime, later this morning we slipped our lines, and made our way down river and out into the open ocean again.  Of this we were blissfully unaware as we slept off the results of last nights partying.

Farewell India, it has been a great week or so, and I am sure we'll be back again soon!

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SeanG

<Stop shouting, my head still hurts!>

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