AN ARCTIC ADVENTURE

RFA Wave Ruler was in a dry dock in the Southampton Old Docks when I joined her, looking somewhat drab with her black hull and grey superstructure, compared to the fine liners nearby. Soon after going aboard I learned that we were bound for Curaçao, in the Caribbean, which meant blue skies and warm sunshine, with Captain R.K. McKenzie in command of the ship.

The two-week crossing of the Atlantic was uneventful, and we passed via the Mona Passage into the warm blue Caribbean Sea. Our destination was Willemstad, Curaçao, where we took on a part cargo of fuel oil, before proceeding about five miles along the coast to Caracas Bay. There we completed loading our cargo with diesel oil. At this bunkering port was the liner , on the New Zealand run. While our ship was being loaded, we went ashore to relax on a beach for a few