Brother Errant On the High Seas

By Bro. S. Dominic (John A.) Ruegg FSC PH.D.

This is an account of six freighter voyages; across the Pacific Ocean, the East and West coast of South America, from Savannah to Durban, and the Marquesas Islands.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Nov 30, 2018
• ISBN: 9781543954821

Book preview

II

CONTENTS OF PART I: FREIGHTERS

Introduction

Chapter I: The President Polk 1978 (Across the Pacific Ocean and Southeast Asia)

Chapter II: The Thompson Lykes 1987-88 (West Coast of South America) and Peru

Chapter III: The Santa Fe 1991 (The East Coast of South America)

Chapter IV: The Amazing Grace 1993 (The Caribbean Sea)

Chapter V: The Olivebank 1996-97 (From Savannah, GA to South Africa) and Kruger National Park

Chapter VI: The Aranui II 2002 to the Marquesas and Easter Island

INTRODUCTION

These chapters are based on my letters, which I sent home to my mother and brother since 1955, and from my diary, which I have kept since 1991 and intermittently before that year. The events are as I saw them at that time and, I am sure, now that I am writing about them much later with a bit of extra imagination. The memory has a way of diluting or exaggerarating happenings of the past. There are some repetitions from Tales of a Brother Errant, but these are now in context. Often I have forgotten details about a city or place, so Google was a great resource for refreshing my memory, for dates, descriptions, etc.

This book, I do believe, is not particularly interesting. It is not a story with a plot or a particular point of view. It is my journal of these voyages. Hence it is very personal, mostly rather factual, day to day happenings, not very many truly exciting events. It is more like a travelogue, emphasizing life on freighters and the places these ships visited. It presupposes you enjoy leisure, delight in no telephones or appointments, free to do exactly as you wish. My hope is that the reader will get the feel for freighter travel and try it.

Circa 1974 an alumnus of Saint Mary’s College, who was high on the ladder of the American President Lines, offered me two tickets for a freighter trip from Oakland to Vancouver, Canada. I jumped at the chance, but misfortune followed. An important provincial committee called an emergency session on the very date of departure. Fortunately my good friend, Bro. Camillus Chavez, was able to take the trip and enjoyed it. This mischance wetted my appetite to sail on a freighter someday. That day finally came in October 1978.

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The photos are mostly from the author’s collection; those marked (W) are from Wikipedia and (B) are from travel brochures, postcards, etc.

Chapter I: The President Polk Oct. 13 – Nov. 21, 1978 (40 days) (Across the Pacific Ocean to Southeast Asia)

An unknown Good Samaritan suggested that I subscribe to TRAVLTIPS circa 1970, a magazine devoted to travel by freighters. Besides the advertisements the best part are the articles written by persons who had traveled on specific freighters. To travel like that had been a dream of mine for about five years, but I never imagined the opportunity would ever arise. Two events came together at more or less at the same time. When a Christian Brother¹ in the San Francisco District approaches his golden jubilee in the Institute, he is granted a specific sum of money to do with as he pleases. It was my turn. The second event was that my time as Academic Vice President was to be terminated in May 1978 because of certain ructions with the Western Association of Schools and Colleges that I had allegedly caused, and the President of SMC prudently suggested I take a year’s sabbatical.

During my administration an MBA program had been started and the Chair was aware of the value of increasing foreign student enrollment. I accepted his assignment to go around the world and visit English speaking countries where I could contact academic institutions and corporations which were likely to send international students to the U.S. So I was free with plenty of time and monetary support.

During the last several years I attended meetings of SMC’s Board of Regents. One of these men was high up in the administration of the American President Lines; and I had talked over with him several times my dream to travel on a freighter. He made all the arrangements for me to travel on the President Polk across the Pacific Ocean in the fall of 1987. This is the third ship of this name in the APL fleet. It was built in San Diego in 1964 and remained in the Pacific service until 1982, when it was transferred to the U.S. Navy.

Oct. 13, 1978 was the day of departure from the Port of Oakland. One of my Brethren arranged a going away party in my cabin the night before leaving. This was long before the days of Homeland Security and my relatives and friends easily boarded the vessel and made their way to my cabin. These Greeks came bearing gifts of wine and hard liquor. My blood brothers, Bud and Ed, were pre-sent. The latter brought a bottle of Glenlivet, a gift from my cousin Helen Orlando. Unfortunately she had a night job, but I missed her as she was one of my favorite relatives.²

The going-away party turned out to be quite a grand affair. There was many an empty bottle about the cabin. Fortunately left over were three cases of Christian Brothers Wine and one case of Chris-tian Brothers

Oakland

Brandy – enough to contribute to several celebrations aboard initiated by the passengers later during the voyage. The party finally ended at mid-night. I collapsed in bed and spent a night in the cold. The air conditioner was going full blast and in my semi-inebriated state I could not find the regulator.

One of my dreams for this voyage was to arise early to see the sun rise over San Francisco, while sailing out the Golden Gate. Alas, it never was to be. There was no fog. It was a magnificent day according to the other passengers, a morning to take unbelievable photos. However, under duress I barely made it for breakfast. Yesterday the Purser, as soon as each passenger boarded, solemnly warned us in a rather impatient voice Be on time for meals! This is a union ship and union hours are kept strictly on board.

San Francisco CA

San Francisco, CA (BSD 2008)

Oct. 14: We set sail shortly after 7 AM on this typical clear autumn San Francisco day. During breakfast we had wonderful views of the Golden Gate. Much to everyone’s surprise the Potato Patch just outside the Gate, usually quite choppy, was calm, and so the ocean continued for the rest of the day. This day was the beginning of two weeks on the open sea, the test for us passengers, especially for me the only first-timer among them.

Oct. 15: The weather continued calm. My recreation was to read all the works of Dostoevsky. I began with CRIME AND PUNISHMENT. The Captain is a nice fellow and full of stories. It is hard to tell whether he is serious or not. He seems to be hiding a rather bashful nature behind a kind of off-hand joviality. He is the senior captain of APL (American President Lines) and has an unblemished record. We have three decks to walk on next to the cabin area of the ship. Several of us are doing quite a bit of walking but in a very confined deck space, because we can only walk the width of the ship. We are forbidden to walk around the whole deck, which was loaded with containers.

Oct. 16: I have not seen the sun as yet, even though the sea con-tenues to be calm. We started to go south today in order to avoid Phyllis, a typhoon, and also because the Russians intend to shoot some missiles into the area of our intended course. The food has been surprisingly good. I have enjoyed scrambled eggs with brains and tripe in tomato sauce, both were exceptional.

Oct. 17: The weather is gradually getting rougher. There are five passengers out of ten who play bridge. I avoided them the first night, but eventually got involved. Last night the Captain had his welcome party with a two hour long cocktail party with strong tall shots for the drinks. After a steak dinner with a delicious Cabernet, the party continued on in the lounge with more drinks. I sat down (under the conditions what else could I do?) and played bridge until midnight. During the day the sea kept getting rougher and towards evening the white caps increased. And so did the trepidation in my stomach and I succumbed to Dramamine. By the time I went to bed, the ship was rolling much more than this morning.

Oct. 18: At breakfast when I, a novice so new at freighters, confessed my sleepless night and an almost attack of seasickness, I was told by the old hands that the sea was quite normal, as was to be expected, etc. Well, all I hope is that we have bypassed typhoon Phyllis for good. The most talkative person on board, Joe, is at the same time the one who will have nothing to do with group activities. Like last night we had a bingo game and he refused to show. Yet when he attacks, that is, when he wants to talk, he never stops. The first couple of days he talked to me by the hour. He lives by schedule; and when I discovered his time for walking on deck, I was not there, unless I wanted to walk and talk too. He has led quite an interesting life and I enjoyed listening to him. During the Great Depression he was a hobo and had many a run in with the railroad officials, who treated hobos quite viciously. They also had their special signs on posts, houses, etc., which told them where they could always get a handout, beware of the dog, etc. Later he ran a novelty shop on the Santa Monica Pier and this, plus good invest-mints, has allowed him in his retirement to do a good deal of travel, mostly by freighter, in the South Pacific. He has kept coming back to this area because he fought here during World War II. However he refused to recount any experiences of that period in his life. This is not too unusual if the experiences were horrendous. They are too horrifying to remember. I was reminded of some Jews I know who survived the Holocaust, but they have never written or talked about it. (Chester Aaron, a Jew and retired professor of SMC, was one of the first American soldiers to enter Dachau, to him a horrendous experience. For 60 years he repressed this horror and only lately (c. 2001) began to speak and write about it.)

Oct. 19: The Pacific Ocean today is like glass and for most of the day sun-bathing was in order. I have often heard the phrase leaden sea. Today there was hardly a ripple on the surface, the grey of the clouds was reflected on the water, and the whole moved heavily and sluggishly. About 3 PM or so there was a change and heavy clouds came over. I finished CRIME AND PUNISHMENT and began a strange account of transpersonal psychology. I find it difficult to say what the interviews with patients meant. Thank God it was short; and I have started another Dostoevsky NOTES FROM THE UNDERGROUND, a book that some college professors, who think that it is possible to live life purely by logic, should read. Dostoevsky utterly demolishes such a belief.

This volume also contains other short works of his, all of which I eventally read. What I particularly enjoyed was his deep psychological analysis of his characters. Another fine author was Eileen Goudge. Her GREEN DOLPHIN STREET is quite enthralling, so much so that I gave up my constitutional walk on deck this afternoon. On finishing it, I had to admit to myself I found it most enjoyable, even though highly romantic. A good deal of the story is set during the pioneer days in New Zealand, a country I intend to visit after this voyage. Last night at bridge, I could not loose and my pocket is jingling with quarters.

Oct. 20: This is the lost day. We crossed the International Date Line and I became a member of the Ancient Order of the Golden Dragon:

Know all men by these present that John A. Ruegg having crossed the 180th Meridian this 20th day of October, 1978 aboard the SS President Polk at 12:00 NOON 28ͦ⁰58’ N. has entered the AUGUST DOMAIN of the GOLDEN DRAGON and is HENCEFORTH PRIVILEGED to bear the honorable title of DRAGON-BACK, with all its RIGHTS and BENEFITS.

GOLDEN DRAGON Ruler of the 180th Meridian

By His Servant

Norman V. Jennings

Commanding Officer

Oct. 21: Overcast and a bit choppy, as the typhoon Phyllis bypasses us some 1,000 miles away and as we approach a new one, Rita, some 1,300 miles off. Some of us went to the open deck above the ship’s bridge this morning. This is the highest rooftop on the ship, the flying bridge. It was pleasant to be above all the containers. Most of the time, they surround us. They are outside every cabin window and just off the deck chair area. I feel a bit enclosed, sort of claustrophobic, especially when I am in my cabin, and the view from the window is the blank side of a container MAERSK, no view at all. Way up on top the feel of the full extent of the space of the ocean is very impressive.

Oct. 22: The Captain gave us a typhoon alert today and ordered us to batten down the hatches. Apparently Phyllis is not acting properly. Some of the passengers are hoping for some rough weather, but not I. This is the first day I have felt seaworthy with no ripples in my stomach. By noon the alert was discontinued as Phyllis speeded up and veered toward the north. So we all proceeded to unsecure our belongings.

Oct. 23: The weather is overcast with some rain squalls as we by-pass Phyllis, though I did get an hour of sunbathing in the morning. Since we are landing in Okinawa Friday the 27th, the purser gave us a briefing on what to expect. His name is Ivan Hall, an ex-marine and a Mormon from Utah. The old timers on freighter travel assure me that he is the best they have encountered. He is very serious as befits a Mormon, often gives us instructions in rhyme, and is ever at our service. He is at present keeping us briefed on a possible un-scheduled stop at Manila. Earlier he had been preparing us for the time when the ship was due to go into dry dock in Singapore for 5-6 days. This is one of the hazards of freighter cruises. The ship and the freight are definitely first and we passengers are second class freight. No one seems particularly perturbed, but it will throw my plans to visit Japan into a tailspin. So at present it looks like the President Polk will bypass Japan and go directly from Hong Kong to Manila.

Oct. 24: How does one get diarrhea on a ship where everything is under strict control? Apparently I was one of quite a few; but it was a sort of welcome relief. Without much physical exercise and eating every meal, I was feeling a bit logy. The typhoon Rita was well to the south of us and in spite of some anxiety on the part of the Captain, continued to move west. She will miss us. However she did hit Guam and especially the Philippines, where I understand she did an enormous amount of damage.

At various time the Captain invited us to visit the different parts of the ship. On the bridge two of his officers explained the entire science of navigation in one hour! It was quite fascinating to see the computer equipment which ties into a satellite and the two radars. The latter produce a circular scan, which shows all the ships in the vicinity. Tonight I finished Helen’s bottle of Glenlivet, the first time in my life that I have ever drunk a bottle from top to bottom and only in 10 days.

Oct. 25. Our visiting of the ship continued with a cook’s tour of the galley with its array of ice boxes and store rooms. We continued by descending into the engine room, and later visited the ship’s hospital, slop chest, etc. We were informed that the passengers could also buy items from the ship’s slop chest. The best part was a deck walk completely around the ship from bow to stern. It is a pity that we passengers are not allowed on this part of the ship, as it would make a great track for jogging. Weather is still overcast.

Oct. 26. The weather continues cloudy with a few rain squalls, and it is quite humid.

Oct. 27: I arose about 6 AM and went up to the flying bridge to view the first sight of land in 12 days. There was an amazing group of islands, THE RYUKUS. One of them is where Ernie Pyle was killed. They are not spectacular, but green with jungle and some have great beaches. We were outside AJA, the port of OKINAWA, about 10 AM, right on schedule; the pilot brought us in and we docked at 11. It was quite a spectacle and brilliantly done with two tugs. We had lunch on board, while the Purser took care of immigration, money changing, etc. By 12:30 all was in order. All ten passengers, eager to walk on land, were at the gangway the moment it was cleared. We had to walk several blocks to the bus stop. After a ride of about a half an hour we were in downtown NARA, the main city with a population 300,000. There are a couple of large department stores. I took the escalators up to the 9th floor. On the roof were a kiddies’ amusement park and a fair view of this rather drab city. I enjoyed most of all the side streets, very narrow, on which no autos are allowed, and which are lined with small shops that sell everything conceivable: clothes, luggage, drugs, fruit, etc. The prices are astounding and one feels quite inferior with dollars in one’s pocket. Cheap pants $25.00, ladies’ fancy blouses $72.00. Incredible!

We walked together more or less like a disorganized group down the main street for a few blocks to a bus stop for No. 10. However No. 10 did not show up for a half an hour. When it finally came, the bus driver motioned that he could not stop. Fortunately the traffic was heavy and we rushed two blocks further on where he could stop. He courteously waited for us. It is very difficult to find anyone who speaks English in Nara. During the three hours we spent in the downtown, I did not see a single foreigner. On our return to the ship some of us watched the loading and unloading of the containers, an interesting pastime in every port. The ship’s boom lowers them down to the dock, and then a huge hollow rectangular machine (something like those used in lumber yards) moves over it, picks it up, and places it down on a truck. After the ship got under way at 9:30 PM, the Purser announced that we shall be in Subic Bay tomorrow for 8 hours and then to Manila for 8 hours.

Okinawa

Subic Bay

Oct. 28: We awoke this morning to heavy overcast, heavy rain squalls, and swells that kept getting bigger and bigger. The Purser called us together and said that we were in a local low pressure area and could expect increasing bad weather. The ship in reality hit the tail end of the hurricane Phyllis. The Captain confined the passengers to bed for safety. So batten down the hatches, men, stay in your bunks, tighten your belts! Periodically it was quite foggy and the ship’s horn bellowed every two minutes. This was quite a horrific experience and I was quite seasick. As the swells increased, the ship was heaving bow to stern and port to star-board all at the same time. It rolled perilously. It would go sideways, creaking all the way, shudder, groan, and slowly resume the upright position; and then do the same thing on the other side. When we were finally allowed to get up, the insides were a shamble. Untied chairs were piled up in the corner, broken dishes littered the floor. Meals were provided at all times, but I could not eat.

Amidst this calamity our Purser summoned us. Ill as I was I came. He spent about an hour in the evening getting us ready to go ashore tomorrow at Subic Bay. His method was to tell us one horror story after another about thievery, prostitution, etc. in this Tijuana just outside the U.S. naval base. We were duly impressed.

Oct. 29: This night too was quite a nightmare of deep rolls. The Purser urged us again to get into our bunks and tie ourselves in with the attached belt, something like a seat belt. The ship continued to roll and pitch at the same time. She rolled ever so slowly to the left, gave a groan, and then righted itself. Then it repeated the same awful motion to the right. It seemed to me that the ship would capsize at each roll. I was scared. As a little help I put my life pre-server