The Better Half

We often hear the term - "The Better Half"- meaning of course one's wife. I was reminded of this one day recently when going through some memorabilia and came across Tina's old passport issued in Capetown and a picture of a tug.
The tug was the Suid Afrikanse Hawedienst vessel "Otto Siedle" - here pictured off Cape Town. I was in the SA Harbour Service as a Marine Offcer based in Walvis Bay in the mid 1960's. Walvis Bay was then in Suid West Afrika and had been taken from the German's after WW1. It is now Namibia and greatly changed [for the better.] We went there at the time of the Seamen's Strike. In 1966 Tina was 28, Greg was 5, and Gerard was 3 years old. It was tough - the troubles were starting in Angola and Apartheid was gathering momentum.

In August 1966 the tug was scheduled to go to Capetown for refit and to do this via a call at Luderitz to pick up a bucket dredger. The tug was a coal-burning steam tug with twin screws, steam reciprocating engines giving 4000 BHP. The crew were Ovambo contract labour from up near Etosha Pan. Tough times, tough tasks...

The refit was going to be a protracted stay in Capetown so the plan was for Tina and the boys to travel down to the Cape by train going across the Namib Desert and down past the Kalahari Desert, over 3 days journey.

So here is the young woman who faced this task.

It became more fraught.
We had on hell of a passage, towing a dredger is never easy and we encountered storm from the south, howling up from the vast expanse of ocean from the Antarctic. The huge seas battered us badly and carried away all communication equipment. We were badly delayed and no way of informing anyone of our plight.

Tina arrived in Capetown on the 6th September, 1966, after quite a journey. This was the day Dr.Verwoerd, the President, was stabbed to death . She arrived amidst massive security, police and the Wehrmacht [Army] everywhere. She checked into a hotel and then tried to find out where I was to no avail. The Afrikaner Harbour Master in Kaapstad was anti English and a misogynist - terrific!

Tina sorted all this and we finally limped into port much to her relief.
If you consider all this one has to say that Tina is special.

It is often the case that the wife has to deal with major problems and be a mother ......obviously the better half.

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Comments

"olde mariner " said…
i believe she had a flamingo as a symbol on her mast - can you verify this please
1:12 PM
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