THE BABY MAKER

In October 1963 I joined the new vessel "Dido" in Bristol as Chief Officer. She was outfitting in the very dock now occupied by the s/s " Great Britain". This old dock was built by French prisoners in the Napoleonic Wars. The ship was really well equipped including a Supertyfon ship's whistle manufactured by Kockum's of Sweden, this is the Rolls Royce of ship's whistles; it is loud, very deep, vibrato, and can be heard for miles. All cruise ships have this type of whistle.

Navigating the River Avon depends on tides and tides are determined by the moon so the time of the tide changes daily. The river to Bristol can only be entered on the flood. i.e. a rising tide twice per day. If you look at the picture of the ship approaching the Horse Shoe Bend then you will see why it is appropriate for port regulation's to require a vessel to sound a prolonged blast.

There is a nice residential area of Bristol called Sea Mills close to the Horse Bend, a kind of area that you would find nice young families living. So the scene is set.

Imagine an early morning the "Dido" enters the river passes Pill to starboard and approaches the Horse Shoe Bend. The whistle is sounded, there is a long sonorous blast that reverberates across the field to Sea Mills and beyond. It would wake the dead but it is a reassuring sound, a sound of the sea. You will be awake.

The time of this is too early to rise and too late to pull the covers up and go back to sleep. What happens? Think of a young couple all snug warm and feeling cosy in this situation - there is only one option and that is cuddle close and take the opportunity to express this loving feeling.

And that is why Captain Llewellyn and I named this early morning passage "The Baby Maker" and would smile knowingly after giving this signal on an early frosty morning on the River Avon.