Sailor returns after nearly 60 years

Published Jul 1, 2019 at 8:00 am
(Updated Jul 1, 2019 at 7:13 am)

A former junior officer on a cargo ship that endured the “worst ever” voyage to Bermuda 60 years ago has returned to the island for the first time since his stormy trip.

Terry Blake, 79, who revisited Bermuda last month, said the SS Ledbury arrived in January 1960 after “a marathon 26-day voyage”.

The former apprentice deck officer, then aged just 19, said: “From start to finish the voyage was a battle against the elements, an endless round of gales, storms and hurricane-force winds which at times raised fears that we were all destined for a watery grave, like many of those unfortunate early voyagers to Bermuda and the New World in their tiny sailing ships.”

The Royal Gazette reported after the arrival of the Ledbury: “Streaks of rust down her sides bore mute testimony to the battering she underwent in the storm-lashed North Atlantic.”

Mr Blake contrasted the experience with his “uneventful” seven-hour air journey from Gatwick.

His ship, which was under charter to Royal Mail Lines, arrived in Bermuda 13 days late after weeks of non-stop storms.

Mr Blake said the cargo included luxury Jaguar cars, cases of spirits, and “two pairs of prize rams and ewes”.

He added: “It would be interesting to know whether there are any descendants on the island of those prize rams and ewes which we eventually delivered safely, apparently none the worse after their epic voyage or if any of those Jaguars, also surprisingly still intact on arrival, ever got to exceed 20 miles per hour.”

He said: “I doubt whether there are any of the bottles of spirits still remaining.”

Mr Blake and another apprentice were responsible for looking after the sheep, carried on deck in two pens lashed to the ship’s bulwarks.

The Ledbury set off from London on December 18, 1959, and steamed into its first gale force winds in the English Channel — with worse to come.

Mr Blake wrote: “For much of the voyage, we were battling mountainous seas, the air filled with spume whipped from the foaming crests of the waves.

“As we confronted each wave, we would heave our way up an almost perpendicular wall of water, balance precariously on the crest, the propeller racing as it came clear of the water, sending shudders through the ship, before tipping forward and sliding down precipitously into the trough, the bow burying itself deep into the sea before lifting ponderously to repeat the whole process, wave after wave, hour after hour, day after day.”

The ship had none of the modern navigational aids and cloud cover prevented the crew from plotting her course by the stars.

The ship’s radar was also knocked out of commission.

The crew managed to find the island and spotted Gibbs Hill Lighthouse, which helped her limp into port.

Mr Blake, who stayed with his daughter, Alice, at Glencoe in Paget, and returns home to Britain today, said he remembered little of his first visit.

He said: “It does seem to be a lot busier now than I remember it then, particularly on the roads.”

But he added: “What I particularly remember about Bermuda 60 years ago is that it was like a little piece of paradise, with its blue skies, emerald and blue seas, white and pink sandy beaches and coves, and lush green vegetation.

“Set among all this were the delightful, pastel-coloured houses with their white roofs, in pristine condition with beautifully manicured gardens.

“None of that has changed. To me, coming from England, it is still like a little piece of paradise.”

• To read Terry Blake’s accounts in full, click on the PDF link under “Related Media”