Kite-Flying Competition
The time is the 1960s. The venue is a major British aircraft carrier. Having worked-up this virgin team, whose average age was 19 years, within the Moray Firth Scotland, we were ready for the task in hand. So a well trained team of aviators, maintainers and a professional ship's company set sail for a long far-east deployment.
Since our first stop was Cape Town, South Africa and we needed to get on the China Station with haste, we commenced a fast passage south from the UK. This meant we would do very little flying. A ship under passage only requires a handful of men to man the boilers, engine room, navigation and steering gear. All aircraft are serviceable and stowed safely in the hangar.
Boredom was the problem for the majority of 2,000 men on this war canoe. In this situation, the flight deck became a sport's ground with deck hockey, skeet shooting and any other sport that could be played on this pitching rolling platform.
For first-time sailors on this crew, the equator provided the venue for traditional crossing-the-line ceremony. And then drops astern only to be crossed once more on the way home. We needed to be more inventive to ensure this crew was never bored.
Warm weather and calm seas set the venue for the "Kite-Flying-Competition". Now when you ask a professional set of aviators to take part in such a competition you can expect some remarkable inventions.
About 200 kites were launched from this flight deck, the ship's forward speed provided wind to maintain the kites aloft. Some kites were no more than jokes as an amused crew watched helplessly when their kites failed to fly, flopping into the sea.
The winning kite had a wingspan of some 25 foot and, attached to a winch with three miles of cable, flew majestically astern. Then, over the horizon, appears a P & O cruise liner flying the British red duster of our merchant fleet. Having seen us, the cruise liner altered course to pass closely on our port side.
As the two ships closed, the "Rich and Powerful", who had paid a small fortune for their cruise, lined the guard-rails to get a better view. We must have looked a sight with young men sunbathing on the flight deck and some 200 kites flying astern. As the two ships closed position, our flight-deck officer switched on the flight-deck broadcast and announced in a loud authoritative voice, "Gentlemen, strawberries and cream are now being served on the after lift".
Obviously a joke to us as we had not seen fresh milk for more than a week. However once the cruise liner docked in Southampton, it would appear that some of the rich passengers were not amused to see their taxes being spent in such a decadent way. The following week, the prime minister and the defence minister came under fire during question time in the house of commons.
Fortunately by the time my ship returned to the UK, this major "domestic scandal" had died down as the press had found bigger fish to fry.
As a footnote, I could never understand why anyone would be a paying passenger on a cruise liner. I saw much more on my voyages and they were paying me.
Simply Steve