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SAS DRAKENSBERG arrives in Emden, Germany.
Article by S Lt Khasuli
Photos by AB Venter |
As we sailed north on route to
Europe, the temperature steadily decreased. By the time
we approached the French coast the temperature was
hovering around freezing point. It is at times like
these that the warm African weather is truly
appreciated!
SAS DKB sailing through fog in the channel.
The day SAS DRAKENSBERG (DKB) arrived
in Brest; she passed through the Bay of Biscay. This Bay
lies between Spain and France and is well known for its
rough seas and huge swells, which we also encountered.
It was amazing to experience a big ship like DKB bobbing
around like a cork. The transit during the night was
scary on the one hand but also exciting, due to the way
the DKB was rolling. Some members had very little sleep,
because they failed to secure their cabins for rough
seas. This resulted in a considerable amount of
“redecoration” onboard. The compartment of “Site 5”
(where the junior officers’ sleep) became the topic of
the day as it suffered the most from the “redecoration”.
“What I have experienced marks the
highlight of the passage thus far,” said Lt Rathlogo
after being one of the victims.
The following day when the DKB came
alongside in Brest, the Ships Company’s morale was
extremely high after the rough passage across the Bay of
Biscay. The Acting South African Defense Advisor
Col. P.J. Masisi and other dignitaries from France
awaited us on the quayside and gave us a warm welcome.
Shortly after coming alongside, the XO announced during
Both Watches that there would be liberty and that ferry
busses had been organized from DKB to town and back.
After spending 12 days at sea, it was now time to make
that call back home to the loved ones. Everyone
enjoyed the liberty thoroughly.
Offloading of cargo took place the
following day, 01 March. Once the offloading of
the cargo was completed, DKB slipped from Brest to Emden.
It did not take long before DKB was back in the stormy
Bay of Biscay, but this time she was sailing on the
northern edge of the bay heading towards the English
Channel. The English Channel is narrow and
extremely busy because of the large number of ships
passing through this narrow point.
Sighting of the White Cliffs of Dover.
A 12Nm long Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS)
manages traffic through the channel. A TSS consists of
two traffic lanes laying either side of a separation
zone. Traffic in each lane is one way so that the
separation zone keeps opposing traffic apart. All
ships that are entering the channel are sailing on the
starboard side(the French side approaching from the
south) and the traffic leaving the channel to the port
side (the English side approaching from the north).
It was an amazing experience when DKB passed the White
Cliffs of Dover because the distance between England and
France is only 19 Nm at that point.
On Sunday 031700Mar 07 “Hands to
combat state 4” was piped and the members of Ships
Company closed up for harbour stations. After 41Nm
passage in thick fog down the river Ems, DKB arrived
safely in Emden. The SA Defense Advisor to
Germany, Capt Sinovich, and some of S102 crew awaited
DKB on the quayside. At 12:30A, DKB was alongside
in Emden, Germany and she berthed opposite S102 and
S103.
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