Days At Sea

Why PassingCloud as the name for my blog? MYSTORY would have been more suitable but this domain name was taken and I had to look for an alternative. After a night of thinking I came up with PassingCloud because I believe that stories are like clouds, they form and come into being, they hang up there for a little while mostly without anyone bothering to have a peep and then they move away. Stories like clouds are unique, it is impossible to have two identical stories just like it is impossible to have two identical clouds. With time all my stories will be forgotten and disappear like passing clouds, so will be everybody else’s stories.

“Coin de Mire” strange creature like a lizard with a huge head

At around 6 o’clock in the afternoon January 25, 1966 M V “Ruys” lifted anchor and started the voyage to take me to Hong Kong. I could not remember too well what happened as the liner cruised out of Port Louis harbour, but I believe there must have been some commotion and activities as crew and passengers gathered on deck for the departure. What I remember well is when we were passing near the north of the island near Cap Malheureux, a small romantic fishing village on the northern tip of the island. I remember seeing “Coin de Mire” a small elongated island off the northern coast of Mauritius having the shape of a strange creature, like a huge lizard with a huge head. This creature was something we kids always saw when we spent numerous Sunday afternoon on the beach at Cap Malheureux, but we never were able to come close to it as the water between the beach and the island was very turbulent and dangerous. Cap Malheureux translates into English as Unhappy Cape got its name when years ago ships around this area hit the rocks and broke during stormy weather.

Cap Malheureux beach where I spent many Sunday afternoon with my brothers and sisters as we were growing up.

Another half hour or so Mauritius Island began to shrink in front of me, getting smaller and smaller into the horizon and this was the last time I saw of my island for the next 48 years. A group of birds were seen flying here and there within sight of the liner but soon they all disappeared as the ship speeded away from the island. And the sky was now dark.

I still remember the day when my father took me to the Shipping Company, The Royal Interocean Lines, to book my passage. I think the fare was 250 rupees, slightly over my monthly pay cheque and it was a one way ticket. We were not given much information about the ship nor did we ask except that it was a huge ship by any standard then. My ticket was for Second Class which provided us with a small cabin with bunk beds accommodating four. There was a window, so it was not dark, no air conditioning though and this did not bother us kids accustomed to the year round hot and humid air of Port Louis. To my pleasant surprise there were two other young Mauritian men about my age sharing the cabin, just like me going to Hong Kong to try their luck. Cyril and Clovis were their names and their company added much comfort to me as we young innocent Islanders would later navigate the huge unfamiliar city of Hong Kong. Be it known that I did not speak Cantonese, I do now, and English was not widely spoken in the streets of Hong Kong.

Our first port of call would be Singapore on February 4, after 10 days at sea. The 10 days were the fondest memories of my life. Everyday we completely relaxed on deck under the warm sun and letting time slowly pass by, nothing to do and nothing to see except the vast ocean around us. We could only smell the salty warm air from the ocean and the scent of ship bunker fuel, and listen to the repetitive churning of the ship engines and the sound of the breaking waves as they cut through the bow of the ship. We did not see any island or any bird or any passing ship for straight 10 days but occasionally we saw some wild fish jumping from the water in the far distance. We were in a world of our own. The most memorable part of this period of time was the daily afternoon tea at 3.00 pm, when we were served English tea and delicious tarts. This afternoon tea tradition is very British to this day.

This was all there was to see for straight 10 days on board M V “Ruys” from Mauritius to Singapore.

I had no clue that M V “Ruys” had other passengers besides the small group of us on the Second Class. The Second Class area was at the aft of the ship completely cut off from the First Class which I did not know existed until I recently made some research. After a couple of days at sea we saw some new faces on deck, they were passengers from the Third Class which was located below deck with no windows. They were allowed on open deck for short period of time to feel the sun and breathe the fresh air. Most of them were Japanese who boarded the ship in Brazil for a 50-day plus voyage to Yokohama Japan to visit their parents and friends. It must have been a very hard trip back home but the thought of reuniting with their beloved ones even for a little while was I believed enough incentive for them to endure the journey. I thought it should have been even harder for them to leave their country in the first place to such a remote and foreign place in South America in search of a better life for themselves and their children. In my heart I simply wished them all the best.

M V “Ruys” was built in 1938 and scrapped in 1968, two years after it took me to Hong Kong. It carried cargo and had accommodation for 131 first class passengers, 84 second class and 179 third class. Its route commenced from Yokohama – Hong Kong – Singapore – Mauritius – Durban – Cap Town. Then across the South Atlantic to Rio de Janeiro – Santos – Monte Video – Buenos Aires (2 months trip). The ship then did a reverse back to Yokohama.