Talbot Bashall
Occupation: Retired
Born: 19 July 1926, England
Resides: Western Australia
Interview date: 21 January 2012 in Perth, Western Australia
Bashall was former Controller of the Refugee Control Centre, from 1979 to 1982.
One morning in April 1979, I was summoned to the office of the Hong Kong Government Secretary of Security and was told intelligence sources had indicated that very soon, there was going to be a tremendous increase in the number of refugees arriving in Hong Kong. The government concerned that the steady flow of Vietnamese refugees into Hong Kong at that time was soon to accelerate and become a torrent.
I was asked to be the controller of the refugee control centre that was going to be set up. It was explained that my job was to coordinate the efforts of the Hong Kong Government in managing this feared situation. This entailed working closely with the various consulates and United States, Netherlands, West Germany and so on; liaise closely with the UNHCR (United Nations High Commission for Refugees) and all the voluntary agencies concerned with this exodus from Vietnam. After having been given a rough summary of what was expected of me, I was told ‘to get on with it’.
“It took two and a half minutes for me to decide to accept the position.”
I was given a pager – this was the predecessor of the mobile telephone – this pager would give a beeping sound, which meant I had to get to the nearest telephone to hear messages, which I had to relay to all interested parties. The Hong Kong Government, the Immigration Department, the Marine Police and all the agencies concerned with handling the expected influx of these refugees.
In order to know exactly what I was confronted with, I made it my job to get out and about and not only see the arrival of the boats as they came in, but how they were handled by the Marine Police and Immigration, Port, Health and all the other arms of the Hong Kong Government who were concerned with the arrival of these poor unfortunates. Becoming familiarised with what was actually happening on the ground (or should I say on the water), I was getting myself used to the situation. The experience was invaluable; it gave me an intricate understanding of what was happening.
I had no idea at all about what the job would be like. It was something that I had never experience before in my whole life. There was no rule of thumb in dealing with this situation because what were happening daily, hourly, were boats arriving from Vietnam on a regular basis. From three or four hundred a day to over a thousand a day in June 1979.
“The highest number of refugees we received in one day was indelibly imprinted in my memory: 4,516 on the 10 June 1979 in 42 boats. We were nearly overcome. I don’t know if you can imagine over four thousand arriving.”
Out in the western quarantine anchorage, there was a pontoon. And we had to use that as a mother-ship, so to speak. And these boats would arrive, and all try to jostle for space on the pontoon. But we had to arrange it so that they were kept in orderly fashion. You may say, in a queue. So that we could not only check them – medical checks, immigration checks, security checks, and everything of that nature but also to determine that there were no infiltrators or may I say ‘Viet cong’.
The refugee control centre was set up in the then Victoria Barracks on Hong Kong Island. As the boats arrived I had to relay information up to the Secretary of Security and his staff, so everyone knew exactly what was happening, and how many were coming in, and how to cope with them. We had to keep them at the western quarantine anchorage for seven days for security checks as well as medical checks. And we then took them into what we called the Hong Kong Government dockyard.
This was a huge ‘go-down’, with access by sea and a landing stage there. It was actually earmarked for demolition and this huge ‘go-down’ had a leaking roof, but a very large amount of space. So in a way, it was a blessing in disguise because we had somewhere for the boats, after they had come in after seven days, we had somewhere to bring them in. We also had the voluntary agencies there that would provide these poor people with sets of clothes and give them showers etc. Because they had been at sea for some time – three or four weeks, and some of them were in a perfectly deplorable situation.
And at the age of 52 at the time, I had seen what had happened in Europe after the Second World War. But I had never experienced anything like this before. Some of the boats arrived with mothers with small children, their clothes in tatters, bloodstained and gory. With the mothers and children, totally traumatised. They had been raped and pillaged by pirates. And I think this was something that shook me beyond belief. It was too ghastly to contemplate. And they were coming in, boat upon boat; hundreds of them, in the same deplorable situation.
I had been through the bombing in England through the early parts of the war and I had seen some pretty gory sights. Crashed German aircraft and the entrails of the German crew, spread out all over the trees and bushes. So it wasn’t something that was completely new to me. But it was quite different, seeing the Vietnamese coming in.
And one thing that is indelibly imprinted in my mind. This poor woman with three or four children, ragged clothing, and she walked towards me. And she had a dead baby, quite dead in her arms. I didn’t really know how to handle this. We were overtaken by yet another boat, yet another set of totally traumatised refugees would arrive. So in a sense, we were overtaken by events. I’d never experienced anything like this in my whole life. It was too dreadful for words.
I think the world needs to remember what these poor people went through. In my view, they were quite different from today’s asylum seekers. In the sense that the Vietnamese had no choice.
Q: What were some of the challenges that you faced that you can remember?
I think the challenges were confronting these dreadful situations daily. For example, a ship called ‘Skyluck’ barged into Hong Kong waters in February 1979, with 2,661 on board. We had no room for such large numbers, as were on the Skyluck – 2661 [refugees]. So they had to remain on board for two reasons, a) because we didn’t have sufficient accommodation to resettle them immediately and b) to act as a deterrent for any others who might try their hand at coming by huge, well-organising ocean-going freighters. Now, the human situation on the Skyluck was such that you had a tremendous lot of teenagers. We had the elderly, children, we had the whole lot. And we had to supply them with food, water and medical assistance every day. And this was no small task as you can imagine.
One particular family, the matriarch of this family was a 79 year old, very frail old lady named Giang Vinh. Giang Vin actually died on the Skyluck, and such were the numbers coming in, that it took me and my staff over a week – in fact about 10 days – to get this poor old lady’s body to the morgue on the Kowloon side of Hong Kong. I was then approached by the family from Skyluck, who asked if they could go to the morgue and close their mother’s eyes. This was obviously an old Vietnamese custom. Now at that time, the pressing emergencies were water, land, transport was so acute I didn’t know really whether I could manage to do this for the family. But it seemed such a dreadful thing for this poor old lady’s family not to be able to complete the mourning process to go and close their mother’s eyes. I arranged for four or five of them to go to the morgue and do this very thing. And after they had done this, they seemed grateful and returned to the Skyluck.
Q: How did you handle such a job for more than three years?
“I think one just used common sense. And in each situation, each problem which presented itself had a solution somewhere, and one had to try and find out what the correct solution was for these particular circumstances.”
But to give you an idea how things worked, and the chaotic-ness of it all, when ringing up a young lady in the Immigration Department one morning about one particular problem or a series of problems which had occurred in refugee camps, she said, ‘wait, while I go into hysterics’. She was, I think illustrating that we were all candidates, in a sense, for stress, strain and even nervous breakdowns. Because this was nothing like I had seen before – nothing at all. And one was confronted with these situations, day in and day out. It was almost beyond human comprehension.
Q: What were some of the incidents that stood out for you?
I think it was the boats arriving with these poor people in such deplorable circumstances. They were totally traumatised. They arrived with eyes glazed, pleading to not only be allowed in, because there were circumstances in other places where refugees were a little less than being welcomed. In fact there were cases of boats being towed back out to sea. But as the Secretary of Security in Hong Kong said, I don’t think it would be right for us to send overloaded ships – and he was referring to boats as well. To turn the boats away from Hong Kong on the basis of them taking their chances somewhere else. It wouldn’t be right, and I believe it’s to the eternal… goodness and heartfelt sympathy of the Hong Kong Government and its staff that prevented us from doing any such thing as I just mentioned.
Q: Apart from Giang Vinh who died on the Skyluck, did you experience any other deaths of refugees when they arrived or otherwise?
Oh yes. There were some boats that arrived with dead bodies on board. We just had to handle that. You see, we had men, women, children and the very elderly. I think, Carina, sitting opposite me, had first-hand experience of the conditions of which she arrived. In Indonesia and Malaysia they were packed like sardines. And that’s no exaggeration. And these poor people had nowhere to go and they didn’t know what was going to happen to them. And I think, it was the elderly who suffered. In fact, Carina herself mentioned that the elderly were dying off, and she as a sixteen year old had to witness them being wrapped in blankets and thrown overboard. This must have been the most distressing thing a child could have witnessed. And this poor little love, aged sixteen had to look after a younger brother and sister. And she’s sitting opposite me now, to become an intelligent, sophisticated young women is beyond belief.
Q: I have heard about cannibalism. Do you know anything about that?
Yes I do indeed. In fact, I can remember one particular boat which arrived and it was noted in my diary somewhere. And this boat arrived with about 20-30 refugees on board. And one lad was tethered to the mast. After this boy had been interviewed, and we had to separate him from his fellow passengers, he told us that he was…they even had boiling water prepared, as they were going to cut his throat and cook him. And he told me that indeed, 2-3 days before that, one of his friends who was 14 or 15 had in fact been eaten by these starving refugees. This was a completely new experience. Cannibalism. But it does, I think, illustrate the sheer desperation of some of the refugees who had left Vietnam in these boats. Not only when they had run out of water and they were drinking urine. The situation has to be seen first-hand to be believed. But the absolute situation of disbelief actually cutting someone’s throat and cooking them, in order to satisfy your pangs of hunger is very hard to believe. But this young lad’s name was Dao Cu. He was only saved by the fact that he arrived in Hong Kong waters. I saw the boat arrive, because he was tethered to the mast. When initially we asked, why he was tethered to the mast, the refugees on board said he was hallucinating and we were afraid he would jump over the side and drown. So to save his life, we thought we would tether him to the mast, which of course flew in the face of what the boy told us.
Q: What did this whole experience mean to you? How did it affect you?
It affected me in many ways. I became an admirer of the stoicism and courage and the fortitude of these poor people who left Vietnam under the most dreadful situations of duress. And after undergoing unbelievable trials and tribulations under these boats which were packed like sardines, I’m an admirer of them. Not only that, but they have become absolutely marvellous citizens of Australia, and I think Australia’s not only proud to have them, but they have been a great credit to Australian society because they have resettled with the Australian population. And I think this is to the eternal credit of the Vietnamese. I’ve met a lot of them first hand, and I’m an unashamed admirer of them because I think that they are really, truly remarkable people. The stoicism, courage and selflessness and so many of them I’ve spoken with and discussed what happened to them. There don’t seem to be any lingering feelings of resentment. They seem to be relieved and pleased that they have arrived, for example in Australia and resettled here. And I think the same holds for not only Australia but other places they have been resettled, especially Orange County in the United States where I remember many of them were sent.
I’d like to say thank you to you Carina for creating a bridge between the refugees and the Australians at large who haven’t the least idea of what these poor people went through. They really have no idea. And you have acted as a bridge and as I’ve told you many times, I’m a great admirer of yours for not only what you’ve been through, but what you’re continuing to achieve. And I’d like to wish you all the good luck in the world, and I hope you continue to do this and don’t falter or fall by the wayside while you’re doing it. Keep your spirits right up and keep on doing it.
Snapshot of Talbot’s daily diary
Wednesday 2nd May 1979 – A staggering 978 refugees poured with a grand Total of 23,801. It was a hectic day as they all are these days, with ’Skyluck’ hovering always, as we know that the 2661 have got to be brought ashor- e sooner or later. At the moment there’s simply no space for them.
Thursday 3rd May 1979 Over to the Dockyard (This was a huge ‘Godown due for demolition, and consequently condemned ’, but having a ‘quay’ it lent itself admirably for disembarking the Refugees from their boats. This after 7 days afloat for Medical and security checks) and I got soaked in the rain as it fairly pelted down. Anyway got to the Dockyard and there in those awful ’Godowns’ are packed over 6000 refugees. Many on boats at the quayside awaiting processing’
Friday 4th May 1979 – A hectic day and I was on the telephone for most of it. ’Skyluck’ –every racket under the sun, prostitution, gambling, blackmarketeering, next murder?
Sunday 6th May 1979 – With another week looming and news of a US Destroyer picking up several hundred Refugees in the South China Sea, it seems fairly obvious that they are coming, and keeping right on coming. Vietnam’s policy is to expel all Ethnic Chinese.
Monday 7th May 1979 – An expected influx of V/R’s, up to 80,000 this summer’
Friday 11th May 1979 – Telephone call POLMIL [Police/ Military liaison unit]’ A staggering 1725 Vietnamese Refugees arrived. The ‘storm’ hit me as the magnitude of the influx became evident. Boats queuing up to get in choking up the approaches. Really a horrific situation. Over 25,000 refugees here now.
Monday 21st May 1979 – A long day with over 30,000 in Hong Kong, and 9000 odd in Dockyard. The conditions there are simply abominable, leaking roofs, insufficient ‘loos’, babies, women, the lot. HK is really being clobbered, these days, and daily they are coming in. At 4pm telephone call. ‘Big news’ coming. A British container ship ‘Sibonga’ had picked up 900 refugees in South China sea and was due midnight 23rd May.
Tuesday 22nd May 1979 – So much happens in a day it is difficult to relate it .For example, Tuesday a FCO [Foreign and Commonwealth Office] telegram re ‘Sibonga’ and a press release set the day buzzing. Transfers to Chimawan and other movements, and things to co ordinate and organise took all morning.
Wednesday 23rd May 1979 – Heavy and leaden. Thunderstorm warning too. POLMIL telephoned at 06.50 598 in 6 boats,–900 tomorrow –so they keep coming. One hell of a hassling day with everything happening the whole day. The main issue is of course ’Sibonga’ when she arrives off Po Toi with 984 refugees aboard. By lunchtime another 600 or so Refugees had arrived by boat. The Dockyard is bursting at the seams, and this was, the cause of panic stations at 6pm. I have to organise a ‘pontoon’, kind of ’ Mother ship’ to provide for the boats at WQA (Western Quarantine Anchorage) where newly arrived boats stayed for 7 days for health and security checks before being taken to the ‘overflowing’ Dockyard.
Thursday 24th May 1979 – 06.00 this will be a humdinger of a day. It all stated at 07.30. A boarding party out to ‘Sibonga’. A launch also taking a horde of the Press. Anyway I was at it with n’ary a let up. As the day wore on a reported 1800 more refugees arrived off Lantao in 10 boats. WQA, and then to Dockyard I went. Dockyard bursting at the seams. Then it filtered through that ’Sibonga’ refugees will be accepted as’ UK Wards’
Friday 25th May 1979 – No open ended commitment on Refugees ’says Britain so ‘Sibonga ’ another’ Skyluck? Later a pontoon towed out to WQA [This the ‘Mother ship’ I mentioned earlier}
Saturday 26th May 1979 – Panamanian ‘hulk’ beaches on Lantao [off Shui Hau] 800+ V/R’s on this vessel ‘Sen On’ All easily sorted out . I was first of all instructed to ‘Corral them’ to stop them from wandering all over Lantao Island. This was done and they were then taken to Shek Pik, an open Prison, also on Lantao Island.
Monday 28th May 1979 – The torrent continues unabated 2550 waiting at and by the end of the day over 4000. 36000 is the overall total so far. By the end of the day I was exhausted.
Tuesday 29th May 1979 – Another fantastically busy day ahead ’Sibonga’ was the big event [She sailed into WQA]
Wednesday 30th May 1979 – 4000 still at WQA in 50 odd junks, a hazard to shipping. The finding of additional accommodation is occupying everyone Tuen Mun Factory accommodation knocked on the head. Other accom has to be found.
Wednesday 31st May 1979 – One young lady in Immigration Dept said to me: ’Wait while I go into hysterics’ [This must illustrate the pressure we are all enduring ] A Far Eastern Economic Review staffer when asked how many Refugees HK may expect replied’ Anything up to a million ’A staggering thought. ‘Sibonga’ not allowed to disembark its Refugees, over a 1000— 1004. There’s nowhere to put them. In the meantime ‘Skyluck’ remains off Lamma Island. Moving to just off Peng Chau ,Siu Kau Yi Chau, so that frees WQA.. of shipping Hazards I presume. As the day wore on so another 1800 Refugees streamed in…
Friday 1st June 1979 – A high-powered meeting this morning. Subject ’Sibonga’ The upshot land them on Monday 4/6 300 to go to England in short order movements, and to day over 41,000 in Hong Kong now. As the day wore on more junks spotted between Macao and Hong Kong being towed by a Macao Tug, which later cast them off and guess where they are heading? [Note my remarks regard Macao Govt deleted!]
Saturday 2nd June 1979 – I took a couple of British Labour MP’s round Dockyard {Jack Dormand and Peter Snapes] Conditions pretty bloody but at least the Refugees are sheltered and fed.
Sunday 3rd June 1979 – Another ghastly night I could not get off to sleep. Intensive care unit at this rate! Car picked me up at 06.40 and down I went tomorrow 500 to Tuen Muen (Accommodation leased in New Territories. The former ‘rejection’ was re thought!) 300 to Chimawan. Sibonga’ dis gorges 1000 and 300 go to England. In fact, ALL go tomorrow from this vessel. I suppose 2000 odd in Discovery Bay Anchorage [This another holding area pending accommodation being arranged] roughly 6000 all told in boats.
Monday 4th June 1979 – Car picked me up at 06.40 The first ’Sibonga’ bunch to the new 15,000 capacity in Tuen Mun [the leased accom mentioned yesterday] “Sibonga’ 1004 discharged and crammed in to the former Ma Tau Wei Girls Home capacity 80. In go 1003!
Tuesday 5th June 1979 – Situation at DBA pretty bad with 91 junks there. CAS [Civil Aid Services’ told me it takes 10 hours to feed them all]. Only 118 Vietnamese Refugees in today.
Wednesday 6th June 1979 – It is reported that that two ships have recently left Hanoi with 10,000 refugees each aboard. No 1 Typhoon signal hoisted and soon ‘the proverbial will hit the fan ’ I spent all day trying to get Marine Police and Immigration to tow boats in from DBA Marine police /Immigration not accepting responsibility. Nevertheless I got them moving, but pressure all the way. [Note with a typhoon pending boats had to be towed in to shelter, or risk a catastrophe of mammoth proportion, which could ensue]
Thursday 7th June 1979. Governor Maclehose going to London/Talks on Refugees and Illegal Immigrants. I went over to the Dockyard in an Immigration launch, and took photographs of the Refugees as their boats crowded in one after another. HK’s unwanted, pathetic. Uninvited ‘guests’ creep ashore. Really dreadful.
Saturday 9th June 1979 – Problems at the Dockyard; simply a case of heavy congestion of boats awaiting landing All we need is a typhoon and the panic will be on.
Sunday 10th June 1979 – 1822 arrivals yesterday according to POLMIL [Police Military liaison unit] so we approach the 50,000 mark with great rapidity. Answered my pager ’An 87 year old female refugee died in QE Hospital, also a 27 year old. 87years old, I ask you, and coming in a boat from Vietnam. Inhuman Hanoi Government.
Monday 11 June 1979 – A reported 2700 refugees in. A record if this is accurate. Discovery Bay [holding bay] bursting at the seams again. Feeding, water, all the problems await solution. It rained and rained heavily, all morning and into the afternoon. Regarding Refugees and Illegal Immigrants I feel the HK Govt is severely rattled. Many more are on the way including another ‘Ha Long’ type boat, due tomorrow? With the Governor going to UK, on the same flight will be some ‘Sibonga’ Refugees UK bound!.
Wednesday 13th June 1979 – ‘Skyluck’ Refugees on ‘Hunger strike’ All food withdrawn too. What a liberty. All uninvited and making demands! [It is to be noted that the ’unrest ‘ on ‘Skyluck’ was a precursor to cutting the Anchor chain on 29th June when she drifted aground on Lamma Island]
Thursday 14th June 1979 – A hectic day followed with ’Skyluck’ and it’s 2664 getting restive. Two letters, petitions, appeared on my desk. One pleading and the other uglier. Refusing food and saying they will starve to death. With the hardening mood of the people and Government I suspect they will get short shrift. Tuen Mun water problems Immigration and slow processing and my telephone ringing the whole time. John Grieve [Marine Police i/c] telephoned me ’Skyluck’ sitrep [Situation Report] ’Not ugly yet but they are making a stand, refusing to let crew collect supplies etc.’
Friday 15th June 1979 – News of ‘Skyluck’ hunger strike. This will be an interesting morning. First no rations, then at 1pm ’Send rations’ and leave them on the pontoon [The pontoon was anchored alongside “Skyluck’ to facilitate feeding and watering operations etc, etc ] Meanwhile the Immigration ‘bottleneck’ at Dockyard continued as I urged them on, to effect massive transfers all over the place. Leaving N Vietnam is supposed to be a ship with 5000 refugees aboard also a ‘flotilla’ from Macao also due this weekend.
Saturday 16th June 1979 – Malaysia says she will immediately tow out to sea it’s 70,000 refugees and shoot those who try to return. They are building boats for refugees too. The news above was in all the Press.
Sunday 17th June 1979 – Horrible dark morning, but I slept well. Tel call from Tuen Mun—all problems solved so ready to receive Refugees a 1000 or so tomorrow Later telephone calls and mostly ‘Skyluck’ An ULTIMATUM from the refugees 3 demands. The main one that they be allowed ashore. This illustrates that a crisis is in the offing’
Monday 18TH JUNE 1979 – Immediately I got to RCC [Refugee Control Centre] I got a message 13 Refugees arrested on Cheung Chau’. What shall, we do? They asked. Midnight yesterday 6 Refugees from ‘Skyluck’ dived overboard and swam to LAMMA, and were arrested and detained at Lamma Police Post. Later on ‘Skyluck called off’ hunger strike’, which was never anyway!
Tuesday 19th June 1979 – A hot and sunny day and press on all morning with Discovery Bay boat congestion, likewise Dockyard Tuen Mun too and a host of other things To Dockyard with Imm officer and I got things moving but the mass of humanity there is gruesome, lot of them coming down Pearl River evidently Boats not seaworthy enough for voyage from Vietnam..
Wednesday 20th June 1979 – Still the refugees pouring in and accommodation becoming acute now. We fill up Tuen Munfactory tomorrow and then a couple of thousand or so go to Kai Tak North and there’s nowhere else. ’Skyluck’ simmered down and I later heard there was-wait for it a scheme for her to sail away I cannot imagine where she would head for!
Thursday 21st June 1979 – Over 1300 refugees in yesterday and we now top the 51,000 mark. Observatory reports a depression forming South of Hainan Island the By the week end, weather expected to deteriorate.The i/c of Tuen Mun ‘getting his knickers in a twist’ over my telling him that Tuen Mun capacity was 16,000 not 12,000 Quite abusive but I guess it’s all part of my job
Friday 22nd June 1979 – Foreign Secretary Lord Carrington coming to view the refugee situation’ (Housing Dept) whom manage Tuen Mun say they cannot accommodate 15,000 or so. Too bad they have to!
Saturday 23rd June 1979 – Next week contingency plans for ’Skyluck’ are to be finalised. More Refugees on the way from Macao
Sunday 24th June 1979 – 7 Boatloads of Refugees due to sail for Hong Kong from Macao as soon as the weather improves. I now brace for another week.
Monday 25th June 1979 – Bad weather off East coast of Vietnam. A Bill Ellis of ‘National Geographic magazine’ was brought to see me. Half hour interview This to be in the November issue evidently
Tuesday 26th June 1979 – By noon 9 boats were intercepted and by 6pm the tally was 621. With the Foreign Secretary’s visit a great deal of flapping around. We had to try and reactivate DBA and keep the Refugees on their boats at the Dockyard, to let the Foreign Office visitors see the mess we are in.
Wednesday 27th June 1979 – 1500 more refugees arrived. I then photocopied [14] of the ’Skyluck’ evacuation plan. Meeting followed on this plan. Then I went to Tsuen Wan, [Chai Wan Kok’] to view a warehouse complex [This illustrates the urgency of finding accommodation for the feared increase of arrivals, which was by this time reaching more than alarming proportions] By the time I got back to the RCC there were 3 more boats approaching and answering my Pager’ news of a riot at Kai Tak North This soon quietened down.
Thursday 28th June 1979 – The Kai Tak North ‘riot’ was due to it being a ’Detention Camp’ [Note, hitherto the Refugees were allowed, with restrictions, to come and go fairly freely.] Raining, clammy, humid. By noon there were 4 boats and 391 refugees at DBA (This specially for the benefit of the Foreign Office visitors as there are now ‘vacancies’ at the Dockyard despite the conditions there being horrible]
Friday 29th June 1979 – At 09.30 it all started! ’Skyluck’ cut her anchor chain and was drifting. The ‘proverbial hit the fan’ Secretary for Security in RCC and I saw first hand the ‘decision making progress in action!’ This was that’ Skyluck ‘passengers should go to Chimawan [My suggestion some weeks ago) Meanwhile ‘Skyluck’ went aground on NE ‘Lamma island and Refugees were swarming ashore. Skyluck ‘holed’ and her back broken. The whole day was intensely ‘pressurised’. Eventually refugees in three lots taken to Chimawan [This hardly explains the human problem involved in this operation as men women children, all had to be accounted for, and taken to Chimawan which is on Lantao Island I remember very clearly that the only casualty during the ’disembarkation’ was one poor old woman whom broke her arm’. It really was a tremendous credit to all involved that it all went so smoothly. A day of high drama indeed. My day was 15 hours.
Saturday 30th June 1979 – Thank goodness ’Skyluck’ is out of the way! What a relief! I was interviewed by one Emily Farquar of ’The Economist’. Feeding at WQA was the main item today. But with ‘Skyluck’ gone ‘ weak tea’!
Sunday July 1st 1979 – Towing of boats from DBA to Dockyard the main item today but with ‘Skyluck’ drama over who cares! Nice to be in the thick of things.