A Shipwright's Day Out

A Shipwright’s Day Out1

Sai Kung – Hong Kong, June 19932

The sun beat down on him. He was installing sound insulation in the starboard engine room with the hatch open. One couldn’t work in that small space without the hatch being open. They had just returned from another sound trial at sea and the heat from the Caterpillar 3208 V8 marine diesel engine made conditions slightly warmer.3

The pair of shipwrights was in Hong Kong, up from Perth in Western Australia, to complete handover requirements for a fleet of fifteen 9.5 m aluminium catamarans for the Royal Hong Kong Marine Police.4

It was mid summer with temperatures mid to high 30’s and the humidity in the 80’s. The work was slow and energy sapping, but with plenty of water, a steady work rate was achieved.5

Sai Kung is a bay side locality in eastern Hong Kong. It has small beaches at the bottom of steep rocky hills. It is very picturesque except for the pollution in the harbour. Fish fight the plastic bags for space. On one morning a 12 cubic foot fridge was found floating in between the hulls of one of the catamarans. 6

There were two catamarans tethered to a plastic floating marina which was secured to the marine police base jetty. Phil was working on Police Launch 27 and Gary was onboard Police Launch 28.The superintendent on duty was Nick McQueen whose tall frame was standing on the jetty.7

“Hi Phil, how are you doing?”8

“Good thanks Nick, we should be finished both boats by tomorrow afternoon.”9

Nick advises “think you should know the number one signal just went up. The meteorological office expects a typhoon to hit sometime tomorrow morning. I know these boats are still yours until handover, but I do advise you should get them back to Government Dockyard as soon as possible. It’s the safest place just in case it really starts to blow.”10

Phil stops work and looks out to sea. Not a cloud in the sky with a calm sea and about a five knot N.E. breeze. It was 1530 hrs and the sun set at about 1830 hrs. The trip to Government Dockyard would take 1-1/2 hours. A taxi back to Sai Kung would take another hour because of the traffic. That would mean taking one boat back at night. Phil didn’t know the coast at night and Nick knew it.11

“Nick, could you spare a crew to take one boat back and I’ll skipper the other?” Phil knew Gary couldn’t pilot a boat.12

“Sorry Phil no one is available”13

If this typhoon did come in when the met office said it would, an early morning trip was on the cards. Alarm bells started to go off in Phil’s head. There was only one decision to make.14

“Thanks Nick, we’ll pack up and shove off immediately in PL 27. If there is enough light left we’ll come back for PL 28. If not we’ll be here first light to collect her.”15

“OK Phil. We’ll keep tabs on you. Good luck.”16

By this time Gary had stopped work and was wondering what was going on.17

“Gary, pack up mate, we’re going downtown with PL 27. You lock the tool box on the jetty and I’ll run up the engines.”18

Phil went through the pre-voyage checklist. Oil and water levels as well as main engine sea water intakes were checked. All inner harbour areas were heavily polluted. A plastic bag sucked into the intake would cause the engine to overheat. Main engines were started and the hydraulic steering was bled.19

Phil and Gary left the police base on board PL 27 at 1550 hours and headed out down the bay. Past Sharp Island and Ngau Mei Chau out into the South China Sea bound for Victoria Harbour, cruising at 20 knots. Gary always kept a keen lookout when cruising around the coast. Dunnage was thrown overboard from freighters and floated in little groups on the surface of the sea. Hitting one of these groups could hole the vessel. After 45 minutes they neared the passage between Fat Tong Kok (headland) and Tung Lung Island. Most small vessels took this passage as it saved time when approaching Victoria Harbour from the north. Once through this passage one would get protection by the headland from weather from the north.20

They then headed down towards Star Ferry Terminal, joining the sea traffic along the way. Heading towards this area one’s neck muscles got a good work out. Craft of all sizes including freighters were coming and going in all directions. Some were entering or leaving the port. Some were entering or leaving their berths. Star Ferries would leave each terminal every five minutes at this time of day. One would leave Hong Kong Island the other from Tsim Sha Tsui. 21

Congestion was bad so Phil decided to speed things up a bit. He switched on PL 27’s blue flashing light which only the Royal Hong Kong Marine Police could use. All other craft except the Star Ferries immediately gave way. Once past the ferry terminal speed was reduced to five knots with Government Dockyards ten minutes away. They made their way past the bigger RHKMP Daman Class patrol vessels and tied up alongside two other catamarans which had already been commissioned by Seaspray Boats. Phil let the engines idle for five minutes, to cool them down, before shutting them down. The batteries were switched off, the wheelhouse was locked and on departure Phil checked Gary’s handiwork on the vessels tethering.22

Phil looked around the dockyard. It was set out much like any other in the world, but everything was grey including the water. A Daman Class patrol vessel moored nearby was pumping her bilges. Black water was being discharged directly into the water. Plastic bags, condoms, drink bottles and paper were all mixed with the black water and what was left of sea water. The smell of it all made one gag. Add high temperatures, humidity and smog and you have a concoction that only man can make.23

They walked through the dockyard past the main slipway. A Daman Class patrol vessel had just been slipped. The vessels port side propeller shaft, which was 200 mm in diameter, was bent. The five blade propeller attached to the shaft was missing one blade and what was left looked like a flower wilting after full bloom.24

“Hey Hong Kong Jack what did she hit?” asked Phil. Hong Kong Jack was in charge of all the subcontractors.25

The old, grubby, toothless but tall china man replied “She hit a submerged container when turning at sea, lucky it didn’t hole her. Where you going Phil?”26

“Up to the ‘fridge’ for a cold one. Want to join us?”27

“Sorry Phil I’m on nightshift, see you later.”28

Phil and Gary made their way through the dockyard gates and into the rush hour traffic of Tsim Sha Tsui. It was quicker to walk the 15 minutes to the Miramar Hotel, alias the “fridge” as the air conditioning was always set too low, than it was to take a taxi. The smog was terrible and the humidity made the smog slide off your body, but it gave you a great thirst. It was 1730 hours when they walked into the side entrance of the Miramar Hotel. Phil paused and looked up at the clear sky. There was no chance of getting the other vessel now with sunset only an hour away. 29

Forty five minutes later, after a shower and writing the daily work report they walked into Princess Bar of the hotel. Two ice cold Carlsberg pints arrived at our table just as we did. Discussion was about the days work but Phil had his one eye on the TV weather report. It was in Mandarin but he got the gist of it. The number one signal was still up. 30

At 2100 hours with dinner out of the way and the reports faxed to Perth Phil decided to visit a small local Chinese bar. Gary decided to do some shopping for his family so they went their separate ways. Gary headed off down Nathan Rd. towards Star Ferry Terminal looking for copy watches. Phil took the hotel side street for one block and took another side street and into the Chinese bar. He took a seat at the bar nodding to the staff who smiled, said hello and put a Carlsberg in front of him. They chatted for a while and then Phil took up conversation with the locals, most of whom spoke English well. The house music was loud and most of the patrons were sitting, tapping their feet as they played their local game – Mahjong. The horse racing from Shatin was shown on TV. After one more beer Phil decided to turn in saying goodbye.31

Walking back to the hotel the wind had picked up, swirling the rubbish around in little whirlwinds. He looked up past the towers the sky was still clear. At 2330 hours Phil was in bed watching the weather report. The number one signal was still in place so he set the alarm and put the lights out.32

The alarm went off at 0500 hours so Phil turned the TV on. The number three signal was up. Danger bells rang in Phil’s head. The number three signal meant sustained winds of 50 km/h, gusting to 110 km/h in Victoria Harbour! Who knows how strong the wind would be off the Sai Kung Peninsular. The only good thing was that the wind was blowing from the north east. This would help them going down the coast.33

Phil showered and rang Gary who was ready to go. They went downstairs for a quick breakfast and then outside to a taxi for Sai Kung. The wind was blowing a steady 25 knots down Nathan Road as the grey sun was trying to climb out of the east. Traffic and pedestrians were scurrying in all directions. Some people were leaning hard into the wind trying to dodge the rubbish that was flying around.34

The taxi made for Sai Kung and with slight traffic they made the police base in 25 minutes. Sai Kung was exposed to the typhoon so when they got out of the taxi they were nearly knocked down by the force of the wind. The sky was a grey blanket but the bay was a sea of whitecaps all trying to climb up the hillside. Phil could taste the South China Sea salt in the air. The waves were only two feet high simply because the wind wouldn’t let them get any bigger.35

PL 28 was straining on her mooring lines and together with the marina were both in danger of being blown inland. Phil and Gary jumped aboard with Gary opening the wheelhouse and Phil opening the engine hatches. The pre-voyage checklist was done with Phil taking his time. He knew they had only one chance to check things properly so he ignored the typhoon and concentrated on the task at hand. He gave special attention to the engine sea intakes. Ten minutes later the engines were started and let to warm up at low idle. Gary walked around the craft making sure all equipment was stowed and secured. Lifejackets were easily accessible as were the flares. Navigation lights, VHF radio and radar were checked to make sure they were operational.36

A Chinese marine policeman appeared on the jetty edge. Phil couldn’t hear what he was saying above the wind and the engines so he went back up to join him. He was told that he couldn’t go to sea but it was too dangerous to stay at the base. The only shelter was across the bay in the lee of Sharp Island. Phil looked across and saw that the area was packed with larger patrol vessels and commercial fishing. Yesterday the area was empty. Phil told the policeman they were headed for Government Dockyard. The policeman gave Phil a lost look as if to say “are you crazy” and said that the number seven ball was up. Phil didn’t know of any other shelter around and couldn’t see any other option. He shrugged, shook hands with the policeman and went back aboard PL 28. 37

Gary cast off with Phil at the helm heading out to sea. It was 0630 hours. Three quarters of the way down the bay the swell from the waves met the craft. They were motoring at five knots riding up and down each meter high wave as it came. It was here they got there first sight of the open sea. Phil estimated the wind was blowing a steady 30-35 knots. Wave height wave was about 6-7 meters, but they had rounded crests right up until they almost hit the shore. This meant to Phil that the water was deep. 38

To get down the coast meant heading out to sea past the wave break line and then face each wave at a slight angle. Well that was his plan anyway. Phil had sailed through a forty knot gale in a 12 m yacht before, so he had a fair idea of what was coming. Gary, on the other hand, didn’t have much sea time and had never faced anything like this. He is fair skinned but today he was white with his fists firmly clamped around the console grab rail and his legs apart to accept the crafts motion.39

Gary said “I hope you know what you are doing Phil.”40

“I’ll soon learn” Phil retorted keeping his eyes fixed on the sea ahead.41

Instead of turning past the headland and inside the small island of Ping Min Chau, which was the normal route, they headed straight out to sea to avoid the breakers. About 500 m offshore Phil turned the helm to starboard and took the craft up to 10 knots. This soon became apparent was not enough so speed was increased to 15 knots. Now the four bladed propellers started to bite, so up the wave they went. They hit the crest at speed and down into the trough behind. The catamaran tried to bury her bow so the next wave Phil gunned the throttles when going up and cut the throttles when going down, gunning them again when her bow started to rise. They met each wave as it came at an obtuse angle and the catamaran sort of rolled over the crests of the waves. The waves came evenly like someone was continuously shaking a great grey carpet. There was no rain and no other vessels in sight with the craft running as she should. Phil felt that he could continue on forever on this grey rollercoaster. Even the wind wasn’t noticeable in the wheelhouse; all you could see was the effects of it.42

Eventually they neared the headland of Fat Tong Kok. Now they had to turn and run with the breakers in order to get through the passage. Motoring at 10 knots they rode the waves until they were almost directly offshore from the passage. Phil had to time the turn to starboard correctly or they risked getting caught beam on to the wave which could capsize the vessel.43

Phil picked his wave. Over the crest of the wave he put the rudders amidships. Starboard engine throttle back to neutral and then full astern. Port engine throttle full ahead. PL 28 spun around immediately. Phil felt the transom starting to lift and put both engines full ahead. Up they went, surfing the wave in. The bow was going further and further down but the crafts speed was matching that of the wave.44

Two alarms sounded with red flashing lights on the engine control panel. Phil not daring to take his eyes off the sea shouted “what the hell is that.”45

Gary replied “low oil alarm in the gearboxes.” The vessel was so inclined the oil in the gearboxes ran forward off the alarm sensor.46

“Stuff it” Phil shouted “we’re almost there.”47

What seemed like an eternity they were passing the heads and the wave was breaking. Phil cut the throttles knowing they were through. The wave broke and threw what it could on the aft deck. Water came over the sill of the aft wheelhouse door which was locked open to avoid condensation inside. Gary immediately went to work cleaning it up. As far as Phil was concerned the danger was over and relaxed a little.48

They passed a 10 m yacht which must have used the passage just before them. Phil waved and recognition was returned by way of thumbs up. The yacht and skipper were OK but Phil wondered where he had come from. Phil certainly didn’t notice the yacht out at sea.49

The gearbox alarms went out as soon as the craft leveled out and all other instruments were reading normal so they pressed on through the passage out into the harbour. The crests of the waves were being blown onto the wave in front. It was easy going down the harbour with no traffic. Even the Star Ferry’s had stopped their regular crossings. Government Dockyard was deserted so they tied PL 28 alongside Pl 27. They were in the lee of the main building so all the vessels were just jostling up and down gently with what swell had made it into the dock. Even so Gary tied the vessels together with as much rope as he could find. Phil shut the engines down and locked the vessel then cursed himself for locking the keys inside. Something else he had to fix later.50

Walking back to the hotel was very risky as anything loose was picked and hurled around. Loose rubbish had been blown away long ago. The streets were deserted. Not a single person was seen. It was if everybody had left Tsim Sha Tsui and we were the only two left to survive whatever was coming. Advertising hoardings were swinging about, some looked as if the might let go at any moment. Some had landed on parked cars. Pot plants from balconies of the high rise buildings were smashed on the ground. Clothes lines and TV aerials were strewn all over the streets.51

One 15 storey building that was under construction had bamboo scaffolding that was waving around like sea grass does in the tide. 52

It was just before 0930 hours when Phil and Gary sat down in their hotel’s coffee shop and ordered a coffee. Their company’s Hong Kong agent joined them five minutes later looking very worried and flustered. He had finally found us and wanted to know the whereabouts of PL 27 and PL 28, knowing we were working on them in Sai Kung.53

Phil said “relax Cliff; both boats are fine and berthed in Government Dockyard.”54

The relief on Cliff’s face said it all. “Thank God for that. You’ve both done extremely well. The number eight signal is about to go up so I guess you boys can take the time off and watch your first typhoon.”55

Phil and Gary made their way to their rooms. Phil entered his room on the eighth floor. He opened the curtains and looked out over Kowloon Park and sat down on his bed watching the pot plants fly by.56

Footnote: 57

The number eight signal was raised at 1030 hours 27th June 1993.When the number eight signal is raised by the meteorological office in Hong Kong all modes of transport cease. Operations and all businesses are closed until the signal is dropped. In this particular case it was two days until the wind abated.58

Typhoon KORYN was the most severe storm to hit Hong Kong in 1993.59

PL 27 and PL 28 were worth USD 250,000 each. The marina at Sai Kung RHKMP East Division base ended up in the front lounges of waterfront apartments by the base.60

Since the handover of Hong Kong back to the Chinese in 1999 the word “Royal” has been removed from the Hong Kong Marine Police.61

Gary, whose wife was pregnant at the time, never spoke to Phil again.62

This story is a recollection by Phil Ethell of an actual experience that occurred on one of his work visits to Hong Kong from March 1993 to September 1994.63