THE COPRA RUN
It doesn’t seem so long ago,
Joining sometimes in the snow,
But what a life on the Copra run,
Cruising round the Pacific sun!
First, a visit to Gulf Ports,
The hectic loading of all sorts,
Sailing down to the Antipodes
Then island hopping in Southern Seas.
There were those times, – a precious thing,
When island folk began to sing,
The natural lazy way of life,
Free from worry, free from strife.
It was a gift, we never thought,
Just a job that we had sought,
But looking back it was something special
Joining on that Copra vessel.
I was an apprentice on the “Westbank” in 1954 when it was on this service. Master was Peter Stewart, with the Mate Bruce Carney, the duo that was on the “Westbank” when it had its problems with Juan de Nova in the Madagastar Channel.
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WESTBANK : the McTaggart wheel plus the WESTBANK marked bell are still
“alive”. both are well used . As a memory to my own time at sea they are still
with me since the seventies last century. Took both from the Westbank directly.
when, at that time , she was named St. Helena
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Wow, that’s interesting! Any chance of a photo for the site? Rgds/AAR
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Great poem. Took me back immediately and in a few words transported me back to Tonga. 1957.
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