My First Deep Sea Voyage

My first deep sea voyage with the Clan Line was aboard the Clan Macleod in 1967. I had the rather unusual responsibility of looking after a racehorse named The Wing, who was being shipped to Bombay (as it was then known) to stand at stud.

The Wing was no easy passenger. He had a fiery temperament and would try to bite or kick anyone who came near him—including me. During the journey down to Cape Town, the heat and lack of exercise began to take a toll on him. His private parts started to swell uncomfortably, so we arranged for a vet to meet us when we docked.

After examining the horse, the vet gave me a memorable prescription: cool his swollen parts with cold water every day. Let me tell you—trying to submerge a horse’s testicles into a bucket of cold water is no easy feat.

Seven weeks later, we arrived in Bombay, and another vet came aboard to give The Wing the all-clear to be offloaded. Unfortunately, during the unloading process, the Indian dock workers dropped his box—horse and all—onto the quayside from a height of about two feet. I rushed over to check on him and found him lying on the floor of his box, not moving. We feared the worst: broken legs.

Then along came our captain, W. Ross—a proud Irishman who claimed to know everything about horses. After a quick inspection, he assured us The Wing was fine, but we needed to get him back on his feet. With the Captain gripping his bridle and four of us pushing from behind, we gave it everything we had.

Suddenly, the horse sprang up—and took off! Down the quayside he galloped, with Captain Ross hanging on for dear life. He disappeared into the distance, and someone joked that he wouldn’t stop until he reached Calcutta. Somehow, they managed to catch him and bring him back, none the worse for wear.

Ah, happy days.

After leaving the Merchant Navy, I spent 30 years working for a London-based shopfitting company before it eventually shut down. These days, I run my own shopfitting business. My wife and I have since moved from our home city of Hull to a quiet village near the port of Goole in East Yorkshire.