TNA MT 40 36 Pt 2

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in spite of a bit of rope round her port propeller, there
was far too much rope at Dunkirk, made excellent headway.
There was a north easterly breeze blowing which raised a bit
of a lop which was on our starboard baby on the course to the
Foreland, this was just where it was not wanted under the
circumstances.
43
Most of the battens carried away and the canvas patching
was flapping loose at the bottom over the main damage but
she was still only making water in very small quantities as
the bad damag above water line and she would have been as
dry as a chip an reasonably smooth water.
We calculated that we could get round the Foreland
without shipping too much and that we should then have the
wind and water pretty well astern, and this proved to be the
case so that we shipped no more water after that though there
was a fair amount of motion for a time.
We had & chart, but no compass, owing to the bomb splinter
at Dunkirk, but it was a sunny day and a course just outside
the angle of the light on the water sommed about right. In
point of fact we picked up every buoy directly on our course.
We had no dividers on board but using a piece of string to
measure the distance on the chart between two buoys and
comparing this with the tatitude scale on the bottom of the
chart, found that we were doing approximately 15 knots and
she must have averaged about 12 knots for the trip although
we had to go a bit easy before we had rounded the Foreland.
Soon after we had got through the boom one of the usual
busy drifters came pounding after us, flicking her signal
lamp which, as usual, we could not read, but we eased up to
let her come nearer and, as was off to our starboard
a bit, we gave Cairngorm a bit of a sheer to starboard, which
gave the drifter a fine view of our flapping patch, this
seemed to tell the drifter all he wanted to know about us
ur.
and he just waved a hand and turned back.
ned
We tied up in the motor boat basin, landed our crew and
reported about 20.00. As soon as we had reported to the
1.
Commander in charge of the motor boats, he enquired if we
had dined yet, and finding this was not so, book us into the
of
Mess for dinner at once.
air
We slept on board Cairegorn that night, and on Friday
the 7th June I was duly examined by the Medical Officer and
chased about to two or three different individuals and eventually
signed off, as from the date of expiration of my three days'
O
Dunkirk leave.
For this extremely pleasant outing, in the best of good
company, I was paid at the magnificent rate of £23 a month and
all found as Master of a vessel.
These temporary employees of the navy, signed on under
naval discipline, achort periods are not provided with any
uniform, and are not bound to wear any uniform, so one saw the
10 And south-east England, and a heap of people who had just come
Club caps and jackets of nearly every Yacht Club in the Thames,
/lub town as they were. As I always keep my ship clothes, including
cap and reefer on board, I wore them the whole time and
commissions in the R.N.V.R.
net several other members of the Club who had got their
Basipo
ng
me
em,