Eric Steven's Diary (Parma 1936)

11/ call pancakes which I never eat. Sunday nights are the worst and some times they save up what they call sweet soup made of prunes and preserved apricots in a liquid so sickly sweet that I never eat. Bread and tea or coffee with most of the meals. The brown bread I eat and always drink water. Milk (????) is served with the porridge - one tin of condensed milk to a bucketful of water. Those meals never vary. The other few do sometimes. The spuds (bought in Port Victoria and probably the cheapest they could buy) are the worst I've ever seen and give Australia a badname as everyone says Aus potatoes are no good. It takes about 6 to get two good ones. Nice menu isn't it? I forgot to mention that at least I can say I've seen Africa. Before we rounded the Hope we were within 10 or 15 miles we passed East London a town of 60,000 inhabitants so cloase (about 5 miles) that the lights were plainly visible - you've no idea how nice it is to see land occasionally. I am writing all this on a Thursday because its a holiday for Ascension day in Aland and so we have one on the ship. The English boys say its a holiday in England too but I never heard tell of it in Australia. Thursday June 11th. We are now 10° North; 27° West and on the last stage of the journey for we picked up the north-east trades yesterday and tack north west to 40° North where we'll get the west winds and we should see the Lizard at Land's End in about 25 or 30 days. We were 76 days to the Line which we crossed on Thurs. 4th and have just left the Doldrums behind. It is an entirely windless area, with much rain and many squalls which take the ship in all directions, usually. A ship would spend weeks there trying

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to get through but we were lucky with only 4 days during which we caught plenty of water for drinking & washing & all hands have since been washing themselves & their clothes. You can't imagine how nice it is to have 1/2 bucket of water to wash in then throw it away. We see steamers quite often now but no sailers from Spencer Gulf.

"Crossing the Line" was celebrated for Gardiner & me on Sunday We had great crosses cut in our hair, given disagreeable stuff to swallow & stripped & tarred & painted. An hour with kerosene, then hot water & soap, got it all off & now we hope our hair grows before we get to England. Yes my wave is gone & it will be interest-ing to see if it grows the same again. I usually wear only bathing togs & boots now as its rather warm; sleep in the lifenet under the bowsprit by day & somewhere handier at night so as to be called for my wheel or if wanted for anything else or else to be called by the other watch for our watch on deck, when we usually muster & then go back & sleep especially in the trades where the wind holds steady & there isn't much to do with the sails etc. I have taught myself a bit about knots & splicing (they teach you nothing here not even the apprentices who pay up to £50) and made a small model of "Parma". Some of the boys are making beauties as fast as they can to sell in England. Some European countries demand that their officers shall have served under sail yet these Finnish ships are the only sailers left in the world & so they have to pay so much money to serve their time. They dislike the life, the food, the conditions & the Finns & never want to see sailing ships again.

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18 July 1936. At last we have arrived at Falmouth and are anchored in the bay waiting for orders. We did over 15 000 miles in the 117 days and arrived here Wed. 15th July. We had a poor run up from the Doldrums for there seemed to be no wind at all in the North Atlantic for we never had 3 consecutive days of good sailing. A wind would blow well & then die away - one day we went backwards 5 miles & only did 17 the next. That day a few of us had a swim so I am able to say I've swum in the midAtlantic. The further north we got (after leaving the Azores where we were becalmed a day or so) the colder the weather became & since being at anchor a biting cold south west wind has been blowing unceasingly with misty rain & hardly any sun. Gardiner & I are nightwatchmen & sleep (or rather are free to sleep) by day. However I got permission from the captain to go ashore yesterday so dressed myself, went with him & walked on land for the first time for over 120 days. Its just as one would expect & the narrow twisting streets & everything old looking & rather fascinating. There is nothing the smallness of Port Victoria in England I understand & they told me Falmouth is a small place for England but I was amazed at its size & there is nothing you couldn't buy in the shops. Things are cheaper than in Aus. but one buys with the cheaper money (I got 15/- for £1 note) so it works out the same. I saw the world famous clipper ship "Cutty Sark" lying at anchor; Falmouth is its home port. I've just sent you a card, with Falmouth views, by air mail to let you know I arrived; please let me know if you get it or not. I've telegraphed to Australia House to send all my mail down here but its not

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arrived yet so I may wait till I get it before posting this, I don't know yet. The last night before arriving here it blew hard & we had to take many sails in, with both watches on deck all night. Then we had to let them all out again to do the last few miles in from Lands End & the Lizard & then take the lot in again -- hard work Now everyone else works by day & sleeps by night. I used the red port lamp for my photography & developed all my films but can't afford to get any printed yet so you will have to wait a while before I can send you any. Of course we have all shaved now but I have some photos of my beard. My hair is growing slowing & will be alright I think. The foc's'le was thoroughly cleaned & painted but nevertheless a few bugs still remains so because its too cold to sleep in my hammock I now go down in the hold & sleep on the sails where the sailmakers work. The Herzogin Cecilie had the best trip this year with 86 days but has since run aground and broken her keel & will never sail again - a great pity. All ships went round the Horn except us & the Ponape which went round the Hope. I see there's not much happened in the world since I left Spencer Gulf except that Italy beat Abyssinia, Communism rules in Spain & Perry won at Wimbledon for the 3rd year in succession. Otherwise the same old international politics are happening. I've bought old and new newspapers & am now almost up-to-date with the news unless there's anything happened in Aus. which hasn't been in these papers. There's no doubt I've proved for myself, one can't get a cold at sea for I've worn wet & damp clothing often & never had any ill effects.

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Another thing I got used to was the short periods of sleep & I could now turn in for even only 1 hours sleep & awake the better for it. I don't re-read the beginning of this letter (its too long!) before adding to it so if I've written the same thing more than once you'll know why. There's no doubt about it, although these ships are slow & old fashioned there is beauty in them in their different moods i.e. with roaring wind & big seas or in calms without even a breeze. Its the man made conditions that spoil them - the last few weeks we were running very short of food & I existed on practically rice & macaroni. Now even in port we get no green vegetables but at least we have butter & potatoes & the 3rd pig has just been killed. It will be really good to return to civilization & live & eat properly again. But there are parts of the life I've enjoyed & I'd never regret having done it, ever. The only land we saw from Port Vic. was Kangaroo Island, south-east Africa and the Azores until we got to the Scilly Islands off Land's End & which belong to England; every few minutes a new light was reported on the horizon which was interesting after so many months with only occasional light. I meant to say that in Falmouth I thought of sending you a cablegram but with only your address and "117 days Eric" would have cost 7/6d so I couldn't afford that.

(20 July 1936) Monday 20th 2 days later. Today I recieved my mail, forwarded on from Aus. House in response to a telegram I sent when ashore in Falmouth so now I'll finish this off and post it. Now I ask you with tears in my voice why did you put the SS Parma? This a sailing vessel instead of a steam ship & S. V. Parma would have been more correct.