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← All fourteen ships

1955–1956

S.S. Wellpark

J.&J. Denholm

Steam tramp

The voyage that took him furthest from home. She loaded 247 cars, 165 barrels of tar and 5,000 tons of fertiliser at Southampton, went through Panama, passed the Galápagos, and worked her way round New Zealand and Australia before coming home through Suez — seven months, and very nearly all the way round the world.

2 pictures — tap to see them

AntwerpCuraçaoAucklandBrisbaneCairnsSurabayaAdenGibraltarThursday IslandSuezLiverpool

1 of 13 passages

6th November 1955 — 7th November 1955

Antwerp → Southampton

375 miles · 1 day at sea

TO LOAD CARS & TAR

SAILED ANTWERP 8am 6th NOV. BOUND AUCKLAND VIA SOUTHAMPTON

Every passage he logged in her. Press play to follow her through, or tap a port to see every time he called there.

Log entries
34
Ports
18
Nautical miles
27,819
Days at sea
114

Her longest passage in the log ran from Panama to Auckland — 8,081 miles, 28 days at sea.

The log

29 Oct 1955 to 13 May 1956

October 1955

  1. 29 Oct 1955

    Joined Antwerp

    JOINED TO ANTWERP 29th OCT

  2. 24 Oct 1955

    Signed on

    SIGNED ON OCT 24th OCT

November 1955

  1. 6 Nov 1955
    8am

    Sailed Antwerp — bound Auckland via Southampton

    SAILED ANTWERP 8am 6th NOV. BOUND AUCKLAND VIA SOUTHAMPTON

  2. 7 Nov 1955
    1pm

    Arrived Southampton

    TO LOAD CARS & TAR

    ARRIVED SOUTHAMPTON 1pm 7th NOV. BERTH 38 TO LOAD CARS & TAR

  3. 9 Nov 1955
    8pm

    Sailed Southampton

    247 CARS, 165 BARRELS TAR & 5,000 TONS FERTILIZER

    SAILED SOUTHAMPTON 8pm 9th NOV 247 CARS, 165 BARRELS TAR & 5,000 TONS FERTILIZER

  4. 27 Nov 1955
    10am

    Arrived Curaçao

    FOR BUNKERS

    ARRIVED CURACAO 10am 27th NOV CRACAS BAY FOR BUNKERS

  5. 27 Nov 1955
    1pm

    Sailed Curaçao

    WITH 1,100 TONS BUNKERS

    SAILED CURACAO 1pm 27th NOV WITH 1,100 TONS BUNKERS

  6. 30 Nov 1955
    8.10am

    Arrived Panama

    ARRIVED PANAMA CRISTOBAL 30th NOV 8:10am

  7. 30 Nov 1955
    12:20pm - 9pm

    Canal transit

    CANAL TRANSIT 12:20pm - 9pm 30th NOV.

  8. 30 Nov 1955
    8.30pm

    Sailed Panama

    SAILED PANAMA 8:30pm 30th NOV

December 1955

  1. 4 Dec 1955

    Passed Galápagos

    PASSED GALAPAGOS 4th DEC.

  2. 28 Dec 1955
    10am

    Arrived Auckland

    TILL 29th DEC. IMPORT WHARF

    ARRIVED AUCKLAND 10am 28th DEC TILL 29th DEC. IMPORT WHARF

January 1956

  1. 10 Jan 1956
    3pm

    Sailed Auckland — bound Whangarei

    WITH 3,000 TONS B.S.WAG.

    SAILED AUCKLAND 3pm 10th JAN FOR WHANGAREI WITH 3,000 TONS B.S.WAG.

  2. 11 Jan 1956
    9am

    Arrived Whangarei

    TO DISCHARGE

    ARRIVED WHANGAREI 9am 11th JAN TO DISCHARGE

  3. 19 Jan 1956
    10am

    Sailed Whangarei — bound Brisbane

    F.O. & FUEL

    SAILED WHANGAREI 10am 19th JAN BOUND BRISBANE F.O. & FUEL

  4. 24 Jan 1956
    10am

    Arrived Brisbane

    alongside 25th Jan

    ARRIVED BRISBANE 10am 24th Jan alongside 25th Jan

  5. 27 Jan 1956

    Sailed Brisbane — bound Urangan

    SAILED Brisbane & from 25th - 27th Jan bound Urangan.

  6. 28 Jan 1956
    8pm

    Arrived Urangan

    till 30th Jan, alongside

    ARRIVED Urangan 8pm 28th Jan & till 30th Jan, alongside

March 1956

  1. 11 Mar 1956
    10am

    Sailed Urangan — bound Cairns

    bound Cairns with 9,100 sq ft

    SAILED Urangan 10am 11th March & till 12th March bound Cairns with 9,100 sq ft

  2. 15 Mar 1956
    10am

    Arrived Cairns

    Berth No 8 to load 355 tons

    ARRIVED Cairns 10am 15th March Berth No 8 to load 355 tons

  3. 19 Mar 1956
    2am

    Sailed Cairns — bound Gibraltar

    bound Gibraltar for orders

    SAILED Cairns 2am 19th March bound Gibraltar for orders

  4. 21 Mar 1956

    Passed Thursday Island via The Great Barrier Reef

    Pilot away

    Thursday Island Barrier Reef Pilot away 21st March

  5. 25 Mar 1956

    Passed Timor via The East Indies

    PASSED Timor 25th March East Indies

  6. 30 Mar 1956
    8am

    Arrived Surabaya

    for bunkers

    ARRIVED Surabaya 8am 30th March for bunkers

  7. 30 Mar 1956
    1.30pm

    Sailed Surabaya — bound Aden

    bound Aden

    SAILED Surabaya 1:30pm 30th March bound Aden

April 1956

  1. 19 Apr 1956
    10am

    Arrived Aden

    BP Bunkers Berth

    ARRIVED Aden 10am 19th April BP Bunkers Berth

  2. 19 Apr 1956
    noon

    Sailed Aden — bound Suez

    for Suez

    SAILED Aden 12pm 19th April for Suez

  3. 25 Apr 1956
    4.30pm

    Arrived Suez

    ARRIVED Suez 4:30pm 25th April

Undated

  1. 9pm 25th - 9am 26th
    9pm

    Canal transit

    CANAL TRANSIT 9pm 25th - 9am 26th

April 1956

  1. 26 Apr 1956
    9.30am

    Sailed Port Said — bound Gibraltar

    for Gibraltar

    SAILED Port Said 9:30am 26th April for Gibraltar

May 1956

  1. 6 May 1956
    8am

    Arrived Gibraltar

    for bunkers

    ARRIVED Gibraltar 8am 6th May for bunkers

  2. 6 May 1956
    12 noon

    Sailed Gibraltar — bound Liverpool

    bound Liverpool

    SAILED Gibraltar 12 noon 6th May bound Liverpool

  3. 12 May 1956
    4pm

    Arrived Liverpool

    Huskissons Dock to discharge

    ARRIVED Liverpool 4pm 12th May Huskissons Dock to discharge

  4. 13 May 1956
    10am

    Signed off Home

    21:00

    SIGNED OFF 10am 13th May Home 9pm

What was happening

Background written by the family, not from the logbook — but it explains a good deal of what is in it.

1954–1957

A country still on rations

When David first signed on in 1954, food rationing in Britain had only just ended — the last of it, on meat, finished that July. The ships he joined carried the raw material of recovery: iron ore from Algeria, Brazil and Sierra Leone into the steelworks of South Wales and Tees-side.

In the log: The Hollypark and the Gleddoch run almost nothing but ore, between Bône, Narvik, Pepel, Vitoria and Port Talbot.

1956–1957

The Suez Canal is blocked

Egypt nationalised the Suez Canal Company in July 1956. Britain and France invaded that autumn, and by November the Canal was blocked with scuttled ships. It stayed shut until April 1957. Tankers bound for the Gulf had to go round Africa instead, and Britain brought back petrol rationing that December.

In the log: In October 1956 the Norscot went through Suez to Kuwait as usual. She never went that way again that year — her 1957 pages are all Venezuela, Curaçao and the Atlantic. In July 1957 she sailed for Kuwait and was re-routed to the Caribbean off Cape St Vincent.

1954–1971

No telephone, no news

There was no way to call home. Letters were sent ahead to the agent at the next port, and if the ship was diverted the mail chased her round the world for months. A man could sail knowing his wife was expecting, and learn he had a child from a telegram handed up a gangway in another hemisphere.

1954–1971

Two years was a normal voyage

Foreign-going Articles could run for up to two years, and often did. David's longest unbroken spell in this logbook runs seventeen months, from June 1960 to November 1961 aboard the Scotstoun. Leave came at the end of it, not during.

1954–1971

The map keeps changing

The place names in this log are the ones David used, and many of them have since changed. Bombay is Mumbai, Madras is Chennai, Bône is Annaba, Bougie is Béjaïa, Ceylon is Sri Lanka. He sailed through the end of one world map and into another.