S/T
Sandy Lake/KGPM
Timeframe: joined 29APR70
Jacksonville, FL
Departed Singapore, 07SEP70
Keystone Shipping
Co.
313 Chestnut St.
Philadelphia, PA
    
Philippines
Bahrain
Japan
India
Venezuela
My assignment to the
Sandy Lake began I believe in Jacksonville, Fla. I joined her while she
was in the shipyard. For some unknown reason my recollection of this
ship is foggy. I remember that we were on a MSTS charter carrying jet
fuel for the US Navy. I remember we proceeded thru the Panama Canal to
the Western pacific. I remember loading fuel once at Bahrain and once at
Ras at Tanura, Saudi Arabia. Discharge ports were Subic Bay, Phillipines
and Naha, Okinawa. While we were in the Arabian sea off of Mumbai
(formerly Bombay), whe
had some sort of engine problem and had to put in to that port for 3 or
4 days of repair. I moved ashore to the Taj Mahal Hotel where I lived
like a king.
The Sandy Lake was
named after a minor battle of the Civil war. She was a converted T2. The
house aft and midship house were both original T2, but the hull was new.
This
is Capt. Sandy Powell who was our harbor pilot in Bahrain. He is a
British subject who was employed by the Bahrain ports trust in the 70's.
He notably had a part in a Disney movie "The Boy from
Bahrain."
I was on this ship
about 5 months when the permanent Radio Officer noted that he wished to
return to his job. The company told him that he could but since the ship
would not return to the Continental US for quite some time he had the
option of waiting for that event or paying my airfare (first class) all
the way back to my home port. The permanent R/O a Mr. Adolph Hess
returned aboard in Singapore where we stopped for fuel on the way to Cam
Ranh Bay, SVN and relieved me. He paid me $1009. in cash, which was the
First Class Air Fare Singapore to Washington, DC.
This began a whole
new story which I will put on a different page.
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