So impressed was he with the Samoans numerous canoes and their great skills in handling them French Admiral Louis de Bougainville named their homeland in 1768 the Navigator Islands.
Navigation is proving harder for the Europeans who moved down to the South Pacific and made New Zealand their home. One of their 8 navy ships, the HMNZS Manawanui, just ran aground and capsized in Samoa.
256 years after Bougainville, on a Saturday afternoon, early this month, my Samoan friends were on the south coast beach having a dress rehearsal barbecue for the imminent visit by King Charles, Queen Camilla and all the heads of the Commonwealth for the CHOGM meeting.
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Like most Samoans, my friends have more than a passing knowledge of things maritime, and they observed this high sided ship, very close to the "lee" shore with a strong breeze, slowly moving as is required for hydrographic duties. A "lee" shore is where the wind is blowing the ship towards the shore. Experienced sailors from small yachts to big ships, know that you stay well clear of a lee shore. Boating 101!
In my 4 years training at sea, navigation and seamanship were 2 key elements of ship safety and on the particular ship that I was on, a passenger cargo ship trading between Australia and the South Pacific, we had to keep 2 miles off the land, rocks or small outcrops. If it was a "lee shore" the captain would make it 3 miles. Just in case there was a power failure, this would give the engineers time to restart the engine as we had back up fuel pumps, air starts, cooling systems etc.
Avalanched with calls from friends and media to give commentary on this NZ ship grounding, I kept my opinion to myself until I found out the facts. Brace yourselves readers.
Did it run aground because of a female skipper? My answer is no and being from a merchant navy background I can tell you that, as far back as the 60's, the Russians had the first female officers and female captains on many of their cargo and passenger ships. Mind you they were more Georgian than gorgeous, but they were highly competent and were appointed on merit, as are all merchant navy captains, male or female. My friend Inger Thorhauge who is Captain of Cunard's latest liner Queen Anne, started her seagoing career at 16, as I did, and she achieved this prestigious position purely on merit, experience and current certificates of competence.
In just over 7 years at sea, off watch, I could sleep well knowing that other watchkeepers were experienced and capable of navigating in busy waterways, reduced visibility or close quarters. The Master would mostly be on the bridge during these times.
My experience with Naval ships was winning the National Service lottery where I could get shot at in Vietnam or go on board RAN ships as I was already a qualified navigator with 5 years sea experience. I chose the RAN because it would get me the sea time necessary to sit my masters foreign going certificate. The RAN was an eye opener and due to budget constraints and crew shortages, subsequently the ships actually seldom went to sea and crew experience and competence at that time was, in my opinion, very limited.
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Junior officers were not allowed any decision-making even on watch and I didn't sleep well in the broom cupboard cabin I was sharing with 3 other guys down in the bowels of the HMAS Melbourne and the HMAS Supply when we were at sea. I recorded my experiences in Baird Maritime columns at the time, mostly to the disbelief of my merchant navy colleagues.
Was Captain Yvonne Grey, captain of the HMNZS Manawanui appointed on merit and experience? Clearly not, or her vessel would not have been skirting close to an island with a lee shore. Remember "Boats 101?"
Was the ship suitable for the task? Having been involved in the design of hydrographic ships, to choose a 2nd hand ship with a 26m air draft (height of windage above the waterline) for slow steaming operations in windy conditions was not an optimal choice for the task, but typical of the defence procurement bungling bureaucratic process as highlighted frequently by Greg Sheridan of the Australian.
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