[Editor: This article, regarding the seafaring life of Keith W. Ramsay, was published in the Education Gazette and Teachers’ Aid (Melbourne, Vic.), 22 January 1914.]
Among the ice: An Australian’s experiences.
Keith W. Ramsay, eldest son of Mr. D. W. Ramsay, of the Federal Public Service Commissioner’s office, who is only twenty years of age, has chosen a seafaring life, and, in consequence, has seen many out-of-the-way corners of the world.
It is now four and a half years since he went to sea. About twelve months ago, he shipped to Havre, in France, on a sailing ship, and afterwards journeyed to London, where he signed on in the Harmony, an auxiliary barque of 223 tons register, built of 8½-in. oak, and further protected with a belt of green-heart 3½ inches in thickness. Her beams are also of oak, 14½ inches by 14 inches, strengthened with angle iron. “So you may imagine,” said young Ramsay, in a letter to his father, “that she is fairly solid.” However, the Harmony was to visit the sealing grounds off the Labrador coast, and the wisdom of having her so strengthened was demonstrated when she was jammed in the drift ice on several occasions.
The Harmony left London on 21st June, and, after coaling at Dartmouth, sailed for Macovik. On 6th July, when the ship was fifteen days out, the first iceberg was sighted, and, from that time until 13th August, when she put into St. John’s, Newfoundland, she was constantly among the ice. On one occasion, not fewer than sixty huge bergs could be counted without the aid of glasses, not to mention numberless pieces of drift ice and “growlers.”
On 7th July, heavy drift ice was encountered, and the Harmony was jammed for two days. Macovik was reached on 10th July, and, from there, the vessel went right up the Labrador coast, calling at Hopedale, Nain, Okkak, and Hebron before coming down to St. John’s. In Mockford Tickle, outside Okkak, the Harmony was again delayed by drift ice, this time for eight days.
Young Ramsay describes the coast of Labrador as being barren and uninviting, as there is no vegetation at all, and the Eskimos have to depend on the cod fish and seal industry for their livelihood. However, the trip, he says, has been most interesting and instructive, while he finds a fascination in this region of perpetual cold which he cannot explain. “I suppose it is the ice,” he goes on. The low temperatures have not troubled him, and, although he has at times seen the sea frozen over during the night, he has not found the cold very great. However, when he wrote last, the members of the crew were procuring sealskin boats, mittens, &c., for the two further trips that were to be undertaken before returning to London.
The Harmony is described as a very comfortable vessel with a “very decent crowd,” and the “old man” is spoken of as being nice. However, he must be something of a disciplinarian, as it is pointed out that he does not give any money on the voyage. Young Ramsay, who, though he has shipped before the mast, is ambitious to secure his mate’s certificate, and intends to go up for his examination shortly, has had the opportunity for a good deal of studying on the Harmony, as he is night watchman during fine spells. After qualifying for the mate’s certificate, it is probable that he will offer himself for service in the Australian Navy.
The account given above is from the Herald. The head teacher of the Armadale school writes to us of young Ramsay as a former pupil of that institution, and refers to another ex-pupil, Harrie Brewster, who is a Marconi operator on H.M.A.S. Australia. Brewster has sent along a handsome engraving of the vessel, asking that it be hung in the school.
Source:
Education Gazette and Teachers’ Aid (Melbourne, Vic.), 22 January 1914, p. 12, column 2
Editor’s notes:
The text states that this article was also published in the Herald; however, at the time of posting, the Herald article could not be located.
&c. = an alternative form of “etc.”: an abbreviation of “et cetera” (also spelt “etcetera”), a Latin term (“et” meaning “and”, “cetera” meaning “the rest”) which is translated as “and the rest (of such things)”, used in English to mean “and other similar things”, “other unspecified things of the same class”, “and so forth”
barque = (also spelt “bark”) a small sailing ship in general, or specifically a sailing ship with three (or more) masts, in which the aftmost mast is fore-and-aft rigged, whilst the other masts are square-rigged
berg = an abbreviation of “iceberg”
glasses = an alternative name for “binoculars”
growler = a small iceberg or an ice floe, especially one which is only just visible above the water, and which is large enough to be regarded as a danger to sea-going vessels
Havre = [see: Le Havre]
Le Havre = a port city on the northern coast of France
See: “Le Havre”, Wikipedia
H.M.A.S. = “Her Majesty’s Australian Ship”, or “His Majesty’s Australian Ship”, depending on the sex of the ruling monarch; a designation given to a base or a ship of the Royal Australian Navy (the designation can be rendered as “HMAS” or “H.M.A.S.”)
Labrador = a region in the north-east of Canada
See: 1) “Labrador”, Wikipedia
2) “Newfoundland and Labrador”, Wikipedia
Marconi = a radiotelegraph device (a telegraph machine), used for sending communications wireless telegraphy (sending messages or signals via radio waves instead of via cables or wires); named after Guglielmo Marconi (1874-1937), an Italian inventor who played a major role in the development of radio communications
Marconi operator = someone who operates a Marconi (a radiotelegraph machine) [see: Marconi]
old man = a male boss, employer, governor, captain of a ship, expedition leader, military leader, a leader of an enterprise, group, or organisation; an elderly man; father, head of the household, husband
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