"Bashert" by Conrad Singer Chapter 5 At Sea Again
five
AT
SEA AGAIN
That winter had proved to be unusually severe. From the very beginning of
December 1936, the Danube had been frozen as solidly as any of the older
residents of Braile and Galati could remember. The livelihood of the
people depended on employment generated by the activity in the ports. The
poverty of many members was extreme.
Slowly, in the spring, the ice started to melt. Every day that passed saw some improvement. My old ship, the Verbormilia, had spent the winter in dock at Galati, some twenty-two kilometres down river from Braila. Its crew and me were doubly delighted when it was our ship, which reached Braila before any other.
Mum & one of my brothers, Bucharest 1936
We were all grateful to be enjoying
regular meals once again and could begin to forget the effects of “ramazan”,
the Turkish word, in common use, for hunger. The ship was travelling at
speed and the turbulence on the water’s surface was quite unlike
anything I had ever seen before.
However, I was now a well-tried seaman with an enduring sense of speed and
adventure. It was with real enthusiasm that we sang our shanties, on
gaining the open sea.
Our first port of call was Zoungouldah, in Turkish Anatolia. This was a
small harbour on the Black Sea, where we took on bunker coal and other
provisions. Coal was sent down chutes, directly from barges floating on
the water. Poor Turks then made a chain gang from the barges and over the
ship’s rail. This continuous and strenuous work went on until the ship
was fully loaded with steam coal.
There had been rumours, ever since the ship had weighed anchor, about our ultimate destination. It was Leonida, the Cambouzier (steward), who first had confirmation that we were sailing for Valencia. But for the fact that we were able to negotiate much better pay, there would have been a veritable mutiny on the ship.