# For Lydia. R.I.P.



## Cpt Dick Brooks (May 13, 2013)

Debut lay anchored in the north western corner of Acapulco Harbour 
between the old fortified citadel and the yacht club. I was drinking and chatting in the mess-room with some of the crew, discussing recent acts of piracy in the Caribbean. I told them, for the benefit of the new crew that had joined my ship, how Debut had all her guns loaded and ready for action, with two cases of Molotov Cocktails made ready for use against the naval vessels of Colombia in case they attached. They were famous for capturing small vessels and yachts to use for smuggling marijuana into the United States. 
I mentioned that I'd towed the 53 foot Norwegian yacht, Artemis, through the Suez Canal on her way to Taiwan, where she was attacked by pirates in the South China Sea. Big Anna refused to believe me, so I went to my cabin and retrieved the log-book of my third ship, Dauntless Star, to show her and her two Norwegian crew-mates, Carrie and Lillanne. 

I'd first met her captain, Pierre, when he came on my ship to ask if I had any coal on board while I was moored in Port Fouad, on the eastern side of the Suez Canal opposite Port Said, as their only means of cooking was on a solid-fuelled stove. I told him that he was in luck, as there was still half a ton of anthracite nuts down in my hold, left over from when my ship worked as an oil-rig stand-by vessel in the North Sea, out of Lowestoft. He willing accepted my price and we helped him load them onto his yacht.
As Artemis had no engine, Pierre asked me to tow her through the Suez Canal for him when I was ready to transit myself. I agreed, and on 18th February, 1976, I left Port Said towing the Artemis on the starboard side of my ship. We had to maintain a speed of ten knots to keep up with the other ships in the convoy. As this operation had some considerable danger, especially if the bow-line parted, I was requested by the pilot to have Pierre's girlfriend, Lydia, travel on board my ship, especially as she was six months pregnant. During the day, she stayed with me in the wheel-house of Dauntless Star and chattered about her life. 

She told me that she was 23 and Pierre was 53, and that she'd been his girlfriend for several years. They had met in Fort Lauderdale while Pierre was preparing his yacht to take part in the single-handed Trans-Atlantic race to La Rochelle. Without the knowledge of the organizers, she'd stowed away on board, keeping below deck until they were clear of the land and the other yachts. Her parents were missionaries in the South seas, and she'd been born on a trading schooner while sailing between the islands. 
When she told me that they were sailing direct to Taiwan without stopping to have their baby, I pointed out to her that babies have a nasty habit of arriving when they feel like it, not when it was convenient. I told her that apart from having two sons myself, I was an ex-police officer and offered to give Pierre a quick lesson on delivery in case the baby decided to come early. When Lydia told him he decline, so I instructed her on what he had to do if the baby came early. Once we'd transited the Suez Canal and spent a night moored alongside the Dephin, the ship we were escorting to Dubai, to rest and clear our decks, Artemis headed south bound for Taiwan, where Pierre had a contract to design and build yachts for Choy Lee.

I heard on the BBC World Service while I was working in Dubai, how they had been attacked by pirates in the South Chins Sea and Lydia
was killed. She had gone on deck and fired at the pirates with a handgun to try and protect their baby son, that she'd delivered in Goa, in India. She was blown over the side of their yacht by a burst of fire from a Kalashnikov and was never seen again. 

The pirates stripped the yacht of everything useful to them, the left Pierre to continue on his way with his baby son to Taiwan. With only a diving compass for navigation and without charts, and only a little food to keep him and the baby alive, he made it to Taipei. 
Big Anna said that it was the general opinion in Norway that Pierre had killed Lydia in an argument and had dumped her body overboard.
On nearing Taiwan, he had dumped all left-over food, his navigational instruments and charts overboard and made up the story of being attacked by pirates.
I told them of the heated argument they'd had on the way south through the Suez Canal over the baby's name. Lydia was not giving their baby his sir-name unless he married her... and he point blank

refused. There was a bad feeling of discontent between them. I even suggested that she join my ship on our way to Dubai, but she wouldn't give everything away over a disagreement. She hoped, for all their sakes, that everything would work out okay.
Our memories are with you, Lydia. May you rest in peace. Cpt. Dick Brooks. http://getbook.at/BlackShip


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## Pete D Pirate (Jan 8, 2014)

Very moving.

Regards,
Pete.


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## Cpt Dick Brooks (May 13, 2013)

*Hi, Pete, good to hear from you.*

It was good to receive your reply to my thread about Lydia. She was a really beautiful young woman. What a pity to lose her.
You being an Ozzy, may have heard of me. In 1987, I was shipwrecked on Emily Reef, 25 miles south east of Cooktown. I spent three years as a castaway, before returning to Australia on my way to Samoa to collect my wife and two small children, then onto the United Kingdom. You can read my adventure on board Debut in my last book, The Black Ship's Odyssey by Cpt Dick Brooks, published by Amazon on their Kindle system, code b00fnkv88a . Hope you enjoy.
Cpt. Dick Brooks


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## Cpt Dick Brooks (May 13, 2013)

*New book published.*

Hi, Pete, I thought you might like to know that yesterday I received confirmation from my literary agent that my second book was now published. "The Judas Kiss", by Cpt Dick Brooks, is published by Amazon on their Kindle system, code B00KJ3664C . Enjoy the read. Best of luck, Dick Brooks.


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## Pete D Pirate (Jan 8, 2014)

Thanks for that, Dick.
I'm currently looking for a good deal on a Kindle reader and I'll also add 'Judas' to the list of books.

I hope you're still keeping your hand in at 'mischief and mayhem' - you've a reputation to maintain, I hear.

Cheers,
Pete.


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## Cpt Dick Brooks (May 13, 2013)

*Hi, Pete.*

Nice to hear from you, Pete, I hope the world is treating you well. You can download books on Kindle on any laptop, tablet or even an I-phone by simply downloading the Kindle App then entering the code for the book. You can access by title or the author's name also. When you get the chance, enjoy the read. As a lover of the sea, I think you really will. All the best, Dick Brooks.


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## ben27 (Dec 27, 2012)

good day cpt dick brooks.m.4th may.2014.23:07.#1.re:for lydia rest in peace,a sad story.i like to believe the first part.(attaked by pirates)thank you for posting,regards ben27


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## Scatari (May 19, 2012)

Cpt Dick Brooks said:


> It was good to receive your reply to my thread about Lydia. She was a really beautiful young woman. What a pity to lose her.
> You being an Ozzy, may have heard of me. In 1987, I was shipwrecked on Emily Reef, 25 miles south east of Cooktown. I spent three years as a castaway, before returning to Australia on my way to Samoa to collect my wife and two small children, then onto the United Kingdom. You can read my adventure on board Debut in my last book, The Black Ship's Odyssey by Cpt Dick Brooks, published by Amazon on their Kindle system, code b00fnkv88a . Hope you enjoy.
> Cpt. Dick Brooks


A related thread here:

http://www.shipsnostalgia.com/showthread.php?t=26303


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## Cpt Dick Brooks (May 13, 2013)

*In memory of Lydia. R.I.P.*

Hi, Ben27, it is nice to receive a thread from you about Lydia. I only spent the two days with her in my wheel-house during our transit of the Suez Canal, and we chatted continually during this exciting voyage, dodging two super-tankers heading north against the tail-end of the south-bound convoy. 
Our pilot spent most of his time on board my ship, M/V Dauntless Star, scrounging for food from my cook, Baked Beans, and Pierre on board the Artemis being towed alongside on the starboard side of my ship. Baked Beans, who was a German national, had been the captain's steward on a Greek steamer and had been left behind when she left Port Said for the Mediterranean, joining my ship when my German engineer found him 'on the beach'. He made the pilot a spam sandwiches after his continual pestering, which he thoroughly enjoyed, asking for another. I wonder what his mullah would have made of that. 
My engineer, Harold-the-Kraut, spent most of his transit down in the engine-room, nursing our 440 hp. Crossley in keeping our speed up to ten knots, as requested by the pilot. Considering we were towing the 53 foot Artemis alongside, and that the canal water was hotter than the recommended running temperature of the engine, this was a hard job for him. Those old Crossley flat-head direct reversing engines don't like being treated like this. 
Lydia was so upset that Pierre wouldn't marry her, even though she was three months pregnant with his baby, she told me that she wasn't going to call the child after him, but was going to give it her maiden name. I asked her to join my ship as my girlfriend, but she said she couldn't give away all the work she'd put into preparing their yacht for their voyage out to Tai-pei, where Pierre had a contract to design and build yachts for Choy Lee . The next morning, after spending the night alongside the Dephin in Port Suez, the ship we were escorting to Dubai, the Artemis headed south down the Gulf of Suez towards the Red Sea, on her way to the Indian Ocean. I never saw or heard from her again.
All the best to you, Ben27, Dick Brooks.


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## ben27 (Dec 27, 2012)

good day cpt dick brooks.yesterday.21:30#9.re:rest in memory of lydia.r.i.p.thank you for your informative reply.i hope your life has been o,k since those days.thank you for sharing your story.regards ben27


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## Cpt Dick Brooks (May 13, 2013)

*To ben27 and all Ozzys*

Thanks for your reply, ben27. In one of my earlier threads on this site to Pete D Pirate, I said how I was shipwrecked in 1987 on my good ship, Debut, on Emily Reef, 25 miles SE of Cooktown. As another Ozzy, you may have heard of my ship. After the vicious cyclone that devastated Far North Queensland a couple of years ago, I was a little concerned for my ship. I needn't have worried, as she is a strong old girl. Ben Cropp, from the Shipwrecked Museum in Port Douglas, E-mailed me some photos that he'd taken last Christmas showing Debut still in one piece and sitting bolt upright on Emily Reef. The bulwarks have gone, along with much of the thin upper work, but the three quarter inch hull plating will hold out for many years more. The funnel stands up proudly, displaying the welded in flag and star of the Renovia Fishing Company of Grimsby. She is fitted with a Ruston VLVB 7 cylinder main engine, weighing some 75 tons with the gearbox. As I managed to winch her high onto the reef, sitting wedged in a deep slot, she will be a monument to freedom, liberty and adventure for many years to come. There is even a museum dedicated to her in Cooktown. After all, she is the biggest tourist draw in the town. When the tourist boats take their guests out to see the reef, what else is there to see, other than at dead low-water spring tides, than my ship sitting on Emily Reef, only ten miles north of Endeavour Reef, where Captain Cook ran aground with his ship, HMS Endeavour, over two hundred years ago. She has hundreds of sooty terns and boobies to keep her company. Enjoy exploring the Internet for dozens of sites written by interested people. All the best, ben27. Dick Brooks.


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## ben27 (Dec 27, 2012)

good day cpt.dick brooks.m.yesterday.01:13.#11.re:for lydia.r.i.p.thank you for your post.it is always a pleasure to read your adventures.keep posting.regards ben27


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## Leratty (Jun 3, 2012)

what a interesting thread. Capt. Dick you have had a terrific life made some good friends I shall get your two books & read them.
Lydia sounded like a lovely person one hopes she was not murdered was there ever an investigation? Did he actually design vessels for Choy Lee? We had an Alaskan 50'motor yacht she was well laid out a good sea vessel we used her for diving the barrier reef. Was very comfortable with max six aboard for long trips many an adventure was had though suspect nothing like yours.
What are you doing in Blighty now days? Richard


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## Cpt Dick Brooks (May 13, 2013)

*For Leratty.*

Hi, Leratty, good to receive you thread about Lydia. She was an absolutely gorgeous girl, and had a wonderful but short life, being born in the South Seas. I'd heard a few scraps of the story, as you are more likely aware of stories being passed down over a haze of plonk late at night in some seedy bar or other. It was only during our discussion in the mess-room in Acapulco after some new crew had joined the ship and several old ones returned that the subject of piracy was raised. As I wrote in my original thread, I brought up the point of how we had prepared the ship to pass along the Colombian coast against any threat of piracy from the Colombian navy. I told the gathered crew of what I'd heard of what had happened to the yacht Artemis over the past four years, but it was sketchy because I'd spent two of those years working in Dubai on the Dauntless Star for Ahli Marine, then returned to the UK to buy Debut, prepare her for sea while getting a new crew together, then sailing across the Atlantic Ocean and spending a year and a half in the Caribbean. Big Anna, one of the three Norwegian girls on board, spoke up doubting my story. I produced the log-book of my last ship to prove the point, and she filled us in on the rest of the story, as it had been big news in Norway. She told us that most people in Norway thought that Pierre's story was at least suspect, and may have actually killed her and dumped her body overboard, trying to cover up the truth with the story of the pirate attack. When I told them of the bad feeling between them during our transit of the Suez Canal, because he refused to marry her after getting her pregnant and that she was going to give the baby her maiden name instead of his surname, this confirmed their suspicions even more. The truth will never be known, as Pierre will obviously keep quiet if he is still alive and the only other witness was their baby son. 
Did you ever get as far north as Cooktown on your voyages along The Great Barrier Reef, and if so, did you ever get out to Debut, 25 miles SE on Emily Reef? I know nothing of what Pierre did for Choi Len in Taiwan, only what he told me of his plans in Port Said. He travelled the 100 miles of the transit of the Suez Canal on his yacht, to keep an eye on the mooring ropes, as we had to maintain a speed of ten knots. You can imagine the strain on the ropes of a 53 foot yacht being towed alongside at that speed. All the best, Leratty. I hope you enjoy reading my books, and don't be shy to ask any questions. Dick Brooks.


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