# V is for Victory!



## Cpt Dick Brooks (May 13, 2013)

Debut had just arrived in Neiafu, Vava'u, with 265 tons of cyclone relief, after a vicious cyclone had lain the place to waste. Half of the buildings had been destroyed, or blown out to sea like wastepaper down an empty street.
After unloading the 15 foot high stack of timber off the weather-deck, Debut was ordered off the wharf to anchor, as the cruise ship, Oriana, was due to arrive. A barge was moored alongside the quay with fancy red rope handrails to land her passengers. The launches, crammed with eager sight-seers, took their turn to disgorge the excited throng, before heading back to the Oriana to collect another load of passengers.
One of the launches pulled alongside Debut to entertain the guests while waiting their slot to unload, who were popping away with their cameras at us.
"What are you doing down here?" the cheery Cockney coxswain asked. "Don't you know there's a war on."
"Go on," I encouraged him. "We don't bother much with the news, living down here in paradise. What's up?"
"The Argies have invaded the Falkland Islands," he told me. "They've got fousands of troops ashore and they're scoffing all the sheep."
"How long has this been going on?" I enquired.
"Over a month, now." He looked at me. "You wanna call the British Embassy... they might wanner use your ship to fight in the war."
On my return to Pago Pago, I phoned the British Consul in Apia to confirm what the coxswain had said, and find out if they needed my ship for the conflict. I'd already discussed this with my crew, and they were all willing to serve on her as a British privateer... even the three Samoan girls. The Consul told me that my ship was on standby to be requisitioned to fight in the war.
I notified the harbour master of Pago Pago that my country was at war, and that I now considered my ship as a British privateer. Any Argentine vessel I found at sea, I would arrest and bring to his harbour as a British prize of war.
"What do you think you can do with that rusty old thing?" he laughed at me.
"She may be rusty now," I told him. "But you wait until you see her with her war-paint on. My ship is capable of 17 knots, and I also carry armour-piecing and incendiary ammunition."
I started to prepare Debut for the battle about to begin. Her grey hull was painted black, and the whale-backs and upper-works were painted storm-grey. I knew I'd have to take her right down into the ice to even stand a chance of clearing Cape Horn without being seen by the Argentine fighter-bombers. If Debut was discovered off Cape Horn, we would have to fight our way through. I hoped they'd fit a couple of multi-barrelled anti-aircraft guns on Debut, if not a S.A.M. system with the military personnel to operate it. Even the armed trawlers in Harry Tate's Navy during WWII had deck mounts escorting Russian convoys, and they were only up against propeller-driven fighter-bombers, as I was having to deal with jet-fighter aircraft.
Day by day, more British ships were sunk near or in the Falkland Islands, and the ex US servicemen who now lived in Pago Pago and had served in Vietnam gave me heaps for staying in port, while other British ships were being sunk in battle. I told them that I was on standby to leave, but had heard nothing else since phoning the British Consul in Apia.
Every day I'd go and read the incoming telex messages at the telephone exchange, and call Peter Green... the British Consul. Every day there was more gloom as I read, with yet more ships being lost, and hundreds of British troops killed while in combat... especially at the infamous Goose Green. Peter Green said to be patient when I phoned him, but be ready to go on the fuel dock to load bunkers and supplies. When he received the go-ahead from the UK, he'd send me a message via the harbour master's office.
I was the only British resident in Pago Pago, and my ex US GIs enjoyed giving me a ribbing every afternoon in the Seaside Garden Club... our favourite drinking hang-out.
"You Limeys are really getting hammered in that war," they'd go on. "You ought to let the ***** have it... it's only a worthless rock. Why do you wanna squabble over that?"
"If the Chinese or Russians invaded this place," I put to them. "You'd want to fight for it, wouldn't you? The same as we're fighting for the Falklands."
"Yea, but this island is worth something," he told me. "What have the Falklands got? Nothing! It's only a rock!"
Day-by-day they harangued me, giving me earache one after the other, in this most beautiful paradise on earth.
Some six weeks later, they were full of themselves. They had given way when the Belgrano was sunk, but now that the British troops were ready to go over the top to retake Stanley, they were beside themselves with laughter.
"You Limeys are sure going to get an ****-whipping over this," they all chided me. "When we were in Nam the attacking force had to be four times the defence force to even stand a chance. They have 13,000 troops defending Stanley, while you have only 4,000. You're really going to get a whooping when you go over the top!"
I heard it over the radio on the eight o'clock morning news... Stanley had fallen to the British troops. I collected my flags and hoisted my best and largest red ensign on my aft flagstaff. After descending to the weather-deck, I raised my message on the flag-yard of the main mast... some 70 feet high. The word V.I.C.T.O.R.Y. was spelt out in flags down the mast in the international code. On returning to the wheelhouse, I hammered out the Morse letter V for victory, over and over again... the Roman number for five, and the opening bars of Beethoven's fifth symphony. 'Da, Da, Da, Daaaaar! Da, Da, Da, Daaaaar! Da, Da, Da, Daaaaar!'
The deep blast of my ship's air horn filled the whole harbour, which was in the crater of a sunken volcano. It echoed and re-echoed between the 1,800 foot crater walls, saturating the small town with it's crescendo. Local people came down to the harbour's edge to see what all the noise was about. And as my flags snapped in the early morning breeze, I gave them more 'Da, Da, Da, Daaaaar! Da. Da. Da. Daaaaar! Da. Da. Da. Daaaaar! Da. Da. Da. Daaaaar! so every one in that small paradise on earth would know the importance of this day. 
I went ashore dressed in my freshly pressed white captain's dress uniform and entered the rear door of the Seaside Garden Club. All of my American antagonists stood to attention and saluted me.
"Good on you, Captain," they hailed me. "You Limeys really gave it to them!"
"It was unbelievable!" another chipped in. "They didn't even stand their ground and fight!"
Alan slapped me on the back, placing a glass of cold beer in front of me on the table. "Congratulations, Dick! That was a magnificent effort!"
"There wasn't 13,000 Argies against our 4,000," I told them. "Over 17,000 of the gutless cowards surrendered!"
They all shook my hand and slapped me on the back. "It was unbelievable, Dick! And there were so few casualties."
"Let's raise our glasses in a salute!" I put to them. "To Maggi and her victory!" They repeated my toast, and we all drank together.
"You see the red hand on my funnel!" I pointed out of the rear windows of the bar at my ship riding at anchor out in the harbour. "I'm going to paint the Union Jack on the wave, so every time you look out of these windows at her, you will be reminded of the absolute drumming you have given me over the past two months."
They all took turns to slap me on the back, and the beers were flowing freely. They wouldn't even let me dip my hand into my pocket to buy a round. Throughout the rest of the day, and in the evening, they made a good party to celebrate this day... on this small island in paradise on the other side of the world. All the best, Cpt Dick Brooks. Taken from Samoan Princess. Details can be found on the Books Forum under 'The Black Ship Trilogy.'


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## IBlenkinsopp (Oct 5, 2009)

And 'B' is for bull****


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## kauvaka (Oct 11, 2009)

C'mon IBlenkinsopp it's an entertaining tale. Malo Capt Dick.


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## Cpt Dick Brooks (May 13, 2013)

*For Iblenkinsopp and Kauvaka.*

Hi, lads, good to hear from you. Thank you, Kauvaka, for putting a good word in for me. I was enjoying my life, having just gotten back with my Samoan girlfriend, Mariana, after losing her for four months, and had landed a lucrative contract to carry a full cargo of cyclone relief to Neiafu, in the Vava'u Archipelago, in Tonga, when I was notified by the Peter Green, the British Consul in Western Samoa, that my ship was on standby to be requisitioned to fight in the Falkland war.
I put this information to my crew, both my regular crew and those who had volunteered to work their passage to Neiafu to help out some of their friends on board the fourteen yachts that had been wrecked in the cyclone, and they all volunteered to serve on Debut during this conflict... even the three Samoan girls on board.
I was the only UK citizen in Pago Pago at the time, and for the next six weeks the ex-Nam vets living on the island gave me heaps every time a British ship was lost. Unlike in the UK, where the news of war was censored... the last war to be so... Pago Pago received the news over the teletype direct. All these ex-Nam vets, who could live freely on the island and claim their pensions without being hit for maintenance by their ex-wives, had nothing more to do than drink the duty-free booze, entertain the young Samoan girls, and ridicule the British army for our losses in the Falkland Islands. The day before our troops went over the top to retake Stanley, they gave me their most vindictive venom yet.
On the eight o'clock morning radio news, I heard that Stanley had been taken, and made up my mind to ensure that the inhabitants on this small island, in this beautiful paradise in the middle of the South Seas, would never forget this day. And I doubt if they ever will! I even left them a life-ring, that was hung behind the bar, when I left for Apia, in Western Samoa. All the best, lads, Cpt Dick Brooks.


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## reefrat (Nov 4, 2007)

My B/S detector is on full alert,, capt. DICK indeed, or am I grown old and intolerant,,


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## kauvaka (Oct 11, 2009)

Lighten up guys, lighten up!


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## PADDY (Oct 6, 2005)

reefrat said:


> My B/S detector is on full alert,, capt. DICK indeed, or am I grown old and intolerant,,


Yes.
Paddy


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## Cpt Dick Brooks (May 13, 2013)

*For Kauvaka and Paddy.*

Hi, lads, and reefrat, good to hear from you. Thanks again, Kauvaka, for putting in a good word for me. Paddy, if you would like to read my book, Samoan Princess... details available on the Books forum, under The Black Ship Trilogy... then you will not only have the full story, but you will see the photograph of Debut in Pago Pago Harbour in her war paint and flying the International Code for VICTORY down her main mast from her flag yard. All the best, Cpt Dick Brooks. Ps. For Blenkinsopp. B is for boatman, when you are approaching a wharf or lock-gates, and require a shore crew to take your ropes. Daaaaar. Da. Da. Da... not Da. Da. Da. Daaaaar.


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## IBlenkinsopp (Oct 5, 2009)

Cpt Dick Brooks said:


> Hi, lads, and reefrat, good to hear from you. Thanks again, Kauvaka, for putting in a good word for me. Paddy, if you would like to read my book, Samoan Princess... details available on the Books forum, under The Black Ship Trilogy... then you will not only have the full story, but you will see the photograph of Debut in Pago Pago Harbour in her war paint and flying the International Code for VICTORY down her main mast from her flag yard. All the best, Cpt Dick Brooks. Ps. For Blenkinsopp. B is for boatman, when you are approaching a wharf or lock-gates, and require a shore crew to take your ropes. Daaaaar. Da. Da. Da... not Da. Da. Da. Daaaaar.


I gather the Da Da bit is you blowing your own trumpet?.


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## Cpt Dick Brooks (May 13, 2013)

*For Iblenkinsopp.*

Good to hear from you, Ibenkinsopp, and I hope you will continue to enjoy my short stories of my 26 year life at sea. I spent my first ten years at sea before the mast, as captain of my own tall ships. I was the first person to charter a tall ship out of Ipswich dock in 1971, and the dock workers still blame me for Ipswich dock... the largest single enclosed wet dock in Europe of 48 acres... now being almost completely filled with yachts of every kind in two marinas. 
After I sold Biche, following the Arab-Israeli war in the early seventies when the price of oil went up 600%, I delivered a variety of yachts and ships throughout the Home Trade area, and went as navigator delivering the 113 foot ex-Fairmile Phaladin, converted into a luxury yacht and owned by my friend, Robin Davies, from Brightlingsea to Antibes on the French Riviera.
I bought the 110 foot Dauntless Star, converted her into a dive- support vessel and took her out to the Persian Gulf, selling her after working as master on a local freighter for a couple of months, and landing a contract for the new owners as master for the next two years. After the first year, Ahli Marine made me their fleet captain, to oversee the running of five ships, one of some 10,000 ton, the Ahli.
I returned to the UK after completing my contract and bought the 189 foot Hull trawler, Ross Resolution, converted her to a dive-support vessel and full salvage ship and took her on a twelve year voyage around the tropical world. 
If you are interested, I have published six books of that voyage alone, and plan to write two more, starting later this year. There are the three books of 'The Black Ship's Odyssey' and the three books in 'The Black Ship Trilogy', 'The Judas Kiss', 'Samoan Princess' and 'Samoan Sunset'. The details to download them are set out on the Books forum on this web-site. Debut was painted black over her Ross grey livery to fight in the Falkland war, along with over a dozen similar ships sent from Hull. I hope you enjoy the read. All the best, Cpt Dick Brooks.


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## IBlenkinsopp (Oct 5, 2009)

Thanks for that Cpt Dick, did my Masters at Shields with a guy called Brookes, from Suffolk back in the day, did you do your tickets there?

Ian B.


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## Cpt Dick Brooks (May 13, 2013)

*For Iblenkinsopp.*

Good to hear from you, Ibenkinsopp. I bought my first ship a week after I turned 18. Don't get me wrong, but after I left college because of the Bay of Pigs incident in 1961, followed by the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, I decided to go and see the world before they blew it up. I got a job as a saw-bench hand at William Brown's Timber Yard down on the docks in Ipswich. I had little money, but bought the 42 foot Blue Bell with two mates over six months. We refitted her and installed an engine, and took her across to Oustende for our first voyage at sea. I've never had any professional training, but learned my craft as a ship's captain on deck the hard way. 
After my mates wanted out of the boat, I bought them out, one after the other. I met a young girl while I was still 18 at our yacht club regatta dance and fell for her. Wanting a respectable job to offer her a secure future, I applied to join the Ipswich police force a week after turning 19. I was married at 20, and used Blue Bell on several police operations, one recovering two bodies of two rowers... see further down this forum for their story... and another where I recovered 77,000 cigars on a yacht from Holland.
When I saw Biche lying in a poor condition in Zeebrugge at the Royal Belgian Sailing Club, I put in a bid for her, which was accepted. I sailed her across the North Sea under jury-rig, assisted by Blue Bell, then spent the next four years rebuilding her while still working my shifts as a police officer. In 1991 I started my own tall ship charter business out of Ipswich, voyaging throughout the Home Trade area.
Following the Arab-Israeli war in the early 1970's, I knew that I'd go bust, even working hard, as no one would pay for adventure when they couldn't put food on the table or pay their mortgage. I sold Biche and worked for a while as a carpenter on high-rise construction and delivery work. My last job was as Forman carpenter on the construction of a new warehouse for Green King Brewery at Bury St Edmunds, in Suffolk.
I bought the Dauntless Star and took her out to Dubai, then sold her with a contract to work as master for two years. On my return to the UK I bought the Ross Resolution and took her on a twelve year voyage around the tropical world. While anchored 25 miles off Bloomfield, on the Far North Queensland Coast waiting for a film contract for my ship to play the part of the Rainbow Warrior, Debut was hit by a tropical line squall, that snapped the inch and a quarter stud-link anchor chain like a piece of string. With only myself, my wife Mariana and our baby son on board, in only 20 foot visibility, Debut was driven on to Emily Reef, where I spent three years castaway. 
It was during the last two years when I was alone after getting a lift for my wife and son to Australia in a fishing boat, that I wrote my first three books, listed in 'The Black Ship Trilogy'. I returned to the UK in August 1990, after collecting my wife and children from Samoa. I was a house-husband, looking after our children while trying to get published. I worked the last ten years of my working life as a night security person at Lyndon House, the Salvation Army Hostel for homeless men in Fore Street, in Ipswich. As I wrote in Book Three of 'The Black Ship's Odyssey', it took 26 years to get published, and in the last 18 months I have published six books about my adventures on Debut on her 12 year voyage around the Tropical World. 
When the engine of my first little ship went wrong, I picked up a spanner and learned how to fix it. I taught myself navigation and ship-handling, being involved with the rescue and salvage of many other mariners. Debut was 189 feet overall, with a displacement of 1,000 tons on her normal loading of fuel and water, with a range of 15,000 miles at ten knots... a fantastic seaworthy ship. I hope you enjoyed my story, and the full details of my six books are available on the Books forum. My next book will be the year-long voyage on the Dauntless Star from Lowestoft to the Persian Gulf, and the two year contract I had as her master. It will be called, 'Whisky and Water'. All the best, Cpt Dick Brooks.


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## tsell (Apr 29, 2008)

A true adventurer Dick!
I enjoy your tales, keep them coming.

Taff


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## Cpt Dick Brooks (May 13, 2013)

*For tsell*

Thank you, tsell, for your input, it is most appreciated. All the best, Cpt Dick Brooks.


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