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Back in March of 1972, HMCS Saguenay visited the port of St. Lucia in the British West Indies for about 4 days. It was a great port – lots of slummy joints to hang out in, and plenty of upmarket ones as well. Besides the drinking establishments, there are beaches, mountains, great markets, and an abundance of friendly people. St Lucia is also a stop for pleasure cruise liners, although sometimes they only drop in during the forenoon and sail again before sunset of the same day.
On Sunday morning, our last full day in port, Dickie Moore (name changed) was ashore souvenir shopping with a few other fellows from the ship. After the shopping spree they sat down on the patio of the closest bar, an establishment called
‘The Pirate’s Den,’ and ordered rum ‘n coke all around. At about 12:30 three jolly British women in the mid-forties also sat down at a table on the patio near the sailors and ordered fancy drinks. It wasn’t long before both groups – the thrill-seeking tourists and the love-sick sailors – merged into one.
The women were all passengers on a cruise ship that had pulled into Castries – the capital and the only port – earlier that morning. As it so happened there were three women and three guys, and it wasn’t long before they paired up. Dickie paired with a chubby little one who was the most jovial of the lot. After several drinks Dickie’s lady asked him if he’d like to have a tour of her ship. Sensing that she had ulterior motives of the pleasurable type he said, “Sure. Let’s go.” They left the others behind, as the other women weren’t too keen on the idea. You couldn’t blame them; the other two guys were engaged in an ongoing farting contest.
As they approached the cruise liner the woman said, “Just walk up the gangway as if you owned the ship. Nobody will stop us. If they do, I’ll tell them that I’m just going to show you around the upper deck.” So that’s what they did, and although there was a hand (guy) manning the gangway head, they passed by without being challenged.
As they walked around the deck, Dickie being a sailor himself, explained the use of several deck fittings to his companion. The tour only lasted about ten minutes before she said, “And would you like to see the cabins?” Dickie, of course, said “Alright.”
Her cabin was single occupancy and was located on the after quarter of the ship on the starboard side. It contained a large double bed, a desk and an easy chair, and there was a separate shower enclosure. A large porthole allowed the afternoon sun to cast a beam on the deck. Within five minutes of entering, both Dickie and the woman were lying bare naked on the bed. They engaged in sexual frolic until around 4pm when they both dosed off.
They were awakened by the sound of the ship’s horn. Dickie glanced at the porthole and saw that the clouds in the sky seemed to be moving faster than if they were being blown by the wind. He jumped to his feet and looked out the pothole. The ship was moving! In fact, it was in open water about a nautical mile outside the port. When he heard the toot-toot of a smaller vessel he looked downwards where he saw that a pilot boat was alongside the starboard quarter, and was about to pick up the Castries harbour pilot. He leaned out and yelled,
“HOLD THAT BOAT!” The boat captain looked up and gave him the thumbs up sign.
With that, Dickie grabbed his pants, pulled them on and ran out into the corridor while doing up his belt and buttoning his shirt. He carried his shoes and socks in his hand. His afternoon girlfriend was in the same state of disarray as she ran after him shouting, “I love you! I love you!”
They both ran out onto the quarterdeck. Dickie ran down the accommodation ladder, and jumped into the waiting pilot boat. The woman remained at the top of the ladder blowing him kisses. Of course, the episode didn’t go unnoticed by other passengers on the upper deck. Dickie looked up and saw a whole gaggle of them at the guardrail laughing. Being a comic, he gave them a deep bow from the stern of the pilot boat as it pulled away; they all applauded.
The Saguenay sailed the next morning. This time Dickie may have been reluctant, but he wasn’t a
Reluctant Stowaway.
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