TRAINING ON OPERATIONAL SHIPS

RSS Freedom, 'A' Class Patrol Craft

My first posting was to RSS Freedom. The captain has the reputation of being the ‘most on’ in the navy. The XO was highly intelligent. Apparently he scored straight ‘A’s at “O” Level but didn’t want any further study. From the time I stepped on board, I was asked questions after questions. Of course I couldn’t answer most and was humiliated to the dogs. It was ragging of sort or could have been the navy way of ‘initiation’ to be an officer. I felt terrible but deep in my heart I had made up my mind to persevere, especially after going through the storm over the Bay of Bengal. I learnt the hard ways but didn’t mind all the hurts; I was focus to be commission as officer.





Most of the training was keeping watch on the bridge, when the ship conducted patrol on the busy lanes in the Straits of Singapore between Horsburgh Lighthouse, St. John Islands and to the west, Raffles Lighthouse. Here we applied Rules of the Seas, either by taking avoiding actions or stay the course. It was more complex at night when you only see the lights of the ships. I also familiarised myself with the sea boundaries between the littoral states of Indonesia and Malaysia and learned to recognise the types of ships. Here I learnt that Indo custom boats we call ‘BT’ often went after our fishing boats for money.

RSS Dauntless

My second posting was to a ‘B’ class patrol craft. I couldn’t remember much what happen during those 2 months. I can only deduce that it was uneventful. Perhaps the captain must be rather ‘switch off’.


RSS Dragon

This was a Missile Gun Boat or MGB, the most important and v
aluable asset in the navy. It was commanded by a senior officer. The ship can speed up the 45 knots. When she did that, she was like skiing on the s

ea, leaving behind the ship an awful wake from the 4 powerful engines.
The captain left us to the ship’s XO to train us. I was treated with more respect and given duties on the bridge under the supervision of the other officers.

Rammed a Fishing Boat.

One night, a suspicious boat was detected on the radar. I said suspicious because, her lights were all switched off which should not be the case. The captain was awakened and decided to investigate. That night my assigned duty was to manage the throttle control (like accelerator on a car). The captain manoeuvred the ship by giving commands to advance or reverse the engines through 4 throttle levers. As the spotlight shone on the boat, I noticed it to be an Indonesian wooden fishing boat as the crew spoke Malay. The captain wanted to get nearer the boat and gave a series of command on the throttle. Instead of pushing the lever backward, I inadvertently advance it, causing the ship to surge forward and rammed the fishing boat in the right bow (front). I remembered dreadfully a few pieces of planks broke. The damage was not very serious. I was relieved of my duties immediately. The captain spoke to the fisherman but I was too dumbfounded to follow the conversation.

Taking responsibility

The fishermen were warned to stay off Singapore water and left without further incident. I was reprimanded for my mistake and was very remorseful but I felt he was far too lenient to me. For the next few hours, I was totally dazed, sad and worried as the reality sank in. What happen if that boat was badly damaged? What if he reports me to my superiors? Will my officer training be terminated and my aspiration destroyed? I saw him next day but I dare not raise any questions. Weeks passed and nothing happened and I was relieved.
I appreciated that as a captain, he has taken the responsibility for someone else mistake. He was forgiving and wasn’t hard on me. It is lesson of humility for me. Be firm, kind and understanding to your men under your charge and you will earn eternal respect from them.

Steep Learning Curve

The last 5 months of on-the -job training has exposed me to actual duties I was expected to confront in the future. I had observed the styles and mannerism of many officers and it’s for me to emulate the good and avoid the bad. It was really a steep learning curve. I was 19 and soon I had to handle men double my age. Some men literally “eaten more salt” than me. I still need to improve and develop my interpersonal skill. Indeed, learning will never end. That is a fact of life.
Soon I will receive my commission and this chapter of my life will closed and new chapter will begins





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OUTWARD BOUND SCHOOL

Outward Bound School

After the sea cruise, we had some days off. Our next phase of Midshipman Training was to attend the 3 weeks Outward Bound School in Pulau Ubin. The purpose of this training was confidence building as well inculcating other qualities such as teamwork, discipline, resourcefulness and leadership. We had heard of this course so many times. To us, it’s another 3 weeks of adventure and we were raring to go.

Welcome and Introduction

From Punggol Point we were ferried there buy bumboats. We assembled at OBS School and met with other eager trainees sponsored by various organisations. We were allocated to billets and was as to changed and begin our training. This time we were introduced to all our trainers. We were divided into group and played some games as ‘ice-breaker’, to get to know the other members. One of the first activities was to bend down, spin 50 round and run straight which we discovered was impossible. We had good laugh when some just ran amok. Our final welcome activity was to walk across the stream. To the uninitiated, this wasn’t a stream; it was a swamp with 2 feet deep of smelly mud. I waded through with little difficulties as I have done this scooping fish from a stream near my house. For those who never did it before, it was sure hell especially when the shoes were stuck and had to put their hand in the mud to salvage the shoes. After that, it must be the best and longest shower for some.

So Many Activities

We did the ‘Fire Fox’, sliding down a few hundred feet on the rope on the fireman chair. Other activities include basic rock climbing and abseiling, walking about 30 feet on tight rope and many more I cannot remember. It was really fun and enjoyable for me.

Canoeing

This was one of the toughest courses for me. Firstly, my arm muscle was my weakest link, secondly my partner was an SIA admin officer, and he was even weaker than me. We set off in a group from Ubin, followed by a safety boat and rowed all the way to the Causeway. From there, we canoed back. We camped for the night on a smaller island off Tekong. We had to cook and eat our ration provided. The next morning, we canoed again and my canoe was always the last of the pack. I felt it provided 3 quarters of the muscles as my mate just couldn’t coup. My arms were real sore after 3 days of canoeing. But it was really satisfying to complete the relay. That I think was the essence of the course. Focus, discipline, determination and sheer hard work make all thing impossible possible.

Solo Nights.

We were each given rations and tent and discarded on an isolated spot and live there for the next 3 days. I was a kampong boy, well acquainted with darkness and noises of night creatures. This place was no different except it didn’t have a roof. So for the next 3 days, while some of my mates suffered in fear and anxiety, I enjoyed doing nothing, just relaxing, eating and sleeping.

Topo March

This was a team effort to go from one point to another. It was here one can show leadership. The participants from other organisations took it seriously. We took a step backward and let them run the show as we don’t need to prove any leadership. At the same time, we had done this so many times since our days in school.

End of Course

We were graded but it was not relevant to the navy. We earned our OBS badge and certificate. I thoroughly enjoyed this course as it was an adventure as there wasn’t any regiment involved in all the daily activities. No fall in and fall out and no flag rising.
It’s back to Midshipman school to prepare for next phase of the training. We will be posted to various ships for on the job training before commissioning as a 2nd Lieutenant. But prior to ship posting, we had leave. Together with a few friends, we went to Kuala Lumpur and Penang for a couple of days.

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PHUKET

Phuket

We were met by the Royal Thai Navy off Phuket.Thai naval officers boarded and help guided our ship alongside the jetty with the assistance of a tug boat. The jetty was small and look neglected and damaged. The place doesn’t look like a naval base, rather a smaller fishing village.

Painting the shipside

As usual, they were always duties and training planned for the midshipman. One of the major jobs here was painting the shipside. This was quite dangerous and tedious. We had to use the bosun ladder, lowered from the main deck, with long pole and brush, paint the side of the ship with navy grey. I didn’t have to do it as I was assigned other duties. But there were plenty of chores as we were preparing the ship to return to Singapore in shipshape condition.

Going Ashore

We took the local cab to town. As usual, we bought some souveniors. I was with an avid photographer and we went sightseeing in the island. Not much to see other than some temple and a panoramic view of Phuket from the hill top.

The night scene

Inche Wee, our fatherly officer who had been with us for 1 year now insist he wanted to show us around and see the ‘must see’. He rounded up about 10 of us, less all the ‘holy’ guys. He took us to a bar. It was dimly lighted and was crowded guests and many young hostesses. We took our seats and ordered beers. In the centre of the bar, was a stage. On the stage were many young girls, skimpily dress dancing around vertical poles. Late into the night, there was the famous “tiger show”. It was one hell of a captivating scene for most of us. We were bewildered, excited, confused and even enlightened. It was also quite a dilemma for some of us as we wondered whether we should be in such place at all. Nevertheless, it was an eye opener and we learned to view life from another perspective.

Sailing home

It had been a very long two months for us midshipman. In the days of no internet or mobile phones, we really haven’t any idea how were our families as well as any news at home or around the world. I was sure my parents must have worried for me but I don’t remember feeling homesick. But I did look forward to share my tales with all my peers and friends. I suppose it was my time to tell my stories, boast a bit rather than listening to other people’s tales.

Home n End of Cruise

The ship berthed at Bedok Jetty. We packed all our belongings into the army issued ‘Ali Baba’ bag. It was really a long way home from Bedok to Chong Pang, lugging the heavy bag. I lost weight and turned black from the constant sunburn. These two months had been a baptism of life, experiences that are not available in any textbooks. Mentally, I grew up a lot. I must admit that I had been lucky with life so far as thing were going my way, my aspirations realised.

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COLOMBO TO PHUKET

Back to Colombo


We sailed back to Colombo. We stayed in Colombo for another week whiles the ship underwent some maintenance as well as to take care of the logistics. We spend some times ashore relaxing in Colombo but didn’t do much.

Naval Reception

The ship organised a reception on board for the senior officer of the Ceylon Navy. It was held on the main deck. The wives were also invited. We had plenty of liquor and finger food prepared by the ship’s cooks. I was mingling around with some of our guests. And I realised some of the wife were barefooted. I found it rather unbelieving as they were wives of senior officers. I found out their Navy only had a few patrol crafts. The favourite finger food was cheese. In fact all the food and drink were clean out.

Setting course for Phuket

Mother Nature was kinder to us on the return journey. The sea was calmer over the Bay of Bengal. Perhaps we were accustomed to the pitch and roll. By now were we comfortable living onboard the ship. Most of us can even doze off any hidden corners. About two of my cohorts suffered from chronic sea sickness. After their return from this cruise, they were grounded for shore duties. Most of our training was completed by this leg. On calm day, we played volleyball. Now a new game was added to ship’s sport. We played deck hockey, with puck made from rope into a ring and similar in shape and size like a donut. In the evening, we had sing-a-long session. The camaraderie had been established and we really enjoyed the company of our fellow mates.

Phuket sighted

As usual, we see the mountain peaks in the distant. Then the coast line becomes visible. What made the difference was the colour of the sea as we approached the jetty. It was green and indicated that the water was clear over coral or sand. No wonders this was a tourist delight. And this stopover was purely an ‘R & R’ approved by the Navy. The seasoned sailors were all looking forward for this stop and were really very excited. We were escorted by Thai Navy ship to the jetty. It was a small jetty used by meant for small ship and we seem to be rather big for it. They were many local on the jetty watching and welcoming us.

EDEN

Eden

We had shore leave for Eden. The ship officers had warned us to be careful with what we do and say. We were not allowed to take photograph. The place seems lifeless. There was nothing of interest to see or do. As such, I cannot recall how the place looks like as there was nothing impressive to give me a lasting memory.

The Mission

The ship now received permission to enter the harbour and berth alongside the wharf. So it was another operational job. The ship had to weigh anchor, secure the boats, the gantry ladder and all loose objects. The ship engineers needed at least 4 hours to warm up the engines while the ship gyro compass need a few hours to stabilise to initialise the heading. Many more routines were carried out to secure the ship for sail again. Finally under the guidance of the harbour pilot; the ship was berthed and ready to carry the ‘secret’ cargo. The cargo was a squadron to T33 Thunderbird unused RAF airplanes Singapore had bought for our RSAF. All the loading was carried out at night. The cargo wrapped in canvas was loaded in the tank deck through the hatch on the main deck with heavy cranes.


Goodbye to Eden

The next day, we set sail for Colombo again. I didn’t miss this place but nevertheless was a good experience. So we said goodbye to Eden. We steamed back to Colombo. Training and living on the ship became routine and the excitement had finally worn off.

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PASSAGE TO EDEN

Cruise to Eden

Our ship set sail towards the Indian Ocean, then picked up north westerly heading over the Arabian Sea. We continued with our training as well as performing ship’s duties such as keeping watch on the bridge and celestial navigation. The journey was approximately 7 days over the vast blue ocean.

Deck Volleyball









The sea was kinder to us on this leg as there was no storm. Some days the weather was almost perfect. Our ship XO organised deck volleyball on the ship maindeck. A long rope was stretch from the bow to the bridge. Then the volleyball was hung from this rope to prevent it going overboard. We really enjoyed the game and can get pretty competitive at times but it relieved boredom and also brought us some sense of normality. See photo above.


Land Ahoy!!!




Once again, we spotted landfall. The dark grey mountains appeared clearer and bigger as we approached the Red Sea. Eden is the capital of South Yemen. The harbour pilot guided us to our anchorage point. We did not have permit to enter the harbour. Instead the ship anchored a few miles off the coast. From here, we utilised the ship’s smaller boats, LCVP (Light Craft Vehicle and Personnel) to ferry ship’s personnel to and fro harbour. The Midshipmen were tasked with this duty. I was also part of the training.

Boat Handling

The LCVP had to be lowered to the sea with the derrick cranes. Boat handling was part of our training. We took turn to do ferry runs to and fro harbour under the watching eyes of the boat sergeant. The LCVP was armoured plated, designed to carry marines and light vehicles from ship and beach on land. It was fun and thrilling driving this boat. Coming alongside the jetty or shipside required judgement, some skill and experience. (That's me handling the boat)




Skin completely burnt

Over the month, I had so many sun burns until I had no more skin left to be burn. I was born dark and now become darker. Under the intense heat in the Middle East and the hot sun, I was now completely blackened. I wondered if my family and friends could recognise me. I had lost some weight too and now even more skinny.



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COLOMBO, SIGHTSEEING

Pick pocketed and cheated


The city is within walking distance from the harbour. We moved around in groups. There were streets urchins and men following us, some selling souvenirs, stamps and some changing money. I felt rather irritated and became distracted by the constant touting and harassment. My favourite Parker pen was picked. One of them who had been trying to sell me stamps, pasted on a thin cardboard must have hooked it away with this thin cardboard. I was also cheated US$10. Because I was tempted by the superior exchange rate I was tricked. I was asked to place my money in an envelope he gave me. He sealed the enveloped, returned it to me and asked me to wait while he looked for his boss. Of course he never returned. It was a classic case of ‘envelope switching’ which I learned later. I was naive but I was glad I learnt my lesson early. This lesson augurs well for me as I am to travel extensively in my adult life. It was a real time lesson for street-wisdom.

The city of Colombo



The city was the capital of Ceylon (today called Sri Lanka) with 2 or 3 storeys colonial styled buildings, somewhat similar to Singapore. The streets were rather dirty and the places were crowded with people. Many of them were just wondering around aimlessly. Not to mention, there were also many beggars. Some people just stared at us. English was the widely spoken language. The local spoke Tamil and Singhalese. Like a birds out of the cage, we just went wild shopping. Basically we wanted to buy souvenirs. I bought a black iron-wood book stand, crafted with elephants and till in good condition till this day, after more than 30 years. There were many gems shops dealing with semi-precious stones like topaz, sapphires, cat-eyes and rubies which I did not buy. I had a big meal of jumbo crabs with my friends at Nanking Chinese Restaurant.

Like a tourist

We snapped many photograph of Colombo. See below.



Kandy

A tour was organised for the midshipman to visit the city of Kandy. It was situated north and centre of the island. It is the cultural capital of Ceylon and house many temples, both Buddhist and Hindu. It was a centre for local art and crafts. I couldn’t remember much of what I saw during the tour. Nevertheless, the journey up there was still educational and relaxing especially having been on the high seas for more than a week.






We spend a few more days wondering around the streets of Colombo. In between, we had to do sentry duties on board as well as the usual chores of washing clothes and packing our sleep area.

Goodbye to Colombo

Our ship left Colombo after one week. Our next destination was Eden. Besides midshipman training, the navy had a secret mission to accomplish in this socialist country call Yemen.




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COLOMBO, CEYLON

Training never stop

I had been a momentous 7 days on the high sea and was really a humbling experience for most of us, 18 years old, we were neither kid nor grown-up. After the storm, we all had ‘grown up’ a little bit. We missed the comfort of home and really appreciated the calmer sea. While the living condition was not that great, we enjoyed the company of friends. There were some pressure while on training as we had to attend lessons, understudy the duties of various naval officers. We were rostered watch-keeping on the bridge as well as spending time in the engine room. We took it on our strides and not succumb to pressure as we were constantly appraised by our officers to judge our suitability to make the grade of naval officers.

Entering the Harbour

By the 8th day at sea, we were anxiously awaiting for landfall. It’s a kind of kid excitement; nevertheless I thought it very human. It has been ‘water, water, water everywhere’ so the first sighting of land got the whole ship excited. Man, we were going to walk on land again!

Approaching the Harbour

Harbour Duties

The ship was met by harbour pilot who guided her into Colombo harbour. The crows and albatross were circling all over the ship. We took up duties manning the fenders and ropes as the tug boat berthed us alongside the wharf. There were hives of activities on the main deck as sailors secured the ship for the layover. Such as lowering the gantry and setting up the guard rails and erecting the guard post for guards. The ship needed to be tidy up as we foreign naval officers and visitors and all deck equipment must be properly stowed. As midshipman we were tasked to assist the officer to maintained security. Sentries were to book sailors out and salute any officer boarding and disembarking the ship.

The colombo harbour


First step with the sea leg

The navy call it shore leave. It means off day at specified times. For midshipmen, dress code remained long sleeves with ties. The weather was similar to Singapore, hot and humid. The first few steps on ground, we felt a bit apprehensive. We have been balancing each and every step while on board the ship. Now it was almost surreal that the ground was just too calm. As I have mentioned earlier, this was a good bargain for NS. 5 days free holiday in Ceylon. A trip had been planned for us to go up-country to the ancient capital city of Kandy.




Walking to the city of colombo





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CELESTIAL NAVIGATION

Ever wonder how the earlier mariners sailed around the world, discovered new territories and yet able to return home without being lost. Here's the answer.

CELESTIAL NAVIGATION

Since time immemorial, human race has been finding their way from the heaven, following the heavenly bodies that never fail to appear at the onset of darkness. Many of the stars have Arabic names because the people of the desert used them for direction and later on did the mariners across the sea and ocean. Celestial Navigation is the art as well as a science of navigating by the stars, sun, moon and planets. Of course, with the inventions of electronic and radio, it loses its importance. More so today, the uses of GPS from satellites have assigned this form of navigation to history.

The concept

The stars are very distant from the earth. As a result it appeared constant and can be spotted at the same place every night. Just like the sun, we know where it will rise and the inclination at a certain time. But as the season changes, some shifts can be expected. As time changes, so do the inclination from the earth. In another word, one can predict that a certain star almost accurately its bearing and inclination at a specified time. Astronomers and mathematicians thus were able to work out a table to infer position from the bearing, inclination and times of the stars. The tables are call the ‘nautical almanac’ and ‘sight reduction table’.

Shooting the stars

Before we used the marine sextant to measure the inclinations of selected stars, one has to do his homework to find out what stars were visible from the ship's position together with the anticipated bearing(azimuth) and inclination(altitude). Good choice should be stars that were easily recognised and shots taken from different directions of the ship. Mariners were limited to dawn and twilight to take shots. At these times, both the horizon and only the brightest of star become visible and identifiable. The sextants measure the altitudes of the stars from the horizon. Precision timing to the nearest second must be noted at the time the ‘shot’ was taken. 3 stars altitudes were needed to get a ‘fix’ or position. Of course, the moon, planets and the sun at noon where it was at its highest point were also used to obtain position lines.

Plotting the position.

Once the readings were taken, it’s back to the chart table to complete a complex set of calculations to determine position lines. Initially we were completely lost when we can’t even get one position line to plot on the chart. As time went by, we improved and learned from mistakes. Till this day, I still remembered a quotation on the nautical almanac. It read, “MAN IS NEVER LOST, ONLY TEMPORARILY MISPLACED”. It has since been adopted as my personal life philosophy.

Meridian Passage.

The aim is to find the sun highest altitude at around noon. After a set of calculation, a mariner can now determine the ship latitude. In layman term, how far is the ship away from the equator.

My greatest respect for the ancient mariner

Having gone through this training, I now realised how brave and courageous the ancient mariners were. Depending only on wind to sail with compass, inaccurate sextants, and rudimentary tables, they were able to navigate around the world. Of course many were lost and shipwrecked. Nevertheless, thesa pioneera were precursors to modern day electronic navigators like the INS and GPS. First the sailing yacht, the steam engines and then the diesel engines and eventually modern aviation. Without the knowledge of navigation, we could never find our destinations across the ocean and the land mass.




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THE SEA TRAINING

Lesson Plan

The purpose of this training was to expose us to maritime operations. It allowed us to put into practice all that we had studied in classroom during the last 6 months. This was especially so for seamanship and navigation. The sea training was also to give us greater appreciation and awareness of the duties of the sailors.

We had to spend time in the engine room, operate electronic and communications equipment as well as the ship radar system. One of the most tiring jobs was ship maintenance. This included chipping away the rust, paint with red oxide followed by another layer of paint. Painting shipside requires the use of hanging (Boson) ladder. We were taught on handling the ropes and fenders when the ships enter or leave the harbour.


People skill

The ship environment is very different from that of the army. Here everyone is sort of a specialist and almost indispensible. Interpersonal and communication skill are very vital to get the ship's crew to accomplish a mission. The leadership skill of the naval officer is very different from that of an army officer. We were taught to be humble and learn as much as possible from the experience sailors. Not only did we learned a lot, but also earned their respect. Ironically, someday we became their boss.

Weather and the Environment

We had been baptised by the storm at the Bay of Bengal and successfully 'commissioned' our sea legs. This part of the training can never be simulated in the classroom. We had learned to appreciate the wind, rain and thunderstorm in the ocean, the darkness in the empty ocean at night. The high wave and the monster swell were a lesson of humility and opened our eyes to the power of nature. We learned to be safe and make the necessary adjustment and adapt according to the changing environment. One of the biggest lessons I learned was to be ‘ship shape’. It simply means to be prepared and ready for any impending adverse weather or any unforseen situation. This applies to our daily life.

Understudy the ship’s officer

Watch keeping was another part of the job training. Here we learned from the experience officer the essential of keeping the ship safe and avoiding collision. Rules of the Sea must be observed. Some of the seasoned officers were really tough and asked a lot of questions. But we learned despite being humiliated at times.

Each watch was 4 hours. The most tiring watch was the from midnight to 4 in the morning. The 'OOW' or officer of the watch has 2 lookouts and l radar operator. Captain of the ship never kept watch; he is only on the bridge when the ship leaves and enters harbour or in emergency. Up on the bridge can be very boring but can also be a serence and peaceful place for time to reflect, especially during dark night filled with stars while the ship sailed through the calm sea.


Communication

The ship was equipped with all kind of communication equipment from VHF to HF. Besides using electronic, the navy ship also communicates using light and flags when in close range to prevent enemy interception. We learned to send and receive messages through flashing lights. The use of Morse-code on the radio set was beyond us. But we need to memorise all the flags that represent each alphabets and numerals. These were normally used to identify or represent the ship’s status when operating in a fleet.

Celestial Navigation

The major exercise was celestial navigation. It was a bread and butter subject for naval officer whether in the military or merchant navy. 3 times a day, dawn, noon and dusk, we had to use the marine sextants to ‘shoot’ the stars, moon and sun to obtain their inclinations from the horizon. Then we went through a set of calculation to determine the ship’s position. More details on my next blog.




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