On The Boats: Personal Account By Basil Preston
April 10, 2015
Another Personal Account, this time from Basil Preston.
“Hi Mark, our intake 132, also did some boat training at Deka Drum (November 1973????). Betty was the bar lady and after much drinking etc, Terry Bowers (the rugby player) would call out, “Betty, you beauty” and she would dish out a fresh round of drinks. Once every one was happy, the guys then decided to swim across the Deka river, possibly near the place where Hannes Botha had his mishap. Those Sappers who were not too sozzled stood guard against any crock attacking the swimmers…but thankfully no crocks were involved; only silly and happy innocent Sappers. Keep up the good writing. Basil.”
Not too sure about the innocent Sappers.
Thanks Basil and keep the recollections coming.
Please also have a look at my website dedicated to Rhodesian and South African Military Engineers. Please join us on the forums by using the following link:
http://www.sasappers.net/forum/index.php
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© Mark Richard Craig and Fatfox9’s Blog, 2009-2015. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.
On The Boats: Personal Account By Hannes Botha
April 3, 2015
What a fitting Personal Account to compliment my previous posts of my time on the boats.
Hannes Botha served in the Infantry at 1 Independent Company, Wankie (1 Indep). Part of their ground patrol area was parallel to the area I patrolled by boat and our paths have in all probability, crossed.
As one of my leading supporters mentioned to me only yesterday, we must never let this part of our history disappear.
Thank you for letting me use this Hannes. Your contribution is spot on and there was more than one occasion I helped the Infantry out…….we were all Brothers.
Hannes now takes up the post:
“I remember losing a FN off one of the engineers boats into the Deka river in February / March 1974. We were on patrol from the Deka army camp.My corporal couldn’t read a map so we were going round in circles like the “fakwe bird “. We were to patrol a few klicks away from the river.I eventually said to him that i had fished in this area since i was a kid and that we should walk down to the river and get a lift to the Deka Drum fishing camp. While walking along the Zambezi towards the Deka the engineers came past us in their boat.We called out to them and they came over to us .We asked them to give us a ride to the fishing camp, they refused saying that if the brass found out there could be hell to pay. They took off with the boat and we carried on walking to the Deka river. When we reached the Deka river and walked up-stream we had to walk a short distance from the river due to the mud along the river bank after the flooding. We then heard a boat coming up-stream, it was the engineers who came back to pick us up as they felt sorry for us.As we made our way to the boat i lost my footing after stepping into a hole covered with mud and fell onto a rock. I asked my corporal to pull me up. he put his FN on the bow of the boat , took my MAG and put it on top of the FN and pulled me up. We both climbed into the boat and as we moved away from the bank into the stream he handed the MAG to me .The boat tilted to one side and all we heard was something sliding and then “”ploep “. The FN had fallen into the river. We got our ride to the fishing camp where we had beers, and hamburgers after thanking the engineers for the lift and telling them that we would report the loss the next day. Well the next day the s##t hit the fan. There was a lot of noise when we got back to the Deka camp and an inquire once we got back to 1 INDEP in Wankie. That FN is still lying in the Deka river. Hannes Botha”
Please also have a look at my website dedicated to Rhodesian and South African Military Engineers. Please join us on the forums by using the following link:
http://www.sasappers.net/forum/index.php
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© Mark Richard Craig and Fatfox9’s Blog, 2009-2015. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.
On The Boats……Up The Creek With The SAS (Part 5: Also known as Eight Men In A Leaky Boat)
April 2, 2015
WELL AFTER MIDNIGHT 2 CLICKS UP THE MULOLA RIVER: ALMOST DEAD IN THE WATER
Either way this was going to be dodgy….very dodgy.
I had managed to snap a shear-pin on the port outboard during a high rev gear-shift and it would need to be replaced if we were going to make it back to Rhodesia before first light. It was pitch-black now and we needed to make a decision. Firstly whether to attempt to replace the shear-pin before exfiltrating Zambia, or alternatively use just the remaining engine on its own to snail-pace it back home.
The problem with the first alternative was the lack of light. The moon was long gone and there were no stars. Shear pins are small components and working on an engine in the dark (and crocodile infested waters) would make things quite tricky. Changing them in the daylight was pretty straightforward but we had not tried this at night. The second option seemed feasible except for the fact that should there be a second engine failure we would simply become passengers in a boat going to nowhere.
There was of course a third, unspoken option available and that was to row back. All of our boats carried two oars for loss-of-power events and our current predicament fell into this category at least half-way without a doubt. However we had already crossed this option off the list as being impractical due to the distance involved and also because we were a pair of lazy bastards.
We settled on the shear-pin replacement before exfiltration, figuring it to be the best of a bad set of possibilities. The procedure for replacement is quite simple really, it was just the environment we were in that was going to make it challenging.
We first made sure the boat was tied up as securely and close to the bank as possible. It was quite shallow where we were and it was possible to stand on the muddy and slippery river-bottom. Unseen things brushed against our legs, bringing thoughts of snakes and crocodiles to mind in a flash. With the few tools and spare part we needed shared between us we moved to the stern of the boat. She bobbed silently up and down. Something big splashed not too far from us……probably a crocodile entering the water from the far bank. At least that is what goes through a mans mind.
We needed to get the damaged motor out of the water to work on it. While one of us released the motor locking catch the other tilted the entire engine upwards until ut was at an angle of about 45 degrees. It was then locked into position again. Like this we could get to the propeller where most of the work would take place. We now needed to get the propeller off by removing its retaining nut. This is locked with a cotter-pin which we needed to remove first after straightening it. These usually break as well so we had a spare with us. We could just about see what we were doing in the dim light but to our surprise managed to get the propeller off quite quickly. Feeling up the now exposed drive-shaft we needed to locate the shear-pin hole and having done so pushed out the broken pin. Taking the new pin we tapped it gently into its hole and then reassembled the propeller components in the reverse order. Having dropped the engine back into its operating position, we untied the boat from the bank and climbed aboard. It was only then that I realised how cold and miserable we both looked but for the first time in ages we both laughed at ourselves.
The above picture shows the shear-pin (top) and the split-pin (boatsportandtackle.com).
The picture below shows how the motor is set at 45 degrees on land (fibreglassics.com). We had to do this in the water.
I got myself back behind the wheel and checked that Tony was ready to start the motors. He gave a thumbs up and I set the throttles to the start position. Tony primed the carbs, and ensuring both motors were in neutral, started them one at a time, pulling them to life with an old piece of rope wrapped round the flywheels. We were slowly drifting backwards towards the Zambezi but to our complete satisfaction both engines had fired up sweetly. Smiles all around and the tension seemed to disappear as I gently shifted the two motors into forward gear, pushed up the revs and bought us round so the bows were headed for the Zambezi…….we were going home.
The trip out of Zambia was uneventful and seemed to take less time than going in. I was probably giving it a little more gas than Tony did on the way in and we were soon at the Mulola mouth and headed west. It was still quite dark although our eyes were by now well-adjusted and I could make out shapes all around. The high sides of the Zambian bank still towering over us, seeming to want to take us back.
Tony had moved to the front of the boat now and we sat in silence, each with his own thoughts once again. The engines were looking after themselves now, singing a metallic melody to the starless night. There was still a way to go though and we were weary too but both needed to stay switched on now. I moved us gently through the double S-bends that would bring us out close to Msuna and then on to Sibankwazi. In my dreams I was hoping for a full English breakfast served up by the Member-In-Charge. Hot sweet tea made with condensed milk, and steak and eggs crossed my mind. I could imagine the aroma of fried onions.
Msuna was behind us now and we would soon be approaching Sibankwazi. Their guards should be able to hear our engines by now. Tony switched on our small VHF radio and checked in with the police, letting them know it was us and requested a strobe flash for direction. We both strained our eyes looking for the strobe and when it came we were almost opposite the camp. I swung the boat round 90 degrees to port and headed for our safe-haven……..we were home.
Please also have a look at my website dedicated to Rhodesian and South African Military Engineers. Join us on the forums by using the following link:
http://www.sasappers.net/forum/index.php
Copyright
© Mark Richard Craig and Fatfox9’s Blog, 2009-2015. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.
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