m.v. TAYARI

The East Africa Coastal Trade Story

I loved my early days down in Lindi, I guess where I cut my shipping teeth, and since receiving your E mail and what you wrote about buttons for Gassie's (Capt. Gastelaars) settee and SILABU and everything I have so many thoughts churning about my head on the old coastal service. You evoked  so many memories.

Yes, the SILABU deck passengers I remember well sitting under the hatch tents on the old "Tayari". Before every call I'd ring up the SILABU Agent and ask how many passengers ( manifested as "souls" !) Then the passengers just dried up for a few calls, was told there just were none. 

Then one day shortly after the "Tayari" with no passengers  had sailed I was out sailing in the harbour when I spotted one of the small  Greek schooners, converted MFV's loaded to the gunwales with deck passengers and hanging on like flies, lip plugs and all!  

Next day I asked my African  head clerk to make discreet enquiries as to the passengers that sailed the day before as I was convinced they were SILABU. It transpired I was right and I reported it to the labour Officer asking him to have the vessel checked on arriving in Dar as I was sure there would not be sufficient life jackets, water points etc etc .  

This was arranged and the conditions on board the schooner when she got to Dar were appalling. It ended up in a court case with George Houri I think the prominent lawyer in Dar being involved either as the defence lawyer or I
think he had shares in the schooner. Needless to say I got my deck passengers back for the "Tayari" thereafter.

Another incident. Early evening I cleared the "Tayari" and had just arrived home when I heard three blasts on a ship's horn. As she was the only ship in port, I said to Margaret, "My God the "Tayari" is in trouble" and I hared off. Managed  fortunately to just catch the boat boys coming ashore after mooring my launch. So I went out to the ship to find a very agitated Rik Sombroek. Apparently the engineers had gone off after lunch in the  "Kaskazi" for a fishing trip and hadn't returned. The Chief took my launch to search inshore while the hook was got up and we cruised around Lindi Bay looking for the "Kaskazi".  

I spent a few hours on the wing of the bridge with binoculars peering into the darkness. The Chief Officer eventually found the launch aground on the reef way out near Clarkson point. Luckily it was a rising tide and he towed her off and brought her back to the "Tayari", only to be told that the 2nd Engineer had swum ashore "to get the agent".  

Amazing when things go wrong the first thought it "get the Agent"!!  The poor bloke (that’s the second engineer) after getting ashore had to walk miles through the bush when he met up with an African on a pushbike and got a lift as a pillion passenger to Kitunda Sisal Esate. Then somehow or other he got a fisherman to paddle him right across Lindi harbour in a dug out Ingalawa. There was a knock on our door and Margaret found a very forlorn, barefooted wet and bedraggled engineer looking for the agent !!  

She told him I had gone to the ship hours ago. I decided to go ashore and look for him and thought I might find him sitting in front of our closed office or somewhere. To my relief he was actually standing at the end of the passenger jetty and so I was able to return him straight away to the ship. The last thing Rik Sombroek said to me when I left  was "Call themselves engineers, they couldn't repair a bloody bicycle!!!"  The "Kaskazi's" engine apparently  had broken down.

Another time I had cleared the "Tayari" and she was off, but I didn't tell Gassie that I was going on local leave. This was early on in my carefree bachelor days. I roared off home had a quick shower and a meal and then drove all night up to Dar. Got to the ferry (made from dug out logs !) on the Rufiji at dawn and was poled across and so was in Dar before the “Tayari” arrived. As soon as she was alongside I boarded and, still dressed in my white( but a bit dusty )shorts, shirt and stockings and with my briefcase (empty), went straight as usual to Gassie's cabin, walked in and said "It's the biggest cock up since the charge of the light brigade.  All the lighters are stuck in the mud so we can't start discharge until the tide lifts them off, and we have only one lighter under load with sisal".

Gassie's jaw dropped, he looked at me then out of the window and back at me "What in hell are you doing here?!!"  There was the Lindi Agent coming on board but they were lying alongside in Dar !!! "Relax" I said," I'm on local leave." with somewhat of a cheeky grin. "You young kakkerlak" or words to that effect was his rejoinder. The agent then came on board, Dijkstra I think, Can't remember. Anyhow the up shot was after business had been taken care of, Gassie wanted to do some shopping and I took him up to Acacia Avenue. I then said to Gassie "you're always buying me drinks on board now it is my chance to hit back, lets go to Chez Clo". So after a couple of chupas we went back on board and Gassie said “stay for lunch”, more chupas!! Just as lunch was finished they started closing the hatches so I said I was off. Gassie said "come to Zanzibar with us, we'll be back in a couple of days". 

"No way" says I, I  haven't clothes, toothbrush, shaving gear passport etc. ," Go and get them, we'll wait for you" says the Master of the "Tayari"!
So I roared off to Oyster Bay where I was staying with friends, packed a grip, got back to the ship mara moja and we were off. Stayed on the bridge the whole way across. When the Customs and Immigration came on board I went up to the bridge out of the way and when there was a round of drinks down below up came Ali with a beer for me !. So I sat sipping my drink on the wing of the bridge looking at the lights of Zanzibar and smelling the cloves.

The agent from Twentche came on board, I didn't know him but we had corresponded a lot as I frequently had to write to him about the tallies on transhipment cargo trying to repudiate damaged cargo claims. He was a good chap and told me to come up to the office in the morning and he'd have a Company car for me and so I drove all over the island compliments of Twentche Overseas Trading!!
Man, they were great days.!

Gosh I certainly have blethered a lot, forgive me but I could talk 'till the cows come home when it comes to the "Tayari", the Coastal Service and those very happy years I had in Lindi and Mombasa.

Kwaheri then for now, its been nice chatting with you again.

J.G. Johnston

(Donated by Anton Jansen 27 Jan. 05)