The SS Riviera

Having regained his rank of Captain, father's first trip out was on the SS Riviera.  Although father held the rank of Captain, he did not hold the position of ship's captain.  Instead he was third officer - that would be the one responsible for the crew.  The Captain and Second Officer were both British.

The crew was composed of ex-British soldiers and sailors, with a few German's thrown in as well.  This detail will be come import later on - as there was more than just a little hostility between the two nationalities on board - at all levels.

SS Riviera 1946

Father had little good to say concerning the Riviera.  Apparently it was quite an old US built Liberty Ship from the war, with a tremendous rust problem - which will crop up in this disastrous voyage later.  A great deal of the crew's shipboard life revolved around painting over rust and securing plywood over holes in the deck.  Yeah, not your safest ocean going trip it would seem!  Ownership also was not quite what it seemed.  Supposedly, it had a Liberian registry and therefore wages were quite low and conditions poor, in truth it was really Panamanian and conditions were to be compared to an ocean going sweatshop - by the US inspectors!  But, none of this is important now, but will be later in this story.

In Rio de Janeiro, father was allowed the thrill of taking the ship out of port.  Unfortunately, he forgot to order 'cast off' - so tore the dock off of the shore and pulled it a quarter mile out into the bay!  He was terribly embarrassed but the captain thought it was one of the funnier things he had ever seen!  I guess officially, the responsibility belonged to the highly liquored Brazilian pilot.  So, his fault officially.  But, father was a perfectionist and was still beating himself up decades later over this goof.

The voyage continued around the horn and onto India, the beginning of the end for father's naval career.