RIP Wiz. Ozbash 2002, "Daisy" and all the other great stuff.
Also killed was marine pilot Chris Hart, whom I sailed with in the mid to late 1980s on the "Howard Smith". Affectionately known as "Choff" (Chief Officer), Chris was hugely entertaining and a skilled and competent Master Mariner, and was a memorable 1st Mate.
Chris did his cadetship on the "Uganda". It was used as a hospital ship during the Falklands conflict, then sold off. Once, Chris and I were on the "Howard Smith" at Kaohsiung, and we passsed the "Uganda" lying on her side in the shallows, having drifted from the anchorage during a typhoon whilst awaiting scrapping. I still have the photo I took and it is a sad sight to see a proud ship dying like that.
Chris was very moved by the sight, saying it had been the happiest ship he ever sailed on when it served as a cruise-ship. He also related the final voyage of the "Himalaya" in which he had been a crew-member. I sailed to England in 1956 on that same ship. Truly it is a small world.
So I say a very sad farewell to my friends "Choff" and "Wiz". I am much the poorer for your departure.
