Mid-Atlantic

When I accepted a job teaching at a secondary school in Jamaica the normal way contract teachers travelled to the island was by 'plane but we, despite having a small child, wanted to do it by sea.

This is one of the few photographs I have of that 1973 journey from Amsterdam to Kingston, and it shows how much the world has changed since those days.

The Amersfoort was a Dutch cargo ship which followed a route that took in several islands in the Caribbean and some countries in Middle and South America. It had accommodation for twelve passengers who had an almost free run of the ship, and ate meals with the officers.

So we would wander the decks of the ship with our small daughter, taking her to exciting places like the prow of the ship, whence we could look vertically down to where the bulbous bow of the ship sliced the gloriously clear waters of the Atlantic.

The photo was taken in mid-Atlantic in trade wind weather - a steady breeze with blue skies broken by fair-weather cumulus clouds. Around us the ocean stretched emptily away, the view only broken by occasional fish such as porpoises or flying fish, and floating mats of seaweed.

In those days there was little regard for health and safety. To access the viewing point, Mrs MW and our two-year old had a climb a vertical steel ladder and then hang on tightly to the metal guard rail. It was windy there - the ship was modern and fast so, to add to the trade wind, there was the slipstream of the ship. The two of them are wearing sandals, there's nothing like a lifejacket in sight. There could have been the most awful tragedy - but we were careful and the result was an exciting experience.

All this was brought to mind by a recent visit from that little girl, now fifty-five years old and mother to two daughters of her own. I doubt whether she remembers the experience, which is a shame.