Cachalot

In the winters of 1935 and 1936, Jim Gempton ( middle front row in photo above) sailed on two cruises as Bosun on the yacht Cachalot . An account of their exploits was captured in a book - "We Sailed from Brixham" written by Peter Davies for the Master/Owner of the Cachalot - Lieutenant Colonel Claude Beddington. 

The First Trip 1935 - 1936

The first trip left Brixham on 21st of September 1935 sailing through the Mediterranean and Suez Canal into the Red Sea as far as the Port of Akaba. The journey took 6 months, travelling 9000 nautical miles with the Cachalot returning to Brixham on the 11th March 1936.

The Second Trip 1936 -1937

The second trip left Brixham on the 14th November 1936 sailing the Atlantic Ocean past the Canary Islands down the West Coast of Africa as far as French Cameroon. They headed for Sao Thome and crossed the Equator before turning around to head home. This journey took 5 months , travelling 10500 nautical miles, returning home on the 16th March 1937

The following sections are excerpts taken from the book "We Sailed from Brixham".

The search for a suitable Yacht.

“ I journeyed to many different parts to look at yachts ……….. there was not one that would have been the perfect cruiser for me, so I decided to build one. I chose the Brixham Trawler type because of the long voyages I intended to make, an absolutely sea worthy ship was essential.”

“ Cachalot’s builder was Mr Upham of Brixham. His family had built ships from Nelsons time and by trial and error had evolved the Brixham Trawler. I had experience of these vessels and knew that the fishermen, who had to get their livelihood all year round, had perfect confidence in them when fishing in the winter gales in the Bristol Channel and off the South Coast of Ireland. The Brixham Trawler is a gaff rigged ketch and so is easy to handle and steady on the helm. Her mast not being so high as that of a Bermudan rigged ship, she does not heel over so much in a breeze nor roll so much in harbour.”

"For eight months, under the hands of the shipwrights, wonderful old craftsmen, Cachalot grew in the shipbuilders yard, to the continuous din of her bolts being driven home. At last the day came when she was to take to the water. No craft of this size had been launched at Brixham for some years, so great crowds assembled in the yard and on the quay and even the roofs oh the houses were covered in people. Lady Clinton, a fervent Devonian, kindly came to christen her."

" Cachalot's tonnage is 98 tons Thames measurement and 64 tons gross. She is 76ft overall and 68ft waterline, with 29 feet beam, 9.7 feet draft and 6 feet 4 inches headroom throughout. Her mainmast with the topmast is 72 feet from deck to truck. The yacht has a 68 h.p. Gardner high speed diesel engine and carriers two tons of fuel oil. This gives her a cruising speed of 7.5 knots and a range of 1500 miles." 

Members of the Crew.

"Brixham Trawlers carry a crew of three or four men. Formerly they carried three men and a boy, but now no boys will go to sea in sailing trawlers. Such trawling is a dying industry as fish is getting scarcer and heavy losses are sustained through gear being lost on the wrecks of ships sunk during the war round this coast. Although three men and a boy are sufficient for home waters a larger number is necessary for a long voyage."

Bill Coleman – Sailing Master (Skipper), Sam Robertson – Navigating Mate, Frank Coleman – Engineer, Sam Bulley – Cook / Steward, Jim Gempton – Bosun, Gifford Coleman, Namo – Assistant Steward, Dr Adams – Ship’s Doctor.

“JIM GEMPTON. Bosun. Like the Skipper (Bill Coleman) he started his life in trawlers at the age of 12 and had been Skipper of Brixham trawlers for years. He had the reputation of always keeping his trawler at sea whatever the weather and never returning home without a catch of fish.”

Food and Drink

“ We expected to be away for six months and as we thought no provisions would be obtainable in the Red Sea we provided enough tinned stores to make the entire ship’s company self-sufficient for two months and took enough sugar, tea coffee and other items which are expensive or difficult to get in many foreign ports , to last us for the whole voyage. A good deal of drink was stowed - much more than we had imagined it would be possible to take with us but the attraction of purchasing alcohol at in bond prices is difficult to resist.”

The First Trip 1935 - 1936

The first trip left Brixham on 21st of September 1935 sailing through the Mediterranean and Suez Canal into the Red Sea as far as the Port

 of Akaba. The journey took 6 months, travelling 9000 nautical miles with the Cachalot returning to Brixham on the 11th March 1936.

Ports visited in order:- Vigo, Lisbon, Gibralta, Barcelona, Rosas B, Marseilles, Mentone, San Remo, Cannes, Mentone, Malta, Alexandria, Port Said, Suez, Akaba, Suez, Port Said, Haifa, Beirut, Limassol, Pireaus, Malta, Algiers, Gilbraltar, Brixham.

The Pyramids of Egypt and the Holy Land

"We left Port Tewfik for Cairo by car and arrived at 1.00pm. Next day we drove out of Cairo to see the Pyramids, riding up to them on camels which on account of their pneumatic feet are not as uncomfortable a form of transport as they look.We had not time to visit more than the citadel Mosque of Muhammed Ali from which there is magnificent view of the whole of Cairo."

" Haifa, now the chief port of Palestine, had changed in a few years from a small town of old houses to a city. The crew, whose knowledge of the Bible would put most people to shame, lived in a kind of dream during their time in the Holy Land. They went to the Old City of Jerusalem, to Bethlehem, Nazareth and even Jericho - places they had hardly believed existed except in Bible stories. It seemed incredible to them that on the Shores of Galilee fishermen still cast their nets as did St. Luke and St. Matthew." 

The Second Trip 1936 -1937

The second trip left Brixham on the 14th November 1936 sailing the Atlantic Ocean past the Canary Islands down the West Coast of Africa as far as French Cameroon. They headed for Sao Thome and crossed the Equator before turning around to head home. This journey took 5 months , travelling 10500 nautical miles, returning home on the 16th March 1937

Ports visited in order:- Gibralta, Las Palmas, Dakar, Bathhust, Konari, Freetown, Monrovia, Port Bouet, Takoradi, Accra, Lagos, Victoria, Sao Thome, Takoradi, Freetown, Bathurst, Dakar, Las Palmas, Gibralta.

" Years and years ago, before most of the people who read this were born, I went down the West Coast of Africa in an Elder Dempster liner, landed at Cape Coast Castle, fitted out an expedition of a hundred carriers and travelled north in a hammock to Kamasi and then into the interior. When I had to decide where to go for our next winter cruise I unhesitatingly chose the West Coast of Africa."

" Canary Islands -The lights of Las Palmas "looked like Torquay" - high praise from the crew!"

" Cape Verde - During the night eight flying fish came on board. One hit Jim a hefty crack on the back of his head as he stood at the wheel and another was adventurous enough to fly in through a skylight and flopped about in my berth."

" Dakar - Fifty year ago was little more than a mark on the map, today it is the busiest port on the West African seaboard, with a population of over 50,000. It is the capital and seat of Government of all the French West African colonies; Mauritiania, Senegal, French Guinea, Ivory Coast and Dahomey on the seaboard as well as French Sudan and Niger in the interior. As well as being an important coaling or fuelling port for ships going to South Africa or South America, has a tremendous export trade, chiefly in ground nuts."

" The main crop of Gambia, as of Senegal, is the ground nut, which is chiefly used for the manufacture of margarine.It has been called a " lazy man's crop" as it is extremely easy to grow. In Gambia, the crop is partly dependent upon what are called "strange farmers" who come in from Senegal to farm during the nut season"

Hunting Crocodiles

" Throughout the voyage we had been looking forward with intense keenness to going up the Gambia river to shoot crocodiles. We anchored about sixty-one miles up at Tendeba where the river was two and a half miles wide......we saw many crocodiles but they were all too close to the water and as we approached slid gently under the surface........the three of us took it in turns with the rifle, shooting from a kneeling position in the bows of the launch, and before long we had three medium sized crocodiles........by the time the tide was turning we had six crocodiles before returning to the yacht. We has seen fifty four altogether (counted carefully by the crew) many of them swimming in the water and showing only their eyes and the tops of their heads. We took the crocodile skins ashore to be shipped to England and were told that they should first be dipped in a solution of arsenic and caustic as was done to all hides.When the skins got to England the tanners informed us that the treatment had hardened the skins so that they could not be properly tanned."

Crossing the Equator

"Off the southern end of Sao Thome is the island of Rolas through which the  equator passes. As we cross the equator, we hove to and Father Neptune, tastefully attired in a sack and rope hair, woolly beard, crown and trident, came over the starboard bow and asked the Master for the ship's papers. On seeing that seven of the crew had not crossed the line before he ordered them to be shaved and ducked."

" Victoria - The Eketian, a coastal steamer, arrived and anchored near us in the evening and the crew heard that her Captain was a Devon man.That was enough for them and very soon some of them went aboard her for a yarn.They later brought her Captain and Chief Engineer off to the yacht for a return party. On being taken back to their ship the Captain sent off a small monkey as a present for us....... We christened her Tiko after the name of a nearby port, as Victoria seemed too large a name for so small a monkey."

Heading Home

"At 8 p.m. we could just see the loom of the Lizard to the north-west, and to the south-west, fading away as we drew rapidly ahead, the glow of the Ushant light. We are separated now from Brixham and home by only a hundred miles of green Channel water that looked surprisingly pale after the intense blue of the tropics, and just as dawn was breaking we picked up the rugged outline of the Start ( Point) and our voyage to what used to be known as "The White Man's Grave" was over.

Update:- July 2019.

Torbay Express and Soth Devon Echo dated 14th January 1939: "Flying the burgee of the Rear.Commodore of the Brixham Yacht Club, Lieut.Col.Claude Beddington of the Brixham yacht Cachalot sailed out of Brixham Harbour for an extended winter cruise in the Mediterranean and the Red Sea.The yacht, which is on her fourth winter cruise will make Gibraltar her first port of call. Her skipper is Mr. James Gempton, a brother of Mr John Gempton who was a mate in the Endeavour during her memorable voyage accross the Atlantic after she had parted company with her towage consort. The navigation officer is Captain A. Wheaton of Brixham".

Information provided by Graham Parnell from " Entries taken from Brixham Register of Customs and Excise (D.R.O Ref D 3287 add. 2)

12th March 1936. Motor Yacht Cachalot. Retuned from foreign cruise to Mediterranean. Master C. Beddington deposited 48 bottles of spirits, 16700 cigarettes and 35lbs tea - surplus stores.Re-shipped 6th November 1936.

17th March 1937. Motor Yacht Cachalot. Returned from foreign cruise to West Coast of Africa. Deposited 45,000 cigarettes, 1 1/3rd gallons of spirits in bottles. Re -shipped 5th October 1937.

25th April 1938. Motor Yacht Cachalot. Returned from foreign cruise to Lisbon. Deposited surplus stores: 28 bottles of spirits, 2 1/2 gallons of champagne, 33 lbs tea.Re-shipped 9th January 1939.

28th September 1938. Motor Yacht Cachalot. Returned from Kristiansand (Norway). Deposited 2 gallons of spirits, 5/6 gallons wine, 400 cigarettes. Re-shipped 9th January 1939. Signed from by J.E.Borlace.

25th May 1939. Cachalot. Lt.Col.Beddington per J.Gempton, Master, from Gibraltar. Deposited 2000 cigarettes, 3 1/6 gallons of spirits, 1 1/6 gallons of wine, 24lbs tea. Removed in instalments during period to March 1943.

Whilst I was aware of the first 2 trips that Jim Gempton made on the Cachalot, it would appear that he made 4 trips on board. Although he is listed as "Skipper" in the newspaper clip below, I am not sure that he was on board when Claude Beddington was killed. 

                                                                       What became of Claude Beddington ?

                                                    Copy of newspaper clip taken from Western Morning News dated 26th August 1940.

In 1939, Cachalot was cruising in South African waters when war was declared. The Colonel volunteered Cachalot  to the British Admiralty for wartime service, which was accepted. As he returned to the English Channel, the boat was attacked by a German plane and he was shot to death at the wheel of the boat that he loved.

              Updated 09/03/2023 Courtesy of Carol Wyatt who came across my website whilst researching the "Cachalot".

I was contacted by Carol who was researching the Cachalot on behalf of someone whose family member was associated with a boat named Orca in Scotland during WW 2. The first document below shows an obituary on the wife of Claude Beddington. It describes that the Cachalot was requisitioned by the Admiralty and renamed HMY Orca at the beginning of WW2. In addition to the newspaper clip from the Western Morning News dated 26th August 1940, I am confident that my grandfather was onboard as a crew member of the Cachalot when Claude Beddington was killed at the wheel of his yacht. The second piece below was taken from a blog for someone enquiring about the boat Orca and shows that the renamed Cachalot spent part of the war years in Scotland and highlights the secretive activities that a lot of brave men and women went through in defence of their respective countries against a common enemy.

Unknown author  ..........."I have a particular question for the ones that know about RN auxiliary yachts during WW2. I am Dutch and my grand uncle served as an agent in SOE (Special Operations Executive) during 1941-1945. Unfortunately he was caught by the Gestapo five weeks after landing on 29 March 1942 in occupied Holland and perished at KZ Mauthausen aged 26 on 21 April 1945. I am investigating his life on behalf of my family and for this went into great detail. He was trained as an agent in silent killing but also toggling and boating (learning how to land in an occupied cuntry by sea) at Arisaig, Scotland where SOE had an establishment in Arisaig House, a hunting lodge. At Tarbet Bay, near Maillaig, SOE had a special small harbour and house (Special Training School 23B) at Swordlands and a boat squad consisting of several small boats, dinghies and folbots, but also two auxiliary yachts Orca and Risor (46.5 feet). Risor, I tracked down and now has been refurbished and is still saling in Norway. Orca remains a mystery to me".

What became of the yacht Cachalot ?

I came across a document (link below) on the internet. It was written by a world wide sailor named Eric Forsyth who documented his memories of a Maine cruise aboard the yacht Maverick ( renamed from Cachalot). His particular memory was cast back to a book that he found in the marine section of a shop in Rockland, Maine - "We sailed from Brixham". 

In 2014 I also tracked down a copy of the book in Miami, Florida and have added it to the collection of mementos that I have in memory of my grandfather - Jim Gempton.  

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bz--Yx_2PNEMQVFVY0drNDRsRms/view?usp=sharin

The yacht Marverick cruising in the Virgin Islands in 1962

Who was Tiko ?

P.S. When I was young I had a "toy" monkey named Tiko and I remember my children playing with it before it fell to pieces. It is only now that I realise that it was most likely given to me by my grandparents and was named after the monkey that became the ship's mascot on board the Cachalot - Cliff Gempton.