DISCOLOURED WATER REPORTED

A witty fictional travel story based on a real around-the-world trip in the 1960s. It is a window into the lives of a crew of young merchant seamen forced to exist in a rusting, unpredictable cargo ship during a 2 year voyage of discovery to the Caribbean, USA, Australia and the Pacific Islands. As the rock and roll generation blossoms in the UK, the crew members of the Morayfirth attempt to keep abreast of the changes at home by mail, while sampling the cultures of their unwilling hosts around the globe. The tale is told by the Morayfirth's rookie radio operator who thought he was embarking on a 6 week round trip to the West Indies. The book is based on diaries and research by the author. It documents a vanished profession (Marine Radio Officer), charts a forgotten way of life and reveals the unpredictability of radio communication before the invention of the World Wide Web.