San Juan, Puerto Rico -

This is the Empress of Canada, a Canadian Pacific liner that just a few weeks after this photo became the first ship of the new Carnival Cruise Lines in November of 1971.

The dit chasers in the Radio Shack had the opportunity to work CW traffic with many ships during each patrol and both Joe Cumblidge and I had worked this ship just a few weeks earlier. Joe and I were on liberty at the Coast Guard EM club, partaking of cheap rum, and decided it was time to head back to Sebago. Well, while walking past the Customs House pier we spied the Empress and went to their brow and asked to visit their radio crew. The result was another five hours of liberty spent with a nice bunch of British Marconi employees in their shipboard lounge. When we left both Joe and I were pretty blitzed. We hailed a taxi; the driver took one look and said, "Hey, guys, don't throw up in my cab, it's brand new." Yup, Joe tossed his cookies just yards from the Sebago brow! And I came aboard singing "Happy Birthday" to the OOD.

The next morning I recall waking up as Kent Brockman kicked my rack and presented me with a swab and bucket. "You are one of the reasons life aboard ship is so hard... get it cleaned up!", said my irate shipmate. I rolled from the rack wondering what had peeved him. Then I saw this nasty looking trail of bile and other stomach contents wandering away from the gap between my rack and the next. The unfortunate RD in the rack next to me had been awakened in the middle of the night as I was retching my guts out at his feet. Not a pretty sight and not a proud moment for this young Michigan boy. Sorry guys, had I been conscious I probably wouldn't have done that!

Click HERE for the first photo in the Wonnacott collection.

-Lee Wonnacott collection