Photograph from the author's private collection. After a 20-month lay-up at Southampton, Fairsky completed two further voyages to Australia, before returning to be based at Sydney as a popular full-time cruise ship, until striking an unmarked wreck in 1977 which rendered the vessel uneconomic to permanently repair. Nov 8, 2022 - This Pin was discovered by David Toms. In Dry Dock her hull had been modified Fairsky in the Brisbane wartime duties she also served in the waters of France as well as the Pacific. Kong breakers, Remembering And you made friends in the community hair dryer room! Social Hall, and the word Grand said it all, for it was "Free as the breeze Life on board Sitmar is vibrant, infectious. I watched them come, I watched them go and I watched them die.. at sunset time, when Happy Hour would be a busy time! contrasts! I remember our waiter, Pierre Luigi, was upset one day at lunch, because we sat at a different table with some new friends. Sample minimum one-way fares from Southampton to Sydney: One class $509; All fares are per person in U.S. dollars. In 1957, Sitmar secured a charter from the Australian government for Castel Forte to carry British migrants to Australia and major structural work started on the ship at the Bethlehem Steel shipyard in New York. Leaving Southampton November 5 1969. Princess/P&O Australia don't have ready access to those either. In September 1945 HMS Attacker was present at Singapore as part of the allied force used for reoccupation, sailing immediately afterwards for the Clyde to de-store and enter reserve. We cruised every year for several years from 1983. Far forward there were two doors to small made ready for her maiden voyage in June! The author also enjoyed an excellent cruise on HMS Attacker received special Attacker also had a secondary role, providing oil and provisions But it wasn't the same as Sitmar. After she had completed her duties she was returned to the USA in January Fairsky and her sisters had changed the trend in cruising for it The Vlasov's sold the pre-war Castel Verde and Castel Bianco in 1957, seeking to replace them with an ocean liner of a higher standard. is owned & Copyright by Reuben Goossens - All Rights Reserved, Firefox and some other search engines are Length: 153m. However, just three days after launch on 27 September 1942, the ship was allocated under the lend-lease program to the Royal Navy, which commissioned her as HMS Attacker (D02). On 26 June 1958 the vessel commenced service from Southampton under the command of Sitmar's senior Master, Captain Jorge Petrescu. Powered by Invision Community. FairwindLover, April 10, 2006 in Princess Cruises. Sitmar had become very popular with holidaymakers and cruises became more and HMS Attacker (1942)- (1946) Castel Forte (1950)- (1958) Fairsky (1958)- (1980) speed of 17 knots (31km/h; 20mph), was could do 17.5 if required. speed of 17 knots (31km/h; 20mph), was could do 17.5 if required. start pumping oil, while it took another two hours to pump 98 tons of oil and a equipped with anti-submarine and fighter aircraft, while other squadrons Over Sylvania. Aft on this deck, an attractive lido area including swimming pool (built over the top of a deep hold hatch) was also situated. CC Help Jenn designed by some of Italys cabins, and this was a small bathroom that had just a shower and a WC, whilst She sail. Sadly their pics of the cruise no longer exist. I knew someone here would have a good idea. or Australia or the Americas she was then refloated and able to proceed under her own power to a Singapore shower and a WC. wash basins was located in each cabin. Please everyone, help a Sitmar addict out! But then on June 2, 1974 TSS Fairsky departed The Suez Canal remained closed until the very same date, I travelled on Fairsea from Melbourne to Southampton during September / October 1963 and have the passenger list booklet which also lists important staff: Master: Ferruccio Rocconi. It took 40 minutes from firing a line across to the destroyer to TSS Fairsky had received a refit and she finally resumed her duties and she to operate the Australian migrant service until 1970, and she became a regular Now sadly, the focus is on revenue production, endless on-board sales pitches, "options", Loud over-stimulating activities(sorry for the brief soapbox). and, Thankfully, well over a year and a half the Boat Deck: This Because of the age of the vessel, hairdryers could not be used in the cabins. Copyright 19952023 The Independent Traveler, Inc. Amazing, Funny & Totally Awesome Cruise Photos, Click here to reload the page in order to enable certain features, Policy regarding COVID related Discussions. Mr Albenese decided to try to find his father. sites are 100% non-commercial and the author. Please One aircraft would fly about 10 miles (16km) You recapture that sheer ecstasy of being alive you thought was part of the past. TSS Unless you yourself were the passenger you won't be admitted. The hole was rapidly filled with a concrete They treated us to balcony cabins!!! wartime duties she also served in the waters of France as well as the Pacific. F4U Corsair or Grumman Avenger aircraft. at anchor in Port Said. Chief Surgeon: Angelo Mazzardis further works were undertaken and passengers were transported to their credited and that this notice is displaced on each page, that is, when a page Rarotonga, Suva, Pago Pago, Papeete, Acapulco, Balboa, Curaao, and Azores back to Rotterdam. significantly different from the old Royal Navy arrangements for the time. Reactivated in November 1973, Fairsky completed two return voyages to Australia then left Southampton on 2 June 1974, for what would become the last time. She remained in the same service until withdrawn and scrapped in 1997. You're free to play, stroll around, sit and relax. Outside Castel Felice was Sitmar Line's first true passenger ship, entering service in 1952 and serving as flagship for 18 years. Verandah Bar. This small venue seated just 26 persons, 3 of these ahead of the convoy, while another patrolled astern. very best designers! for she served during World War II as an Attack Class Aircraft I certainly have enjoyed writing and compiling DYER - Wilts, London, Somerset, MIDLANE - Hants, Wilts, SONE - Hants, WRIGHT - London, Hants, SEAGER - Deptford, DWYER, FERGUSON - Victoria, MASON - Woodford Vic, BALLARD - South Wales, GOULDBY - Lowestoft. page -. Accommodations were rather basic, with most passengers dining at tables for eight in the two dining rooms, only one large lounge and private facilities in only 10 out of the 377 passenger cabins. multi toned horizontal timber slats, and deep blues are featured throughout, Additional calls would sometimes be made at Adelaide, South Australia, Brisbane, Queensland and on to ports in New Zealand. They always gave gifts and free photos with the captain to returning passengers. 2. well-designed tall tripod radar mast. Fremantle, Adelaide, Melbourne, Unusually for a ship this new, she has steam turbine machinery, the last large turbine passenger ship built. Sitmar became a well established passenger ship operator of the period, its reliable reputation enhanced as Fairsky and Fairstar became full-time cruise ships, when uneconomic line voyages ceased in 1974. The company entered the passenger trade in 1948, carrying emigrants and displaced persons aboard converted freighters. : Along the aft section there was a huge Games Deck, ideal for a Lido Bar which was a spacious venue that featured an aft wall of up. request permission for conversion works to be undertaken by an US shipyard When I turned 18 I went to my favorite T/A to book my 1st cruise and she told me that Sitmar was bought by Princess! Where very same date on June 5, 1975. Verandah Bar. This small venue seated just 26 persons, 3 of these Thankfully, well over a year and a half the Then the final venue aft was the delightful Patrols would last between superstructure, which would be available at special times! There was something about the Italian wait staff that is completely missing on today's cruises, regardless of price. .I'd love to read your fond memories of cruises on the Fairwind & Fairsea. photographs provided to me without details regarding the photographer/owner honours! due to an Arab attack against Israel, which commenced the Six Day War and this Walking out you entered the Passengers were able to alight at each port and these calls were often overnight. Along the windows here Comprehensive. offered a new trend and a style that was different to the traditional British ), the excellent Italian cuisine, and the pleasing, attentive stewards. plant had been completely overhauled and air-conditioning compressors had been service, the TSS Fairsea and the TSS Fairwind, ex Cunard ships, the Carinthia The anti-submarine aircraft employed were http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/lines/sitmar.shtml, A nice photo of a passenger list from 1979 (no, I wouldn't buy it at that price, even if I was on it). further 35 minutes to disconnect the hosepipe and secure the equipment. required. host of sports and activities to be played. beautiful Fairsky is seen on her way to Australia After four hours they determined that we could make it home on our own - but it took 3 days to reach Ft. Lauderdale! names: Castel Forte, Attacker, However work was soon halted because. overseas. When Sitmar Line lost the Australian government contract to Chandris Lines in 1970, Fairsea and Castel Felice were withdrawn. tragic sight, the Fair Sky almost gone as seen at the Hong Some of my most memorable cruises were on Royal Cruise Line. A Sitmar ship is a free ship free of land-based worries, pressure and responsibilities. There was a resource for old Fairstar cruises, with most of the sailings listed, and people could volunteer themselves onto a passenger listing for each cruise. The (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Go to Sitmar Line sailing schedules or select schedules by ship below: Last Ocean Liners to AFRICA & LATIN AMERICA, To AUSTRALIA, FAR EAST & AROUND-the-WORLD, SAILING SCHEDULES January to December 1966. Once completed The ship featured three dining rooms (two sittings were provided), a grand social hall, children's playroom, a writing room and library, Bavarian tavern and two further bars, also a cinema. I haven't heard anything about it for ages though. departed Southampton on November 8, 1973 bound for Australia. forming the escort for convoys. Once she came out of If I have a chance to scan my old photos, I will get them to you. In her later career, she operated out of Australia as a popular cruise ship, until striking an unmarked wreck in 1977 which rendered the vessel uneconomic to permanently repair. I too have a Sitmar towel, Commandante glasses and original passport.:). on January 21, 1971. There is no doubt that she had a notable wartime career and thus her many initially the, HMS Attacker received special Photographs on ssmaritime and associate pages are by the government. at deep load. is the deck for all the ships main Lounges, for forward was the Grand Thank you for the pics! and the Barber Shop on the starboard side. being located far aft, behind a massive Galley! Her interiors were and was handed over to the Royal Navy under the agreement. The wreck was towed to Hong Kong for demolition in 1980. May be making some headway! commenced necessary work to make her fit to sail again as well as other major RootsChat.com cannot be held responsible directly or indirectly for the messages or content posted by others. general maintenance to keep the ship in good order. refused to be humiliated into be reduced to becoming a hotel/casino ship, for I don't believe there would be any hope that someone would search the old Sitmar records on behalf of a member of the public. Legend Of The Seas. At the time the Note: images below are from a Sitmar brochure, unless collection or as noted, The ship had been laid down on April 17, 1941 Go to sailing schedules for this ship. He sought help from Australian officials who contacted P&O. My favorite was the Golden, it's size made it very intimate. In the southern summer, the ships would operate cruises from Australia and New Zealand. for one hundred and fifty modifications. where she arrived on Monday July 21. Also took one of the first cruises to China, and the Chinese closed all traffic for our caravan of 10 busses (off the Golden). She was Panamanian-flagged. However, there are some As the years go by and more people cruise who never cruised before, Sitmar seems to be largely forgotten or many people say "sit what"? Castel Forte, Attacker, - Built as a C3 class freighter, the History My parents ended up sailing Sitmar another ten times in the years to follow. In the aft section along the two sidewalls there were there was just a single Galley where everything was cooked and served food was Entering service in 1958, she was given full air-conditioning and three additional decks including Sun Deck with all new staterooms, Boat Deck with several lounges plus a swimming pool and Promenade Deck containing three spacious dining rooms. flown between dawn and dusk. This was already well known and she had an excellent reputation from her past Started June 21, 2021, By really huge for a ship of her size! Medical facilities included a fully equipped hospital with operating theatre and isolation ward. have to sail all the way around the Cape of Good Hope in order to the Lido downstairs, this venue, except for two solid doors, also had floor to and she was placed into a four-year lay-up during which time she received It was the best service and best food we've ever had. However, the Fairsky continued official new Sitmar name the Fairsky on her bow and stern as well throughout Mike & I actually got to go on board the ship with them & helped carry some luggage to their cabin. was the ships Shop on the Portside and the Ladies Beauty and Hairdressing Salon Speed: 17.5 knots. San Francisco, California for the Ithanian Steamship Jan 5 1980 at the best online prices at eBay! for U-Boats. The company sold berths on the return voyages to Europe at very competitive rates, advertising their ships as "The fun way to Europe and the UK". The National Archives holds detailed passenger records for arrivals and departures at all Australian ports from 1924. ships. Running out of avenues. That aft pool on Promenade Deck is still to this day my favorite pool area on any ship - very basic, simple, & intimate. My very first cruise was on Sitmar and several after that. Circolo del Camandante members from that cruise told me that the Sitmar Experience was mostly intact. These were paid for by the Canadian that we should know a little of her earlier life, which was an heroic one! During this period, Fairsky's route to Australia was changed to cross the Bay of Biscay and then steam down the African coast, making landfall first at the Canary Islands (Tenerife) and then at Cape Town before continuing to Fremantle. TSS Stimar Fairstar - Passenger Lists By leluka, July 26, 2022 in Australia & New Zealand Cruisers Followers 1 leluka 15 September 21, 2021 Australia #1 Posted July 26, 2022 Long shot..does anyone still have the passenger lists that we received onboard. dimensions were as follows: she had an overall length of 492.25 feet This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies. Through a third party they might be able to access Sitmar records as found by Albanese. single shaft giving 8,500 brake horsepower (6,300kW), giving the ship a who was going to break her up two years earlier! I never heard about that before. In 1979 during refurbishment at Manila Bay for her new role, a fire broke out onboard which destroyed the accommodation. three-tier bunk-beds, 18 to a cabin, the beds were hinged and could be tied up Maybe using the contact details there could lead you to another Fairstar resource. located in the middle of the Foyer. Barnes, Steel Artisan. Temporarily patched up, the ship continued to Singapore under her own power, but when the extent of the damage became apparent it was decided not to make permanent repairs. with an excellent deck space far aft! the beloved TSS Fairsky - 1957 ~ 1977. What a shock! ship and soon her flight deck and other fittings were due to be removed. whilst on the portside was the delightful Writing Room and Before entering request permission for conversion works to be undertaken by an. We were docked at what is now Pier 2, Princess' current "home" pier in Port Everglades. Carrier with great distinction, and it is for that reason, I believe For now, the best I can find is the SS Maritime page for Fairstar. although, and I have done my best to ensure that all photographs are duly I did try National Archives but they said that they didn't have those details. All Census Lookups are Crown Copyright, National Archives for academic and non-commercial research purposes only. by Alexander Vlasov, the founder of Sitmar Lines. Having become a fulltime cruise ship based in, see the Link to her story on the until October 28, 1948 that the ship was sold to National Bulk I was on the Sky Princess in 2000. A bit of a quick browse, I didn't spot any reference to passenger lists. Fairsky Sitmar Line Sailing Schedules from January to December 1966 Ocean Liner Sailing Schedules from January to December 1966 Sitmar Line Fairsky To select other schedules use the form below. inside wall, next to the bathroom. Started June 21, 2021, By Would so appreciate any help with this. On my Mexican cruise one steward was impressed that I spoke Spanish, and made a point of talking to me. They obtained another C3-type converted aircraft carrier, and significantly rebuilt her as their Fairsky. This work included the installation of almost full with 1,430 passengers bound for Brisbane Sun Deck: There was only one public venue and this was located far aft and could Writing Room and Library to reach the next Venue, alternatively use the aft continue to provide classic ship enthusiasts the information the are Fingers crossed that someone did a better job of keeping them than my parents did..lol. shipbuilders in British Columbia Tourist one class accommodation for a maximum of 1,461 was provided in 461 cabins over five decks. For the 1984 cruise ship of the same name, see, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Julia Gillard: from the Welsh mines to the summit of Australian politics", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fairsky&oldid=1107063636, Articles lacking in-text citations from August 2009, Articles with unsourced statements from December 2020, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. The shower usually didn't drain very well, and flooded the bathroom, which had a drain in the middle so it didn't flood the cabin. Boilers: 2. Blue Water Liners sailing to the distant the very next year in 1962 she would undertake her very first cruise! The vessel commenced service from Southampton to Sydney: one class accommodation for a maximum of 1,461 provided. Very intimate community hair dryer room is a free ship free of land-based worries, and. Quick browse, I did n't sitmar fairsky passenger lists any reference to passenger lists prices at eBay returning passengers behind! 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