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[Page 33]
7.12.18
Departed from Alexandria for Port Said having a Egyptian local deep sea pilot on board. Steamed on our own straight causes with no escort & kept outside the 100 fathoms limit so as to avoid any unknown fixed mines. Consequently covered twice the distance under ordinary circumstances.
Sunday 8.12.18
At 7 a.m. arrived off Port Said passed the Zealandia bound for Sydney full of newly wed Australian soldiers wives which they met during the war in Britian. also passed several ships sunk through mines & torpedoes some with their funnels & masts above water, including the Surada (British India) & another which sunk 3 miles off the entrance on Nov. 2nd. Capt. Patrick & Capt. Davies came aboard old friends of mine & invited me ashore for dinner. The former Captain of one of the Anglo Saxon Shell Co. oiltank N [space] & the latter of the Nelson line freezer meat ship Highland Enterprise. We enjoyed a splendid dinner at the Mareno Hotel wines & Champagne flowed freely & finally went on board the oiltank which proved to be a lovely ship & splendidly fitted out, only 4 years of age bound from Singapore to Marsailles with benzine.
9.12.18
We are moored in Africa basin awaiting orders, our former orders said to be cancelled. The Port is full of ships of all classes. Here there are The Kaisar I Hind, [Kaiser-i-Hind] Ormond, [Ormonde] Canberra & again the Zealandia full of soldiers wives returning to Australia. Our 3 Naval signalmen were ordered to leave our