Part 01: Alan Fraser Fry letters, 8th August 1914- 28 January 1917 - Page 46
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[Page 46]
crowded on board. We left Pinkenba at 5.30 that afternoon 13 Feb Sat, and had a lovely trip down the River, passing numerous pleasure boats & yachts, all of which dropped in for a deafening & prolonged cheer. Once outside some of the boys turned green again, though the sea had moderated a lot since the day before. The following day 14 Feb Sun. was calm, and we had a Church Parade. Since then it has been like a Harbour cruise. Perfect weather and a lovely blue smooth sea.
All went well till Wednesday Tuesday night. I was on Guard that night down below. About 4.30 a.m. there was a peculiar rasping & scraping sound. It woke all the lads up and with one accord they stampeded for the steps up to the deck. However the scraping sound only lasted some 6 or 7 seconds and then all was quiet again. It was as close a shave to being on the reef as could have been. A lot of the lads thought it was the anchor being dropped, but I knew what it was. Just before she struck