Volume Eight - Pre-Victorian to the present day - more aspects - Chains at Penarth Dock - Macey, Mules and Wallace Family History . . .

On October the 2nd and the 6th 1949 respectively, Dad remembered the four mast barques called the Pamir and the Passat, arriving at Penarth. Known as ‘the last of the Cape Horn Windjammers’, they were in Finnish ownership, and had sailed for 40 years, bringing 60,000 sacks of barley from Port Victoria, Spenser Gulf, Australia. The trip would usually last about 4 months, but if the 2 ships raced each other, it could be done in 90 days. This was the last commercial trip by sailing ships around Cape Horn. They took 128 and 110 days respectively to do the trip.

Dad remembered them being called ‘the rat ships’. This is because they could not unload at Penarth, so spent some time there while the owner considered other arrangements. He eventually took them to the Ranks Mill at Barry Docks because they had better unloading equipment. When they opened the hatches, the hold of the Pamir was full of rats. These had infested the ship during its long wait at Penarth. The call went out around Barry for terriers. They killed over 5,000 rats. The cargo was then unloaded. The holds were then gassed, which killed another 3,000 rats.

The Pamir and the Passat then came back to Penarth, where they hauled up while the owner Capt. Hagerstrand, decided what to do with them. They were there for about 2 years, so they needed a night watchman. Although my grandfather was in his late 60’s and retired, he took the job because he knew his way around such ships. He recalls seeing the sails below decks covered in mildew because they had been stored wet and had not been looked after.

My grandfather at my father’s wedding on the 8th July 1950. On the Wedding Certificate his occupation was described as ‘Watchman’.