By the time dawn broke we were already at anchor, and awaiting the arrival of the Customs officers, in addition to the mail and stores boats. The weather was not all that sharp, looking a bit dull and blustery, but it may improve as the day goes on. Lunch was early, as we were weighing anchor at 1300 for the slow ride into harbour, and it was (obviously) going to be Procedure Alpha, as a ‘thank-you’ to the families and friends that (we hoped) were going to be waiting for us on the jetty.
There’s a strange atmosphere about the ship at the moment. No-one seems very excited about the prospect of coming home, and there is none of the usual laughing and joking over being back in Britain. It’s most odd, and I’m affected as much as anyone. I think it might be simply that we’ve been at sea for so long that we can no longer really believe that we are actually home, and that it isn’t some elaborate prank being played by the Captain. No doubt it will all change as we finally step ashore in Britain and see family and friends again, and get caught up in the Christmas festivities.
Bob Lewcock and I finally finished the audit yesterday, and signed all the appropriate books, so I spent the morning typing out the Auditors’ Comments ready for our signatures, and then that’s it, thankfully, though as Bob is the continuation auditor he will have to wade through the whole thing again in another six months, but hopefully it will be a bit easier the second time around.
Well, the Alpha turned out to be extremely cold, though the welcome from the crowd of people on the jetty was undeniably warm. A lot were waving banners and we secured to musical accompaniment from a band of the Grenadier Guards, our affiliated regiment. In the six months since the ship’s acceptance, Illustrious had spent 143 days at sea and sailed 43,560 miles.
Despite the cold, and the brief shower of rain that we stood through, it was good to see Britain again, and it is rather pleasant to think that we won’t be going away again for about six months. We hope!