35
ZIM MAGAZINE
A Col lect ion of Stor ies
about the Sai lors of Yesteryear
The TZFONIT’s lost anchor
The year was 1955, and the TZFONIT, under the command
of Captain Uri Sagi, entered the harbor at Port-Gentil in
Gabon and dropped anchor. In the bow, Chief Mate Rami
Zolberg noticed that the whole anchor chain had “escaped”,
become disconnected, and disappeared along with the
anchor into the sea. The ship dropped its second anchor.
The Chief Mate improvised a buoy from a wooden plank,
tied a heaving line to it, put a weight on its end and threw
it to mark the place of the lost anchor. It so happened that
divers from an oil prospecting company were working in
the area, and were asked to find the anchor.
After several attempts, they claimed that the anchor was
nowhere to be found. Probably they wanted the anchor
Captain Uri Shagi
for themselves.
As the TZFONIT was finishing her cargo loading, the second
anchor was raised but was left touching the seabed. The
Captain sailed the ship by the spot marking the lost anchor,
trying to find it, yet to no avail. Finally on the third pass,
the lost anchor chain got caught and was pulled on board
deck. Afterwards, there was no problem in connecting it
back in place. With the three traditional horn blasts of
farewell, the TZFONIT set sail for home, to the sorrow of
the divers from the oil prospecting company.
Source:
Chief Mate Rami Zolberg
Captain Hillel Yarkoni
