Ben Carlin book: THE LAST GREAT AUSTRALIAN ADVENTURER

[Mike K]

Originally Posted by Lang

The Portuguese Frigate came to check on them after the hurricane in which they were widely presumed lost.

Hi All

If you read the lower paragraph on page 189 of HALF SAFE and the next two pages, you will clearly understand that Ben had worked out that he did NOT have enough fuel to reach Madeira , therefore, he radioed for help and he specifically asked for a fuel delivery, as described on page 191 .

" how we might snare fifty to sixty gallons of petrol "

The ship Flores, its primary task was to sail out to supply the fuel to Half Safe.


re: the earlier rescue, The book I am reading says that Ben pointed a signal light at the Norwegian tanker and tapped out SOS and that Ben had a hammer ready to make holes in Half Safe to sink her.

I believe the 1950's Half Safe book which didn't sell that well, is actually a very good read and the critics were unfair and harsh in their judgement . The pommy critics could not resist the opportunity to bring down another brash colonial upstart. There are few autographed copies of Half Safe around , I have seen one but don't have one myself.

[Lang]

Yes, he did not have enough fuel and as I said would have run out before Madeira. I think he said he had twenty hours sailing which would have left him about 50 miles short. They were very big news in Madeira and everywhere else for that matter and articles of the time indicate the frigate trip was a PR exercise offered by the authorities when it became clear they had survived the storm and needed fuel. They were not in a life or death situation.

I reread the story in my copy. Looks like we both failed to take notes.

He certainly said he had a hammer handy to tap a hole as you mentioned.

He tried to stop a ship at night with his torch SOS but it just sailed past after acknowledging the signal. The rescue did not come from the torch SOS. For some reason they let many probable rescue ships sail past because they were going in the wrong direction or for some other strange decision.

He tried the radio which was not cooperating but finally he "hooked" the tanker which I read to mean talked to him on the radio. I saw somewhere Carlin talking about this pick-up and he said the tanker came close to look at them out of curiosity. Maybe "hooked" a tanker mean't when it came to investigate they just jumped up and down waving?

Anyhow it is all just supposition and nit picking and the main message for me is they suffered a disaster, recovered, and instead of giving up after a fine try like most people, maintained their resolve into the next year to begin again.

Elinore obviously had the passion also and although she could have stayed with her family, returned to help preparations which despite her already proven susceptibility to seasickness led to the ultimately successful second departure. At that stage they were a team (with one Chief and one Indian) and she should be acknowledged for her courage and tenacity.

He was certainly rough on her. I thought his attitude to getting the rope caught in the prop was a bit off. "You got it caught, you get it out". He forced the poor girl to dive under the boat for hours while he pottered around inside working on the engine.

Anyone who has ever gone boating with a woman knows the sea has some magic effect of bringing on stupidity or maybe the problem is it has some magic effect of turning the male partner into a shouting Captain Bligh!

Lang

[Richard Coutts-Smith]

I was fascinated by this book when I was given a signed copy some 35 years ago, in my mind it was a fantastic feat, such a thrill to see Half Safe at Corowa, bit of a shock to find out it was yellow!
I always thought the pic of Ben sitting in a shed staring at the stripped jeep summed him up in many ways.

Back a few posts Lang mentions First Overland (by Tim Slessor), coincidentally that was the day we left for the High Country, I came across a copy while looking for some tent time reading material. It appears that I was given a copy in 1991.... time to read it again. Written with some entertaining dry humour (German Autobahn comment springs to mind) it was a delight. In hindsight this trip (32 000miles, 6 blokes, 2 series 1 SWB Landies) was only possible for about 3 years. It was filmed, with the unprocessed film being sent when possible to their contact at the BBC, a young chap by the name of David Attenborought eventually shown in B&W, sound dubbed in. A few years back a documentary with lots of the film (in colour) and interviews with some of the guys was released, Magnificent.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OS8G-103ZRE
Rich.

[Lang]

Richard and Mike

Just finished the new book.

A good read.

The author obviously has limited practical skills and a quite a lot of insignificant errors in this area are in the book. He has no idea of scale or difficulty of undertaking repairs in trying circumstances. Several times he mentions repairs in dramatic circumstances using parts that Ben "just happened to have" or "found in the bottom of a box" or dismisses near-death incidents in a sentence.

That was not his focus, it was a human interest story with some really interesting characters. Ben Carlin was a difficult person who was his own worst enemy as he took not suffering fools to the extreme and had no way to work around people's weaknesses. He stuffed up the book deal by not co-operating and refused to co-operate with the press on a regular basis. He did have a few no-hopers along as crew which made things worse.

Really interesting relationship with Elinore. They were very similar in so many ways (drinking, smoking, partying) but Ben could not have give and take in the relationship. I wonder why she did not leave after the Atlantic but she obviously still had the passion for something. Notoriety, parties ??? Or maybe she just loved him.

The interesting thing about Ben in particular was the way people welcomed them into their homes and offered use of facilities for days, weeks and even months. Often when they returned years later they were welcomed back with open arms. People can put on an act for a short period to achieve some PR aim but not for months on end. They were obviously a welcome addition to the social life of their hosts.

The trip took over Ben's life for more than a decade but when it was finished he took on a successful career in publishing, was very astute in investing and died the equivalent of a millionaire today. His social habits were a bit too much for his extended family and he became more difficult as he got older, dying a pretty lonely bloke trying to reconnect with his lost daughter.

As I said, the author wanted a human interest story and trades on the heavy drinking by both Ben and Elinore, although he minimizes her drinking efforts. The Half Safe trip is almost incidental to the Ben Carlin story and just the connecting thread.

A lot of research and proven evidence but I would dispute some of his conclusions, particularly the black and white statements about why Ben acted as he did from his childhood traumas and other life disappointments. Pretty presumptuous to assume you know what is going on in someones mind, particularly someone you never met.

Buy the book, good read, and a look into the life and times of adventure past.

Lang

[motto (RIP)]

Another book relating to the Ben Carlin/Half Safe story is Once a Fool written by an American named Boye De Mente who was recruited by Ben in Japan and crewed with him to Anchorage Alaska.
Not to put too fine a point on it, in this book Ben comes across as deserving the reputation attributed to the infamous Captain Bligh.
Speaking of Bligh, I've just got through reading Rob Mundle's book titled 'Bllgh - Master Mariner. If you are interested in a story of incredible skill, courage, hardship and perseverance this would be difficult to surpass. The survival of Bligh and 17 loyal members of the Bounty crew in a 23 foot open boat they sailed three and a half thousand miles through tropical storms and treacherous waters is an epic of seamanship few could equal.
As has been observed you don't have to be a nice guy to be an achiever and perhaps the opposite temperament can be an advantage in getting things done.
Bligh was a genuine hero and a 'straight shooter'. His character was assassinated whilst he was on the other side of the planet on the king's business. We could sure do with a few more like him and maybe even Ben. As the preacher says in the funeral oration for Cable Hogue, 'He wasn't a really good man, he wasn't a bad man but, he was a man.' That in effect is what Lang is saying. Ben was a man you had to respect even if you didn't like him.

David

[Tony Smith]

For those who want to hear the story from the Horse's Mouth:

https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/kard...gpa/1277899635

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by motto

Another book relating to the Ben Carlin/Half Safe story is Once a Fool written by an American named Boye De Mente who was recruited by Ben in Japan and crewed with him to Anchorage Alaska.
Not to put too fine a point on it, in this book Ben comes across as deserving the reputation attributed to the infamous Captain Bligh.

Here are some photos of the book "Once a Fool":

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