Steady As She Goes

The Caribbean Princes was in Greenock for the day and just as I arrived at the Beacon Centre it began to pull away from the quayside. Slowly it headed out into the river pointing towards Argyll. Then when it was sufficiently clear it swung round to head downriver towards the open sea and its next port - Belfast.

At that moment I heard the noise of a propellor driven plane come towards the ship from the opposite shore. Like a shot from an old war film it headed straight, and low over the cruise ship, a single bomb down the funnel would have ended her. But the plane flew on, the cruise continued and I went up to the Beacon.