ssMaritime.com & ssMaritime.net
With
Reuben Goossens
Maritime Historian
The
Ellerman Quartet
MV Mediterranean Sky
Ex TSMV City of York
Our
Voyage on the MS Mediterranean Sky
With
details, photos & images provided by Hansjörg Wiersch
MS
Mediterranean Sky
Authors private collection
Quite some time back I received an email
from Hansjörg Wiersch who
had sailed on the MS Mediterranean-Sky from Ancona to
Patras in 1978.
Hansjörg wrote:
“I was accompanied by my (former) wife
and by a married couple who were friends at the time. When all passengers and
cars (of course ours, too) were on board, we left Ancona at 5th March 1978 at 11.00 p.m. (local time).
We decided to book together and stay in the one cabin, number 519 on Main
Deck as it was a lot cheaper. In Patras we arrived on
7 March at 10.00 a.m. (local time), thus some thirty-six hours later and
it was a most enjoyable and a memorable voyage!
Album 1 - On board photos
The MS Mediterranean
Sky is seen here at the Ancona Harbour in 1978
Photographed by passenger &
© Hansjörg Wiersch
The four of us in one of the bars
– that’s me on the left
Having a great time aboard!
This is me looking out at sea
Are we photographing each other?
Aft of the ship overlooking the still closed
pool forward
A shot of my wife and two companions at the
side of the ships proud funnel
Looking seaward with a lifeboat in view
Although
we booked in a 4 berth, cabin 519 on Main Deck it turned out to be a 6 berth
for us to use and this is it!
We took the inner two berths
Daytime
was spent relaxing in one of the lounges with a drink and playing cards
In September 2006 I spent made another visit
to Greece.
And on September 25 my wife and I, as well as a couple of friends, made a trip
in our rented car from Vrachati (near to Corinth) to
Piraeus. I recall that we took the road along the coast and then at Eleusis Bay
we stopped for a while and whilst there I discovered a ship wreck that was
lying on its side. None of us could identify it, because we could not
see any name on the bow. As I did not feel any relationship to the wreck, I
took no photographs of it or a movie. Never did I think that this
wreck was the Mediterranean Sky, the very ship that had taken me to
Greece back in 1978!
On January 8 this year I decided to search for
the “Karageorgis Line” on the web. And I
found www.faktaomfartyg.se on which I read
something about the Ellerman Fleet as well as
something on the Mediterranean Sea, ex City Exeter, and the Mediterranean Sky,
ex City of York. Because I could not find any details regarding the
Mediterranean Sky before, having found something I had become “infected
with the bug” and was wanting more information about “my Ship in
1978.” I then discovered your site; www.ssmaritime.com on January 12. Perhaps
you can feel my surprise when I saw all the pictures of the Mediterranean Sky
lying on her side in Eleusis
Bay. My heart began to
beat quicker, when I saw this proud ship after its disaster, but during the
first minutes of looking at these pictures I felt really very sad.
On your web side I read that you probably
are interested to get more information of former passengers of the
Mediterranean Sky. Thus I am sending you a series of about 12 images from
the voyage and schedule. There are also photographs of the interiors of the
ship, of course with persons of us. I have 2 original brochures (from
1977/78 and 1978/79) from Karageorgis
Line about Mediterranean Sea and
Mediterranean Sky - also with some details from these ships. And I have the
original invoice for the one-way-passage from Ancona to Patras.”
Best wishes - Hansjörg Wiersch.
Album 2 – 1978/79 Brochure
The
1977/78 brochure – the cover of the next 1978/79 brochure is at the bottom
The
Mediterranean Sea Schedule & Cabin Plan
The
Mediterranean Sky Schedule & Cabin Plan
Images
of the cabins on board both ships
Distances
are shown in Km
The
1978/79 brochure
A tragic sight of
the Mediterranean Sky on her side in Eleusis
bay, seen much later by Hansjörg in
2006
Photograph by &
© Philippe Brebant - Le Havre - France
I am grateful to providing all the above as it
is a valuable source of information on this delightful ship that has such a
rich history yet had such a tragic end!
Page One: The Ellerman Story
Page Two: Cabin Plan – City of Exeter
Page Three: Cabin Plan - Mediterranean Sea, ex City of Exeter
Page Four: Cabin Plan – Mediterranean Sky, ex City of York
Page Five: Mediterranean Sky – Hansjörg Wiersch sails on her in 1978!
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***********************************
Who is the Author of ssMaritime?
Commenced
in the passenger Shipping Industry in May 1960
ssMaritime.com & ssMaritime.net
Where
the ships of the past make history & the 1914
built MV Doulos Story
Also
visit my …
“Save The Classic Liners Campaign” & “Classic Ocean Voyages” pages
Photographs on ssmaritime and associate pages are by the author
or from the author’s private collection. In addition there are some images that have been
provided by Shipping Companies and private photographers or collectors. Credit
is given to all contributors. However, there are some photographs provided to
me without details regarding the photographer/owner concerned. I hereby invite
if owners of these images would be so kind to make them-selves known to me (my
email address may be found on www.ssmaritime.com only), in order that
due credit may be given. I know what it is like, I have seen a multitude of my
own photographs on other sites, yet these individuals either refuse to provide
credit or remove them when asked, knowing full well that there is no legal
comeback when it comes to the net. However, let us show these charlatans up and
do the right thing at all times and give credit where credit is due!
This
notice covers all pages, although, and I have done my best to ensure that all
photographs are duly credited and that this notice is displaced on each page,
that is, when a page is updated!
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is owned and © Copyright 2010/12 - by Reuben Goossens - All Rights Reserved