During summer of 1971, we were once again, bound for Deci. As usual, while we were there, a great deal of effort was being put into keeping the troops occupied during the weekends. There used to be a PSI bus at the station called the "SARDO VOYAGER". The visiting squadron could hire it for a day with the driver to go sight seeing. This particular weekend, not to be any different, we hired the Sardo Voyager to go sight seeing some of the Grottos on the south west of the island. All was well until the return journey from the Grottos, when a strange knocking noise started to emanate from the engine compartment of the Sardo Voyager. Another couple of miles of driving, the low oil pressure light illuminated and the engine stalled. With all the technical expertise available on the Sardo Voyger, a verdict of low oil quantity was reached. As luck would have it, we had broken down abeam an oil refinery !!! So your truly volunteered to go to the oil refinery and see if I could get a gallon of oil from them. After all, they had millions of gallons of oil there. Surely they could spare a gallon.I was turned away unceremoniously with a sign language to tell me that there was an Agip petrol station two kms down the road. Off I went to this Agip petrol station and purchased a gallon of oil and walked back to the Sardo Voyger. Unfortunately, after pouring the gallon of oil in the Sardo Voyger's engine, the engine did not want to start. I then volunteered to hitch a ride to Cagliari and Poeto and see if I could get a rescue. After walking 3 or 4 kms. I was picked up by a sardinian family and driven all the way to the Bowmans club in Poeto. I managed to track down the SNCO i/c MTSS and told him of our plight. Unfortunately, he was less than helpful. I then knocked on the door of O.C. Ops' house and explained the situation to him. He told me that I could borrow his long wheeled base land rover, but he had no tow rope. I also asked the O.C. Ops if he could somehow get a message to the Boss about our predicament, which he assured me that he would. Undeterred by that, I took possession of the land rover and drove to the Italian Navy base on the Via Roma in Cagliari. At the Italian Naval base, I managed to seek out the Duty Officer and using pidgeon English and sign language got him to give me a length of the hawser. I then drove out to the Sardo Voyger as fast as I could because by now it was dark. I got there in one piece and hooked up the Sardo Voyger and started the tow back to Deci. We couldn't have driven more than 15 kms when the Boss with Sqn.Ldr. King and Sqn.Ldr. Thomas turned up in three long wheel base landrovers for the rescue. We abandoned the Sardo Voyger and everybody got into the three land rovers and were driven back to Deci. I drove O.C. Ops land Rover back to his house in Poeto and caught the courtesy bus back to Deci.
When we were to redeploy to Deci again in 1972, at the pre-deployment briefing by Sqn. Ldr. King, he made a point of mentioning and I quote, "Mo, for your information they have assured me that the Sardo Voyger is fully serviceable," unquote. It brought a smile to my face. As promised, we had no problems with the Sardo Voyger this deployment.
Squadron Detachment to Decimommanu in 1971.
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motiwana
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