Blyth Adventurer II

Still with tropical storm.  The ballasted ship was moving a little easier and the chief was getting the fires under control.  However, we were now getting battered by the waves crashing over us as we dived into the monsterous troughs.  The wonderful virtue of old tankers is that they have enormous amounts of reserve buoyancy especially in the bow section.  Sometimes when we seemed about to submerge for good under a particularly steep trough the bow would emerge like a submarine surfacing.  Getting back to the bridge was fun and games, clinging on to the oil pipes and dodging the waves which washed over us.
Back in the comparitive peace of the wheelhouse we were about to enjoy a coffee when a monster broke over the ship and slapped into the wheelhouse windows.  Captain and 2nd officer hit the deck, the old railway carriage type window smashed in, glass everywhere.  As I looked up at the ships wheel, our old chinese bosun was standing, unperturbed, covered in glass and still smoking his opium cheroot, keeping ship on course into the sea.  Embarrassed young pup climbs to feet and starts brushing glass off our helmsman.  Peace now shattered, wind rocketing through bridge, still two bolts holding radar mast but only one of the masts wire supports left intact.  The radio shack looked a prime target if it came down so our Indian radio officer was stood down and told to get below.
Some time later we entered the eye of the storm, quiet descends on ship, light winds, the cloud mass on the sides of the eye looking like skyscrapers rising into the blue sky as far as the human eye could see.
Cannot recall how long we were in eye but one of the strangest experiences of my life.  Eventually entered the other side.  Intantaneously, the wind changed direction to the other side of the ship and we were back in a world of horizonal spray, mountainous seas and tons of water smashing into the ship from above, the screaming of the wind making communication on the bridge almost impossible, everything soaked.  Couple of days later, still in bad weather but normal storm conditions, officers and crew scrambling over the wreakage about the ship, lashing the remainders where we could and dumping the rest over the side.  Chief and engineers exhausted but heroes of the moment for keeping main engine and generators going througout.  Yours truly, as navigating officer, praying for a hole in the cloud cover to allow me to get a fix on star, moon, sun, in fact any celestial object!  This was the days before Satellite navigation.   If it ever stops working there are going to be a lot of lost seafarers out there.
Finally got a fix some days later which explained why we had not seen Australia.  We were about 100 mls north of where we should have been on dead reckoning.  Altered course due south and picked up Noumea, our destination, some time later.