The missile cruiser Marshal Ustinov in Cape Town. How unromantically we met our sailors the first time, and rather epically the second. Lady Mary’s crew visits the cruiser. A coffee shop aboard a missile cruiser.
On 24 November, the missile cruiser Marshal Ustinov arrived in Cape Town for joint exercises with the South African and Chinese navies.
Naturally, we failed to notice the heroic cruiser firing a national salute as she entered the harbour. Well, it was only 21 artillery rounds—how could anyone possibly hear them? ))) But just a couple of hours later, we did give the sailors a joyful welcome.
However, it was not military glory that brought us together with the gallant 510-strong crew. Nor was it pride in the Motherland. It was... a love of tasty, wholesome food. And this noble sentiment came with the finger of fate, which led both us and them to the very same supermarket.
...
“Mum, look, our sailors!” Nastya said, pointing from the checkouts.
At the checkouts, I spotted one marine. From a distance, his black, sort-of-beanie-like headgear did not fit at all with my mental image of a gallant sailor from the Motherland (forgive me, friends; I’ll work on improving my knowledge of naval uniforms). So I cheerfully declared:
“Of course our boys are already in town. But that one—hardly. Judging by his uniform, he looks more like Chilean Navy.”
In fact, he was one of our Russian marines. Our senior sailor had neglected to mention that white peaked caps had also been glimpsed between the aisles.
Having picked up some roast chicken, we headed for the checkouts. The queue of about a hundred people was 40% naval officers in white peaked caps. The inscription on their uniforms read: “Armed Forces.”
“Our dear boys!” I sang out, and, slipping past a local woman, jumped into the queue second from the end.
The local woman suddenly felt as though she had taken the place of those other local residents oppressed during apartheid, and just in case asked, “Are you together?” But since the follow-up question came not straight away, but after we had already been standing with the officers for about ten minutes, by then we were together. “Yes.”
As you can imagine, we immediately began extracting all sorts of military secrets from the young sailors. For example, we learned that the missile cruiser would remain in Cape Town harbour until 28 November.
And the crew would not return home until spring. The internet told us that less than a month earlier, Marshal Ustinov had been safeguarding the peace of the large-tonnage fishing fleet on the boundary of the Western Sahara and Mauritania fishing grounds. Before that, she had been in the Mediterranean, where she would later return. Probably. It’s a military secret, after all; we won’t give it away ))
Marshal Ustinov had berthed in Cape Town harbour only a few hours earlier, and some of the crew had gone ashore for a stroll. The sailors are allowed ashore. If not to the supermarket, then on a sightseeing tour; if not all at once, then in shifts; if not for the whole day, then for half of it.
The officers, from senior lieutenant to lieutenant commander, were reserved and mostly silent. At the exit, we ran into some more senior officers. At that point I could no longer contain myself and said:
“Our dear boys, may we have a photograph with you?”
“Yes, you may,” they said. “Why not? :).”
And that is how I brushed shoulders with greatness :))
A Memorial in Cape Town
The following day, in central Cape Town, not far from the enormous stadium, a memorial plaque was unveiled in honour of the 38 Russian sailors who died in the Anglo-Boer War. Our men fought on the Boer side.
The unveiling was attended by the Russian ambassador to South Africa, sailors from the cruiser Marshal Ustinov, diplomats from South Africa, Russia and China, and representatives of Cape Town’s Russian diaspora. In short, everyone was there. Except us. Supermarkets are more our speciality.
🙂
On the morning of 26 November, we drove our friends Pasha and Ira to the airport, then headed to the harbour for a ceremonial and very well-attended boarding of the missile cruiser Marshal Ustinov.
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Aboard the Missile Cruiser
First, as usual, we missed our mark. The South African colleague-cruiser happened to be the first one open to the public. At our “Hello,” a cheerful sailor behind a tray by the gangway responded enthusiastically in English:
“Buy South African Navy caps! Who wants one!?”
Then it dawned on us that our cruiser was unlikely to be selling South African caps, and we set off at a run. And indeed, farther on, two more ships were berthed opposite each other. Guess which of the three was the biggest and most imposing? That’s right.
The Missile Cruiser Marshal Ustinov
Home port: Severomorsk. Since 3 July 2019, the heroic cruiser has been on a long-range deployment. Since then, she has taken part in the Main Naval Parade in St Petersburg, participated in the Russian Navy’s Ocean Shield 2019 exercise, passed through the Mediterranean and rounded Africa from the west.
Open Day
The sailors tirelessly led tour after tour (in two languages) around the ship. The stern and St Andrew’s ensign, the flight deck, missile armament, radar superstructures and enormous anchors on the forecastle. Marshal Ustinov does not let just anyone into her engine room; she does let people inside, but only Russians.
We had just met some friends from the local Russian-speaking community and managed to invite ourselves along for a second circuit. According to the young officers, the guide we absolutely had to ask for was Captain Third Rank Georgy Nikolayevich.
Nastya and I got lost, then found each other again... and, overjoyed to see us as brothers and sisters from the Motherland, they took us onto the bridge of the cruiser Marshal Ustinov. The captain’s station, the navigator’s station, navigational instruments, communications systems... in short, everything just like aboard our Lady Mary ))).
A Cosy Street Café with Wicker Furniture
After that, down the ladders to a small deck squeezed between.... And here the Northern Fleet behaved in a completely unexpected fashion—they had set up a tea-and-coffee area, where we lingered until the sailors politely asked us to wrap things up.
With the Keeper of the Coffee and Tea
The young sailor left the ship laden with biscuits. As usual, I became emotional and hugged everyone. After all, it wasn’t for nothing that fate had brought us all the way to one of our own missile cruisers in Africa!
On our way out of the secure area, we met an elderly man wearing his medals. A veteran of the Second World War. Under fire, he helped ensure the safe passage of Allied military vessels through the Cape of Good Hope and around the African continent.
“Thank you for the victory!” we told him, and wished him many more years of life and good health.
How old must he be? Nearly a hundred?
Thank you, Grandad, for the victory.
And may there be peace throughout the world. Hurrah!
And Marshal Ustinov has already sailed out into the ocean.
You can barely see either us or St Andrew’s ensign... But it is all here 🙂
Friends, enormous thanks to everyone who played such a brilliant part in training our senior sailor Nastya and helping her obtain her first maritime education certificate. She is sending everyone personal thank-you letters and preparing postcards.
We are grateful to Roman L., Maksim F., Volodimimr Sh., Vladimir D., Sergei B., Alexander Z. and Sergei D. for contributing to the expedition’s ship’s fund through
Paypal.me/TravelyFamily
and
yasobe.ru/na/travelyfamily
—you are part of our shore team, and that fills our wings with wind. Because we can see the response. Because it is important and necessary.
Hugs to all our friends, readers and subscribers. Have a wonderful December!