The Father Pat Story

On Tuesday, 27 April 2010 the MS Volendam arrived at Apia capital of Samoa at approximately 7.30am on an already very warm and humid day. when I got off the ship at 8:45 AM it was already 41°C at the relative humidity was 95% so it was already very hot and sweaty.

Hoards of taxi drivers were yelling to attract the passengers to their cab and making special offers to tour the various attractions. I got into one bloke's air-conditioned and he told  me he would show me all the sights and then there would give me a price at the end of the day. I informed him I only wanted an hours drive for $15  around the city and for him to let me off at the markets and I would walk back to the ship. (The going price was $8 per hour.)  After we drove off he said not to worry about the price as he would give me a good tour and we will discuss it at the end of the trip.

I was feeling very uneasy with him so I told him to stop the cab and let me out.When he saw I was serious, he agreed to my terms and actually gave me a very good tour of the city, pointing out the various points of interest, including the large Catholic cathedral. He told me the majority of Samoan people including himself were Catholic.

After 45 minutes he started heading off on an isolated dirt track, this caused my gut feeling alarm bells to start ringing.

 I asked him where he was taking me. He replied he was going to take me to some lovely Samoan ladies and they would make me very happy and I would give him a big tip like all the sailors do after he has taken them to visit.

I said to him ‘Mate, we better get a few things straight, as I am a Catholic priest, you will not be taking me to a brothel’.

‘You a farder? Of the church?’ He asked in shock as if I had hit him over the head.

I said I was and on a holiday cruise. ‘Oh sorry farder.’ He said blessing himself.

The cab did a quick U turn and we headed back to town. He must of thought he was going to go to hell for this sin. He went white.

When he dropped me off he only charged me $5 and said ‘sorry farder.’

Big brave me now out of his cab told him to never do that again to anyone and that I was going to report him to the police. He made a very quick exit.

That night I learnt that on 2 occasions two older women alone in cabs were taken out into the bush and had to pay big bucks to get back to the ship.

My story spread like wildfire around the ship and that is how Fr Pat started.

 The Rev Bev a Chaplin from the Uniting Church in Queensland on the ship thought if was great how I thought of the priest story so quickly. But she wasn't going to start calling me Fr, and still refers to me as Mate.

 The Indonesian crew called me ‘Iya Pat.’ (Iya being Fr in their language.)

Fr Pat, sitting at Sir Pat's bar in Cairns

Alaska Cruise Ms Amsterdam 2010

Las Vegas Grand Canyon 2011

Ms Amsterdam World Cruise2011 (FLL to SYD)

Ms Prinsendam Christmas Caribbean Dec 2010

Ms Volendam Sydney to Vancouver 2010

Japan UK Ireland Med Ms Noordam Cruise 2008

Volendam 45 day Cruise Hong Kong to Sydney 2009

USA Ireland England Wales & Malta Holiday 2007

This was my first overseas trip for many years, it was also my first visit to the United States of America and some of the Mediterranean countries. I was still working and therefore took some leave to have this holiday, I think it was this travel and the excitement of exploring new countries that assisted me in making up my mind to retire, which I did 12 months after this holiday.

My visit to the United States was filled with many surprises as I realised during my visit to San Francisco that like any other major city in the world there is poverty and homelessness. I was surprised to see the number of loudmouth redneck drug affected individuals making a nuisance of themselves. I guess I was expecting the movie type portrayal of a glamorous city. In saying that I was delighted to meet the average American who were very welcoming and friendly. There is no doubt San Francisco is a beautiful city and its attractions are well worth experiencing.

I then made a short visit to Boston a city I fell in love with immediately as it didn't seem to have some of these aspects that I did not like in San Francisco. I really enjoyed the short visit to Boston and the city is on my bucket list to return to for longer visit sometime in the future.

After the flight from Boston to Dublin I met up with my sister Frances and her husband Reno and we drove across Ireland to the village of Dolan in County Clare where we had a self-contained cottage or a week. We made this our base and explored such areas as Grange in County Limerick which is the ancestral home of the Dunworths. We also visited the Internet radio station in Ballyhaunis County Mayo where I co-presented a radio program with my good friend Una Flanagan. The village of Dolan is an interesting place as it only has about five pubs and these are well known for their live traditional Irish music so I spent many a pleasant toe tapping evening enjoying a Guinness.

We then spent a few days in Horley UK near the Gatwick airport and whilst they are we did a train trip to Bath. Bath was a very interesting city originally built by the Romans. That afternoon Frances in Reno returned to our hotel in Horley and I went on by train to visit a work colleague that had been seconded to the Welsh government and was living with his family in Cardiff. It was great to catch up with Tim and meet his family. Tim also gave me a city sites tour and took me to a local Welsh pub to sample some local beers. The next day after doing a tour on the hop on and off the bus it was time to get the train back to Horley.

The next day we flew from Gatwick to Malta. I was impressed with Malta and the beautiful views over the Mediterranean Sea however I was very surprised with how dry and hot the island was and at that time most of the houses seemed to all be painted the same colour. The attractions and the history of this island nation are unique and I enjoyed learning as much as I could about the island. I think the highlight for me was our daily swim at a beautiful beach and I enjoyed the warm waters of the Mediterranean.

After Malta I returned home to Cairns.

I hope you enjoy the video I have made of this holiday.

Ms Statendam Panama Cruise 2009 Canada &USA

In mid-2009 I flew from Cairns to San Diego to commence a 14 day Holland America cruise on the MS Statendam through the Panama Canal. This was my second cruise and it certainly was a highlight travelling through the Panama Canal. On this cruise I met some very genuine people that to this day I consider as friends as we had so much fun combined with many laughs whilst on the ship and I still keep in touch with them.

After the cruise I had a few days with my friends Kathy and Mike in Florida, they gave me a great time and showed me many of the local points of interest around the Fort Lauderdale and nearby areas. I really enjoyed visiting some of the Irish pubs and restaurants and having a few Guinness.

I then flew to Toronto in Canada and did various sightseeing trips around the city as well is doing an excursion of two days to the Niagara Falls. I really enjoyed the falls and the attractions there, a highlight was doing the first 'Maid of the Mist' cruise of the 2009 season. 

After Canada I flew down to Chicago where I was met by John and Carla and I had the privilege of staying with them or about five days. They went out of their way to show me as much of Chicago as was possible in this limited period of time. Chicago is a fantastic city and a great place to visit. One of the highlights of the visit was to attend the Anzac Day ceremony in the city.

I then flew to Las Vegas and had a few days there before visiting Los Angeles for the final days of my North American visit. I took the advantage of visiting Disney, Hollywood and the LA beaches.

I found the people I met in both nations of North America to be very friendly and helpful, I suspect that many Americans and Canadians like the Aussie accent. To my friends Kathy and Mike and also John and Carla my sincere appreciation and thanks for inviting me to stay in your homes.

I hope you enjoy the video I have produced covering this holiday.