Chapter 50: FreePort

Tue, Oct 27, 1970

Hoyt Axton, Lynyrd Skynyrd, & Black Oak Arkansas, Day 1 of 6, RCMH, NYC, 8pm.

“Aruba, Jamaica, ooh, I wanna take you,
Bermuda, Bahama, come on, pretty mama.
Key Largo, Montego, baby, why don’t we go?

Off the Florida Keys,
there’s a place called Kokomo.
That’s where you wanna go to get away from it all.
Bodies in the sand,
tropical drink meltin’ in your hand.
We’ll be falling in love to the rhythm of a steel drum band,
down in Kokomo.

Aruba, Jamaica, ooh, I wanna take you to Bermuda, Bahama, come on, pretty mama.
Key Largo, Montego,
ooh, why don’t we go down to Kokomo?
We’ll get there fast, and then we’ll take it slow.
That’s where we wanna go,
way down to Kokomo.

Then we’ll go out to sea,
and we’ll perfect our chemistry.
By and by we’ll defy a little bit of gravity.
Afternoon delight,
cocktails and moonlit nights.
That dreamy look in your eye gives me a tropical contact high,
way down in Kokomo.

Aruba, Jamaica, ooh, I wanna take you to Bermuda, Bahama, come on, pretty mama.
Key Largo, Montego,
ooh, why don’t we go down to Kokomo?
We’ll get there fast, and then we’ll take it slow.
That’s where we wanna go,
Way down to Kokomo.

Everybody knows a little place like Kokomo.
Now if you wanna go and get away from it all,
go down to Kokomo.

Aruba, Jamaica, ooh, I wanna take you to Bermuda, Bahama, come on, pretty mama.
Key Largo, Montego,
ooh, why don’t we go down to Kokomo?
We’ll get there fast, and then we’ll take it slow.
That’s where we wanna go,
way down to Kokomo.”

Kokomo
By Mike Love, John Phillips, Scott McKenzie & Terry Melcher

We were wrapping up the huge formation of U-Corp, also Partnering with The Bahamas.

We Flew via Wheels, from the 2,500’ Runway on Walker’s Cay, Flying South, Landing on the 11,000’ Runway at Grand Bahama International Airport, FPO.

Jet Aviation-FPO, came with 3 Hangers. We would add Hangers large enough to Hanger a Boeing 707. We would do most of our VM & Maintenance at Nassau’s NAS though. Both Locations came with plenty of Ramp Space too, so we weren’t cramped.

We were picked up by a couple old School Buses, Propane Fueled of course, that originally came from the States.

We had decided to use the Ocean Reef Yacht Club Resort while staying on Freeport. The Ocean Reef Yacht Club Resort, stuck out in the Lucayan Harbour, like a Thumb. It was surrounded by Docks, plus there were Red Roofed Townhouses to its left, or West Side. Freeport, was located along the South Side of Grand Bahama Island.

I chose the Ocean Reef, as it was compact, & I wanted our Sendoff to be intimate & meaningful.

We were Flying Home afterwards, some to America, others to the UK, Italy, Germany, & Japan.

After spending awhile exploring Freeport, most of us went West, to the Large Man-Made Harbour of Hawksbill Creek. It was the Freeport Docks, that was also Owned by Wallace Groves. He pretty much Owned the South Side of Grand Bahama Island.

In 1970, the West Side of the Harbour was taken up by the Freeport Port, but it was before Containers were in wide use, so most Cargo was loaded by hand, very labor intensive.

The East Side of the Harbour was mostly undeveloped, only a small portion taken up by an old Shipyard, the Freeport Point Shipyard, that had operated from 1924-1968.

Wallace asked us if we would reopen the Shipyard. He said we could expand it easily.

Edgar Kaiser spoke up, saying he’d love to Operate another Shipyard, using his dad’s old WW2 way of building Ships fast. His dad once Won a Bet, Welding a Liberty Ship together in 1-Day!

He built the Liberty Ships in sections, or Pods. The time consuming part was the Interior Bulkheads, etc. Once the Pods were completed, it was easy to then use huge Cranes, to position the Pods together, Welding them together, instead of the old way, that took forever. The old way, had Workers tossing Red-Hot Metal Rivets to each other. While still Red-Hot, you would insert the Rivet in a Predrilled Hole. Then another Worker, inside the Ship, would Hammer the Rivet, Forming a Flattened Area, holding the Rivet in place. Dangerous & old school in 1970, thank god.

Edgar assured us that he would Over-Engineer our new Ships, to be as strong as the old way. Since he had Sold the old Kaiser Shipyards, he had been thinking of better ways to set up a new Shipyard. I knew we had it under control now, with Edgar Kaiser in charge.

As Ralf, in the 2020’s, I had seen Photos of the Harbour being Re-Dredged, making a wide Channel again. That way, Hawksbill Creek could have more of a Natural Flow again, between Tides.

Back when Wallace Dredged out the Harbour, he Dredged Out the Creek & the Marsh Lands around it, Deepening & forming the Harbour, using the Dredged Sand & Coral to make Land around the Harbour. It was a Win-Win, although possibly f/u the Coral & Aquatic Life around it.

I think The Bahamas were finally correcting that part of the Environmental Damage that had occurred before.

Now, as Pug, I suggested that we do the same thing. The huge amount of Sand we would remove to make the Creek wider, we would reuse, by building up the areas that had eroded, or to expand the areas we wanted to use.

In 1970, the Port was poorly Run, & the Shipyard had closed 2 years before, in 1968. Next to the Port, was a Rock & Sand Quarry, as well as an operating Concrete Plant.

Now, Tom Crowley was going to Run the Port, as the APL Freeport Container Port.

Edgar Kaiser was going to operate the Kaiser Grand Bahama Shipyard.

Carnival-Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, weren’t around yet. They wouldn’t be created until 1973. Based in Nassau, & Supplied & Maintained in Freeport, Carnival would be begun by Resorts International, now part of U-Corp.

The big draw of our Fleet, was all Ships would offer Gambling, all Run by Bill Harrah. Always Honest & Fun. Most of the Boats would be Family Friendly too, so while Daddy was Gambling away the family fortune, Mom & the kids could be having fun, at least.

While we were checking what was left of the old Shipyard, we were happy to learn, that both Floating Dry-Docks were usable. There was a medium & a large Dry-Dock.

There were 3 Warehouse Buildings along the Dry-Docks, that had Workshops inside, as well as Shops to support Welders, as well as Steelworkers.

I had a wild thought. As Ralf, I knew the fantastic Art-Deco designed Ferry Boat, the MV KalaKala, had been in Service, from 1935-1967. It had been a part of the Washington State Ferry System.

It would be a “Project” for a few, but never having the Funds to Renovate it. MV KalaKala was finally being Cut Up & Scrapped, in the 2020’s.

Utter BS. Bill Gates, Paul Allen, Jeff Bezos, all could have saved it, as it would have been a Blip on their Net-Worth’s Radar.

Well, now as Pug, I asked Tom Crowley to Buy it, Shipping it from Seattle, to Freeport, The Bahamas.

WE would Save, Restore & USE IT! Another Trust Fund Baby, if I ever saw one.

I had visions of it being our Private Floating Hotel, Conference & Party Boat.

It could do Loops of Manhattan too. Dinner Cruises In-Style. The Car Decks could be converted to Staterooms, Ballrooms, Restaurants & a big Performance Hall!

We would soon build our own Floating Dry-Docks at Kaiser Grand Bahama, making them all Large. We could have a total of 10 Floating Dry-Docks, in 2 areas. I’d heard of Large Concrete Dry-Docks. It turns out that Concrete Floats, if used correctly. We had our own Concrete Plant, so that worked out.

Tom Crowley & Edgar Kaiser, were going to work together, researching the best way to go. Then we would ramp up Production.

Lynden was putting out the Word to all Bahamians, if they had Shipbuilding Skills, Welding Skills, VM, etc, to try out at Kaiser Grand Bahama. Others could Man the Potters Cay Docks & Kaiser Potters Cay Shipyard.

The Nassau Shipyard was small, on the West End of Potters Cay. We would use it mostly as a Retrofit Yard, as well as building Barges. We also needed Millions of Containers, in the coming years, so any Downtime, when Orders were slow, we could have Crews building Containers. They didn’t take up much space, & would be snatched up ASAP by Crowley APL.

All Dry-Docks would have Large Cranes at all 4 Corners, that were on Rails along the top of the Dry-Docks Sides. This would allow us to Hook up to a finished Pod section, using a Crane on each Corner of the Pod, setting it in Place, inside the Dry-Dock. Pods could then be quickly Welded together.

When the Ship was completed, we would then Flood the Dry-Dock. Once full of Water, the Ship would then Float on its own. It had been Built, using Blocks below it, keeping it Upright. Once Floated, it would Rise Above the Blocks, allowing us to Open the Floodgates. We designed the Floodgate, to just Drop-Down, when we wanted to Float in or out a Boat or Ship. It was simple really, & really sped things up.

For the next Ship, it could then Float in, then they would Raise the Floodgate, trapping the Ship inside. To Raise Up the Floating Dry-Dock, you just then Pumped-Out the Water inside, Raising the whole Dry-Dock. As the Water was Pumped-Out, & the Ship lowered, you put Big Supports under it, sometimes Tacking them in Place. The Ship would then be Safely Supported for any Work to be done to it.

If the Dry-Dock was going to be used for a New Boat, you would Raise the Dry-Dock up Empty. It could then have completed Pods placed inside, ready to be Welded to the next Pod. The Cycle would be repeated many times over the coming years.

We made plans to Make: Container Ships, RoRo Ships, Combo Container & RoRo Ships, Bulk Carriers, Grain, Lumber, etc, LPG-Propane Carriers, Tugs, Barges, etc.

RoRo stood for: Roll On-Roll Off, basically an Ocean Going Ferry Boat. It usually had Low Height Decks, often requiring the Driver to bend over, after he Loaded a Car Aboard. Some Decks were adjustable too, so you could Load Trucks too.

All would have the newest Technology, Navigation, Radios, Double-Hulled, Propane Powered etc. All essential Navigation & Steering, would have Double & even Triple Back-Up Systems.

Most of our Ships would have a Helipad, especially for Emergencies. We would always have the Best Lifeboats, the kind that were like a Cocoon, so you could survive the worst Storms. We would have good Propane Powered Engines, as well as a Sail. There would be plenty Food & Water aboard the Lifeboat too. There were Battery Powered Radios, as well as Board Games to Play, to take your mind of things, until you could be Rescued. Flares too, all the Safety Items necessary.

We also had a few Tenders Onboard our Ships too, to use in Port.

We also were going to Partner with The Bahamas, to begin the 1st Mandatory Recycle Program. We would ask all Bahamians, to separate their Compost, Recycles & Garbage.

All would be Barged to Freeport, then we would Process it.

Metals went to Kaiser Steel & Aluminum, Compost went to the Farms growing Food for Wallace’s Resorts. All Paper, would be used in our new Box-Board Cardboard Plant. We were going to put it next to the Rock & Sand Quarry, on the Far-Side of the Container Port.

We would work on Honeycombing Cardboard, to be better Packing Material. I was going to push to Outlaw most Styrofoam, using Honeycombed Cardboard instead. You would have to get Approval to use Styrofoam, showing Proof your Item would be Damaged in Transit, w/o it. Most would use our Cardboard. Plus, all users of Styrofoam, must set up their own Recycling Center for it. None should be Garbage.

The remaining Garbage, could then be Burned in an Incinerator, using Propane as Fuel. Some went to the existing Landfill on the Island, but we would reduce that immensely.

It looked like our Hawksbill Creek Port Complex would work perfectly for us. We would use it as our 1st attempt to go 100% using Containers. We would then incorporate our ideas to the other Port Locations that APL operated around the World.

We would need Ports in Havana, Nassau, Freeport, Miami, NYC-NJ, Oakland, Seattle, Vancouver, BC, Anchorage, Tokyo, etc.

Crowley APL would operate the Ports for us. Kaiser would build our Ships, as well as providing the Steel & Aluminum.

We would Supply Honda with any Imported items, as well as Shipping Honda Cars & Motorcycles throughout Asia. Honda was now our C-4 Operations for Asia.