Saltus Grammar School - Yearbook (Hamilton, Bermuda)

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24 Beach Breakers The unmistakable roar is distinguishable from afar — the roar of breakers, whitecapped and fluffy, which pound with fury upon listless expanses of gleaming pink, the beaches. Frivolous bathers frolic about in the shallows, watching with rising excitement as a ' big one ' approaches. The glistening, white- peaked, faintly transparent blue wall advances. First it is just a long, even but powerful swell, but as it nears shore, it develops into a toppling, but still silent ' urge ' of energy which crashes with tumultuous fury against the current-drawn pink of the beach, throwing it back up the beach again. This same power breaks dams, causes landslides, takes many lives. It also carries surf -riders in to shore. Here is one. He feels a powerful forward movement. His hands are poised in the air and then he plunges, tautening his body. He may reach a speed of five miles per hour. He may choose to open his eyes under water; then he will see pink sand and water, twisting and turning into a volcanic cloud, impenetrable to the eye. He is twisted and turned himself, like a creature. Soon he feels himself being grounded, though still moving at a considerable speed. Then he stands up, and only his head is swimming. The low rock in the middle of the beach is now silently absorbing the hot rays of the sun. Low and squat against the background of fluffy waves it is a smooth reminder of ages past, hurricanes fought, battles with the elements won. Yet it has very little to show for its trussles except a smooth unbreakable surface. One day it will be worn down to nothing. Several bits of dried seaweed lie about it left by the receding tide. When high tide comes the rock will once more break the sturdy impact of the waves and scatter their spray far and wide. Each little morsel of sand is a reminder of the powerful breakers, for they have been ground from solid rock, the result of many years ' patient work. Bleaching in the sunshine they lie placidly resigned, moving sloppily about, either being dragged by the undertow or being forced by the breaker. Their pinkish hue is obtained from coral. It is that pink which warms the heart of many a tourist. It is pink sand that makes a beach distinguished. So the breakers go rolling on, crashing their mighty bulks against unresisting expanses of sand, sometimes terrifying, sometimes fun- giving, but always beautiful; perishable, but everlasting. M. W. MAIR Form Four (L)

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23 The Louvre The Louvre is situated in Paris overlooking the beautiful Tuileries Gardens. At this time of year it is crowded with excited tourists from all parts of the world. As one enters this famous museum of art treasures, all around one sees people studying the historic remains of past centuries. The Louvre is the largest and richest museum in existence, and one cannot possibly see aU its treasures in a few short hours. We pushed our way through the milling throng of people, all speak- ing in different languages, and found ourselves in the Egyptian Galleries. On walls and tablets were strange writings, the picture writings of the Egyptians. Here and there were stone and marble figures of cats and dogs which were once worshipped by the people of that civilization. These were displayed on the ground floor. Walking along the corridor we came suddenly upon a dark stair- way. There before us was a gigantic figure of a black sphinx, made of black marble. He stared silently through the gloom of the dark alcove, illuminated by subtle red Ughting. I was very impressed as he looked almost alive. The crowds thinned out, and we wended our way to the upstairs galleries. Here we were greeted by a row of mummy cases with the faces of Pharoah painted upon them. Around could be seen the various articles which were placed in the graves of dead kings. We descended more flights of stairs and came to the Grecian Galleries. These contained mostly marble statues of Greek gods and goddesses, many of w ' hich were lacking arms, legs, or other protruding parts of the body. The Louvre is noted for possessing the original Venus de Milo, the beautiful figure of a woman. She occupies a room by herself and is on a pedestal. Guides of different nationalities were trying to outshout each other over this famed art treasure. I overheard one guide telling his audi- ence that at night-time the Venus revolved on her pedestal, spot-lighted. A Frenchman, however, informed us that she had not moved for many a year as the mechanism had broken down! There was time only to glimpse a few of the famous collections of paintings in the art galleries. Of these, I particularly liked the portraits done by Van Dyck and Holbein. Unfortunately we did not have time to return to The Louvre during our stay in Paris, but I hope to visit it again one day. P. J. FARGE Form 4L

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25 H.M.C.S. Porte St. Jean Many readers will have noticed during recent weeks a small Canadian Navy vessel tied up at the flagpole on Front Street. On the foredeck she appeared to carry several small red aeroplanes. Here is a report on this ship, H.M.C.S. Porte St. Jean. She was commissioned in June 1958 together with three similar vessels, ' Torte Dauphin, Porte St. Lucia and Porte Quebec. When these vessels were first built (in Quebec, at Levis), they were intended for use as civilian trawlers, but in 1951 the Canadian Navy purchased them with the intention of putting them into service as ' gate vessels ' , that is to say vessels whose chief function is to swing open and closed antisubmarine nets at the mouth of a harbour. Lacking duties of that kind, she is at the present time in service as a target towing facility. Porte St. Jean is 132 feet long, 32 feet abeam. Her main con- struction is of aluminium and displaces 450 tons. She draws only seven feet of water forward and fourteen aft; one consequence of this is that in any sort of sea she pitches and rolls fearfully ferocious. It is not uncommon, crewmen say, to be thrown out of their bunks. Forward, under the launching catapult is housing for a 40 mm. gun during wartime. The magazine for this gun is next to the storeroom under the forecastle. The forecastle is also used as a repair shop for the target drones and the radio sets which control them. The engine room is in the after section of the boat. Here are three diesel engines; a main electricity generator, the main engine in the centre, and a standby generator. Except for an occasional puddle of oil the engine room is as clean as the rest of the ship, but much more noisy. With only the comparatively small standby generator working it is almost impossible to carry on a conversation. Hooked up to the main generator is a hydraulic pump which supplies power to winches on deck. These winches are used when Porte St. Jean tows surface targets for the destroyers to shoot at. The targets in question are approximately twenty feet high and are towed on a cable 600 feet long. When asked whether the ship had ever been hit one of the crew replied