SULTANATE OF OMAN 1990 TO 1995.
After leaving IAL I found UK very boring and missed the overseas life. In a rush I applied for a job associatedwith radio engineering but was told sorry I was overqualified having a degree in 1986 for Electronics and Computer Engineering. Lady luck once again stepped in when I was reading the Telegraph and Pan Amwere advertising for an Engineer at Salalah Airport, Oman to head the Communications Department. I went up to London regarding the job and the interviewer turned out to be a chap I had previously met in 1974 in Somalia. You have got the job lets go for a drink he said.
This was to be my last job overseas. It was the most enjoyable and interesting of all my postings and for a change I was not shot at this time. The airport had a Portuguese radio engineer who was very good but apart from him the local technicians who spoke English were lazy. I think the main reason for this unlike other countries the Omanis were much better off and enjoyed life giving them little incentive to learn. They would spend hours in the Radio Workshop just talking. The head of the department was another Mohammed. I did have other good friends Ali, Said, Ahmed for example. He was very proud of his position and was aware of the situation. We got all the technicians together and told them in no uncertain terms to get off their bottoms and get back to work. I was given a class room and for the first and last time of my career became a teacher for 3 years. Apart from classroom I gave them on the job training on the radio and radar equipment and in the workshop as I had in the past in the RN as an Instructor in HMS Collingwood gave them practical training on soldering and brazing. After all this they took more interest in their work and became more competent in repairing faulty equipment .Most of all it gave them a sense of achievement. After this Mohammed had them in his office and praised them for all the hard work they had put in. Salalah and Muscat where to have new Radar systems. I suggested to Mohammed to choose Thompson a French company which I had worked on at other airports and found to be very reliable. After this a sales engineer came out with a brochure of the radar and associated equipment he thought would be most suitable and explained in detail how it operated together with a one year after service guarantee. We informed Muscat about this but they weren’t interested. Apparently without our knowing they had already done a deal with Decca a British firm. Soon after that a Decca sales rep visited us regarding their equipment. Both Mohammed and I noticed he became very hesitant at times and was hiding something. Soon after we were invited to Muscat by the Airport Director and the IAL manager to discuss a Decca radar for Salalah. We had a very long discussion against this and they eventually agreed to us installing a Thompson Radar. We later found out that both the Airport director and the IAL Manager had accepted bribes. It turned out we made the right decision. Our radar was in service before Muscat and cost less. During this visit Mohammed brought his wife with him and we stayed at the same hotel having meals together. He was given an airport car and when his wife was with us always wore a yasmac except at meal times.
Wherever we have been overseas if there was a sea we would have a boat for fishing. We have had many at home but now only Leo our son has one. We always look forward to May catching mackerel often getting a full house 6 fish on one line.
Of all the countries we have fished in Oman comes out top not only in quantity but in variety To name a few Sailfish, Tuna, Hamoor, Baracuda, Shark,Snapper, Dorado also called Dolfino or Anfulus, and Kingfish which was the best eating fish. There was one area we called shark alley every time you put your line down you would catch them. We would often bypass this area because they were not a tasty fish and where usually large taking up a lot of wasted time bringing them in which could have been used catching good eating fish. It was also difficult and time consuming to take the hooks out and often the fish were very big and we would just cut the line.Joe an Asian was the barman at the WetWadi our club in the compound. He and his family all liked shark so it was never wasted. One incident will both will never forget was seeing this big fin and another about 8 feet away thinking it was two sharks and to our horror it turned out to be just one.On our compound there was older couple. He was the Senior IAL Air Traffic Controller. His wife could only eat fish and we kept her supplied for which she was always thankful and would cut up any big fish and put it in a big freezer.I had a suitable 4 seat aluminium fishing boat with a main 50 Hp engine and a standby get me home which I had to use only once in all my years fishing but on that occasion it saved the day. I took it to a repairer and remember his baggy trousers which most locals wore. His yard was cluttered up with old Yamaha engines. All the Omani fisherman used these. I gave him 2 bottles of Scotch for the repair and after that the engine worked perfectly and never let me down. After coming back from one trip I noticed there was a lot of water in the boat. I turned the boat over and made a very good job repairing the places where water had come in. It was now ready for testing. I took the boat out in the harbour to check for leaks, the weather was fine and had been for days when suddenly it clouded over, the rain poured down and the boat started to fill up with water. That’s a very good example of dare I say it sods law.I kept my boat in a very safe place the Army base at Port Raysut where you required an entry pass to get in. Also there were guards where the boats were kept. There were many Omani fishermen and they would just leave their boats on the beach. We were out fishing on day when I noticed another boat had stopped and went over to investigate. There were two Omani fisherman with their robes tied roughly around waist who spoke perfect English telling me they had lost their propeller. As with most of the fishing boats they had a Yamaha engine the same as mine. I always carried a spare and tools and fitted it to their engine. They were so pleased to be able to carry on fishing and thanked me asking how they could return it. I told them I worked at the airport and gave them my name. The following day I was in my office and told there was Omani outside who wanted to see me. I knew what it was all about and went down to meet him. This time he was immaculately dressed in a chauffeur driven Mercedes. He gave me back my propeller once again saying how thankful he was. Life is full of surprises On another similar occasion coming back into the harbour we noticed a fisherman standing on the inner wall holding a rope with his boat attached. He did not speak English but we realised his engine would not start. I towed him back to the jetty and on the way back he got the engine started. As a thank you he gave us six big lobsters.
When I first arrived I met Rex a member of the SAS in the Wetwadi bar in our compound. He also was a keen fisherman and would go to beach where all the local fisherman would leave their boats and pick out one, put his engine on it and go out fishing. Nobody seemed to mind but if they did he was massive guy and not one to mess with. I used to take out fishing Neville and his Swedish wife Bregitta (that’s another story later)and we would often meet up with Rex at a spot about 5 miles down the coast. This is were a place was named after him. You would always catch lots of fish there and it was known to all the expats as Rexes hole. He was stationed at Thumrait about 10 miles inland. This was the base for a few SAS and the Omani army. It rather obvious therefore if you look it up on a map there is no mention of an army base. I was a regular visitor because they had a squash court my favourite sport and Rex and I being about par would have some good games. They also had a good bar and sometimes I would stay the night.
My best Omani friend was Said an Air Traffic Controller. He also had a boat and we would often go out fishing together. His sense of humour was as if he was British as were the jokes he told. I was very privileged to be invited to his home and meet his wife and children. I soon realised he was very well respected in the community and he helped me out on many occasions. I remember when my car broke down and a part had to be ordered from UK he arranged a temporary gate pass to enter the army base.When I left Oman he gave me a party and a small silver dagger which I still have.Micaela our daughter came out for a holiday. It was ideal for her she loved swimming and the beach. Sallalah had it all. There was one particular area called Khor Rouri where there were hundreds of flamingos and many camels grazing and a fresh water lake with catfish. Further down the coast there was a beautiful mile long Sharons beach we had it all to ourselves. You had to be careful of strong currents.Micaela has liked horses from the age of 2 when she first sat on one. The King had stables in north Dhofar run by an English man David who invited us into his house for a cup of tea. He showed us around the immaculate air-conditioned stables.There was a season for squid fishing and luckily she came out in the middle of this.The best time to catch them was at night. I would put lights on both sides of the boat to attract them. There were a variety of lures available but I had many all the same with coloured feathers on. You would dangle these over the side of the boat and gig them up and down and wait for the pull which didn’t take long. Most of the time we would fill a bucket up. Sometimes you didn’t have catch them they often jumped into the boat. There is quite an art in cleaning them by pulling their skins back over them. Going back to Sharons beach I was there with Danie and swimming around the rocks when a very strong current pulled me under. I had the sense to hold my breath and stay under until I was clear of the rocks and in the open sea. It gave me quite a shockbut I was very fit at the time but a nasty experience.
There is big variation of the climate in Oman. In the winter months called the Khareef it is the rainy season in the southern region of Dhofar. Every day when I was driving on the road to the airport there many people from Muscat a very hot and dry region sitting down picnicking and getting soaked in often torrential rain. They seemed to enjoy it.. During the rainy season Danie and I would drive up to the Jebel to Wadi Dharbat. We were so lucky on one visit to see torrents of water flowing over a massive 300ft cliff to the plain below into the Khor Rouri. During the dry months October to May the Jibbali tribesmen would set up their camps in this area. About 70 miles east of Salalah was the small town of Mirbat. Further up the coast Said took me over the dunes to a big lake which I would never have found on my own. In it were enormous squid. If you held them up as high as you could by the head their tail would just touch the floor. They were easy to see but difficult to catch because of the shallow water.
Mirbat is famous for a battle that took place in July 1972 between 8 SAS led by Captain Kealy and Omani soldiers against 300 Communist Rebels fighting against the ruling Sultan. In one incident Kealy killed many insurgents firing a 25 Pounder. This was the last time it was used in combat by British troops. He radioed for airborne support and Wing Commander Bill Stokes stationed in Salalah airport sent in two rocket firing Strikemasters. Although the low cloud base was below their limits they carried out a low level strafe and rocket attack at 200ft an extremely dangerous tactic but it caught the rebels in the open killing many and others were badly wounded. The tide of the battle had turned. To finish it off he decided to launch two more aircraft one piloted by himself. Flying at low level his aircraft was hit and started to loose fuel and was forced to return to base where he made a difficult emergency landing. The Sultan of Oman awarded him the Distinguished Service medal. No SAS were killed and two were awarded the Victoria Cross. This was my last posting overseas and I retired aged 59. However this was not the end of fishing in Oman. I intended to return and left my boat and engine in the army base. My small engine I left with Frank whom I mentioned previously. We did return twice a year for 3 more years. Mohammed one of my best friends was now the Airport Director. He would arrange rebated air tickets and visas. But best of all he let us use a beautiful bungalow normally for VIPs on the cliffs overlooking the sea and the Army base where we kept our boat. Saud my other friend who gave me the farewell party would arrange and keep up to date my Army gate pass. Below are some of the fish we caught…
