"Come to Havana with me pilot. We will enjoy Cuban cigars, some Cuban rum and the pretty girls." Captain Konstinos Tsoleaidis, a jovial man from northern Greece made me most welcome when his bulk carrier Pella arrived from Rouen for bunkers loaded with 10,000 tonnes of bagged flour. Konstantinos expected to be in Havana between 20 and 30 days discharging his cargo.

What a shame I couldn't go to Cuba sightseeing. My days of flirting with young Hispanic girls are over - far safer at my age to hang around the docks in Falmouth photographing ships than guzzling rum in some seedy Havana waterfront bar with a hot-blooded maiden sat on my lap. Memories of the good old days running down the Central and South American coast.