Narendra Sethia arrived in St. Vincent over four decades ago, exceeding a span of 48 years. According to Sethia’s account provided to the St. Vincent Times, he mentioned that upon his visit, he was undergoing training with the British Navy aboard the HMS Fearless.
“I was in the Royal Navy, training on a warship called HMS Fearless.” We anchored in Kingstown Harbour in February 1975, and the ship’s Captain hosted a welcome party for several dozen Vincentians on the first night. “Among them is the Governor General, Sir Rupert John.”
“During our three days here and in Bequia, I was fortunate to board a helicopter to fly over St. Vincent’s West Coast, and I still have this photo from the ‘chopper.'”
“I left the Royal Navy a few years later; my job was duty officer on board the submarine HMS Conqueror when it torpedoed and sank the Argentine ship Belgrano during the Falkland War.”
“A friend and I owned a 32-foot wooden sailing yacht and had dreams of living in the Caribbean (my mother lived in Barbados), so we prepared the yacht and sailed out of the United Kingdom on August 8, 1982.” We arrived in Barbados in early December after a 29-day Atlantic trip.”
“I’ve spent the majority of my time since in the Eastern Caribbean, including here in Vincy, where I’ve lived for nearly 28 years, working with charter yachts for visitors who wanted sailing experiences through the Grenadines.”
“When I’m asked, “Where exactly is St. Vincent?” I respond, “Somewhere between heaven and earth, but closer to heaven”.
You can read more about Sethia’s life in a literary work titled “Secrets of the Conqueror: The Untold Story of Britain’s Most Famous Submarine,” which is readily accessible for purchase on the online platform Amazon.
The short video presented herein was captured some years prior, with no anticipation of doing an interview with Seth in the subsequent years.
