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Commander Albert S. McLemore, Evans' skipper, was one of the last swimmers to be rescued. Aboard the Australian carrier, the American skipper made his way to the bridge for an emotional meeting with Stevenson. Later MCLemore recalled: "We met about halfway through the pilot house. I was still about half naked. We embraced and we both said, 'I'm sorry,' at about the same point."
Troublesome Lady. Crewmen aboard the Australian carrier could hardly be faulted for fearing that their ship is jinxed. Although the first indications are that the accident was the fault of Evans, Melbourne's record is replete with mishaps. Designed as a British warship during World War II, the ship soon acquired the title of "Troublesome Lady." Built to withstand North Atlantic cold, it became an oven in the warm waters off Australia. Despite air conditioning, engine-room temperatures sometimes soared to 153 degrees. After a year in Australia, the catapult system developed a structural defect that grounded the carrier's aircraft for seven months. Two years later, the ship had to drop out of SEATO exercises when its boilers became overstrained. Until last week, the worst mishap had occurred in 1964. Freshly fitted and equipped, Melbourne went to sea and collided with H.M.A.S. Voyager. (This collision was determined later to have been the destroyer's fault.) The repairs cost a quarter of a million dollars. Four months ago, after a year at dockside and a refitting that cost more than $8 million, Melbourne was scraped by a Japanese freighter, crushing a gun platform and demolishing a 40-mm. cannon.