True calling found in the Nick of time
A FORMER sailor who spent his days in port drunk and brawling has told how a “wake-up call” made him reach for the sky.
Gold Coast resident Nick Belloff, 93, has shared details of his life as a seaman and later as a chief pilot in an autobiography written by Diana Todd-Banks called Boats, Bars, Brothels & Cockpits.
Mr Belloff was a seaman on the Pamir – the last commercial windjammer to sail some the world’s stormiest seas from Australia to Europe.
During his time in port, Mr Belloff said, he would get “pissed” and visit a brothel but an epiphany while at the pictures watching a Mr Magoo cartoon ended those days.
“I could have ended up a drunken bum in a foreign port, but then I had a wake-up call,” he said. “I’m quite proud because instantly, within seconds, I changed my life. I stopped everything. And just for the hell of it I decided to fly to keep me off the booze.”
Mr Belloff became a pilot flying Tiger Moths, Chipmunks and helicopters.
“I never thought of my life as being unique, but my grandson said, ‘Why don’t you write a book?’ And it just so happened I heard Diana did books,” Mr Belloff said.
Ms Todd-Banks said the pair met in Southport while she was sitting on a bench, drinking a coffee. After a few days chatting and reading his draft autobiography, she agreed to write his book.
“It’s about a humble man who never thought he did anything special in his life,” she said. “Most people have a same view, they don’t think they should write a book because they’re not worthy, but everyone has a story to tell.”