Gawłowicz carried between 20 and 30 kilograms of contraband on the Navigator. ‘According to Conrad, ships have some kind of soul – the Navigator, with all her inconveniences and cramped conditions, undoubtedly had an above-average soul’, argued Giedroyc’s courier. Before that, just after the Reymont, there were the ships Oleśnica and Polanica, and then the Elbląg, on which he visited Maisons-Laffitte for the first time. From there, he was allowed to take as many books as he could carry. After passing his captain’s exams, the courier found himself on the Hutnik, then on the Kapitan Ledóchowski school ship. In 1977, for the first time, he commanded the Zielona Góra steamer, on which he transported a printing press received from the editor of Kultura to Sweden.
Giedroyc was extremely interested in seafaring life, so in his letters, Gawłowicz did not spare him details about the fleet, ports and everyday life on board. In his account of his underground activity, he argued that the Polish Steamship Company was valued worldwide, and thanks to its wise management, it survived several crises. The uniqueness of the seafaring profession is illustrated by these words:
Grain for Polish and Soviet chickens was mainly loaded in Mississippi ports. Sailing to New Orleans in those days was something special. Herman Melville sailed on the Mississippi and wrote The Confidence-Man: His Masquerade; Truman Capote and Ernest Hemingway sought inspiration there. We had our own Polish suppliers in New Orleans, and after a few voyages, we became so practised that this was what we were valued for all over the world.
After the demise of communism in Poland, Gawłowicz continued his acquaintance – now legally – with the Kultura milieu, sailed on ships, was eventually appointed director of the Maritime Office in Szczecin, and took charge of the Szczecin branch of the Polish Writers’ Union. He was awarded the Silver Cross of Merit for his courier activities. On the Kultura website, in the sailor’s biography, we can read that: ‘In the smuggling of contraband, Gawłowicz established the Warsaw Pact record. It is believed in maritime circles that, uncaught for 26 years, he was absurdly lucky.’
Translated by Michał Niedzielski
Sources: Józef Gawłowicz, 'Morski kurier Giedroycia', Szczecin 2016; Maria Brzezińska, 'Kultura i morze', reportage of Polish Radio Lublin 2018; kulturaparyska.com; historia.trojmiasto.pl