March 1 (Wednesday)
At pier-side in Constantinople. Capitaine Chauveau departed ship with several other officers to join an Atlantean acquaintance for a trip to the Hagia Sophia.
March 2 (Thursday)
Ship delayed from departing harbour for two hours after Matelot Petitjean, one of the liberty men, was reported overdue to return to the ship. Before search parties could be convened, Petitjean telephoned from Constantinople Hospital, where he had been taken following an encounter with an irate Greek donkey.
Ship departed Constantinople at 1900 hours.
March 3 (Friday)
Arrived at Bulgarian port and naval base of Varna. Escorted into port by Bulgarian destroyer
Kazanlak.
March 4 (Saturday)
Demonstrated the capabilities of the
Polynésie to senior officers of the Bulgarian Navy, including the Bulgarian naval commandant of Varna, Kontradmiral Dimitri Radoslavov. Capitaine Chauveau hosted Kontradmiral Radoslavov and six other senior officers of the Bulgarian Navy for dinner.
March 5 (Sunday)
Remained at anchor in Varna. In the afternoon, open ship tours were offered at pierside; Bulgarian destroyer
Kazanlak, docked at the same pier, also had an open house. Both ships registered approximately nine hundred visitors.
March 6 (Monday)
Departed Varna at 1200 hours en route to Constanta. Ship conducted man overboard and damage control exercises once clear of Bulgarian territorial waters in order to pass the time before our arrival in Romania. Crew washed and repainted a section of the main deck.
March 7 (Tuesday)
Arrived at Constanta at 0900 hours; exchanged salutes with Romanian destroyer
Sboru. Docked at the Constanta Naval Base. Capitaine Chauveau dined with the commanding admiral of the Romanian squadron. Starboard watch given shore leave.
March 8 (Wednesday)
Remained at anchor in Constanta. Port watch given shore leave. Capitaine Chauveau, Lieutenant Laporte, and Lieutenant Nogues travelled by car to tour a river gunboat of the Romanian Danube Flotilla; they returned after midnight.
March 9 (Thursday)
Remained at anchor in Constanta. Capitaine Chauveau received a report from the Romanian police about Matelot Jules Roche, who was involved yesterday evening in a fight in a local drinking establishment. Capitaine Chauveau called a captain's mast and, after hearing evidence, sentenced Matelot Roche to two weeks extra duties and a stoppage of shore leave.
March 10 (Friday)
Departed Constanta at 0730 hours for Sevastopol. Cruised at twenty-two knots to arrive at Sevastopol by 1700 hours. Traded salutes with Russian flagship. Capitaine Chauveau welcomed by Russian naval officers.
March 11 (Saturday)
Remained at anchor in Sevastopol. Ship's crew played two intense football matches against the sailors of the Black Sea Fleet, winning the first and losing the second (badly). Matelot Fontaine, team keeper, was knocked out during the second game after he attempted to stop a scoring attempt using his face. In the evening, Capitaine Chauveau hosted numerous senior officers of the Black Sea Fleet for an informal dinner and dance aboard the ship's forecastle.
March 12 (Sunday)
Remained at anchor in Sevastopol. Father Payet conducted services aboard ship; the crew of the French merchant ship MS
Michigan applied for permission to come aboard for services.
March 13 (Monday)
Departed Sevastopol at 0700 hours in order to conduct joint antiship and antiaircraft gunnery exercises with two destroyers and one cruiser of the Russian fleet. "Tornade" and "Tramontaine" participated in the exercise with AAMG fire and three "dry" attack runs on the warships. Returned to Sevastopol at 2030 hours.
March 14 (Tuesday)
Remained at anchor in Sevastopol. Capitaine Chauveau joined the Russian officers for a post-mortem discussion of the gunnery exercises. The Russian officers were reportedly impressed with the accuracy and capabilities of
Polynésie's 57mm/L60 secondary battery. Scored 119 out of a possible 125 (third of four) in the anti-surface gunnery drill, and 90 of a possible 95 (second of four) in the AA drill. "Tramontaine" was deemed to have scored two torpedo hits, and "Tornade" one hit, during the course of their individual drills.
March 15 (Wednesday)
Remained at anchor in Sevastopol completing refueling.
March 16 (Thursday)
Departed Sevastopol for Constantinople at 1100 hours.