Haapalah / Aliyah Bet

laNegev (To the Negev) לנגב was a small, wooden, two masted barquetine/brigantine.\
Code name: Atzil אציל
Registered name: Merica
Habonim Dror.org cites laNegev as "a one-masted wooden ship, not more than a hundred feet long."
Built: 1875
Engine: 150 hp engine had been added.
Speed: 6 knots
Port of registry: Genova

Merica LaNegev לנגב was leased from Dandaria Nickname: Stubby, the ship dealer, in Italy, who prepared her to carry Maapilim.
Habonim Dror.org cites Merica LaNegev לנגב had been an Italian fishing boat, and originally had cabins for the crew of eight above the deck and one large hold below. But, like every ship of Haapalah, she had been refitted for this voyage.
Merica had belonged to a Greek smuggler, who prepared her, raised the crew to man her, and was paid according to the number of passengers, so he prepared room for 650.
The bunks on Merica LaNegev לנגב were tiered with 50 cm between them.

At 13:35PM, on January 18, 1947, laNegev לנגב sailed from Sète, carrying 647 passengers.
Fritz Liebreich cites: laNegev לנגב carried 643 passengers.
Achille Rastelli cites: "Il 18 gennaio 1947 partiva da Sète l’italiano Merica (ora Lanegev) con 647 passeggeri."
Habonim Dror.org cites: "In about two hours the full complement of six hundred fifty immigrants was aboard, and we were ready to sail. Again, we were under the command of an officer of the Hagana, who was assisted by two other Palestinians, a navigator and a radio operator. The Italian captain, of course, was in charge of the ship's crew; but, he, too, was under the orders of the Hagana commander.'
Shimon Kaufman cites: "In about two hours the full complement of six hundred fifty immigrants was aboard, and we were ready to sail."
"we were under the command of an officer of the Hagana, who was assisted by two other Palestinians, a navigator and a radio operator. The Italian captain, of course, was in charge of the ship's crew; but, he, too, was under the orders of the Hagana commander."
"A group of about twentyfive English Habonim members, who had arrived a few weeks earlier, were also to sail with us."

laNegev לנגב arrived in Corsica, the plan being to reach Palestine in 7 or 8 days.
Amuta Yam.org.il cites: laNegev לנגב encountered rough seas, and took shelter in Northern Sicily., where 3 crew members jumped ship after stealing the money for purchase of supplies, and then stopped at the Strait of Messina and then turned for Greece, where the ship hid along the coast of the Gulf of Arcadia Αρκαδία.
She stopped at a village near Messina, to buy more food.
Habonim Dror.org cites the "voyage of the Lanegev was long and arduous, plagued by storms, and at times perilous."
On the night of the 21st day, she was within sight of Palestine's shores.
Rafi Ben Zur cites: "Our aim was: the Ligurian sea, Corsica, Bonifacio Bay, in between Corsica and Sardinia, Ponza island, Gaeta bay, Capri, Vaticano, Milazzo, Rasocolmo in nothern Sicilia, Nessina towards Greece. Arcadia bay, Creta, along the Egyiptian coast, Nicanim coast, Cesaria, Haifa!"

LaNegev לנגב headed for the shore of Tel Aviv without being discovered.
Shimon Kaufman cites: "Lanegev, using its sails and auxiliary engine, arrived within sight of the Palestinian shore on the night of the 21 day after it had put out of the port of Sete. Tired, but elated, we hoped to elude the British navy and land on the beach near Caesarea."
She was scheduled to land at Nizanim, but was instructed to be at Caesarea the following night.

On February 8, 1947, two British destroyers spotted laNegev לנגב, as she attempted the final run to Caesarea קיסריה.
Amuta Yam.org.il cites: laNegev לנגב, was discovered by the British on February 5, 1947.
British warship, HMS Chieftain followed laNegev לנגב, which attempted several diversionary movements.
HMS Chieftain fired on her, and boarded.
Habonim Dror.org cites "a minor battle against three ships of the royal navy."
The passengers fought, throwing cans of preserves at the British marines, but the commander quickly ordered a stop to all resistance.
Shimon Kaufman cites: "we were sighted by a British destroyer as we attempted the final run to shore. There followed a minor battle against three ships of the royal navy. British marines boarded our ship, to be met by a hail of stones and broken bottles. Raking machine-gun fire from a destroyer finally cleared our decks (casualties: two immigrants were wounded and one of the English Habonim killed)."
Ttwo paasengers were wounded and one passenger, Herbert Lazar Laser, a Habonom member born in Germany, and had found refuge in England during the war years, was killed.

On the evening of February 9, 1947, LaNegev לנגב pulled by HMS Chieftain, entered Haifa חיפה, and the passengers were transferred to HMT Empire Haywood for interment on Cyprus Κύπρος.
Rafi Ben Zur cites: "When the passengers of the Lanegev arrived in Cyprus, in January, 1947, there were seven hundred internees already there. When we left, one year later, there were over thirty thousand, despite the monthly transfer of seven hundred and fifty to Palestine."

In January, 1948, a year after their capture. passengers of laNegev לנגב, were transported by British Army to Famagusta, where they boarded SS Kedma קדמה, at that time the only Jewish passenger ship in service, for the overnight trip to Haifa.