Haapalah / Aliyah Bet

Kaf Gimel (23) Yordei Hasira כ"ג יורדי הסירה was a coaster with jury rigged sail, sailing under Italian flag.
Registered name: Giuseppe Bertolli San Sissimo
Fritz Liebreich cites: San Pisero was an alternate name.
Kaf Gimel (23) Yordei Hasira כ"ג יורדי הסירה was named in memory of the 23 commandos of a combined Haganah-SOE commando operation who went missing-in-action in May, 1941, against the oil refineries in Tripolis, in Vichy Lebanon.
Shmuel 'Samek' Yanai cites: "Towards the end of 1940, when the British forces in the Mediterranean were at a low ebb in their fight against the Germans, another naval course was organized in cooperation with the British, the object of which was to prepare sailors for action against the Germans. 23 veterans of the Hagana volunteered for this course, all of whom were eager to fight against the Nazis. This unit left Haifa in a police motor launch (under the command of a British officer. AM). The launch and all the men aboard were lost at sea and no trace of them was ever found."
Capacity: 300 tons
Sir W. Wakefield cites: gross registered tonnage GRT of Kaf Gimel (23) Yordei Hasira כ"ג יורדי הסירה was 200 tons

Kaf Gimel (23) Yordei Hasira כ"ג יורדי הסירה was prepared for departure at Portovenere.
She had an Italian captain, and a crew of 8 foreign sailors.

On August 2, 1946, Kaf Gimel (23) Yordei Hasira כ"ג יורדי הסירה sailed from Bocca di Magra, carrying 750 passengers.
Paul H. Silverstone and Palyam.org cite 790 passengers, (Paul H. Silverstone cites about 400 men, 400 women and 35 children).
Ichar (Wajcman) Weizmann cites Kaf-Gimel ()23) Yordei hasira sailing on August 2, 1946, several days after the ship Katriel Jafde (which he translates as Beautiful Katriel Katriel haYafe), from the same port, Miaponto (Metaponto).
Sir W. Wakefield cites Kaf Gimel (23) Yordei Hasira כ"ג יורדי הסירה sailing from northern Italy, carrying 815 passengers.
According to the original plan, the passengers onboard Katriel Jaffe were supposed to transfer over to Kaf Gimel Yordei haSira at sea.
Yisrael Rosenblum Rotem served as Palyam Commander aboard Kaf Gimel (23) Yordei Hasira כ"ג יורדי הסירה
Shaul 'Shuli' Oren served as Palyam Escort and Second-in-Command aboard Kaf Gimel (23) Yordei Hasira כ"ג יורדי הסירה.
Yitzchak Hektin served as Gidoni , Wireless Radio Operator, aboard Kaf Gimel (23) Yordei Hasira כ"ג יורדי הסירה.
The Captain aboard Kaf Gimel (23) Yordei Hasira כ"ג יורדי הסירה was Italian, and the crew was composed of 8 foreign sailors.

On August 4, 1946, two days after leaving port, and about 75 miles from Cape Paphos Πάφος, Kaf Gimel (23) Yordei haSira כ"ג יורדי הסירה's engine died, and she stayed where they were for three days.

On August 11, 1946, Kaf Gimel (23) Yordei haSira כ"ג יורדי הסירה was spotted by a British reconnaissance plane, and the same evening a destroyer came into sight.
HMS Brissenden intercepted Kaf Gimel (23) Yordei haSira כ"ג יורדי הסירה.

On August 14, 1946, Kaf Gimel (23) Yordei haSira כ"ג יורדי הסירה was boarded by British troops from HMS Brissenden.
Shaul Oren cites: "We received instructions to offer passive resistance to their boarding the ship."
On August 16, the passengers went on a hunger strike.
On August 17, Kaf Gimel (23) Yordei haSira was taken into tow to Haifa חיפה.
Kaf Gimel (23) Yordei haSira and Katriel Yoffe had to wait until the British completed the deportation of the passengers on Yagur and Henrietta Szold, after which the passengers were transferred to HMT Empire Rival.

On August 18, 1946, the passengers and Palyamniks of Kaf Gimel (23) Yordei haSira reached Cyprus.
The passengers were sent to Camp No. 55 together with the Palyamniks.
Palmach Information Center and Ichac (Wajcman) Weizmann cites: Camp No. 60 was the camp in which they were interned.