Tankers

Brian
Sunday at sea always entailed a bar lunch giving the catering staff time off.
On the C.P. VLCC's that had a very low focsle and no poop deck being almost flushed deck from the aft end of the focsle with only a minimum amount of aft sheer, Sunday was also bicycle race day. You started with the rear wheel of the bicycle against the focsle bulkhead and were allowed 7 full pedals before having to free wheel therafter. This only occurred on ballast voyages where we had a good stern trim. The object of the exercise was to see how far you could make it up the opposite side of the main deck after going round the accommodation and the aft mooring station. This was done not on racing bikes or even Halfords best but on any bike we could knick from dockyards etc. (though the company did provide us with two bikes but no spares). The record distance reached was the midships manifold by the 2nd Mate who was absolutely fearless, or just plain stupid.
The best use of a bicycle on tankers was when we were opposite a Texaco VLCC discharging somewhere in Europe and parked outside its accommodation was a bicycle fitted with a small trailer . I thought what a great idea for getting spares, paints etc. from stores too the work area. The true use of the combination was revealed when the Chief Officer and the cadet emerged from the cargo control room situated somewhere inside the accommodation block. The cadet mounted the bicycle and then the Chief Officer sat in the trailer whilst the cadet took him on a tour of the tank deck, no small feat as she was in the final stages of discharge and had a bloody great stern trim.
rgds
JA

Our Pump Man usually kept the bike for his trips around the fore deck. but the lads used to nick it and ride aft if he was forward or vice versa. eventually the bike went where all good bikes go, over the wall, always caused arguments.
I wrote a poem about it way back in 1975.
a bit like this , cannot remember it all..................

The Pump Man on his lonely beat,
parked his bike just by a cleat,
A Sailor came and away he went
and crashed the bike into a vent,
The Pump Man looking very sad
said That's the best bike I ever had.........and so on.

A load of rubbish I know , but on a long trip to the Gulf around the Cape it helped to pass the time whilst gazing out of the wheel house window at nothing but sea.

Re Number 20.We carried full loads of High Octane Spirit on many voyages. High Octane was used as aviation fuel then in 1957. Whether it was during wartime or peacetime, in my opinion, every crew member on ships loaded with this lethal liquid deserved a bravery medal.If required to carry out repairs on deck, watchkeeping engineers when not in engine room had to work what were known as "field days"' We had to work with tools made out of brass in order to prevent sparks. Brass tools were next to useless but we always managed to get the jobs done.When one thinks about it, one minute the ship and its crew could be steaming ahead and the next minute all of them could have been blown to oblivion.Yes, a possible "Floating Time Bomb" indeed.FOURO.