Blu Flu 1964-1967

[John Arton]

I never sailed with Blue Flu despite been offerred an apprenticeship with them when I was first going to sea.
The P class ships had just come out then and they were certainly fine looking jobs.
Served my time in C.P. and we had a number of ex. Blue Flu and E.D's cadets sailing with us. They mostly had left Blue Flu or E.D's due to promotion prospects being almost nil, dead mans shoes basically. This despite Blue Flu going into the tanker market, which probably spelt the beginning of the end for that fine company.
The ex. Blueies and E.D's guys were some of my best mates in those days and were always ready to assist a raw young cadet in his studies and to pass on their knowledge and experience. Though after listening to theur stories regarding the Blue Flu training centre in Liverpool that seemed to have been run on very harsh almost military like lines, I was rather glad that C.P. picked me up and had me at sea within 72hrs. of being interviewed by them.
rgds
Capt. John Arton (ret'd)

[Capt Bill Davies]

John,

Reading your post in the context of BF entering the tanker market etc, I assume you mean the so called 'Super Ps' (Priam, Protesilaus etc which class came out around 67.)

The 'P Boats' which were around in my time were the steam ships, Peleus, Patroclus, Perseus and Pyrrhus, built around 48/49. These were truly beautiful ships and incidentally carried about 33 passengers.
My last trip on a Blue Funnel boat was the 'Peleus', known as the Christmas ship. Her schedule was sail Birkenhead, 09.01, 09.05, 09.09, arriving Liverpool 08.12, 08.04, 08.08. A quick inspection will reveal she was a Christmas ship, Easter Ship and Summer Holidays ship. A family mans ship. The senior ship with the all the Senior ranks sailing in her.

Bill

[John Rimmer]

John Rimmer
Seaforth
In answer to the question Blue Fu and the Pool I joined the Blue Fu from the pool in early 61 and became the first cook to there that had not been through their system.
I had just left the another good company New Zealand And Federal.

John

[Capt Bill Davies]

A small correction to my previous on this thread. Where I stated 'The senior ship with the all the Senior ranks sailing in her' I was of course referring to the people who had reached the top of their respective rank and not the 'crowd' etc.

The company Senior Master, Ch.Eng, Bosun, Carpenter, Ch.Stwd etc. was who I was referring to. A small digression. The China never referred to the Senior Master as Commodore which is surprising considering other peculiarities in that company. The final trip I was one the 'Peleus' McDavid was Master. Sometimes referred to as 'Cocoa' (I'll leave other old China hands to expand on that!) he was from Upton on the Wirral and brother to Sir Herbert McDavid, Managing Director of the sister company Glen Line.
A fair man but not a man to cross.

Bill

[John Arton]

Bill
The P class I was referring to was the Priam, Perseus ships, fine looking ships they were.
Despite eventually getting a letter from Blue Flu offering me an apprebticeship, which I had to turn down as I was already 3 months into my first trip with C.P. (this led them to reply to me that after turning them down I would never be able to get a job with them in the future) I recall vividly my interview with them as it was one of 4 that had been arranged for me on that day.
The guy interviewing me sat below a big picture of the Priam (I think) and after a long time extolling the virtues of the company and telling me how lucky I should consider myself should I be offered a job with them, pointed to the picture and told me that not all their ships were that new, but that did not mean that they were not "viable units"(his words) and that as a midshipman on these older ships I would be expected to share a cabin with up to 4 or 6 other and if so did I have any homosexual tendencies. That threw me, suppose I must have answered no. Anyway that interview finished and I moved onto my next one.
As I have said C.P. offered me a job as cadet on the spot and 72 hrs later I was staggering up the gangway of a 66,000 ton crude oiler in Tranmere.
Looking back I have no regrets as sailing with C.P. meant I met great fellows from all sorts of different British Companies but also sailed on many different ship types.
rgds
John

[Capt Bill Davies]

John,

You made the right choice. Blue Funnel did think rather a lot of themselves and unfortunately their officers were indoctrinated with this idea that they were better than others. I recall as a young AB sitting for my Second Mates (FG) in Liverpool I was most certainly excluded from the social side of life after college. I was still an AB in their eyes and that was not going to change. The strange thing is that two students were ex St.Anselm's College like me except that they went to BF after Conway. Things did not change for First Mates (FG) even though I had sailed as Second Mate and my BF colleagues had only Fourth Mate under their belt. Saying that, I have to say they gave me the best training in seamanship that I believe was available at the time and I am proud to have learnt my trade in that company.

Brgds

Bill

[Capt Bill Davies]

The final trip I was one the 'Peleus' McDavid was Master.

One of the Blue Funnel myths was that they followed courses on the chart which were inked in in India Buildings. Whilst this was a myth I did hear from a reliable source that Capt McDavid did depart from the course line quite dramatically on his final voyage. Single all his life, he married a young Spanish lady just before retirement and he was building a house on the south coast of Spain. He brought the 'Peleus' in very close with all the passengers on the Stbd side viewing his retirement home. Thankfully, no mishaps. I have a feeling that after a life in BF close in would not have been close in the Everard sense of the word. Probably 5 miles off.

Bill

[Ivan Cloherty]

One of the Blue Funnel myths was that they followed courses on the chart which were inked in in India Buildings. Whilst this was a myth
Bill

Oh Bill, please don't destroy any more myths, we enjoyed them!

[Capt Bill Davies]

Oh Bill, please don't destroy any more myths, we enjoyed them!

That's unfortunate Ivan. I can see I will have to 'drip feed' you. Too much, too soon might be just too much for you.

Bill

[Gregor Morcom]

Hi Folks,

I think that the observation regarding staying too long in the old ways is correct, but Ocean might be considered to have brought about their own demise. It was in fact them who designed and built the first and second generation OCL container ships that improved the efficiency of shipping by perhaps 1000%. The great pity was perhaps that, rather than concentrate on developing as a container shipping business, much time and effort was put into other shipping activities that ultimately failed to support the company (and its cast of thousands) as we knew it. Ocean didn't collapse though, merging initially with National Freight Corporation (NFC) and becoming EXEL, which still exists, taken over some years ago by Deutsche Post.

The book 'There Go the Ships', by the Blue Flue naval architect Marshall Meek, (ISBN: 1 84104 045 2) makes an interesting and illuminating read. Similarly, 'Fiddlers Green' (Richard Woodman. ISBN: 978 0 7524 4822 0) gives a further insight into the collapse of British merchant shipping by an author with Blue Flue experience.

I made my decision before the crunch and came ashore in September 1970, but with no regrets at all for a great experience with the crews, ships or company. Whilst having an ED background, I did one trip on Perseus, in '68, not returning because of a previous commitment. Whilst on her, I carried on the habit from the Ebani of wearing long whites after 18:00, which they became used to eventually!

Gregor

ex 3rd Eng. (Pegu)