Fire at sea

[Lewis McColl]

# T.I.G stands for Tungsten Inert Gas, M.I.G stands for Metal Inert Gas

[Richard Quartermaine]

Cappy, I joined Port St John in Sydney in November, 1949 and then worked by on her in South Shields for three weeks before joining the Port Dunedin and swapping over to a British discharge book in March 1950.
Port St John had struck very heavy seas before going through the Panama and was held up in dry dock in Sydney. Her usual MANZ Line voyage back to East Canada was cancelled for more repairs in UK. Jed may know of that . Anyway, say hello to him from me.
Richard

[cappy]

#####morning richard .....will speak to jed when seeing him next ...am on granda duty now schools are closing for hols guees you were before jed i guess he was after his apprentiship at sea about 53 mebbe ....was braggin about the weather yesterday but true to form it raining and forecast all day .....british summer mind cant complain it is quite warm and humid regards cappy

[Richard Quartermaine]

Just a note - Dry dock is Sydney and photo #5 is going west through the Suez Canal.
Richard

[cappy]

####cheers richard cappy

Just a note - Dry dock is Sydney and photo #5 is going west through the Suez Canal.
Richard

[Graham Payne]

Hi Cappy, I was on the "Oronsay" when it caught fire in the south china sea circa 1967/68. A docker in Yokohama put a cigarette stub out in no 5 hatch but not properly, it simmered and set light to the mail sacks. It destroyed a number of tourist class cabins. It was contained ok and we reached Hong Kong ok.
Could tell a lot more but typing on here is so slow I have to keep going back to insert letters being missed. My computer is ok just seems to happen on here. Still a great site though.

[cappy]

####cheers graham sure frightening at sea ...cant run out a ring the fire brigade then..worst i saw was off the lizard the standby man came round and said the old man wants everything fast it going to be a hooly once away of land ...the cook was a maltese a good decent guy .......it was friday and fish and chips was on ..we were putting the locking bars on the coal burning galley top ..there was a large kit of fat on the range for the chips ....the ship did a hard roll to port then came back just as the cook got hold of the kit to take it off the range .....he shot backwards and hit the galley bulkhead the burning fatcovered him from chin down ..he then threw the kit forward onto the range were it set everything alight .....i threw wet galley cloths on it it went out very quick ..the cook was screaming ..somehow the mate and chief steward arrived as they took his cooks jacket off i could see his ribcage bones ..he was then unconsious......we eventiually came about......a hard manouvre and went for falmouth ...the smell and cries from the poor cook through the night were awfull ...we put him ashore and i dont know what happened to him if he lived he was lucky that was on a hains boat.....cappy

[Captain Kong]

Hi Cappy, that happened on the old BEECHFIELD I was on in 1952,....from my story of that voyage, in Seafaring Stories thread,..........
.
..........................During one of these storms after leaving Derry, with big heavy seas and swell coming in from the North Atlantic, the Cook got burned to death, A large pan of chip fat was flung off the stove and went all over him when the ship took a big roll, and then it burst into flames when some went onto the galley fire and he became a ball of flame and collapsed on deck into the scupper screaming his last.
The Cook was dying in the scuppers, blackened by the flames, the Second Engineer caught sight of him leaping about and then collapsing. He got a bucket of water and flung it over him to dowse the flames but it was too late. He had gone to where all good Cooks and not so good Cooks go to, that great Galley, with unlimited stores, in the sky.
All this time the wind was blowing a hooley and seas crashing over the decks.
We had to pick him up and we laid him on the hatch, Captain Marshall certified him dead. He told us to lash him on the hatch, a line around his wrists and ankles and star shaped, he said the salt spray, would keep him fresh and stop him from stinking. He looked gruesome lying there especially at night his head moving backwards and forwards with the ship rolling. He stayed there until we arrived in Liverpool two days later. A Policeman and an undertaker came down and took him away.
The Mad Irishman would sit on the hatch and have some terrific arguments with the dead Cook, and became angry when the Cook was ignoring him.
The Captain told me I was to be the Cook, until they got a replacement but I still had to do the night watches on the wheel. There was not enough food to go round, what the Cook had done with the food money no one knew, but he had a few empty whisky bottles in his bunk.
On those Coasters, known as Weekly Boats, you got paid weekly and out of your wage you had to pay the Cook for the food every Friday, and then he went ashore shopping including getting drunk with our money in the alehouse on the way.........................

[cappy]

###been on weekly boats brian ..allurity and corfen ......you paid a bit out your wage ...plenty fish in shields curried fried boiled .....plenty mince and tatties dumplings....but always ate ashore in the lokout pub over the tanker bunker birth....good food an some benefits when the manager flaked out at night ,,,happy days....cappy

[happy daze john in oz]

So there I was up on the funnel deck getting some broze in Durban. Half asleep thought i heard the alarms but took no notice.
When it was time to turn to I looked over the side to see all the crew on the quay.
Went back down to the officers quarters to get ready for stand by as we were set to sail in a couple of hours.
Up from the depths of the engine room comes the senior cheif engineerr Abercrombie.
What the hell are you doing here he asked, we have a fire in the engine room. Go down to the bar and get me a bottle of Vodka.

The donkey engine used in port had caught fire right next to a settling tank full of fuel.