Suez Canal

[j.sabourn]

Must be about 8 years ago on this site when Suez Canal tonnage was being discussed. There were some members who wondered why the forecastle head had to be cleared out before transit. This must have led to a lot of non co-operation when it would have been no skin off anyone’s nose to tell the reason for, instead of making bullets for someone to fire. Such poor management on ships re secrecy also existed by certain people all unnessarry. I can see why the submarine service was called the silent service, maybe in a lot of cases the MN should have been called the secret service. There should be. Very few secrets on ships re the working of the ship. Shore people are a different story. As are likely not to have the background to understand. The only reason why I come out with certain statements is because I consider I am talking to my peers on site and they are entitled the truth as they can, and some have been in similar positions of dangerous situations. JS

[j.sabourn]

What most of us in conversation amongst ourselves would refer to ceilings as deckheads, floors as dividing and strengthening in Double bottoms. The floor to a layman would be the tank top. spar ceiling , hat boxes, box beams, king and queen beams, sextant micrometer and the old type, hydrometer and hygrometer, Beaufort scale, and many many more too numerous to mention, would To a layman , think you were speaking a foreign language. From ones first trip to sea one had to learn the lingo so to speak. So I found the Suez Canal tonnage certificate rules a bit off putting when some had never been told. Was as bad as the old man keeping the next port of call a secret to himself. Weird if not disturbing. JWS.

[robpage]

I did one trip where the old man and chief used to make everything a huge secret from bunkers to ports of call , it was the worst atmosphere I have ever sailed with . both very bigoted to , both had thee or four 1" steel ball bearings in the bedroom vent trunking, once popped into the blower they rolled and clattered for ever

[Ivan Cloherty]

Secrets aboard ships, in our younger days at sea 40's to 60's/70's why was it necessary to keep secrets, we could hardly tell anyone, we had no mobiles, no laptops, it was even difficult contacting the UK from ashore when in foreign climes and the cost of a call would be a weeks/months wages, was it something to with the feeling of power. When asking a question of a senior officer the response was 'just get on with it' or if asking why something couldn't be done another way the response was 'it's always been done this way' or asking why the foc'le had to be emptied the response would be, 'just do it' was it because the senior officer did not know. They were supposed to be there to teach you, but mostly told you to 'shut up' I made a vow that if I ever reached the dizzy heights of becoming an OOW I would never refuse to answer a question and I tried to live by that, both afloat and ashore

[Lewis McColl]

Best source for information on a ship was the Galley radio, seriously though, why not just look in the logbook it was certainly in the engine room log book the port was always entered , as in From Liverpool to Freetown or where ever.

[Ivan Cloherty]

Best source for information on a ship was the Galley radio, seriously though, why not just look in the logbook it was certainly in the engine room log book the port was always entered , as in From Liverpool to Freetown or where ever.

Sounds very nice Lewis, but were you at sea in the 40's 50's 60's the era most of us are referring to, it was very rare to get information, and most times the galley radio was on the wrong frequency. In tramping log books you had a departure point, and then a multiple of choices, Gibraltar for orders, Singapore for orders, Lands End for orders etc etc etc, you didn't even get a mailing address, the mail was usually sent to the Company's head office to be forwarded by them, when they knew where the ship was going, you rarely got an overseas address, and if you did and you were in ballast most times you never got to it because a change of orders for the loading port, even discharging ports were a multiple of choices once loaded. Getting a letter three months after it was mailed was not an unusual occurence.

[vic mcclymont]

In the S.A. fruit season we never knew where we were going. Lands End for orders, cargo insured at a factious London Address. Sometimes we could have up to three delivery ports in the one day. Somedays no radio contact.
Same outward head for the Cape, although we only got news of where we were going when we were about 48 ours from the Cape.
Vic

[Lewis McColl]

Fair enough Ivan, I did not ship out until 69, never worked trampers. Started with Ocean Fleets, so liner services I suppose. In Blue Flu you actually got a mailing list for to send home with last dates posting from UK to various ports in the far east. Looking back when I started to go to sea and listening to some of the stories here relayed by some of the more senior members, I have some regrets as missed out on a lot from the University of Life. Closest I got to tramping would have been when I joined Kuwait shipping /UASC and sailing with multi national crews, thankfully I was well equipped to look after myself. Had some great times and got to some great places as well, the Gulf is not included in those great places, if the world had hemorrhoids that is were they would be.

[Keith Tindell]

I can well remember the galley radio, the rumours would fly big time, must be true cos the Chippy told me etc. Must of been someones idea of a giggle to start a rumour. Most of the trampers i was on, eventually the skipper would put it over the radio. I often wonder how many marriages, and relationships went kaput in those days, all due to the mailing system . £ weeks at sea, and no mail when you arrived was a real choker, kt

[Ivan Cloherty]

Looking back when I started to go to sea and listening to some of the stories here relayed by some of the more senior members, I have some regrets as missed out on a lot from the University of Life. .

I think we oldies probably did have the best times at sea, life in general worldwide was much slower then, and if your G.A.S for the voyage reached 9.5/10.0 knots you considered you had made a good voyage and going from 9knot vessel to a 15knot vessel was like being in an F1 car! Long times in port could be a blessing or a curse, falling in love (again) or drowning your sorrows because everyone seemed to have received mail except you, arriving home practically broke because of either, I think drinking was probably cheaper than falling in love, well for me anyway as was never a big drinker, as preferred love and dancing or vice versa!

Sailing in the post war years and even a decade after, you sailed with a lot of characters who just enjoyed being alive and were unafraid of escapades into which you were also drawn, and which became normal or at least you thought that it was normal. Long times in port, time to get on a bus, either alone or with your new romance and get away from a dockside environment and see life of normal people, albeit which could seem boring from the outside, strange but happy days, no doubt never to be seen again, either by myself or future generations, they will have missed so much. Yes sometimes we look at our past life through rose tinted glasses, but mostly the stories relayed are as factual as you can get, and yes we forget (or wish to) the crap ports, our broken hearts, the hurricanes, typhoons, monsoons, call them what you will, but they were all part of our kaleidescope of life.


P.S ... for those who may not know G.A.S = the General Average Speed from port of departure to port of arrival, on one ship I was on it was 7.5 knots on a steam ship, steady 75/80 rpm, no vibration, no noise, like being on a sailing vessel, also no gyro, no radar, broken echo sounder and a duff D/F, what more could a man want?