Dry Dock

[John Arton]

The first dry docking I ever did was strangely enough on my first trip to sea when we dry docked in Lisbon and we were all put up in a very exclusive hotel on the main drag. Think it was at the yards expense as there were no shore facilities for crew as the yard was new. It was there where I was introduced to the joys of the Texas Bar and other dives.
My second ship I was again in dry dock on but that was on a slip way in Rotterdam and it was quite frightening as we were hauled sideways on out of the water and when dry being at a permanent list for the whole period.
Over the years I was in dry docks in Avommouth ( nice), Wallsend ( great), Esquilmalt B.C., Lisbon ( again), Las Palmas, Rotterdam and a couple of Japanese yards, one of which was the worst one ever. Winter in Mizushima on a wreck of an OBO with the biggest Richard head I ever had the misfortune to sail with. It started of badly when we landed in Osaka with no one to meet us as the Richard head captain had ignored the company's message regarding our flights and told the agent to meet us in Tokyo.
After that when we eventually got on board it rapidly went downhill when we saw the state of the ship. Filthy dirty accommodation, no linen, broken tiling in bathrooms, I'll fitting cabin windows, lifeboats that required burning out of the falls to get them ashore for repair.when we complained to the captain, the next thing I got was a phone call from the office telling me to shut up or we would all be sacked and made to pay for our own flights home. A couple of days later the big wigs from London turned up to give us a pep talk on how the company was moving forward by purchasing good quality second hand tonnage and how grateful we should all be for them securing our future employment. The previous day we had suffered a serious foreign the duct keep where all the oil soaked lagging around the bunker fuel line had caught fire, leading to mass evacuation whilst the yard fire brigade tackled the fire. In front of all the big wigs, I asked which idiot had decided to buy this wreck and certainly made no friends but a number of enemies shed the head honcho said it was his decision.
Rgds
J.A.

[Tony Taylor]

1967, First trip apprentice, had to go into Schiedam drydock for prop change as a slops barge got itself under the prop while we were warming thro, b-ggered the prop and sank the barge.
Highlight of docking, no shore power so we started part load diesel which packed up in 5 mins, Chief has his head under the plates when his light is blocked by someone, so he pops his head up, and says "get out of the fecking light man", then realised he did not recognise the face "who the feck are you" and "what the feck do you want" -" I am the engineer super from the office" - much to the amusement of all the other engineers hanging around- crowd rapidly dispersing to laugh out loud elsewhere.
Next highlight, no sanitary water on board and a long walk to bogs; 2nd engineers wife caught trying to poke a tord down the handbasin plug hole with a toothbrush.
Final highlight - or not - got a kickin off a late night bar bouncer for refusin to tip him, it might have something to with the 5/E I was with sticking the nut on his mate.

[happy daze john in oz]

Dry Dock, brings tears to my eyes when I think of it.

Lulea Sweden in 1964 and not a pub in sight.
In those days the place was drier than any dry dock, the only thing on offer was called 'near beer' and was anon alcoholic refreshment, some restaurants did have wine available but at some outrageous price.


But now they have seen the light, not just the light beer, so many pubs now, what a change!

[John Pruden]

elderslie dry dock Glasgow 67 Bettys bars customer came home skint? jp

[vic mcclymont]

My second trip to drydock was on the Clan Ranald, she was taken to the recently completed Inchgreen Drydock. He Ranald was nearly finished after drydock she was going on trials.
During the drydocking she was storing, Officers were at very stage of the loading process.
Access to this ship was via large gangway which overhung the deck, a smaller gangway was fixed at the apex of the large anyway forming an inverted 'v'.
A loader walked up the gangway carrying a crate of Tennents lagger, stumbled, case shot into the air, hit the deck split open, case rolled everywhere.
I have never seen yard works move s fast, flurry of people, cans disappeared.
One of the Officers remarked, saw it happen, but didn't see who got the cans.
Complete case gone.
Vic