Where are you ?

Fresh Water was collected from Rain with canvas awnings.
We always washed our clothes in sea water, and showered in sea water.
Indeed on the Queen Mary and other ships the bathrooms had Salt water taps in the sinks and bath. The taps and signs are still there in the bathrooms but there is a fresh water in them from shoreside in Long Beach.
When she carried 18,000 troops from the States to UK in WW2, plus 1000 crew, she could not possibly carry fresh water for them.

regarding food, on the London Greek tramps, we had no fresh food, no fridges, just on our Pound and Pint, measured out on scales by the "Chief Steward" with his thumb on the scales.
We got fresh meat once, 12 Goats on the hoof in India, up the gangway and built pens on the after deck. the galley Boy and the Cook killed them as required, hung them over a 40 gallon drum from the awning spars, to bleed and gut them,
Water rationed, the Mate had a lock on the hand pump so only able to pump up fresh water for an hour a day.
Most ships then were down by the head with cockroaches, in the food as well, good fresh meat, A cockie has more protein in it weight for weight than a beef steak.
Even on the EMPRESS OF FRANCE, when frozen in, in the St Laurence one year, so cold the ice was inside the cabin bulkheads on the outboard side, The bathrooms were frozen and the toilets were frozen, had to have a bowel movement in a cardboard box then throw it on the ice, fortunately only for a couple of days.
I have come home a few times like a skeleton, Mother didn't recognise me.
They don't know they are born today,
So I guess the Sailors with Cook it was similar.

Brian.

That sail could be very handy for collecting rain water Cappy. One of the reasons why in the old lifeboats was always advised to take the canvas boat cover with you. Your passport must be getting full by now with all the visas from South Shields in it. You’ll have to fork out for a new one soon ! Cheers JS

...coming out of aden once john the boat cover was taken off for an inspection and 4 stowaways leaped out and started running round the ship like headless chickens ......hearing shouting i came out the galley to see one scoot past with a look of total fear on his face the old cook from hull got his cleaver and stood guard at the galley door ....i jumped behind him egging him on to chop there bleeding heads orf.......happily they were rounded up put in the rope locker and put ashore in abadan...what a world it was in them days .....cappy

I have the diary of a young lady who went from Swansea to San Francisco under sail and in it there are numerous mentions of catching sea birds, fish including sharks, to eat and occasionally it mentions having a bath. I transcribed her diary into an open office document and if I remember correctly, posted it on the site.
Rgds
J.A.

The old stoves were cast iron , wood fired , the deck under had heavy, thick tiled floor cemented to it , the stove pipe was centred in an oversized hole in the deckhead , there are good examples on HMS Victory and HMS Warrior , my understanding was merchant ships were similar but smaller ,

only sailed on one ship with water rationing , MV King Arthur , our beer was limitless , so was the bosun's and ER Storekeeper's everyone else on two opened cans at 18.00 , due to a few problems ,

I was mate on a ship and we got a stowaway from west Africa. Being the mate I got the blame for not searching the ship before we sailed , even if had would never have found him. Anyhow arrived Australia with him on board. No way was he allowed to land and the shipowner had to pay the cost of his repatriation back to Africa. Makes you want to vomit when you see the tens of thousands allowed to enter different parts of the world today under the guise of different excuses. There is a person just been sentenced here who got sentenced to 20 years for murder. In the next breath it’s said she will be able to claim parole in 9 years. What’s the point of sentencing when it’s never carried out. The Law is a laugh. JS

When I was on the VLCCs it was a long trip, from Fawley round the Cape to the Gulf Ports and back again, Eight weeks each way plus a long time in the Gulf sometimes.
We always lightered in Lyme Bay into two other tankers to reduce our draft for Fawley. We would fish for Mackerel and just throw them over into the swimming pool. We would have a thousand or so fish in the pool, amazing watching them , they would swim anti clockwise in a shoal.
Then all the way back to the Gulf we would have fresh fish every day.

Reading some other comments on food and water (or lack of) , never suffered any of the inconveniences on the Clan Ranald.
Water was plentiful, never any shortages all fresh.
Food was good and plentiful, only bad food we had was one Purser,who kept serving up nutburger rings. Burgers made likes doughnut,complete with hole in the middle, riddle with nuts, ghastly.
Vic

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Originally Posted by j.sabourn

That sail could be very handy for collecting rain water Cappy. One of the reasons why in the old lifeboats was always advised to take the canvas boat cover with you. Your passport must be getting full by now with all the visas from South Shields in it. You’ll have to fork out for a new one soon ! Cheers JS

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##with ref to shields john am up there most weekends am with kids and grankids this coming weekend .....cant keep away ......would go back up but family all down here apart from charlie in france.....going out shortly like Nice...regards cappy

#18...Vic weren’t clan line mainly general cargo ships. It was rare for a general cargo ship to go down to her marks. The average 10,000 ton deadweight tramp ship think her TPI was about 40 tons , so 3 inches on the plimsolls was 120 tons that would be either cargo or water. Usually with general cargo you would not go down to your marks, that was mainly reserved for the bulk cargoes like iron ore, sugar, grain, rice , phosphates, sulphur, salt, coal, coke, etc. etc. or a steel cargo of coils which were heavy. your hold cubic would normally be filled with general before you were fully loaded so the carriage of fresh water was not so worrying. One thing about all the British ships I was on they all had the drinking water tank seperate from the domestic fresh water. The tramp trade you carried anything and everything and more than likely more bulk cargoes Than anything else. Today you have specially constructed bulk carriers . Fresh water evaporators, it’s a different and easier ball game altogether. Most of the hard work of preparation before even starting to load is not there anymore. Cheers JWS