Saw something nasty

[j.sabourn]

Shipowners fault John they should have employed Aladdin and his magic lamp to look after the electrics , a one man job. Given the rest dog biscuits in double portions they would have thought they were getting a bonus. JS

[Captain Kong]

ESSO YORKSHIRE, in 1975.
In January 1975, Esso flew me to San Francisco to join the ESSO YORKSHIRE, a 90,000 ton tanker. When we arrived the Agent put us in the Travelodge Hotel on the Wharf, The ship was anchored underneath the Bay Bridge across the Bay having just arrived from the Persian Gulf with a cargo of crude oil. My brother, John, was on board having joined a couple of weeks earlier in Singapore. Next day the Agent put us in a boat to take us out to the ship and when I got there I went to John`s cabin and woke him up. What a surprise, for him, he didn’t expect to see me. My cabin was next door to his. The lad who was paying off was just leaving the cabin as I moved in . He said you won`t get much sleep in here, it`s effing haunted. I just laughed thinking that he was joking. The men who were going on leave left and went back to Frisco and for a flight home. That evening after work, John, Ted and I got the boat and went ashore to Frisco for a few beers. We were in Ginsbergs Bar on the waterfront when there was a lot of shouting, big car headlamps lit up the bar and then shooting. I was sat near the big plate glass window at the end of the bar when with a big crash it came in, shattered all over me, a bullet had come through. We all hit the deck as more shooting outside and then a man ran through the door, shouting he had been shot and then collapsed onto the floor. I knelt up and looked through the window, the Bar Tender, shouted , “Get down you crazy Limie, the cops shoot anything that moves, I hit the deck again into a pile of broken glass and spilt beer. Then it went quiet, a couple of Cops walked in with guns in their hands, we had to raise our hands and not move as they examined the shot man , he was dead. They confirmed with the Bar Tender that we were just customers. Some more sirens and lights and then two ambulances, looking like armoured truck appeared outside. And then they removed the body, outside in the door way was another body. They were picked up, into the ambulances and then taken away. The bartender gave us a beer each, and in a few minutes he had swept up the broken glass and mopped up the blood from the dead man and a few minutes later a van appeared outside and a new window installed. And a few minutes later the street and the bar was back to normal. The Barman said it happens a lot down there. A few more beers and we went to the Wharf and got our boat back to the ship after an exciting night out in Frisco. Next morning we heaved up the anchor and sailed up the Bay, we were going to a place called Bernicia where the oil refinery was, about 40 miles up the bay and river. When we were mooring the ship a wire rope carried away and flung me across the deck and I hit the rails injuring my back, so I was sent to hospital in a place called Martinez City. I thought, I have been in Frisco for 24 hours and nearly been killed twice, be glad to get away from here. I had x rays nothing broken but a few torn ligaments. I went back to the ship and was excused work for the duration. The following day after completing discharging the oil we let go and sailed back down Frisco Bay, under the Golden Gate Bridge and out into the Pacific for a 42 day voyage to Ras Tannurah in Saudi Arabia, with a call into Singapore for fresh food stores.
Brian

[Doc Vernon]

When Working on the Durban Fire Brigade, we were Rostered for Ambulance and Fire Duties!
So one day get a call out for an Urgent call, someone is stuck n the Public Toilets in Central Durban, that s all i get!
So off i rush Lights Flashing with my mate, we get there in good time, out i jump and run downstairs to the Toilets, but it is all locked up below!

However looking through the Bars a can see this dark Figure like hanging from the Top of one of the Toilets! Eeeek! So no hesitation we break the Locks on the Grill Door, and rush in, only then with our Flashlights to see this Horrible scene!

A poor Drunk had got locked in one of the Toilets, and not being able to get out with his Cloths on (as he thought) he undressed completely and tried to squeeze through the Top of the other part of the Steel Grills. The Tops of which were all pointed! He must have slipped and got himself impaled on one of the Pointed ends , right through it went and there he hung!
So now here i am under this Guy, pushing with all my might upwards and the squelching noise of him coming adrift from the Stake! Blood pouring down on me, and a sort of sickly feeling i got! But managed to free the Guy and into the Ambo, told my mate to take the Wheel and get to the Hospital pronto!
I jumped in the back with Bloody clothes, and a Huge Wad of Cotton Wool pushing down hard as i could on the Terrible wound!

Strangely enough this Guy did not even utter a word of pain, and just kept stum.
Later was told that he survived and would be in Hospital for a few days, so all ended well.
Some terrible sights on that Job, with Fire and a lot of others incidents!
Cheers

[happy daze john in oz]

Incidents such as these we never experienced ashore, we were the lucky ones, got to see it all.

[James Curry]

I would think one of the toughest things to have to do is crawl under abus or train attending to a critically Injured Child. I have a friend who is a train driver. A guy jumped from a bridge as his train was approaching. Took him months to get back to driving trains again. If memory serves he had an assistant driver sat in the cab with him for 6 months keeping an eye on him.