Ear Syringe

[j.sabourn]

Well there you go Graham different ships different yardarms I sailed with a lot of eccentric people especially among the masters . It was usual in moor line that the newer or bigger the vessel , the bigger rimmed trilby hat the master wore , Some would have worn a sombrero given the chance. The answer was usually the pilot cutter as you may have been the only ship in that’s what tramp ships were, as the advert says they reached the parts others couldn’t reach , the conversation may have been again you would answer with 2 then he might if not fed up with you sound one and there’s nothing left The always afloat clause in the charter party was taken with a pinch of salt at times as have laid on the bottom a few times which can be very much disliked by engineers as could cause them problems with certain machinery.All part of the experience in tramp shipping. Cheers JS

[Graham Shaw]

JS Re yr #37: 'Heres a query for you Graham , would maybe better for a meteorologist to answer , if you remember the term Dewpoint and what it means , just to remind you, it is the temperature at which air must be cooled to cause condensation. Do you think all that water coming out of the whistle has anything to do with climate change . Have shortened the query to make it easier, Cheers JS'

Indubitably John.Dewdrops emanating from seafarers noses worldwide and from steam whistles-don't know about electric whistles,but electrics and water are not normally good companions- are more polluting than any sulphur or nitrogen emissions from any ship's funnels.

I do take umbrage in you thinking a meteorologist would have better knowledge than a 2nd Mate FG in answering your question.I have lost count of the many wasted hours on ocean crossings of losing the sea water thermometer bucket over the bridge wing,ringing up the ER to ask them for the SW temperature,only to be given an unintelligible tirade of abuse for disturbing them from their slumbers in the steering flat or their nice air-conditioned control room.Then the interminable wasted hours logging the met results ,copying them into a 'best' copy and sending them off to the Met.Office at voyage end,in the vain hope I'd win the 'golden' engraved barometer or some such thing.Fat chance,all I ever get was the ship's name mentioned in despatches for excellence of reporting,and a mention of the Master's name,not mine!.I could have made better use of that time in catching up on my chart corrections,rather than cloud type recording,calculating dewpoint , relative humidity,re-ordering a new rubber SW temp.bucket,Uncle Tom Cobley and All.

It wasn't all fun and games at sea.....Rake (2).gif

[happy daze john in oz]

Cruise ships sailing out of Melbourne give just one blast, but not from any other port!!!!!!!!!!!!

Climate Change, now what exactly is that?

Climates are climates by nature and cannot change.
They are given different names to define different types.

Victoria here in Oz is Temperate, that is we get hot and cold, wet and dry periods.
We do however get weather pattern changes at times.

If it changed to Artic then it would be Artic, that would not change.

So how do they define the name of Climate Change?

[j.sabourn]

Probably the residents were just too pleased to see you go John , especially if you weren’t spending enough money Probably just said to themselves just go and take your time coming back. I can’t think of any worse nightmare of waking up ashore and seeing a Ships funnel at the bottom of the garden , the first thing you would think was you were back at sea and must have dozed off and put her aground. Cheers JS

[j.sabourn]

Ahhh !!! so Fouro is the cause of all this climate change then, that solves that problem. Fouro looks like you are due 4 strokes of the tawse as per Scottish law. Best tuck a telephone directory down the breeks .JS

[Fouro]

#43.
I don't think the 4th engineer had wax in his ears Lewis. I would go as far to say he was unreliable, therefore it was your fault as 2nd engineer for putting up with an unreliable watchkeeping engineer in the first place.

Regards from
Fouro.

[j.sabourn]

The middle watch was the one time of the day when most activity’s on a normal ship ceased and the second mate and third engineer had the ship nearly to themselves . It was also the time when life is at its lowest ebb. However for those who never experienced such will never know any better. Today those who start and finish on the likes of seismic vessels the 24 hours of a day are all the same , work is continuous and goes on at the same pace, the only thing to slow it down is the presence of whales. So many may look on the whale as a fine animal that kept them in the bounds of sanity. When you have to listen to Boom Boom every couple of minutes of the day , a respite may do the mind some good , although to many it meant loss of money only . Shooting lines as sometimes called went on for days at a time ,sometimes weeks and months . Steaming at 4 knots and within half a degree. Of the required course. I was lucky as was considered adaptable to other type vessels also. Today a seafarer seems to be put in a box representing one vessel type for the whole of his sea career . JS

The hours of sacred silence between 1300 and 1500 hours most modern seafarers wouldn’t know what you were talking about , as they don’t exist anymore on most vessel types . In fact an awful lot of today’s Tonnage don’t even have a 2nd. Mate and 3rd. Engineer . JS

[Des Taff Jenkins]

Had no trouble with wax or hearing until I started using a Ramset gun back in the 70s on one building site, I must have fired more bullets than the Yanks in Afghanistan, when I joined the Sydney water board they gave me a hearing exam, I had lost nine % hearing in one ear, I had to make a claim from my former employer. These days I have two hearing aids, as for wax, I use my mothers old method a hair clip.
I know Victoria I shouldn't, but as soon as I jump I stop.
Des

[j.sabourn]

#20 Just seen this post Victoria and totally agree, that’s why I would never let anyone pizz in my ear. JS

[Fouro]

Ahhh !!! so Fouro is the cause of all this climate change then, that solves that problem. Fouro looks like you are due 4 strokes of the tawse as per Scottish law. Best tuck a telephone directory down the breeks .JS

On 'hearing' one had to report to our head teacher who's nickname was 'gangster' to get punished by the tawse, rather than use the telephone directory, it would have been a better idea to wear waterproof pants inside one's breeks.

Regards from
Fouro.