Observations on France

[j.sabourn]

Got me thinking that one ? But before Graham puts his version up I will put a temporary one up until the truth is revealed.. A funnel with the letters TFTM. And underneath SYNT. For Graham’s benefit meaning “ Thanks For The Memory”. And “ See You Next Trip “ . The second line no doubt was rarely executed . JS

[j.sabourn]

#50 Discussing culture with a young lady, your $10 dollar sub Lewis would have lasted about 3 minutes flat , and sober to boot. So it would have been back to the ship and playing with your spoons.. ? JS

[Graham Shaw]

JS Yr.#54 .."The second line no doubt was rarely executed . JS" ---- Not with a double DR,i.e. DR.DR ,or DR X 2-and we're not talking about seeing a medical man after one has had a skinfull.
SYNT ? I did actually think it was abbreviated to starting with a 'C'.-See You Next Trip- is that the same thing?. Just in caseI don't rejoin,I'll take my binocs and sextant with me,and my well-thumbed and mysteriously stained copies of Lloyds Lists. I'll also be leaving my super-'lifelike'blow-up Sheila doll (it's in my bunk lifejacket locker) for Peter/Petra , the steward,he's made surreptitious use of it anyway-allegedly or rumoured .

it was always such a revelation to see our full crew pay off in Hong Kong harbour ,after a year on Articles-a cargo lighter full of 27 fridges,20 washing machines and hundreds of God knows whats,think there's also a Peugeot estate car on the starboard boat deck aft plus a sampan or three of personal effects and whatnots that we really needed to know the weight and Stowage Factors of ,and to recalculate the draught again...

I'll leave you with MCT 1cm=W X_GML
over 100L



No,That may not be right but close enough ,so perhaps I should just have signed off with FIIKE. (F'd If I know Either)

Hong Kong to Marseilles via Suez is 7,986 miles-just to keep to the French connection of the thread.
Graham

[j.sabourn]

As to formulaes and regarding that Peugeot estate car have you allowed for the increase in draft due to the list.
Anyhow just as a reminder increase in draft due to list = half beam Sin Pheta ( -rise in floor ).
Dont want you going aground on Suzy Wong’s bar ,just off Kowloon, looks better walking through the front door of the real thing. Cheers JS
Hope that’s not air miles you are quoting , anyhow don’t think I have enough frequent flier points .JS

[Keith at Tregenna]

What's that?

Sweetheart brooches ... sailor, soldier or airman were worn by military wives or girlfriends.

Forget me not with a sweetheart brooch.

1 mn brooch.jpg

Some would have made them for loved ones during a long voyage and
as said a bit of a forget me not.

K.

[Graham Shaw]

As to formulaes and regarding that Peugeot estate car have you allowed for the increase in draft due to the list.
Anyhow just as a reminder increase in draft due to list = half beam Sin Pheta ( -rise in floor ).
Dont want you going aground on Suzy Wong’s bar ,just off Kowloon, looks better walking through the front door of the real thing. Cheers JS
Hope that’s not air miles you are quoting , anyhow don’t think I have enough frequent flier points .JS

1.Oh you clever clogs John-I did check the formula online,because I can't find my Derret's and it was explained to me,because I'd forgotten,by a nice tutor chap in Mumbai-that's the Bombay that was,and once I'd accustomed my hearing to his accent,it all became quite clear and flooded back into my swede.But.....I shall take a mark off you because your "Pheta" is actually Theta,in Greek terms. LISTEN

2.No,I quoted nautical miles of course,aircraft don't usually fly via Suez ,not even seaplanes,which are mentioned in Rules of the Road,but rarely encountered these days. I could calculate ETA'S Kowloon side to Marseilles for you-incidentally that's where I 'lost my cherry' in Marseilles as a 17 year old cadet-yes I know it was a bit old ,and a bit sordid in a French brothel,but I had led quite a chaste life until I went to sea (hadn't we all),and anyway my Dad was a policeman.. It cost me 20 francs I think back in 1970-no Euros back then,and it wasn't particularly good value for money-my ears are burning,although I have tried to block it from my memory.
Anyway,the ETA's are meaningless these days,all it takes is a Somali pirate attack off the Horn of Africa,or a giant Evergreen container vessel to block the Canal and you're stuffed.

Off to Bedfordshire ,and it's Lands End for Orders-but is there an apostrophe in Land's End or not-that is the question....
Regards Graham

[j.sabourn]

#59 Well I do have a bit of a lisp at times , always get mixed up with my Ps and Ts. I blame it on all that PT I did at school , and my mother telling me to watch my Ps and Qs. Although where the Q came into it can’t remember, maybe something to do with M and 007. Cheers JS
PS what’s Derrits ? I found my formula on a scrap of paper in the same notebook I’m finding all things from the past. Pity one couldn’t take them into the exam room then so had to memorise them , Theta or Pheta was given by its sign , so was a toss up on which one , and as usual chose wrong. The hard one to remember was the fuel consumption one , to work out speed to do for burn out for different zone areas for plimsols and not to fail to make it by running dry , and have the correct amount of reserves on arrival. Thank God for Chief Engineers , I always use to blame him for any failures in the system. Someone has to carry the can especially if it has diesel in it. Cheers JS

[j.sabourn]

#60 Lewis is still a few quid to poor OAPs like me, $10 US dollars was about 4 quid , and some of these flashy madams lived high off the hog. Maybe you could scrimp by , but hope you kept some money in reserve for the various medications afterwards such as influenza and chicken pox. Covus wasn’t invented then thank goodness. JS

[j.sabourn]

#63... saw that on a Waldport film on a ship , it was played over and over again , we didn’t want to part with it , but had to and get some rubbish for it in an exchange with another ship .JS

[j.sabourn]

After 1970 or thereabouts that song “ I joined the Navy to see the world , and What did I see I saw the sea “ , was a very true description . Those who went ashore about then were saved the spectacle of seeing the sad sight of a once great industry being brought to its knees without even a proper thank you for past services rendered. I was lucky to remain at sea even though on some lousy vessels and on a pittance , apart from the 11years in Australia on their conditions of service, for which I am thankful , and hope if there is any comeback in shipping that they lead it , as deserve it. For 33 years service in the British Merchant Navy , I received the grand sum of 1127 pounds and so many pence. I received treble that in Australia for redundancy after 3 years and was re-employed the following day. Anyhow I scraped through till 65 years of age , was then ttfn. JS