Cuba

[happy daze john in oz]

[QUOTE=Captain Kong;100492]Never got to Cuba or sailed through the Magellan Straits which were my two regrets of never having seen during my time at sea.
JA
.. SHE has been around the Horn three times and thinks she is a sailor now.

Now if that came from a UCL or maybe one of the Queens, well it would make sence!
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[j.sabourn]

Charlie, as you were on the Hazelmoor in the latter part of the 60"s was the Chief Steward then called the Purser. I left British shipping for some time, after the seamans strike in 67 and went foreign flag. Le Ratty insists that on the Hazelmoor in the 60"s the head of the catering staff was a purser. I know during my time there I never came across apart from a Palm Line cargo purser we carried one time. Maybe the ranks were all changed after the strike. Can you clarify any of this. If you have read the post by LeRatty maybe you can clarify if he is correct in referring to the person in question as the purser. Cheers John Sabourn

[j.sabourn]

With ref. to the ranks as for signing on during my time on general cargo ships were Master Mate 2nd. mate and 3rd. Mate. Chief Eng. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Engineers. Electrician. Radio Officer who was the only one generally to sign on with the title officer. There may have also been Trainee Radio Officer. Chief Steward, 2nd. Steward, 2 assistant stewards, catering boy. Galley was Ch.Cook, 2nd. Cook and Baker, Galley boy.
7 ABs 2 S.O.S 2 J.O.S. 2 3 or even 4 deck boys at times. Usually 4 Apprentices. Bosun, Carpenter.
Tankers Master, Ch. Officer, 1 2 3 mates The Ch. Officer being the cargo officer, this rank was conveniently discarded on my first tanker and was the 1st. Mates job as cargo officer. The other positions were the same as a cargo ship, although the tanker carried a pumpman. I cant remember if a tanker carried a carpenter but dont thinks so. In comparison to todays manning there must be vast differences. I have probably omitted some crew members from this , so anyone wanting to add to please do. Cheers John Sabourn

[Charlie Hannah]

Charlie, as you were on the Hazelmoor in the latter part of the 60"s was the Chief Steward then called the Purser. I left British shipping for some time, after the seamans strike in 67 and went foreign flag. Le Ratty insists that on the Hazelmoor in the 60"s the head of the catering staff was a purser. I know during my time there I never came across apart from a Palm Line cargo purser we carried one time. Maybe the ranks were all changed after the strike. Can you clarify any of this. If you have read the post by LeRatty maybe you can clarify if he is correct in referring to the person in question as the purser. Cheers John Sabourn

John as far as i remember he was still the Chief steward,Dont recall there being a purser on board,very rare on cargo ships to carry a purser,some of the bigger companies had them but i dont recall Hazelmore having one. Cheers Charlie.

[Tony Wilding]

HI JOHN. *you have made all the ER Ratings redundant. Engineers wont be happy, will have to make there own Tea and Toast on the 4/8 morning watch.

[j.sabourn]

Sorry about that Tony. Probably the most hard working of us all. Usually a couple of Donkeymen and a Donkey Greaser if memory serves me right. Thought the list made us look a bit shorthanded. Cheers John Sabourn.

[leratty]

John I do not have the ships mixed up, it was the Hazelmoor as Perry who was the cook on the 2nd trip & I have discussed her-the trip, it was I believe his first trip. Maybe the Co is incorrect which is why I put the ? thereafter. Someone else has mentioned the correct Co name but I have not written it down. The Capt. I spoke of who was removed due to mental problems was on the Cienfegueos not Hazelmoor, the former was a PSNC ship. Richard

[Paul Racine]

I was in Havana in 1961 just before the Bay of Pigs fiasco.We sailed from Riga where we loaded phosphates in four holds. Our no.5 hold was loaded full of crates whose contents I could only guess at.Crossing the Biscay we ran into a force 10 and damaged our steering gear. Returned to the UK for repairs then on again to Cuba. Bad weather most of the way. 31 days from Riga to Havana.
Anchored up in the harbor surrounded by Russian cargo ships where we spent a week before we could get a berth.While I was there Havana was an armed camp. Every building of any note had guards posted on its front doors all armed with automatic weapons(Czeck machine pistols seemed to be the favorite). The strip along the harbor edge was like something out of the wild west. Bars and bordello's everywhere. I guess Fidel didn't get the time to clean things up before we got there. Does anyone remember a bar called La Flota?This place was unbelievable. A long bar parallel to the street with western saloon swing doors at each end a brothel upstairs. Heavy drinking ,fights every night.One Sunday while in the town we heard tanks rumbling down the streets. Found out they were going to a rally where Che was to give a speech.We decided to spend the afternoon in the bar.Missed out on seeing Che.
We spent over a month in Havana unloading then we were off to Brazil.
Could a seaman ask for anything better?
Paul

[Gulliver]

An event which took place around the time being discussed.

The French freighter m.v. La Coubre exploded at 3:10 p.m. on 4 March 1960, while it was being unloaded in Havana harbor. This 4,027 ton general cargo vessel was carrying 76 tons of Belgian munitions from the port of Antwerp.
Unloading explosive ordnance directly onto the dock was against port regulations. Ships with such cargoes were supposed to be moored in the center of the harbor and their high-risk cargo unloaded onto lighters.

At the instant of the explosion, Che Guevara was in a meeting in the INRA building. (equivalent translation of National Institution for Agricultural Reform)
After hearing the blast and seeing the debris cloud from a window overlooking the port area, he drove to the scene and spent the next hours giving medical attention to the scores of crew members, armed forces personnel, and dock workers who had been injured, many of them fatally.

Thirty minutes after the first explosion, while hundreds of people were involved in a FAR-organized operation to rescue victims and secure the ship, a second even more powerful explosion occurred, resulting in many additional fatalities.
Father John McKniff (a Roman Catholic missionary priest) and nurse Gloria Azoy, both of whom had rushed to the scene and were assisting the wounded and giving last rites, were thrown to the pavement by the second explosion. Although stunned, they survived amid the clouds of expended explosives and dust and continued their work. Father McKniff, given his long work as a missionary in Cuba and elsewhere, is currently being considered for sainthood by the Catholic Church.
Although the exact toll of the La Coubre explosions remains uncertain, it is estimated that there were at least 75 dead and approximately 200 injured, with some sources giving figures that are much higher.
Cuban government spokesmen and some other sources occasionally have put forward the claim that this event was an act of sabotage carried out by William Alexander Morgan on orders from the American CIA.Guerillero Heroico, the iconic photo of Che Guevara, was taken at a memorial service for victims of the La Coubre explosion.

Six French crew of La Coubre lost their lives:- First Lieutenant François Artola, Helmsman Jean Buron, and Sailors Lucien Aloi, André Picard, Jean Gendron and Alain Moura

　
　

La Coubre was towed to a dry-dock in Havana harbour where she underwent extensive repairs.( the after end was rebuilt in 1961. ) She eventually returned to service and continued to be owned and operated by the French Compagnie Générale Transatlantique until 1972, when she was sold to a shipping company in Cyprus and re-named Barbara,then again in 1977 becoming Notios Hellas,then Agia Marina. She was eventually broken up at Gandia ,Spain on 3.12.79.

LA COUBRE.jpgCHE GUEVARA.jpgLA COUBRE Pic 2.jpg　
　
　

　
　
　

　

[Stan Carter]

couple of years ago, went to cuba, varadaro, second trip in two years. stayed at a hotel on the varadaro strip. found the country to be very depressed as far as living and wages etc. the staff at the hotel were exceptionatly friendly and always smiling. they work six out of the seven days for about $40 $50 a month, as everything is controlled by the state and food and living expenses are very low. free education and medical is provided. of course people are looking to please you so you will tip, not a lot, but enough to make sure the waiters keep coming with your drinks, all inclusive, but tipping gets you better service. We also took down with us, pens, pencils, writing paper etc, which we give to the women with kids as school supplies are evidently in short supply or nearly nonexsistant. They are very appriciative of all they can get. i find it a great place to visit and very safe compared to other destinations nowadays. we even took a tour into Havana by coach, driver, guide and another person who nobody was quite aure of his role, but was taking a lot of pictures and video, more of us tourists than the sights. when in havana the tour did a walking tour through the old part of town, but i stayed behind and sat by the sea wall at the entrance to the harbour and watched a couple of ships come in, of course with few beers. in all i would go back there anytime, quite resonable and well recieved.