Best & Worst

[Jim Brady]

I don't think many of us thought about the money when we signed up for the Sea School but it was always nice to come home to a good pay off, rig yourself out with all new gear and have a couple of week bender because you had the cash to do it.I was away just on six months my cabin mate paid off with 18 quid after all that time he was married with a couple of kids nothing much he could give them was there.
Regards.
Jim.B.

[cappy]

agree with most of what john a ses ......but wouldnt go to sea now.....its a bum job even if you can get a job .....we cannot all be officers and to me speaking to others the comradeship and adventure is not there like it was in the 50s and 60s........them container vessels would do your head in.....the world is all the same now .....new york auckland .........sydney ....japan all the same 2 nights in port ....lucky to get ashore ......hard hats and orange boiler suits........having a degree to go to sea ........brian didnt need that john sabourne didnt need that ........nietherof my grandfathers needed it either........i would not like my grandchildren to go now ....but would have certainly sent them 40 or 50 years ago......to see the world andbroaden there horizons and outlook on life.....to me the life we new has gone......every where is the same.....ous was the time ....and we had it all .....with all respects to todays seamen regards cappy

[Keith Tindell]

The 50s 60s were a golden time to be lucky enough to go to sea, but my generation (i am 73) were lucky anyway, leave school , walk straight into a job, dont like the job, leave and walk straight into another one. In terms of the MN, same thing, walk down to the pool, pick a ship and away you went, if you knew one of the manky ships was in, stay away for a couple of days until she was full. Pay off day, pocket full of dosh, Jack the lad for a couple of weeks, living the good life, then back to sea, what a life!!. The youngsters today i feel sorry for, not a lot of prospects for too many of them, they may have mobile phones, twitter, computers etc, but they aint seen anything, very sad KT

[Jim Brady]

Even before containerisation Cappy the game changed.When we went away we were never in fear of our lives,some of the places we ended up in even on our own.When my son went (mid 70's) I was praising the run he was on,I suppose most of it was good such as St.Lucia St.Kitts and some other of the smaller islands but then you had Trinidad and Georgetown very dangerous places to wander about.The run ashore there would be a taxi from the ship to the Holiday Inn and a taxi back to the ship.Georgetown him and the third mate came out of the hotel no taxis about,decided to walk to another hotel,next thing 3or 4 guys appear looking to mug them (they had obviously warned the taxi's off from the hotel they were at)it kicked off both my son and the third mate got a cut eye.My son not a fighter but the old red mist took over,very strong lad,he grabbed one of them and was smashing his head against the storm drain kerb he was screaming and the others scattered.They call it "choke and rob" there,England were playing cricket in Georgetown the BBC had a wander around the place and the commentator said the main industry here is "choke and rob".
Regards.
jim.B.

[Louis the fly]

Agree about Georgetown Jim, very dangerous place, you would have to be very drunk or very foolish to walk there.
We were coming back one night in a taxi, the driver hit and killed a cyclist, knocking him into a monsoon ditch. We told him to drive on as the cops were gangsters in uniform. When we got back to the ship, Booker Viking, it became clear the driver was not concerned about the man he had killed, his only worry was we may tell the rest of the crew that he was a bad driver and he would lose business.

[Jim Brady]

My sons first ship was the Booker Viking Louis.
Regards.
jim.B.

[Captain Kong]

We are the last of the Seafarers, the world will not see our likes again.
Brian, weeping into his whisky.

[cappy]

#####as a last resort brian .......you could ring winston wolf ........he sorts problems......regards cappy chuckling into his little sols

[Dennis McGuckin]

I don't think many of us thought about the money when we signed up for the Sea School but it was always nice to come home to a good pay off, rig yourself out with all new gear and have a couple of week bender because you had the cash to do it.I was away just on six months my cabin mate paid off with 18 quid after all that time he was married with a couple of kids nothing much he could give them was there.
Regards.
Jim.B.

Jim,
Just beat your mate.
Did six months and paid of with 15 quid!

[Neil Morton]

I disliked sailing on large passenger ships mainly because of the accommodation ; banged up in cabins with 8 bunks was not for me. You will all know what a smart looking vessel the CANBERRA was with her funnel aft and raked masts, however it was the worst and the last ship I was in, both for overtime and accommodation. Were all P & O ships bad news ?