Manchester ship canal

[Jim Brady]

Got into the MSC and tied up in the first lock,I noticed a phone box on the quay,good I thought i'l ring my wife and tell her I'l be home tonight.Found a small pilot ladder on deck lashed it to the rail and down I went onto the quay.I was in the phone box a while couldn't get an answer,I noticed some activity on the quay of people letting wires go,I'd better get back aboard thought I.I came out of the phone box and the nice little ladder that I had put over the side was I don't know how high off the quay.Only one thing for it over arm up one of the fender ropes,I stopped for a blow half way up and looked around,right opposite was an office block and all the office girls were at the windows looking at my antics.I got to the top and got one arm over the gunwale there I was stuck.As luck had it an engineer was sitting on deck having a smoke when he seen my arm come over he dragged me over the top.We were light ship as I remember leaving Mauritius the orders were full cargo of fish meal from Walvis Bay for Poland,on the way to W.B. orders call at Durban 200 ton for Manchester.We unloaded fish meal Poland so all we had was the 200 ton for Manchester so we were high out of the water.Imagine if I would've missed her and got a VNC for the final few hours,howI did I know ships went up in the locks.!!!
Regards.
Jim.B.

[John Arton]

I used to go up to Partington quite regularly when sailing. We carried styrene monomer which went to an outfit that made all those polystyrene food trays.
The bridge over the canal just at the entrance to Partington oil basin was near to a gypsy camp and it was the kids from there that used to chuck stones taken from the rail ballast on that bridge, at ships. Eventually the canal authority used to have to place a canal policeman (the MSC used to have its own police force) on the bridge to chase away any would be stone throwers.
One trip, when loaded with styrene monomer (highly inflammable) some idiot youth actually fired a firework that landed on our deck still alight, from the roadside running along the canal just above Latchford locks. A very brown trouser moment. The idiot was actually caught by the police as we had seen him drive into a small Co-Op store car park just above Latchford and after reporting the incident to the police they quickly turned up and arrested him and his idiot mates.
rgds
JA

[John Arton]

Here are some old shots of the ditch, including removing funnels at the crane berth.
rgds
JA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJubi9_ZYdw

Clicking on the double right arrows at the bottom of the video gives you some more interesting videos of canal passages on various ships