Female Deck Officers

[j.sabourn]

#39... Keith think I may of mentioned before. My next door neighbour in UK was an an ex Fire Superintendant from Plymouth. A bloke called John Fiddaman who in retirement got a job checking all the big stores in Newcastle checking all appliances and exits etc. Drove a landing craft during the Normandy landings. We used to talk about fires on ships and he said to me one time, you know I admire you blokes , you do a fiire course in one day and are supposed to be able to fight all different types of fires. We have rookies and takes I think he said 6 weeks to teach what we try to instill into you in 8 hours. As Seamen all of us were Jack of all trades master of none. As regards mixed sexes on ships. 9 times out of 10 there has been sexual liaisons arose and many times trouble has arisen from such. Wife's on ships were not outside this group either. You had the advantage could if that way inclined go home at night, on a ship you were stuck with it like a festering sore.. but apart from that your female firefighters were well trained better disciplined and probably higher moralled than others. My cousin was the first sergeant and then inspector of MOD police at Hampton Court and had a tied cottage in Bushy Park, and I wouldn't of liked to get on the wrong side of her. Women are as good as men but sometimes are out of their depth especially on ships where they used to live indifferent conditions. Today however I suppose they live in Hotel conditions. JWS.

[cappy]

###john to put things in perspective if a woman was on a ship and half decent looker and feminine i would be trying to give her one .....i dont think many would disagree with that thought ...unless male hormones have changed in 50 or 60years

[j.sabourn]

Didn't even have to be a half decent looker Cappy. When I was on one of the ships I can't remember the name of, we loaded China clay for Genoa. The skipper was above 65, bags of money and an ex Head line man from Belfast. I was taken time off from the North Sea during a slack period Think he was pleased to see someone aboard closer to his own age, probably like we are today. Told me to just help myself out of his fridge when wanted a beer, never drank himself. Anyhow went ashore to the agents, came back full of himself as. Had met an old female ships cook off another ship that he had sailed with years ago. Was extolling her virtues how she kept herself to herself and never caused any problems. I went ashore that night and met this cook off the ship he mentioned . She was accompanied by an old neighbour who I went to school with when I was. 10 in fact we had furnished rooms with his. parents. He was 2nd engineer on same same and he was the cooks boyfriend. They used to take their leaves together and had a boat left moored in Gibraltar. When told the old Skipper about the arrangement they had he was very disappointed in the lady in question and wouldn't believe it at first. Just another snippet. Cheers JWS.

[cappy]

john quote didnt have to be a looker ........lol the longer at sea the more beutiful she would get know doubt .....

[John Arton]

As someone said before, gender should not enter into the question, just the ability to do the job. As regards physical strength (in the engine room) I have sailed with male junior engineers who could not lift a wet blanket.
Sailed with two female engineers, both good at there jobs. One, a Norwegian stunning looking lass, but wo betide anyone who attempted to hit on her. After getting her 2nds ticket she went on to be engineer on the owners mega yacht, the other, again good at the job but her personal hygiene left a lot to be desired.
On deck sailed with a number of female cadets and junior officers, all of whom I found perfectly capable of doing the job and their gender was never a problem with all on board.
The worst I ever saw was when I was lecturing students from the Indian continent and West Africa for their O.O.W. ticket. There were a number of female students on the course and the male members treated them terribly to such extent that some of them (males) were thrown out due to sexually harassing them and in one case of rape.
rgds
J.A.

[Captain Kong]

All the lady cadets I sailed with were all good at the job. They had just started to employ them around 1978.
Now one became a Third Mate and she married a Third Mate, and strangely when she became pregnant and had the baby it was the husband who stayed ashore with the baby and she came back to sea.
I had a young lady Cadet on watch with me and her Only problem was the size of her breasts.
We were loading in the Gulf and she was swinging a valve and I saw her weeping.
What is the matter, I asked, She said, Every time I swing the valves and I am twisting my top half as I do it, by boobs swing and get stuck under each arm and it gets painful.
I volunteered to stand behind her and hold them, but she declined the offer, I told her to get a stiffer Bra.
She was a good girl tho`.
Cheers
Brian

[j.sabourn]

What about all this one hand for the ship and one for yourself Brian. Hope you read the safety manual before offering such help. The one female second mate I sailed with, told me not to come into the room when I called her at one bell, just slide my hand around the door jamb and switch on the light. She wouldn't of had that problem if her boyfriend who I replaced was still there. She finished up I believe in the PR dept. of Marks and Spencer's. Hope you were wearing gloves when you offered your personal assistance Cheers JS

[happy daze john in oz]

We have a state Labor/Socialist gov and the majority of cabinet are female. Not because they are good at their job, but rather that Labor has a gender equality mandate.
Great, if they were any good, not bad looking but as useful as the proverbial on a bull when it comes to doing the job.
Smile for the camera, tell a load of crap and all will be well or so they hope.

[Louis the Amigo]

hi shipmates, yes they were the same as male officers, some good some bad . Never met any females working on deck in the merch on any ship, in the royal navy they had them for years called double -breasted matelot ,and doris nurses' all very lovely.

[j.sabourn]

#49.. Louis was only in more recent years though that you saw them serving on naval vessels. They had the Same rules as some shipowners thought they were insisting all women off the ships at sunset. In 1980 on manuovers with the fleet off Lisbon we were on the de-gaussing ranges and had half a dozen operators on board, as the job was job and finish we had to get a special dispensation for them to stay. Even the one night they were got at. Times have certainly changed. It was 1963 before Dalglieshes relaxed the rules for wife's a sea. The excuse being that they didn't have the lifeboat capacity. Then they had to sign a form releasing the owner of insurance claims, which I was told by a legal beagle would never stand up in court. Cheers JWS