Russian Merchantmen

[vic mcclymont]

Remember in the seventies there always seem to be a Russian ship in port (no matter which port) on the S.A Coast.
First onboard after the rummage squad and all the other hangers on was a Russian seaman and hi Commissar, looking to borrow movies. Always asked if we had James Bond, asked why to improve their English.
Our Fourth Engineer (one of the few times we carried one) was sent to collect our movies as our departure had been brought forward. He arrived back onboard legless.
On arrival on the Russian ship he was escorted to the Captains Cabin, where he was offered Vodka, declined, retort you are insulting me, drank Vodka.
The Doctor arrived saw Roddy had a bandage on his wrist, escorted away under protest for treatment, where he was offered ll kinds of surgery, which he declined.
He was offered any of the women onboard, except one she belonged to the Captain, they were all F.D. jobs.
In the course of the meeting the Commissar entered uninvited and the relations turned cold. The Captain and the crew despised this Official. They could not do anything about him or even jump ships as their families back home would have been punished.
Their Merchant ships were very secretive.
On one occasion, a Harrison, if memory serves me correctly it was the TACTICIAN, she reported an engine room explosion, with an engineer badly injured.
Cape Town Radio broadcast for any ships in the vicinity to assist, we on the RANALD reported that we would divert, but we did not have a Doctor onboard.
CTR said that they were in touch with a Mailship, which was also diverting and that we were the closest ship and to proceed.
After a couple of hours the TACTICIAN broadcast that she was receiving assistance and no one else was required.
When CTR found it was a Russian ship they went ballistic, not because she was Russian, but because she had not informed anyone of her attention and that considerable time and effort had been wasted in diverting ships when one was closer.

Regards
Vic

[vic mcclymont]

Forced Draught, Gulliver.
Vic

- - - Updated - - -

FD forced draft fat lady rather large, homely built for comfort, perhaps one would have needed to roll them in flour and look for a damp spot sorry to good to pass this one up. I thought you were a man of the world.

Good description, Lewis.

[Jim Brady]

I was talking to a guy once he said to me she was a four strap job,thats what he had always believed people were saying (a forced draft job)he was meaning she was well built and had to have four straps on her bra.
Regards.
Jim.B.

[Captain Kong]

This is from my post , A Voyage to the Spice Islands posted last month.
Re: Russian ships and women etc...............................
.................................We were in Surabaya and ahead of us on the same quay was a Soviet Liner, with passengers of the Soviet elite, I forget her name now but she was sunk by the Germans in WW2 and then refitted for the Vladivostok fleet.
We had a game of football with them on the quay and the Second Mate invited us aboard that evening. He was Victor, a big big man.
So that evening, Ted, Blondie, Paddy and I went across and met Victor.
He took us to his cabin and with the Sparky, pulled out a bottle of `Moscow Visky`, it was Vodka really. He poured out five half pint glasses and shouted `Babushka`, which means `Old Woman` in Russian, and we had to drink it in one gulp, or you were an old woman. This nearly blew our heads off, powerful stuff. Then there was more and more. We were drunk as rats, unbelievable stuff that `Moscow Visky`.
Mean while as we were getting bevied, Paddy was going through Victor`s drawers and putting gear down his shirt, he was robbing him.
Then the Sparky wanted to show us his Radio room, so as we were staggering out of Victor?s cabin, he stopped Paddy and removed several articles out of his shirt and muttered a few words in Russian that we didn`t understand. What a bast4rd Paddy was, it was embarrassing, stealing off the man who was giving us his hospitality.
We went to the Sparky`s Radio Room, and at that time we had never ever seen such an array of equipment, it was space age stuff compared with what we had seen before, on our ship, an old Sam Boat all our Sparky had was a Morse key and a transceiver.
We left the ship and were walking back past the old liner, there were a lot of port holes about waist height above the quay and in one a BIG Stewardess was getting stripped off ready for bed.
Blondie went up to the port, which was open, and bent down to have closer look, the Stewardess saw him and waved her arm to beckon him closer and closer, Blondie, thinking he was onto a good thing put his head through the port.
She got a head lock on him with her left arm and proceeded to batter his face with her right fist. He was screaming as she did this, pulling him closer, we had hold of his legs and tried to pull him out of the port, but she was a Big strong woman. She continued to batter him for quite a while before letting go and then battened down the port and closed the curtains.
Blondie was a mess two eyes were swollen and cut, nose busted and bleeding and his lips cut and bleeding. We couldn't stop laughing at him, what a plonker. We dragged him back to the Euryades.

The following day, Victor and the Russian Sparky arrived on board, The Sparky wanted to see our Radio Room and equipment. I called our Sparky and told him, all about theirs and how embarrassing it would be if they saw he only had a Morse key.
Sparky went to see him and told him that it was all top secret equipment and was not permitted to allow anyone near it.. The Russian accepted that,
We took them both into the mess room with some beers, there were already four Danes in there from another ship that the other lads had brought on board. There were a couple of cases of beer on the table and everyone was getting stuck in.
Then one of the Danes who obviously did not like the Russians said something to Victor in Russian, Victor was exceedingly angry at this comment and leaned over the table and thumped the Dane knocking him to the deck. The other Danes jumped up and a big fight started. We were in the middle and we were getting thumped. The lads got the Danes out eventually and got them off the ship, I got Victor and took him and the Sparky back to our cabin.
There were three of us in the cabin, me, Ted and Blondie, so we all sat on the two bottom bunks and opened another case of beer. Victor shouted FRIENDSHIP and thumped me in the ribs,` Kinnell Victor, take it easy`. He could only speak a couple of words in English. Friendship was his favourite word, every two minutes he would shout Friendship and thump me in the ribs again.
We were sat there in our sarongs, drinking and smoking, when I could smell burning flesh and cloth, I looked down and my sarong was on fire, Victors cigarette was against my sarong and set it on fire, I was leaping about and dived through the door into the shower and put it out. My leg was blistered and the sarong had a big hole burned out of it. I still have it in my drawer at home here. I came back and sat down again and Victor shouted FRIENDSHIP and then thumped me in the ribs again.
I was getting a little sore by now, a burnt leg and bruised ribs. Then fortunately, we heard a voice shouting on the quay at the bottom of the gangway, `VICTOR, VICTOR`.
I ran out on deck and looked over and at the bottom of the gangway was the Russian Political Officer, `Ver is VICTOR and Radio Officer? Tell them come now.`
What a nice man, he was coming to take Victor away. I went back to the cabin and got them out, the three of us helping them down the gangway, we were all bevied and could hardly stand. The Political Officer was shouting at them in Russian and ordered them back to their ship Pronto. He was not amused at his men being drunk on our ship so I think they would be in trouble when they got back.

[Jim Brady]

During the Cuban Missile Crisis we often seen Russian fishing boats going across the Atlantic with what I suppose were missile parts on deck.I was on the Carinthia at the time so we had a surgeon on board when we got a call from one of these fishing boats that a crew member was injured.Our ship put a lifeboat down with the surgeon on board,the Russian ship stood well off us.I watched the life boat you would see it on a high crest then it would disappear,real rough seas.Anyway the surgeon seen the Russian seaman said he was in a bad way and wanted to bring him back to our ship but they wouldn't allow him to leave their ship,I wonder what happened to him.
When I was in Havana many Russian cargo boats alongside and their gangways went up around 7pm.
Regards.
Jim.B.

[happy daze john in oz]

I recall that for a couple of years what appeared to be an old fishing boat sat just outside the heads at Cape Town.

Most took no notice but one day Charnley the chief officer decided to investigate for some reason, but he could be odd at times.

We were later told it was not a fishing boat but a Russian spy ship which it was claimed the SA gov knew all about.