John . Then And Now, I have no doubt that the maintenance undertook by most of us on this site. Such as preparing a painting stage, rigging a chair aloft, knowing what you could do with a bowser line, a hook chair, lizards, gantlines, heaving lines, splicing not just wire rope but many rope splices we undertook, bends and hitches, slip knots for dumping dunnage over the side using the ships gear, knowing and understanding the importance of many aspects of life at sea as an A.B. And passing on your knowledge to the younger lads coming up through the ranks. There are still ships afloat were many of todays seaman would not have a clue to work. The one and only time I ever witnessed deck cargo going over the side was on a container boat we lost a few in the Irish sea in terrible weather. Yet I think back to my time with the likes of Palm Line down the west coast of Africa raw materials {logs} lashed on her decks them lashings were checked over and over everyday by all the deck crew never lost one. I have said before and stand by it British crews were the best in the world we had the biggest fleet of Merchant ships we faced tasks that were hairy and scary but hey mate most of us are here to tell the tale. I brings to mind the terrible tragedy of the Costa Concordia, Most of the seaman on deck were Peruvian fishermen. Be honest if you would have been aboard her as a seaman and she started to list in the fashion she did I wouldn,t have awaited an abandon ship order I would have started getting people into liferafts and getting them away from the ships side Regards John Terry.
