Different lines

[j.sabourn]

My first trip to sea we had 4 deck boys all first trip ex Borstal, the Carpenter was just out of Durham Gaol , the Bosun was an old ex pugilist punch drunk one of the booth fighters advertised at carnivals to go 3 rounds with to win the prize money. 2 Latvian and 2 Estonian ABs among the crew. Never really saw a harder crew later or maybe just got used to it. The Borstal boys and ex gaol bird all turned out well , and the only thing could say about the the Estonian and Latvian seamen was you would never see them around the deck in port if there was a Russian ship there at the same time. JS

[cappy]

My first trip to sea we had 4 deck boys all first trip ex Borstal, the Carpenter was just out of Durham Gaol , the Bosun was an old ex pugilist punch drunk one of the booth fighters advertised at carnivals to go 3 rounds with to win the prize money. 2 Latvian and 2 Estonian ABs among the crew. Never really saw a harder crew later or maybe just got used to it. The Borstal boys and ex gaol bird all turned out well , and the only thing could say about the the Estonian and Latvian seamen was you would never see them around the deck in port if there was a Russian ship there at the same time. JS

Was the bosun from shields john the name of darcy lynch ...got run over by a tram in B A was a boxer in fair ground matches.......cappy

[cappy]

Nobody ever went to sea and expected to make money years ago des in fact to be honest when i ist went i would have gone for three meals a day and loved it ......the 10 quid a month was a bonus .....cappy

[j.sabourn]

#12. Don’t even know if he was a Geordie he used to slur from the side of his mouth and walk sideways , nearly put a Spike through my eye within the first couple of days whilst he put a splice in a wire working from the deck vice , he told me to hold the strands clear of the splice whilst he tore away at wire trying to get the Spike into the lay which was unsuccessful at as came away from the wire and hit me. In the eyebrow, blood everywhere but looked worse than it was ,certainly frightened him. First lesson at sea beware of people with spikes in their hand. The ship signed on in Avonmouth , think the only Geordie There was the Carpenter out of Durham Gaol. Cheers JS
That same first trip one of the greasers died as a previous post . We had to do a death watch for a number of days where the body was laid out on a single hatchboard in the steering flat , right next to where you lived Cappy so any moans you heard when there it may have been him. When it came time for him to go over the side before arrival Cuba , the old man Captain Welch think it was dressed himself up looking all official , stopped the ship read the service and said now are you all satisfied this man is dead . I felt like shouting of course he is I’ve been watching the body for the past week , all these hard case seamen that I thought were really hard , weren’t so hard as saw some of them weeping. Cheers JS

[cappy]

When i skinned out in wallaroo i was on about 11 pounds a month at sea .....working on the grapes on the murray river 58 i got twenty a week on what i got plus bonus .....the cost of living was very similar to the uk ...but our food we had to pay for .....it was a great experience in the 50s ....i learned how to make a fridge using a rag a box and a bit of tin ....could keep sausages in that heat for three or four days ....they were my staple diet .....again what those years did for a young mans confidence could be the making of you .....plus of course as many grapes as you could eat lol....cappy R683532

[cappy]

john i think anyone going to oz in the 50s with a bit of nous could get a good standard of life ...jobs galore .....i recall i think it was adelaide .....estate agents coming aboard selling land for under 10 bob an acre just outside of adelaide itself.......in berry and barmera i was stopped regularly by folk wanting workers of all sort .....offered jobs labouring good money at broken hill miles away by an agent ...iwould think to get a property as a starter was not too hard.....but was too young to go down that path anyway ....got bored very quickly and joined the old avonmoor ...... eventually back to shields.......the accom around the steering flat caused much banter as you could tell who was on the wheel while you were in your pit...bang bang bang bang after a few days you didnt hear it....a great learning curve .....cappy

[Keith Tindell]

Unless you have been to sea, as we all have, in the late 50s-60s was my time, and even down to my last ship, the excitement of where you were bound next, never ended. I had for a time worked a couple of passenger ships, not for me i found, also short haul, was ok, but again got to be boring, same ports etc. For me the trampers were where i enjoyed the most, destinations could change at sea for various reasons, cargo sold on, war zones etc. In those days you could spend several days discharging cargo, even weeks. I found food was good, but as Cappy said, really down to the cooks, most important man on the ship !!, don't upset the cook.Even on a long passage, it still held its magic, yarning on the stern with a can of beer, putting the world to rights, we didn't know what the rest of the world was doing half the time. As youngsters we had a wonderful life, back home life was still pretty bleak, and us at sea earning reasonable money, and all found to boot. I remember having to go back to the shipping office to collect my pay, after a 10 month trip, all cash payments those days, and leaving the office with nearly £800 pounds in my back pocket, does not sound much now, but i could have nearly bought a small cottage at that time for that sort of money, but i didn't , do i regret it, no way, what followed was 6 weeks shore leave, and making whoopee. Fortunately, that was the leave i met my wife to be, and did one more trip and came ashore, took her a few years but she straightened me up eventually !!!. kt

[cappy]

well keith it was in many ways escapism from a less than pleasureable living....and i would have found it i think mundane after a few years others may not ....true the excitement was a great part of it ...and long runs at sea became almost just a dreamland from day to day same routine apart from a bit of weather now and then ......800 quid was truly a lot of money in them days......one thing at sea....its not there for the young today ....more is the pity....R683532

[Louis the fly]

Following the comments from JS #9.
Ships were often described as floating islands, this is true, but on the islands there were two populations living apart from each other and often in conflict. It was only in later years with the arrival of supply ships that it was proved the two populations could live and work happily and well together. Pity it took so long, life at sea would have been even better for everyone.

A question often heard.
What is the difference between going to sea and going to prison?
Answer.
You can't drown in prison.

[vic mcclymont]

Louis, you could drown if you were in an Argentine prison.
We docked opposite an Argentine prison ship, she was a decrepit rust bucket.
Vic