first day and last day

[Robert George Young]

Most people know I know nothing about the merchant navy except what I read on this forum.

Couple more questions...

What do you generally do on your first day on a ship? I know it probably depends on this and that but a general answer would be great..

Next question.

When do you come to the conclusion this is your last ship?
Again it's obvious there will be many reasons but is there a time you think "I'm no longer up to this" or "I no longer enjoy this job"

Thank you

[Doc Vernon]

Well Bob

I will start this off and be as Honest as i can.

I joined my first Ship in Cape Town, a lot different from most on this site who mainly went to a Training School etc.

As i was a South African Citizen then, i was given the opportunity to go to Sea the fact that at the time the Union Castle Line had an Agreement with our the Government to Employ up to 10% of Crew for their Ships.

So not to drag this out i was taken on , signed on by the Captain of the old Dunnottar Castle, then handed over to the Second Steward who took me to my Future home LOL My sleeping quaters.

I was told to report to him as soon as i had settled my goods etc!
So with much haste i finished mt settling in and headed to the Dining Room to the Second Steward, i was lucky as i had landed a Job in the First class Dining Room.

However to start i was given a bit of a shock, as i was then given a Bucket, a Scrubbing Brush, Cloths and told to get started with cleaning the Large Stairway that led to the Dining Area!

This was then duly done , and after that was then given various jobs of Cleaning, like polishing Portholes, Scrubbing out my Area that i would be Serving , Laying the Table for the Dinner that Evening and the rest!

After all this i then went back to my Cabin, had a short rest and then Showered and cleaned myself up, Dressed ready for the Evening meal.

Later on i made my way to the First Class Dining Room, and began awaiting the Passengers .
Soon they arrived and with the practice i had learnt on the South African Railways as a Waiter in Silver Service it was like secong nature to me in what followed! No issue at all and i was sort of proud of myself at the way i fitted in so fast! And that was the start!


Jumping on a few Years after, i left the Merchant Navy, unfortunately for me as at the time both my late Brother and myself had been naughty Lads in Southampton, and we were caught. This putting paid to my Career in the MN!
It was something thatt just happened , a very silly and stupid thing, but Oh too late to shed Tears! I really would have loved to stay in the Merch a lot longer, and if not for the mishap, most Certainly would have!
And there it is !

Years of Youth and Stupidity at times, but i did really enjoy my life , Days at Sae and the Royal Air Force, plus many other interesting and sometimes scary Roles!
Cheers

[Robert George Young]

Thank you Doc
Brilliant answer
Very grateful

I was a daft bugger when I was young
I got probation
My accomplice got 4 months In Strangeways

I was a good looking young lad of 17
God knows how I would have handled Strangeways 🙄

Seriously damaged for life I expect

[Austin Carl Largan]

Greetings.
My first trip was on Cunard Line’s Sylvania as an Assistant Writer at the age of 18 in 1962 I eventually ended up in the USA and hawse piped’ my way to Chief Engineer Unlimited Motor, finally retiring at age 72 and it was almost the worst day of my life as I didn’t want to retire. However I felt I had to as I didn’t want to compromise a mission due to me suffering an old person type medical emergency. I was working on a research ice breaker in Antarctica at the time and the ship was usually a long way from medical facilities.
I didn’t spend all of my career at sea but I was in and around the industry. I layed pipe (no metaphor) in the North Sea in the 70’s and worked construction barges launching and assembling offshore rigs, Ekofisk was one of them, and eventually ended up in Mexico as a Port Engineer. I only meant to go for a year to get a tax free cash insertion but ended up staying for 13 years. I eventually ended up spending the best part of 30 years in and around Mexico and I came to look upon it as home.
I had 5 years working with the military and I was based in Guam, South Korea and Zamboanga in the Phiipines.
Unfortunately for me and many, many others the industry as I knew it changed beyond all recognition and I count myself extremely fortunate to have finished my career in the best place in the world, Antarctica.
All the best

Austin

[j.sabourn]

My father never wanted me to leave home he had visions of me working alongside him in the building industry , the only way he would let me go was to his mind to be apprenticed a definite wrong move in my estimationin those days of cheaper labour than ever. My first trip was Cuba, Japan, Australia and back to the Uk.The master released me from the vessel on the understanding I would return immediatelyon receiving a telegram tocome back, such telegram arrived 2 days after getting home to rejoin in Cardff where the ship was loading coal for South America.
However on arriving home at 2200 hrs and knocking on the front door , he opened and the first thing he said to me “ well have you had enough “ , I think if he had kept his mouth shut I would have retired there and then , but said no it’s a great life , which it certainly wasn’t being the ships dogsbody. As regards learning bookwise From ships officers the only bridge work was scrubbing it out every morning or standing around the wheel for 2 hour stints , total learning via ships officers zero, won’t go into other details , but any glowing reports of going to sea remained a mystery at the time, It took me a further 49 years to appreciate the sea and was still learning when I left. Self pride kept me there , later it was to support a family being the only job I knew. My goal was to reach retiring age, a very hard thing to do in Shipping the way it went nose down , my only real achievement in life. JS
I always think of that line in John Masefields descriptive poem when people shoot the breeze about a good life. So here’s to the men who leave love home and comfort for a glorified bleeding hell . JS

[Des Taff Jenkins]

I always wanted to follow my brother tp sea and experience the things he talked about when he was on leave.
I went to sea school at 15 and half, joined my first ship the Trevose, I remember the disappointment at being in the mess room washing dishes as we left Cardiff; instead of being on deck helping with the ropes. First trip to Galveston Texas for wheat to Hamburg in 49.
My last ship was the NZ ship Karu, a fitting end as she was to be scrapped. I took my three year old son down when I picked up my bags, I also had a two year old girl, both the reason to pack it in, after 17 years, I enjoyed every minute of it.
Des

[j.sabourn]

You were lucky to leave when you did Des. When work gets short people’s nature changes. When I saw the writing on the Wall and went offshore about 1978 with Wimpeys first for about 10 months. The last one I joined was in Aberdeen to rellieve the mate. In those days deep sea people were looked on with suspicion. This mate said to me I’m not going to tell you anything your only here to take my job off me. My answer was keep your job, I walked around to Waterloo quay in Aberdeen saw the crew management of SML had an interview and stayed there 8 years. There are shipowners and shipowners I did get a good deal occasionally . JS

[happy daze john in oz]

I was sent to Southampton to join the Windsor as a Bell Boy, which turned out to be a wingers run around and cleaner.
My very first job was to put all the napkin rings in numerical order.
There were about 250 in red and some were in blue, first and second sitting.' then fill all the salt and pepper pots.
Scrub outs of the dinning saloon deck, polishing mirrors on the bulkheads it never stopped.
Then being called at some ungodly hour next morning, sailing day.
From start to finish a total work up, with me ending up sea sick.
All day Friday having long discussions with Huey, but by Saturday he had obviously got fed up with the conversations as he went away.
By Monday in Las Palmas I had it all sussed out and realized that until I got my rating I would continue as a winger's dog's body.

Huey was to return at a later date in Cape Town care of Mellow Wood.
But on return to home some six weeks later I upset mum by saying i was going back.
Next time home noticed she was putting on weight, come November I had a brother, who knows what happened.

Why did I leave, rush of blood to the head maybe, got over a hernia op and my mate who had convinced me to go to sea in the first instance told me of a new job he had as second cook in a new Theater in Guildford, like an idiot I followed him, but we are still good mates.

[Ivan Cloherty]

Boarded my first ship during the war (no! not the Boer War) as a child to see my father whom we hadn't seen for two years, and the trip to that was via the Humber pilot boat, the ship, a tanker, seemed huge to me, with guns fore and aft seemed like some giant floating castle, from that day forward I was smitten. Did my first trip to sea at the age of 13 on a 1914 built coal fired steam trawler (H402) to the Arctic Circle and the cod fishing grounds north of Iceland.

Upon boarding was told throw your kitbag down those stairs and go on the boatdeck and keep out of the way until we are clear of the locks (St Andrews Dock, Hull), once clear get your a--se to the galley, upon entering the galley I was given a bucket of black gue warming (to make it maleable) on the stove and some rags and told to go on deck and cover every bit of brass with the stuff, as the gue got colder it became more difficult to apply, but I was too scared to go back to the galley and ask for it to be warmed up. During the trip north I had to go down the hold and chop ice crystals which had solidified due to sea motion and engine pounding, go down the ER and shovel coal, go in the galley and peel spuds, when fishing was taught how to gut, mend nets as well as continue with ice chopping. My mother had hoped it would put me off going to sea, where-as it had the adverse effect and I did more trips, until joining the MN at 16, after that as an apprentice my experience was pretty much the same as JS, cheap labour and cleaning brass, navigation lessons nil, learning ship construction by cleaning bilges and strum boxes invaluable as it turned out, but I'm sure that wasn't the intention of the C/O. Became a Marine Supt at an early age for a British Company (I was cheap!) although it had been my intention to stay at sea all my life, but as I was getting married, don't look a gift horse in the mouth! If I thought my days of travelling and long absence from home were over, then I was sadly mistaken!

Later became a Mar Supt for a Swiss Company and later a UAE company doubling my salary each time, but still travelling the world and resident in Pakistan and later the UAE. Later joined a project company, marine related but involved in AID PROGRAMS so became a sand and jungle sailor as well. Formed my own company on projects, Aid, and salvage and port equipment, eventually retiring at 73, a long time ago. Travelled the world at sea and post-sea careers, there were hard times, good times, dangerous times, Very dangerous times, what-the-hell-am-I-doing here-times, but looking back wouldn't have changed any of it, saw life in 90+ different countries, sampled some of the delights, and the only person who can take it away is that fellow Al-Zheimer and of course an acute shortage of breath!

[j.sabourn]

When you became a Jungle sailor , I assume you weren’t referring to the Northumberland arms ,North Shields then Ivan as May have tripped over Cappy sprawled in the doorway. Cheers JS.