Coasters

[Robert George Young]

Are coasters viewed as rock dodgers and seaman on them not considered with as much respect as ships and seaman that go further afield ?

[John Gill]

Never heard that expression nor the description. Odd.

[Ivan Cloherty]

Never heard that expression nor the description. Odd.

What have you been reading on here since 2011 John, the site is full of rock dodging tales.

[Ivan Cloherty]

Are coasters viewed as rock dodgers and seaman on them not considered with as much respect as ships and seaman that go further afield ?

Coasting seamen of all grades are considered excellent seamen and navigators and rock dodgers as they are known are respected in the industry, each part of our industry requires specialised skills, whether it be deep sea, coasting, trawling, ferries rig attenders and safety duties etc,.

Coasting is hard work for all onboard, constantly in and out of port, with all the associated ship handling, doing your own pilotage, navigating inshore with sometimes less than a foot under your keel to catch a tide, a lost tide can mean a lost loading or discharging berth and all the associated expenses that go with that. There are no long sea passages to recover your physical and mental well being, you are constantly on the go. Having trawled, coasted and deep sea each has it advantages and disadvantages, but all require consumate skill and dedication to your particular craft, and all offer danger as a compensation. Coasting is bloody hard work and a lot who try it cannot wait to get back to deep sea.

We all have respect for each other, although banter in the pub when meeting may give an alternative impression to a non seafarer

[j.sabourn]

#1. It was said a coasting man got diarrhoea when he lost sight of land, and a deepsea man had the same toilet problems when he sighted land. They both had the same cure to fight this unexplained trauma and it usually. came In a bottle. JS .

[Ivan Cloherty]

#1. It was said a coasting man got diarrhoea when he lost sight of land, and a deepsea man had the same toilet problems when he sighted land. They both had the same cure to fight this unexplained trauma and it usually. came In a bottle. JS .

Alas John, RGY probably won't know your joking, although coasting we normally went 2 cables (1200 feet for lands people)off a point deep sea guys usually rounded it at 5 or 10 miles depending on company policy, luckily when coasting we never ended up in Canada when heading for Eire when Lands End was out of sight.

[j.sabourn]

A friend of mine who is still alive I think was up for 2 mate with me and couldn’t get past the maths and spherical trigonometry and changed in midstream and went for mates HT. He rose in the ranks on the yellow perils and finished up as master. They then brought in these middle for diddle certificates , so HT was not attractive anymore, so had to Start all over again with 2 mate FG. He eventually made it and obtained Master FG by which time the shipping was in the state you see today. I took him as mate with me offshore and with my persistent efforts and reports left him when I emigrated as a well established master in the oil industry. For those who sailed on the yellow perils his name was Brian Tarn . I hope he and his wife are still alive and in good health. JS..

[happy daze john in oz]

How would inter island ferries fit into this then?

We have a ferry between Melbourne and Tassie, Australia being that big island to the north of Tasmania.
I know some guys who have travelled on them wearing a BMN badge.
All have been given special treatment by crew.
Mainly free meals from the buffet.

[j.sabourn]

The certificate structure did not effect seamen. The likes of an AB could go on any ship.it affected Bridge and in some cases engineers. Anyone today who has a mates or engineers certificate only has to open it and it tells him where he can go and where he can’t , such is the esteem we must be held in as slow learners. Used to be a naval officer coming out of the correct branch of the Navy could apply for a masters cert. of service.This allowed him to sail as master on any merchant ship apart from believe it or not a Home Trade Passenger ship. Work that one out .JS

Re your query you have at least 4 possibles and should be able to find an answer on google . Certificates Master 1 2 3 or 4. JS

[Keith Tindell]

I enjoyed working on the coasters, was hard work, and constantly tired. However it was a relaxed working routine, all on first name terms, and all got involved in the lights, tides etc. You were lucky to get an hour in the nearest pub, if there was a near one, but the money was good. It was always the same, was great in the summer, but the weather always turned you back deep sea, and sunshine. I should imagine anyone who had started on fishing boats, coasting was a doddle. we still get the odd coaster here on the Island, comes in to the Medina, not sure what the maim cargoes are.