Press gangs ?

[j.sabourn]

There are many non seafarers come on site with stars in their eyes thinking life on the briny is all fun and games let me point out to one incident I had . Due to circumstances beyond my control and to keep certification valid as to seatime I took employment on stand by vessels in the North Sea , incidentally the lowest paid job there could be there or anywhere else I imagine. The manning of these vessels was hard to come by and in 1987 it was like Nelson’s navy 3 century’s earlier. One such time a last minute body was dropped on the vessel by the ships runner. When he came to the next morning he was amazed to find himself at sea , plus he had the DTs his last memory was sitting in a pub. He was put in a frc shortly after and must have been a nightmare for him , plus having the shakes. Anyhow 4 weeks later we returned to port and he went on his merry way a much subdued but healthier man. I think he was a past seafarer as didn’t make any complaints about his abduction and no one was looking for him , just another vagrant . He even came and thanked me. So if you are one of those wearing rose Tinted Spectacles there is another side to the coin. JS.