swan song

[EIFION]

I have returned home after what is probably my last voyage deep sea. A good if unusual end to a working life time with ships, in one way or another, as mate/engineer on a 90ft topsail schooner, the "Pickle" . We sailed from Holyhead to Waterford, La Coruna, Camarinas, Portimao and then on to Gibralter .

It would be nice to hear of fellow members last trip and whether like me they felt a mix of emotions ranging from sad , relief, exitement and plain " I am to bloody old for all this " !!!!!!!

[Jim Jamieson]

Hi Eifion
Happy retirement
I packed in about 4 years ago and I had a variety of emotions in doing so.
I had 46 very happy years at sea with only one bad trip.............extremely bad, but I never regretted my sea time.
I'm sure most of us on this site have terrific memories to look back on.
When I, and lots of guys on here, first went to sea it was rough and ready but loads of fun and when you're in your teens everything was a great adventure.
Unfortunately for the guys and girls who are starting off now they won't experience the "performances" we had.
Too much health and safety and political correctness now. Good luck to them though.
This is an excellent site to be on. I have had a few queries answered about various things since I joined. It's good to know the lads on here will take time to assist with anything you can throw at them. It's all been greatly appreciated.
I had to leave for health reasons but it really was time to go anyway.
Hope you enjoy this site as much as the rest of us do. Best wishes, Jim

[j.sabourn]

Got to 65 and said thats it. The first couple of years received various offers but stuck to no thanks. Very nearly succcumbed to one job on a small vessel running around the pacific Islands with mainly bulldozers and earth removing equipment. U.S. company managed from Guam. When I said how old I was he said no problem the master who is retiring is 81. Even said could take the wife and dogs. Pondered too long someone from N.Z. finally took. How I was supposed to get the dogs out there I had my doubts. Enjoy your retirement, I found the worse part was the people ashore have some funny ideas on how they live and seem very insular, and speak a different language but you get used to the natives after a time. Cheers all the best. John Sabourn.

[cappy]

johnwas on the beach in wallaroo 1958saw a sign hand wanted on asmart looking barley ketch went aboard saw a ozzie who told me it ran out to the islands and wanted acook deckhand so said i coullld cook and work on deck no prob truth couldnt cook athing icame down the jetty later to see two bloody great islanders beehive hair one with bone thro nose had vision of these big buggers been upset at my cooking so just walked past looking the other way
later heardone the two ketches had gone missing they were proper sailors
regards cappy from shields

[Captain Kong]

1996 I did my last trip on a tanker that was sold to the Chinese, I had to train them one by one over several months. after the hand over in a Hotel in Singapore, all documents and papers signed I stayed there for a week as a guest of the new owners before flying home.
I was 61 years old then, not a lot of ships then if any. Then I got hit by a car and injured my legs and back. So I decided it was time to leave the sea, the only thing that kept me in touch was to go cruising every year round to all my favourite places. usually for two to three months and sometimes up to five months. I now have to pay to go where I used to get paid for going.
So off to the South Pacific again at the end of January, to visit some of my Cook Island crew.

[Louis the Amigo]

Hi shipmates, do you ever leave the sea its part of you? somedays, I wish I was still young, super fit , fancyfree and on The "Patia" with a great crew and good ports to go ashore, But those times has sadly come and gone, I have a good life ashore wife and children and some great times so no regrets. Why did I leave married with children, is not a good life for going away to work for months at a time? unless you have no choice? I was lucky I had both.

[Tony Morcom]

I have often thought that the biggest mistake I ever made was leaving the sea. On reflection the actual biggest mistake I ever made was taking my ex-wife to sea with me. Sadly its taken me 32 years to realise that. Back in late 1979 I had everything going for me; a brilliant job as 2nd mate, a career which I loved, a continuous opportunity to see the world and experience things which I now only dream of and I was being paid £21K a year more or less tax free with a company pension on top. I knew I had made a mistake as soon as I stepped on the plane in Istanbul, homeward bound for the final time. Sad thing is I didn't have the balls to back track on my decision. I guess in our early twenties we all made some damn fool decisions which we have later regretted. Oh how I wish........................

[Dennis McGuckin]

Right on Tony.
Den.

[Ivan Cloherty]

I have often thought that the biggest mistake I ever made was leaving the sea...........

But then Tony your life would have taken a different course and we may not have been the recipients of all your help, so for us every cloud has a silver lining. I think we have all been down that path of "if only" but I guess most of us are satisfied with our lot, but it's good to have dreams

[Ron B Manderson]

Funny it was always to be your last trip.
I think I said it every time we returned to the uk.
Then when you come back for your "again last trip" you found the lads were of the same mind and returned after she had gone around the coast.

I got married and took the wife with me on the "mahseer" and had a goog trip.
After 41 years I still think " bloody fool why did I leave" thinking now I should have taking a budgie with me and still been daft & free.
Ah well too late now, we can always dream.
We all make mistakes , But why to hell did it have to be that one.
Ron the batcave