My Sea Time and Ports

[Des Taff Jenkins]

My first trip all I had was the clothes [uniform] from the sea school and a blue stripped suit that I can't remember getting, probably from one of my richer cousins. On my second trip I was lucky enough to sail with an AB who taught me to make shorts and shirts out of duck canvas, which for some reason the ship had plenty up in the forecastle.
Des

[happy daze john in oz]

I started to write about my time at sea.
Once started it is quite amazing how much comes back to you, and you think why or how did I manage that?

[Ivan Cloherty]

#10 sounds familiar John, no silver spoon here, had to borrow money from the Missions to Seamen to outfit my self with all the nonsensical stipulated requirements, most of which became ornaments and never left the drawers once stowed. After that loan, for which I am ever grateful, I never borrowed money again, as it took me nearly six years to pay it back, as my starting stipend was £6 a month and out of that I left mother £2 10 shillings a month, the rest I wasted on NHI, slop chest (USA Khakis), wine , women and yardleys soap which was great currency in South America, ehat you could get for a bar of yardleys was unbelievable

[Tony Taylor]

#10 sounds familiar John, no silver spoon here, had to borrow money from the Missions to Seamen to outfit my self with all the nonsensical stipulated requirements, most of which became ornaments and never left the drawers once stowed. After that loan, for which I am ever grateful, I never borrowed money again, as it took me nearly six years to pay it back, as my starting stipend was £6 a month and out of that I left mother £2 10 shillings a month, the rest I wasted on NHI, slop chest (USA Khakis), wine , women and yardleys soap which was great currency in South America, ehat you could get for a bar of yardleys was unbelievable

Buttermilk soap was very useful in Indonesia and if you had some dhoby soap (like Sunlight) you were quids in.

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Hi John.
I can remember most of the ports I visited during my first two years at sea as it was on the one ship, and know the ports visited when I was on the Wave Baron from the RFA site, some of the others are easy like a ship called the Basford where i went over the side, and the fact that we only went to St Johns NB and back, and also the Baron Elibank the other St Johns and back. The two ships that are hard are the Baron Kilmarnock a tanker on it for nine months, and the British Builder for twelve.
Des

Was there not a song about Baron Line? one line sticks in my brain "you might have been on all these ships and had a helluva time; but you've never yet been through the mill till you sail with the Baron Line"

[j.sabourn]

I’ve got my indentures hanging on the wall to remind me that life started at 75 pounds a year. And finished if lucky on a 175 pounds a day. This inflation played havoc with ones life style.!!! Not from the British Shipowner however. We all helped to make him rich. We used to run frequently to Bermuda and had passengers on board . A F.O.C .ship and on the shore catered party on board I got put on the table with visitors to the ship. On wining and dining this bloke got on talking to me about his mansion and invited me next time in to come up and see it . Turned out he was Chapman the shipowner ,he thought I was a Canadian , when he found out I was an ex Runciman apprentice the conversation suddenly dried up. He never insisted any further with his invitations to see his holiday hideaway . Cheers JS


Des a school chum of mine his younger brother went from apprentice to master with them . Something must have happened to them shortly before the Falklands he went with the invasion fleet. He was an extra Hand on one of the other vessels and just listed as navigator. Heard after the Falklands he had a heart attack on the deck of a supply vessel up the Persian Gulf and died. Anyone out of Baron Line know him ?, surname was Young. JS

[Dennis McGuckin]

I started to write about my time at sea.
Once started it is quite amazing how much comes back to you, and you think why or how did I manage that?

I agree John.
Have all of my trips on a disk.
Lots of fun looking back at some of them.
I admit to not recording all of my adventures.
Den.

[Des Taff Jenkins]

Tony.
She had rod and chain steering and forecastle accommodation, one big happy family with a coal fire.:

[j.sabourn]

#17 And Cappy sitting in the corner peeling his spuds in a bucket ? Can visualise the scene Des . 2 years before the mast had nothing on the real thing. The only music would have been the clinking of the anchor chains ? Cheers JS
Did anyone ever sail on a type of ship termed a Jeep .remember seeing one but was never sure about their construction. Their profile was the foremast appeared to come out of the forecastle, and the mainmast out of the aftercastle . JS

[happy daze john in oz]

Uniforms, recall leaving the Vindi in the issued jacket and trousers.
You must have the correct creases in the jacket we were told.
The trousers were bloody awful, more like hessian than what ever they were.
Wore them home and never again, into the rag bag.

[Doc Vernon]

One thing that i always regret and that is not firstly having a good Camera at the times of the very good Years (and bad) and also not writhing a sort of diary possibly not daily but at least Monthly to keep records of where and what i did!
So now al i have are my deep memories of the Good, silly, Horrible and other things that ever happened in my life!
But at least they are still there thankfully, and another thing i am grateful for is that i have told the Kids all about my Life, so they know what Dad got up to!
Cheers