Vindicatrix days

[James E Probetts]

Vindicatrix days
(Excerpt taken from
Boy on a Dolphin by John C Ryan)


That first sprinkle of salt
That packs the soul
Lays it in vastness of ocean
Touching each crevice
Crowding the land with its lash
Moon pulling swoon of sway
Past coral and whale
Delirium of dolphins
Phosphorescent sweep of porpoise
Across velvet nights of lapsing
In a bow-plunge of passage.

It started on Vindicatrix
Sedged in a dredge of Severn
Beached in a byway
Of polish and spit.
White planked
From a thousand scrubbers
Bucketing knees down
Soaking the patch.

Soak the patch well lad
Soap to the scrubber
Scrub in a circle
Mop up the muck

Rinse out the rag boy
Squeeze till it’s dry lad
Dry the patch tight boy
Move back in the line.

Shoulder to shoulder
Dump the slops over
Start the procedure
Over again.

A ragtime of mopping
With boys from the hard stuff
Pale from the shadow
Of city and town

Straining the leashes
Of hard men and bosuns
Breaking the tension
By Liverpool kiss.

Pull on the banked oars
Chaos of calluses
Reef knot and rowlock
Sheets to the wind.

Starboard to port lad
Tiller hard over
Neat flick of wrist lad
For changing the tack.

Brine where the soot was
Breath of sou’wester
Lungs for a sailor
Out of the sticks.

Granny to granny
Splice for a painter
Knife-edge for keeping
The whetstone of day.

The thirty-two points lad
Begin in the North lad
Go right round the compass
To Nor’west by North.

And don’t you forget lad
Your lifeboat’s your mother
And she might be yours lad
To sail the boys home.

The sea is a bitch lad
So here is your drill lad
And don’t you forget it
Me bold sailor boys.


One and two
Forward guy
Three and four
Forward chocks and gripes
Five and six
After chocks and gripes
Seven and eight
After guy
Nine and ten
In the boat
Nine forward
Ten aft

Remember your station
Whenever you hear lad
Seven short blasts lad
And one mighty roar.

Remember your compass
The boat might be yours lad
To steer like old Bligh did
For three thousand miles.

Remember that pemmican
When chewed to the end lad
With hard tack and weevil
Will keep you alive.

And always remember
To ration the water
Never drink salt lads
It’ll drive you all mad.

Tiller to starboard
Change the sheets over
You’ve now come about lad
On a different tack.



Bread, butter, marmalade
Four condiments
Sugar and milk.

Centres for breakfast
Never forget!
Serve from the left lad
Remove from the right.

Lay up the tables
By thumb and by finger
Knives on the right lad
Forks to the left.

And when she is rolling
Sprinkle the cloth lad
Polish the glasses
Straighten the cups.

Spread the legs wide boy
Or you’ll end on the deck lad
The beauty of strap-ups
Is all in the suds.

Use plenty of soda
To sluice the deck down boy
A cook on his **** lad
Will ruin the broth.

Shake-out at half-five
Scrub-out at six boy
Lay up at half-past
For breakfast at eight.

Sitting by sitting
Attend to your station
A blood never pays lad
For kippers gone cold.

Stateroom or bathroom
Wherever you’re put lad
Remember the cargo
Must never be broached.

The master at arms lad
Will spot you a mile off
On a dark lifeboat deck
With daughter or wife.

Never forget lad
The tropics will get you
So keep yourself buttoned
Approaching the line.

For there in the offing
The sirens will wail lad
But tie your dreams down boys
Stay lashed to the mast.

If the ears are demented
The breasted rope broken
You’ll never get home boys
To wife, dog or son.

So when you get out there
To Dirty Dick’s tavern
You’ll swill the bilge water
Right well off your chest.

Take nothing away lads
No worm in the night boys
The missions are littered
With wrecks from the bar.

So don’t you forget lad
When rum soaks the brain boys
There’s always another
New port in a storm.

So here’s a great health boys
To rum, bum and baccy
May the Red Ensign cover
Your bones on the beach.

The boy with a bristle of whistle and grit
Swung the great kitbag right up to his ear
Swirled in a white of Avonmouth steam
Headed for London, the Thames and the sea.

John C Ryan

[Doc Vernon]

Hi James
Another good one mate,nice and long too makes good reading!
Cheers