seafaring stories

[Captain Kong]

Thanks for that Vernon,
We are off tomorrow, Monday, at 12 noon. back in six weeks.
Cheers
Brian

[john sutton]

this is the sixth time i,ve tried to attatch
john suttonCHAPTER SIX
SPECIALIST








The next ship was the Specialist” belonging to Harrisons of Liverpool or as they were known “Hungry Harrisons” (There was a tendency that any shipping line whose name started with H was called “Hungry”. It just scanned well) the funnel was black with two white bands and one red band and named by the wags as “two of fat and one of lean”. We joined her in London as Harrisons preferred Liverpool crews so I was given a travel voucher at the shipping office and told to get to West India Dock.London.Even at sixteen it didn’t seem a big problem travelling to London, getting tube and buses to the East End and then walking through the docks to join the ship. I guess Watts Naval School did a good job, training me to be self sufficient. Specialist wasn´t the most impressive vessel to look at as she was a liberty ship and very different to my previous berths which were both passenger ships. A big come down but I had expressed a desire to work on cargo boats so I guess I got my wish. This crew were a different cup of tea to the crews on my previous ships. Most of them were real “hard cases” or acted as though they were and being a sixteen year old deck boy I was open to abuse and bullying and a general bad time. Their colours came out pretty soon on the trip, when we were battening down the decks, putting the mooring ropes down the hatches and lashing everything down that could work loose, someone discovered that we were carrying shoes in the hold, not just shoes but very nice brogues. The only problem was that they were black and white brogues, the sort that hadn’t been worn in England since probable the early thirties (and then only worn by Bertie Wooster) but were apparently all the rage in the West Indies (where we were heading) Any how a dozen boxes came out and disappeared down into someone’s cabin until we could sort them out. When we did get round to sorting them out we discovered that they were all left feet and the right feet were in another hold. It took about a week to match them up. The problem then was when could we wear them? None of us had the bottle to wear that sort of shoe ashore and we couldn’t wear them for work as it would be obvious where they came from. So we painted them black with some viscous deck paint. The skipper cornered one of the AB,s one day and asked why everybody was wearing black painted shoes. I think that the answer he got back was that it was done for a bet. Whether he believed that or not I don’t know but we never got any flack over it. The other indication that I was sailing with a hard crew was that, in the mess deck we went “on our wack” At sea in the merchant navy we used to have an allocation of sugar, tea and condensed milk each week. Normal procedure was that the Peggy would go to the stewards store and pick up everyone’s supplies and we would all share whatever tea etc was made. “On our wack”meant that we each went to the steward and picked up our own supplies and made our brew ups ourselves. The Specialist was the only ship I ever sailed on that worked that system. They were a tough crew. One of the AB,s took it on himself to make the trip hard for me. At every opportunity he picked on me and at times he would break into my locker and steal my sugar or tea,openly.This guy was about twenty three and I was sixteen so there was a size and experience difference but I was aware that sometime during the trip we would lock horns. The other problem was that he always sailed with his pal who we nicknamed “Garth” which was the name of a comic strip character in one of the national papers. He was huge, probably from time spent in a gym and nobody was prepared to take on Ford (the bully) because they would have take on Garth as well.
The first port we called at was Barbados. In those days it wasn’t known as a tourist resort, it didn’t even have a proper port that we could take the ship into. We lay off the harbour and “lighters” came out and were loaded from the ship and towed into the wharf in Bridgetown. If we wanted to go ashore we caught a launch, the same getting back aboard. Somehow during the first evening ashore I finished up alone and out on the edge of town (such as it was) and called into a bar frequented only by locals. Had I more sense or less alcohol I probably would have been aware that maybe I shouldn’t have been there. When I ordered a drink, the barmaid, who was substantial, told me in quite firm terms that she wasn’t going to serve me and would I vacate the premises, or words to that effect and came round from behind the bar carrying what appeared to be a “rounders” bat(I always thought that Barbados was a cricketing country)
Never having been blessed with an abundance of good sense I happened to mention her age, weight, colour, sex and physical appearance (fat old ugly black bitch) and found myself at the bottom of a flight of stairs as a result of her dexterity with the rounders bat. It was only when I met someone else from the ship later (by about three bars) who advised me that there was considerable blood coming from the back of my head that I realised that I was wounded. I finished up at the local hospital getting two stitches in the back of my head and being cleaned up a little. The shirt never recovered. Throughout my time at sea it was a constant in my adventures that my shirts got damaged. I always thought that had I been a gambling man I would have habitually lost my shirt.
Next port was Port of Spain in Trinidad. This was altogether a more cosmopolitan island than Barbados. There was a great mixture of races including traders from the Indian continent running a wide variety of shops and businesses. Having barely got rid of clothes rationing and also spent years in naval uniform to walk down the main street and look at the fancy shirts available was great. I certainly needed a new shirt to replace my blood soaked one so I fitted myself out. That night we were invited aboard a Canadian ship that was tied up astern of us and we had quite a drinking session. Me being me overdid it (at sixteen I still couldn’t hold my liquor or have the sense to quit before collapsing) I had to be carried back to the ship by my pal Brendan. On the way back we must have encountered Ford and he decided that the time was right to give me a good kicking.
When I awoke the following morning I was in a real state. My ribs were all bruised where I’d obviously been kicked, one eye had a cut over it, the other was black and worst of all, my shirt was ripped and covered in blood. Fortunately it wasn’t my new “go ashore”shirt.The deck boy that I shared a cabin with informed me that it was Ford that had done the deed and that Brendan had just let me drop on the ground as there wasn’t much he could do with Garth watching.
In port, every morning we had a brew up and normally sat on one of the hatches discussing the routine for the day. When I went on deck Ford was there with a smirk on his face and when I asked him if he was responsible he just told me to “sod off.” At that time I decided that I would have to sort the problem out, nobody would help me, that’s the way it was. We took care of our own problems. I told the man that I would get him before the end of the trip, one way or other. He just laughed and told me again to “sod off “(or words to that effect).After all what could a sixteen year old do to a twenty three, or four year old.
That night I went ashore for a drink (one) with two Irish pals. I had in my mind what I intended to do that night to solve the problem that I had and I asked the lads not to interfere. When we got back aboard I went to my cabin and changed into work clothes (I wasn’t going to risk another shirt, then went to the midships
accommodation where Ford lived and banged on his door. At first he told me to go away (those weren’t the exact words but they give the implied meaning) then after a few minutes of insults and the implication that he would only tackle sixteen year old deck boys when they were drunk, as sober they might be too much for him, he jumped out of bed and grabbed me by the throat. At that moment I thought that he was going to
“put the head in” so I beat him to it. The effect was amazing I almost knocked him out, he was definitely stunned and on the deck and his nose was spread across his face and bleeding profusely and there was no fight left in him. In fact he went to hospital where they set the nose, it was broken, and put a dressing on it which stayed on for a few weeks and probably saved me from reprisals.
Next morning at our normal brew up he was there with his nose in a dressing and two of the best black eyes I’d ever seen. There was muttering that he would get me one night before the trip was over and I informed him that for the rest of the trip I’d sleep with my cabin door locked and a “chipping hammer” under my pillow, anyone entering without invitation would get their head stoved in (cocky little bastard).We had a bosun on that ship who I reckon was one of the toughest men that I met while at sea. In his past he’d been a whaler working out of South Georgia and somewhere down the line he had lost a leg. It didn’t seem to handicap him much as he would climb the mast when necessary and he was as mobile as anybody. His name was Tom Pepper but we thought that this was a non de plume, as in history Tom Pepper was a notorious liar who apparently was hanged for lying. Anyhow Tom was not amused by my threats and made noises that I should cool it but did nothing else to sort the situation.
For the rest of the trip I was left alone and treated with a bit more respect.
Not a lot happened during the trip apart from my roommate suspected that he’d caught a dose of “crabs”, mistakenly apparently, and some smart character told him the sure fire way to get rid of them was to shave the area and douse said area with turpentine, which he did and came running into the aft accommodation and sat in a wash basin full of cold water for half an hour and for the rest of the trip he was ragged about it.
I had my seventeenth birthday.
We docked in Liverpool and paid off. I couldn’t wait but I was aware that there could be a good hiding waiting ashore so I lay low, knowing that Ford and Garth had a train to catch and would probably think of getting me at a later date. Fat chance.

[happy daze john in oz]

It was late November 2008 when I first noticed the advert in the paper, catering crew required for cruise line to be stationed in Port Melbourne. I pondered for a while and then thought why not, what have to lose? I dug out my old discharge book and red seaman's card, photocopied the information and sent it with a complete resume to the shipping company. Somehow I did not expect to get a reply and when nothing appeared in the post after two weeks I considered the idea gone. That was until the phone rang rather unexpectedly one Monday afternoon, it was the shipping company who wanted to talk with me. What do they want I pondered after waiting all this time to contact me, only way to find out is to go to their office in the city. Dressed in some clean gear I ventured into their offices to be met by an older gentleman who told me he was very impressed with my sea and catering history and would like to offer me a position as a waiter on a six month contract. The response to the advertisement had not gone well so they were now trying to contact as many ex seamen as possible and as I was one he believed I would fit their requirements.
The ship was to sail the following Monday and I had to report to her on Saturday afternoon.Now I had to go home and tell the wife what I had done, she would not be too pleased I thought.
Maybe she saw this as a distraction from normal life, or maybe she just wanted some time alone, not sure which. But she did say it would be good for me to go back for a while, after all it is only a ten day cruise and at the end you can come ashore again, or take the option of a further six months.
Saturday came and she offered to drive me to the quay to say good bye, such a good woman my wife. We arrived at the quay, said our good byes and I set off to climb the gangway. I Had got about half way up when a voice called out to me,
'You will get sunburned if you sleep out there any longer, do you want a coffee'?
Oh well I guess we all dream at times, reliving the past!

[Graham Payne]

John
you bloody had me going for the minute. . Nice one.

[Michael Lawrence]

For a minute thought you had DONE IT, but then realised 'You were only Dreaming.' Nice one Mate

[Michael Lawrence]

Hey Jim. That brings back memories. I use to have a couple in the Caradoc before moving on to town or sometimes just round the corner into the Royal I think. a posher pub which had bell pushes by your table. First time I ever saw them and found it a novelty as we didn't have the like in Kingston. NZSco had their own riggers in Gladstone to load stores etc., and they started me off in the Caradoc. Had a couple of girlfriends but nothing serious, one of them Margaret was her name lived on a street which ran down to the docks. When that comedy use to be on called Bread it brought back a whole load of memories, I was waiting for her to pop up on the telly. Good times mate but we only remember the good times. Mike

[Roger Dyer]

Can't answer that one for you Tony, but a search on the web advises that his cruise ship 'Rotterdam', at this very moment, is safely in her berth in Honolulu, Hawai (lying starboard side to). The satellite picture shows that the weather there seems to be nice and sunny, a very pleasant 27deg.C. At the present time the wind is from the NE at 12 kts with occasional gentle gusts to18 kts ( Beaufort 3-4) Visibility 10 miles. It is shortly after 5.00pm (local time) and the ship is scheduled to leave at 11.00pm (local time) this date, for Nawiliwili, Hawaii, so I'm assuming it will not be at sea for very long. Knowing Brian as we do, he and his dear wife are having a wonderful time., but it's still nice to know that they are safe........Roger.

[Lou Barron]

no doubt that the good captain will be enjoying his holiday having had couple of weeks in honolulu my eife and i really enjoyed it the captain no doubt will have some tales to tell

[Captain Kong]

Hi Fans, back home again after nearly six weeks on the Rotterdam and on the the old Queen Mary in Long beach.
The ship, Rotterdam was a well appointed ship, but the service does not come upto Cunards standards.
I did enjoy the cruise round the islands of the the South Pacific, I set off to meet up with some of my Polynesian and Cook Islander ex crew men. An amazing chain of events and I missed everyone of them,
We diid four Hawaiian Islands, Hilo, then Lahaina on Maui, The Tsunami came that day. The Long Haired one and I were in the Hard Rock Cafe having a few beers etc, The Police cars came with sirens and loud speakers telling everyone to head for the hills and cruise boat passengers to get back to the ship. We got the tender back and we sailed. The Tsunami arrived around 11 pm, not too big, and swept along the sea front, washing out a few shops and wrecked the marinas and yachts, nothing serious. We sailed to Honolulu on Oahu and the port was closed, all the ships in Honolulu had sailed and the Fleet in Pearl Harbour had put to sea. The US Coastguard kept the port closed until after the Tsunami had been and and gone. So we were around ten hours late getting in. Moored alongside the Aloha Tower. Not much had happened in Honolulu, the Tsunami was around six to eight feet higher than the usual tide, Waikiki Beach had the wave over the sea front and across the road, I went to the beach that afternoon, which is usually very busy and found it empty, not much damage, just a bit of rubbish washed up. Some of the marinas on the Island had been wrecked with the yachts piled up on top of each other costing a few million dollars. If you can afford them then you can afford to lose them.
Nawilliwilli on Kauai was a lovely place, no signs of the the big wave there.
Later in the voyage the only other place to see the resuts of the Tsunami was in Nuka Hiva, there are two fjord type bays on the north coast, We went around them, the Tsunami had doubled the width of the bays and then went up the rivers well inland. The industry there, Copra, was badly hit. All the coconut palms had been ripped out and the Copra factory up the rivers had been destroyed and all the stock and production lost.
Nuka Hiva had been a victim of a Tsunami in 1946, when all the houses had been swept away and many lives lost, So they now had a Tsunami warning siren in town, but two months ago someone in the council said as they hadnt had one for so long they didnt need to replace the batteries in the Siren, so when it came three or four weeks ago, they could not sound the alarm. What a good idea that was.The town had a small wave running through it and hardly anyone knew until it hit. Fortunately only a little damage was done and no one was injured.
After the Hawaiian Islands we sailed down to Fanning Island in the State of Kiribati. Three days at sea across the International Date Line
It was an island like no other I have ever seen. a very low lying atoll with a central lagoon. Those people have NOTHING.
They live on a diet of coconuts and fish with an occaisional pig. They were dressed in rags, they have no water, only a couple of wells but the water plane is at sea level so the water is brackish, they drink coconut milk, they have no sanitation so there is not one toilet on the island, they all go into the lagoon for a crap, we were warned not to go in the lagoon as it is full of it. There is no electricity on the island, no electric lights, no radios, no TV, no computers, there are no shops, no one owns any land, there are no cars, so no streets or roads,
All the children had depending on age, brown teeth, black teeth, no teeth due to a lack of calcium, there is no milk because there are no cows.The `houses` were just a platform with four stanchions of palm trees and a thatched roof, completely wide open, with a mat that rolled down at night for a wall.
There was a small mission school and one Nurse with obviously no facilites for anything serious.
I had a bag of blueberry muffins, I gave one each to three young lads around ten years old, they didnt know what to do with them, they had never seen one before, they didnt know whether to throw them, kick them or anything. I had to show them that they should eat them. They didnt seem to understand what the taste was. They dropped them on the ground in the end.
Her and I had two towels from the ship so I gave them to two other kids, again they didnt seem to know what a towel was and just looked with blank eyes.
Everything we take for granted today does not excist on that island, I felt so sad for them.
The capital of Kiribati is two thousand miles away on Tarawa. Once a year a boat arrives from Tarawa to see what is going on there. Not a lot.
As we left the Island the ship left six plastic barrels for them to collect rain water in and a bag of flip flops and some stores to help out. The Rotterdam is going back there again in September and January and March next year. and said they would take them some gear.
More of the trip next time
Cheers
Brian.

[Doc Vernon]

Welcome back Capt!
Funny i was just yesterday asking in another post about when you will be back!
Sounds like you had a great trip mate,and once again a nice writup about your Trip!
It must be so nice to have the time and of course Cash to do those things,and wish that i too could one day afford that Luxury!
Possibly when the Wife retires,we will then think of doing a little trip somewhere!
Anyway i hope that you will also enjoy your next one coming up i believe quite soon! Aussie here he comes haha!
All the best mate!
Cheers