If you think a Dry Dock on the Tyne could nearly kill you, try a night out in Tampico

[John Arton]

My first ship as 2nd mate was a brand new product tanker that I joined in the shipyard, battered and bruised after a spectacular crash in a hire car that I was using to go homefor a night from a Newcastle upon Tyne dry dock on my last ship before transferring to the new ship in Rotterdam the next day.
The events of that night plus the fact that as a 2nd mate and a single guy made memake up my mind to have a mega saving voyage in order to buy myself a nice new car when I got home (did save and brought my first ever new car, a beautiful Alfa). I eventually did a 9 month trip on this ship and it went great, we only ever visited one port twice and that was Amsterdam. Went vitually round the world and after 5 months without a run ashore we ended up in Tampico to load. On arrival there I thought, this is my kind of port and decided to have my first run ashore. Not wanting my first run ashore for an age to end in the usual drunken stupor where you forget most of the previous nights happenings (those the strange tattoo's may jog your memory) I looked around for the most sensible guy on board to go ashore with, who turned out to be our very amiable middle aged sparky.
So at 11800 off the two of us set in a taxi that we booked to take us back to the ship at midnight (I was on duty at 0600 and needed my beauty sleep) from a pre-arranged pick up spot in the town centre.
We spent a very enjoyable evening drinking the local ale at around 50 cents a bottle in various bars whilst strolling around seeing the sights of downtown Tampico and the local Mexican beauties (mucho of them).
Towards the end of the evening I suggested we should try the local brew Tequila as a chaser to our beers, which for a number of rounds we did.
As it was getting on towards our taxi home time we started making our way back to the pickup point. Just before we got there we spied a rather flashy looking bar which we decided to have a night cap in. Big mistake, when our two beers and Tequila chasers came the sparky handed over a 20 dollar bill expecting to get a load of change. When no change was forthcoming we complained loudly to the manager and an arguement ensued, him speaking Mexican, us English. Wventually we understood the word Police. Great we said, get them, they will sort out this mess. Next thing three burly Mexican police appeared in the bar and we started to explain to them that we were being ripped off over the price of our drinks. Within seconds I felt something hard and round poking into my back and looking round saw that one policeman had drawn his gun and had it stuck in my back, the same thing happening to the poor sparky.
We were frogmarched out of the bar at gunpoint and straight into a paddy wagon that took us to a police station where we thought that it would all be sorted out with an english speaking policeman. Instead (in Mexican) we were charged and then thrown into a jail cell with about 50 other locals, all of whom were either drunk, high on drugs, vagrants or gays participating in group ex. There was only on guy who seemed happy to be there as he stripped off and dhobied all his clothes under the single tap that was the only source of water in the place. There were two netties but these were clogged up and overflowing into the cell.
The Sparky and me spent a most uncomfortable night with our backs to the bulkheads, one of us dozing whilst the other kept watch. I tried to get us out but I think the guard did not take too kindly when I put my hands through the cells rails, grabbed one end of his rifle and demanded he got the British Consul there immediatle, strangely his reaction was to point the rifle at me with a very threating tone so I gave up on that idea.
The next morning we were taken out of the cell individually and some Mexican in a suit read loads of stuff at us none of which we understood (later found he was reading the charge sheet at us), then we were put back in the cell.
Around 3 in the afternoon we were again called out of or cell and boy was I happy to see our 3rd mate in the courtyard with a Mexican in tow. The ship was worried cos we had not turned up so he had been sent ashore to find us, along the way he had met this Mexican who spoke good English and who turned out to be a lecturer at the local Marine College. They had checked the hospitals and had ended up at the local nick.
The Mexican quickly explained to us that we had been charged with drunkeness and we now had to pay a fine and we could go. We duly paid our fines (which started off low but increased when they saw we still had cash in our wallets).
Once outside the Mexican asked us to explain what had happened and we told him that we were in this bar and was getting ripped off on the price of drinks. He asked where this bar was but we could not tell him so we set off to get a taxi back to the ship, when lo and behold on turning the first corner we were confronted by the same bar. The Mexican marched in and demanded to see the manager, who looked a bit scared when he saw us again. Apparently he did not want us arrested, just removed and the reason for the 20 dollar bill was that was the standard price per round, irrespective of how many drinks there were in the round. We apolgised for our behavoir and had a drink with him, but this was not enough for our Mexican lecturer who was incensed that seafarers (or even tourists)on a quiet night out on the town could end up thrown in the poky at gunpoint. He got on the blower and started berating some guy, next thing we knew was the Chief of Police of Tampico appeared in all his finery and our Lecturer laid into him like a dog with a bone, to such an extent that I thought we were all going to be arrested again.
Things eventually calmed down and we actually ended up getting a written apology from the Chief of Police (but not our money back).
We eventually got back on board sometime in the early evening, scruffy, dirty and hangdog but we were never logged, so some good came of it.
The whole episode put me off going ashore again for at least a month or so until we hit Portland, Maine. but that's another tale.

rgds
Capt. John Arton (ret'd)

[Chris Allman]

Another good one John, thank you, keep going they are great

Chris

[Captain Kong]

Classic story John,
Shore people would never believe these things happen to seafarers.
Many more please.
Cheers
Brian

[Des Taff Jenkins]

Hi John.
I was never in Tampico, but after reading your story I feel as if I have been there.
So many stories to be told and boy do I look forward to reliving the past.
Cheers Des