ship rumours

[j.sabourn]

#19.... Maybe Jacqueline proved a bit too much for Aristotle and he had a bad turn and couldnt make the party. They should of least had the decency to let you know though Louis, after going to all that trouble. Cheers JS

---------- Post added at 10:21 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:09 AM ----------

# 17.. Keith surprised you were erecting shifting boards for sugar, there are to my knowledge no requirements for such, in anycase have never loaded bulk sugar in Cuba has always been bagged. Dont know of any bulk loader they had in my time, but there again the only ports alongside I was at were Cienfeugos,Santiago de Cuba, Boqueron or something like that just outside the wire of the US base there. Used to load Bulk in Caiirns Queensland before they had the bulk loader, the dockers bleeding the bags down the hold could take about 3 weeks loading due to stoppages for rain etc. No shifting Boards though. Cheers John S.

[Ivan Cloherty]

Have also loaded bulk sugar in Cuba with the split bag method, the brown demerara sugar is the bulk cargo least likely to shift, as it has no or little fluidity and has to be trimmed, being one of the few cargoes which becomes more solid the damper it gets. Took us five days to discharge one hold #5, in Rotterdam which had solidified because of leaking rivets (hurricane damage), small explosive charges and powerful bulldozers were used to break it up. We were advised that the explosive charges would not ignite the sugar, luckily they were correct

[Keith Tindell]

John S, The ship was the Durham Trader, and this was 1962, i was never on a ship which loaded sugar, so would not know, as said the trip to Cuba was aborted, however i joined the ship at the Tate and Lyle berth on the Thames, and she was discharging sugar from the previous trip to Cuba, and it was definitely bulk, and strangely, some was discharged into barges. The reason i can remember this so vividly was that the ships heads were not in use, or not supposed to be used, and someone had returned from a night ashore, had an huge dump, and discharged into the bulk sugar barge. There was a big hoo-har next morning , and we were told the barge load was condemmed. Interesting, wonder if anyone else loaded sugar from that era, KT

[John Arton]

We loaded soya bean meal and one other grain (cannot remember which one) on the Beaverpine in Baltimore for discharge in Sharpness and Londonderry some time around 72 and cannot remember any shifting boards being built but tween decks were saucered and bagged.
rgds
JA

[j.sabourn]

Rumours... Did very very occasionally sail with a Master who many thought was in his second childhood. Wanting to keep everything secret to himself. Have seen where the orders have come in and the master hasnt passed on and is waiting for the sparks to tell people, sparky not being able to do so as the master was trying to catch him out with the secrets act. Like a game of cat and mouse, obviously too long at sea and sitting in cabin brooding. The sea brought out a lot of quirks in people. I know John in Oz is going to say it brought them out of the closet on the Castle boats. John S

---------- Post added at 10:50 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:44 AM ----------

#24... You were able to bag off ( not that kind Cappy) on top of a grain cargo but had to be about 6 high or something and the costs were exorbidant. Would have to look at the grain regulations no doubt they have been changed. Even coming out of the lakes on a bulker with slack holds had to put bags on top but think at the time got away with 2 high. Cheers JS

[vic mcclymont]

Could be both

[John Albert Evans]

John S, The ship was the Durham Trader, and this was 1962, i was never on a ship which loaded sugar, so would not know, as said the trip to Cuba was aborted, however i joined the ship at the Tate and Lyle berth on the Thames, and she was discharging sugar from the previous trip to Cuba, and it was definitely bulk, and strangely, some was discharged into barges. The reason i can remember this so vividly was that the ships heads were not in use, or not supposed to be used, and someone had returned from a night ashore, had an huge dump, and discharged into the bulk sugar barge. There was a big hoo-har next morning , and we were told the barge load was condemmed. Interesting, wonder if anyone else loaded sugar from that era, KT

Keith, It has always amused me that the advert for, i think it was Tate and Lyle sugar, was Untouched by human hand. I was on the Crystal Bell in 1963and we loaded raw sugar at Haiti ,it came out in open barges, was lifted on board by derricks, dropped into a hold that had previously carried coke. The type that burned in furnaces not the type that you burn your brains with. Once in the hold it was shoveled by locals who were not wearing shoes and leveled out by little bulldozers spouting out heaven knows what fumes. Untouched by human hand indeed.
John Albert Evans

[Captain Kong]

One of Hainses, Tresylion, carrying grain capsised in heavy seas in St Geiorges Channel, It was a terrible storm then, a few ships broke in half including a World Tanker or Olympic Tanker in the Irish Sea, November 1954. We ran aground in the severe gale off Moelfre, Anglesey on an Shell Tanker.
I think all hands were lost on the Haines boat or just a few survived
.
.
, On Tankers the favourite port was LEFO.
Lands End For Orders. round the Cape and the cargo would be for sale on the NY Stock Exchange, Then orders for Texas, 2 days later, go to Mississipi, then 2 days later go to Slagen in Norway, then Rotterdam , Fawley, Augusta. and so on. We would stop engines and drift north on the Benguela Current while waiting for a definate port.
The cargo was being bought and sold, if the price of oil went up by just one Dollar that is another Two and a half million dollars profit for someone..
.
, Regarding wives ashore and at sea. mine ran off with a shore fella, I came home, opened the door and all my furniture had gone. empty house. Just my two lads sat on the floor watching a rented TV. They told me a man came in with her and they loaded all the furniture onto a van and left. He used to be a friend of mine from teen years.
I slept on the floor that night and had to buy new furniture.
.
I saw many a marriage break up at sea, many wives were like harlots, jumping in bed with guys who were on watch and so on. So either way you can lose out.
Cheers
Brian.

[j.sabourn]

Keith understand, it was just that your post 17 seemed to be worded that you had shifting boards fitted for cuban sugar. Cheers JS

---------- Post added at 12:13 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:08 PM ----------

Very sad Brian especially when there are youngsters involved. Nowadays marriages dont seem to last very long in any case, it always reminds me of that film the 7 year itch. Anyhow you seem to have a very satisfactory life now with Ann. All the best John S.

[robpage]

When I was with Gulf they kept you well away from the British Coast , despite L.E.f.O , just in case all the crew jumped , normally we got turned into Bantry