Virtual Ship

[Brian Probetts (Site Admin)]

I was a Second Steward, Chief Steward and Purser, didn't make a lot of dosh then and sure ain't making a lot now - don't believe me? Mention this website to my wife!

Brian (site admin)

[Geoff Anderson]

Hi Terry .
Arrr but the nights are long and dark. haha
Was the a method or costing for crews meals etc? as some ships were good feeders and others were BOT feeders. As ive said in the past a lot depended on the cooks as well, making a good, meal sometimes out of nothing, and other times ive had to eat the officers left overs from the day before, disquised as something else, IE a curry from this morning officers breakfast complete with eggs, bacon, sausages ,kedgeree etc all diced and sliced up.
Taffy 1eye

[happy daze john in oz]

On the Windsor with a second steward from who knows where. He rationed the dry tea for breakfast at one level dessertspoon per pot, and each pot held ten cups. Bloods not impressed with knats pee for brekkie so drank coffee. Then we had Philedelphia steak for lunch, hamburgers in other words, white ones. So much bread and so little meat in them, the fishes had some great meals. Docking day in Cape Town tourist second chef making pasties, used an A 10 tin to cut out the pastry and the fillings were all the left overs frozen up since Southampton. Bit like the food on this ship I think, no wonder the local fish are so fat.

[Michael Lawrence]

I spent a bit of time with N.Z. Shipping Co., and they were good but the best I've eaten was ESSO (eat,sleep.s***, overtime.) On the Stockholm on the Yankee coast we were paid an extra £12 a month. The cook was a Denis Reagan. Can still recall the breakfast on there. The usual cereals plus fruit or fruit juice, curry and rice and smoked fish for those who wanted kippers etc, 2 eggs anyway except omelettes plus bacon sausage (that Yankee bacon and sausage)beans, toms., hot cakes and syrup. I was galley boy on that ship (strange I still have the same rank, like Peter Pan never grew up) Must of put on a stone in weight. Denis was an excellent cook and Mates and Eng., had the same scoff as the crew. Flew home from Jacksonville in a four engine prop job via Washington, New York and Gandar. Took about 30 odd hours travel. Had my leave (6 weeks) and back to ESSO'S had a bollocking coz I never went for my 2nd cook/bakers ticket (big mistake as the galley staff were highly rated by the company) They flew me and a few more blokes out to Gib on an old Dakota from Blackbush airport. I signed on a messman on the Canterbury. Should of sat that 'ticket' instead of chasing birds. Mike

[Terry Wilcox]

Mike, maybe you should have chased the feathered kind of bird, then you might have got your 2nd cooks ticket. I can only praise the Port Boats on the food, when I was Galley Boy I used to stuff myself silly with all the food that the cooks produced for the restaurant, ( Still only 11 stone ), I had never seen that kind of food, only at the Vindi, Ha, Ha. Take care..... Terry

[happy daze john in oz]

Cooper Thorne was the cheif steward and the second steward was his son in law. I also sailed with N.Z.S.C. with a cook from the north. We had to feed the boat boys going through the canal. He made a pot of stew which they all enjoyed, that was until the cheif steward who did not like him put a ham bone in the remains and then showed it to the boys. Poor cook, he was not happy hiding in the chain locker for the rest of the trip along the canal.
The food was certainly better than the food on this ship and Mike said it would not be a B.O.T. feeder. But we now know that B.O.T. according to the galley boy means bottom of trough 'cos that is all we get now. The hofficers and queenie get all the good stuff and us poor workers only get the left overs. All we got for breakfast today was bacon rind and egg shells with the crust off the toast. Where is the coooooooooooooooooooook???????

[Michael Lawrence]

Hey John. You should be so lucky, don't forget as galley boy I get to 'HAVE' to taste it first. All of Den's and Terry's experiments are tested on me. I don't know why we can't try it on the Welsh coven first, or better still Gulliver and his paramour Les B Anne. I'll keep taking the porridge coz surely those two can't muck up burgoo.

In one of my life's I was a 2nd/Stwd with N.Z.Ship., remembermy first time we were in drydock in Cardiff and was issuing stores for a crew of 54, there was only around 20 of us working by. The Chief/Stwd couldn't see the funny side of it, I got moved to another ship. Mike

[happy daze john in oz]

There we were in the Red sea on the Paparoa bound for Oz when we caught a shark, not a big one but a shark none the less. Bestr bloody feed we had that voyage. Now if Vernon could supply us with some line of sorts and maybe some sort of bait, not just stale crusts we might just be able to cartch one on here. Get a good feed, use the skin to sand the hand rails, sell the fin to the local Chinese population, and then we might just start to get fit enough to get going again. Last i heard Les B Ann was ashore talking to the local sharks, something about buying a house?

[Terry Wilcox]

O.K. The Bitch is back.......... But where is everyone else?? I cannot sail this ship on my own, even Den has gone missing. Take care..... Terry

[happy daze john in oz]

DEn had got dessert fever or sand crabs, not sure which. Vernon has run away to the mountains looking for goats, he had a mate used to keep mountin goats but a course of tablets cured him. Alf has lost so much weight he slipped between the cracks, Mike has replaced the falg with the skull and cross bones, and when Gulliver went to weigh the anchor he discovered some one had sold the scales.