Not being deck know little about it, but was the scale JOS, then EDH and for AB you had to do for years and have a life boat ticket?
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Not being deck know little about it, but was the scale JOS, then EDH and for AB you had to do for years and have a life boat ticket?
Hi John.
Not sure if this is what you want. Deck boy Two years, then JOS two years Then SOS two years, then sat for EDH, I did twelve months as EDH then got on as AB.
Cheers Des
I joined in 68 2 trips deck boy (9months) then joined shell 9 months jos then sos on the same trip of 56 weeks . Then went to nzsco a 4 month trip as sos then took my edh then 12 months later got my ab ticket .deck boy duties on the port adelaide were spilt between 2 dbs .crew deck mess peggy and deck crew showers and toilets and alleyways cleaning . 1 week on then swop around po's mess showers toilets alleys ways. Between theses duties clean brass butts on the handrails clean the bell .then assigned to an edh or ab to learn ship maintentance and seamanship and the rest they say is history .
1963 first trip deck boy Reina Del Mar PSNC. A real eye opener and fantastic insight on how to become a man in a short space of time. You went away as just a 15 yr old boy and after just 6 months returned home a man. Thats what my Dad said. Peggy, scrubbing the deck of mess room on hand and knees washing uo serving meals etc seeing to the crews needs such as ironing their shirts and pants cleaning shoes doing what the lads expected of me. In return the lads on there showed me the ropes on deck and ashore hehehhe. The Captain a Frenchman John Jaques a true gentleman who treat me with the greatest of respect, after hands a knees scrubbing deck of bridge and cleaning all the brass including taff rails on the wings Captain Jaques would invite me into the chart room and try to teach me how to read a chart i was never much good at math give me steering practice and then invite me for the noon sightings on the wing of the bridge with the chief mate sec and third and apprentices. What a fantastic introduction to my life at sea.
56 hour working week, 1 shilling and nine pence an hour overtime, no time and a half, no double time, 8 hour day of sailing and 8 hour day of departure, some times we forget or chose not to remember, kit service from the amidship galley, last in went hungry, usually the deck boy.
Dont get me wrong i enjoyed my time at sea, but some of the treatment we got was just wrong.
###why no bonny lad what about an egg every day for breakfast plus two dinners a day ,,,sundays at sea bronzy on tap ....cheap ciggies .......seeing the world before it all looks the same .....the delights of the honkies world wide the excitement of the channels ....and best of all pay off day and the journey home .....and shipmates some never forgotten ....... looking back my cup runneth over .....regards cappy