Anyone fancy a crane drivers job?

[Des Taff Jenkins]

On a big hospital building site in Sydney; I was taking to two dog-men, I had my feet on the sling and was holding onto the wire rope, I didn't see one of the Maori Dog men pull the signal rope, next thing I was about thirty feet in the air, just as well I had been to sea, no panic just gripped the wire a little tighter, the same as my backside.
Des

[John Pruden]

try a tower crane boys its like driving a big fishing rod watching the dip of the jib go down its a experience you never forget 150ft free standing watching birds flying below you?jp

[Bill Morrison]

In the early days of the North Sea gas & oil exploration very few helicopters. You were transferred from the supply vessel to the installation by basket attached to the crane in good weather and a good operator OK but if the weather was ifffy a nightmare.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOX-0oKndls

[Ivan Cloherty]

12 and 13...…………..Some people have all the luck

[j.sabourn]

#13. As Bill says a good crane driver as against a bad one , one soon learned to recognise in the offshore industry ,when you are snatching Deck cargo at a rig in a force 6 , you soon learn who to keep clear of. I hVe driven ships cranes , also a 25 ton swl one on a DSV whilst recovering a downed navy helicopter , and is not an easy job. You dont just hook on and away you go, when reaching the surface it is an inch by inch job before pulling the wreck clear of the water, as the weight of water before slowly drained would probably b
ring you and the crane down.A good crane driver in any industry is worth his weight in gold . JS

[Doc Vernon]

Well with all the Jobs i have done in life the Crane Driver is one that eluded me, but as i worked as Stevedore in Cape Town Docks saw many Cowboys in action! There was one incident where while i was on duty checking the outwards Cargo , one of my Step Fathers (Mum at that time was going ot with this person Desmond) a very nice Bloke ,was hit with a swinging Hook , (that one idiot Driver who was well known for his Antics ) got killed with the blow to the Head! It was sickening to say the least, with such a gash in his Head that all one saw was Blood spurting like a faucet as he fell sort of slow motion to the bottom of the Hold, most all heard the Thud of both the Hook hitting him,and the Body when it landed at the bottom.
That needless to say was the last time ever that that Driver worked in the Docks!
He was given a 10 Year sentence for Man Slaughter and Negligence, not half enough in my opinion, he was very lucky t get off with that, as the Law in South Africa has always in those Years anyway been very strict .

Cheers

[happy daze john in oz]

Not good to hear that bit Vernon.
But there have over the years been some terrible accidents in many of the ports.
Most were genuine but there were some that occurred for 'other reasons' with no one getting the blame.

There was a story of one guy being dropped into the hold of a grain ship being loaded, he had no chance and would, have died an awful death.
He obviously upset another worker maybe?

[Bill Morrison]

I spent the last twenty years of my working life in a harbour works maintenance department. Cargo cranes were a large part of the job. Most operators were really up to it but a few iffy ones. There were numerous "accidents" so called and some rather silly occurrences. China clay was grabbed into lorries for the paper mills and the mess it made all over the quays a white dusty covering over anything in the area. In those days it was all hosed down into the harbour in the clean up. One docker whose car was covered with it ask the crane man if he would grab water out of the dock and rinse his car, not a good idea with this carne man. He did so but about five tons of water hitting the roof of a car does some damage he never thought to just crack open the grab and let it trickle just opened it all the way. I can't remember the out come but this is a true account, said crane man kept us busy at times.
Bill