Back to the future

[Trevor Bodiam]

When first going to sea i was always reminded about the past with the words " when ships were made of wood and men were made of iron". History is nearly repeating itself, but --------.

Men of iron won't be needed on these wooden ships


https://www.bbc.com/future/article/2...ial.link.email

[cappy]

i was always interested in seeing the arab or indian dhows in the indian ocean ....we wallowing along in a tanker in quite heavy weather and them gracafully cresting then disapearing but still seeming to be scudding along good true sailors......no heavy weather gear on them little vessels cappy

[j.sabourn]

Carrying 6. containers as against 20000 she will not be commercially competitive as it says, but big oaks from little acorns grow and is a show piece for the future . At least she will carry a crew , which others are trying to cut out.
The other saying ... when men were men and women were school marms, don’t think will ever come about now , JS.

[j.sabourn]

#2.. I reckon we sunk one in the early 50s Cappy . Coming up the Red Sea the mate was taking his evening stars ,I was on the wheel , the lookout man on forecastle rang 3 bells , when we looked Astern a few minutes later there was nothing there , didn’t even feel a bump. Tough old ship the Avonmoor before you let her go to wrack and ruin . Cheers JS

[cappy]

well i reckon a really scary moment for me was 12 to 4 on lookout coming up to the straits of gib ....heading on our starboard side a massive green fluorescent shape about mebbe 130 foot long on a direct collision course just aft of the bow .....the brain kept struggling to tell me what it was then as i turned to ring the bell it just broke up ....as only a shoal of fish can do.......submarine had come to mind but happily not..........if JS was at the wheei when the Avonmoor hit the dhow that was why no showers ever worked in the accom down aft ......you pumped the tank to its tiny capacity ....turned on the steam ....tested to see how hot it was then the bloody tank was empty ....happy days.....i think some new tanks had been put in but to small a capacity......ah well she did get me home after a more than big learning curve ......cappy

[j.sabourn]

There was water rationing In Those days you know . Why do you think sailors grew beards and used a lot of cologne. Although some did bring perfume away with them. Which often got taken off them to give the grog a bit more taste than the smell of potato peelings. This was after the alcohol out of the magnetic and standard compasses had been depleted of course. It’s a wonder you ever got home. If Septimus Kincaid was still bosun there he would have kept everyone in line. Cheers JS.

[cappy]

now your talking seppie kincaid would have kept bligh in hand ...and never raised his voice.......he was top man in shields ......also his old oppo on the cragmoor the chippie ...always a smile but never said much .....more chests of tools in carpentry than you wood have needed on nelsons victory ...all gone now ...and we will never see there likes again......proud to have just known them ......proper seamen..we sailed 24th december...bitter cold and raining seppie in shorts and and rolled down seaboots ....just looking... scared the crap out a ist tripper but i never heard him swear or raise his voice...what a learning curve for a young boy...cappy

[j.sabourn]

Axel Lindberg is the chippie think you are talking about . Was in his 70s when I sailed with him. Norwegian by birth , Geordie by nature , all his upper arms the tendons and muscles were distorted, Story was he had held onto a survivor in an open boat for days over the gunnels before being picked up. Never could pronounce his Js , so f he was giving you a. Compliment it was Yust the yob yon. JS.

[cappy]

That was him john i think he lived in the shields mission to seamen ...but dont know if that is correct or not......only went ashore in a 8 month trip in sydney red hot him with his trilby on ...funny how things stay with you ....it was for me a great time ....learned so much ....but old roberts scared me to death ......many off those hands long gone ...freddie my mate from school woke me up he was jos ...cappy cappy come quick we are of kangaroo island them buggers are leaping up and down the beach......me young rushing out on deck him scooting up forrard shouting well i saw them any way....in the dark all i could see was a few lights.....the cook who slung every pan over the wall when pissed ...was toldkeep your nose clean and i wont DR you....gets up to cape town ...does it all again what a carry on no breakfasts...while the chief steward scuttled ashore to get new gear for the galley also gone now but i did have a couple of beers years later in the winter gardens at laygate and we laughed our bloody heads of.......the chief steward who pissed of to the trots in oz adrift about 4 days ,,,the old roberts chucked him out the saloon for about two weeks ......the boat turning over in sydney harbour me swimming holding my nuts positive a shark ws aiming at me out of ten or eleven others ......spending money on other things in the american bar in liverpool on payoff me and freddie ...how far it all seems away now .....what a life for a young man ....cappy

[j.sabourn]

#1.. Going back to Trevor’s original post and as regards shipping , everything since the coracle started small as to prototypes for the future, for example starting with the coracle , the Turbina which I think is still in a Newcastle museum , either the original or a full scale model. The navy’s first commissioned submarine of 1913 HMS Hollande 1, salvaged off the bottom near the Eddystone about 1982 and now in a museum in Gosport near Portsmouth. Shipping has got bigger and bigger , not better in my eyes , but due mainly to the profit margins in commerce .
In othe theatres of commerce things today are not built to last and a lot of our white wear goods among other things comes from China. I recently bought a new fridge and the salesman when it came to the insurance bit said the life of such was about 5 years when it came to insuring above this. The artisans and craftsman of past years does not exist anymore it is all money money money, and keeping people employed, trade wars cause nearly as much disruption as normal wars , and people have lost all perception of supporting themselves and rely on others to do it for them . So from producers we are now rapidly becoming the receivers. That is why some who look to the future want to invest in our youth for the natural tradesmen we used to have, and not a lot of bookworms unemployable in most cases. JS