Seamen

[j.sabourn]

Sounds very similar to my old man Ivan as he put me on a train at Newcastle bound for the Bristol Channel and my first ship. Putting two half crowns in my hand and trying to give me the last of advice I was likely to get from him for some time. “ son he said wherever you may go and whatever you attain never look down on the working man , he is your bread and butter and the world relies on him , then proceeded to try and tell me about the different types of women I was likely to meet and which to keep clear of.” This was all in one of the old railway carriages with one other passenger and two Alsatian dogs , don’t know what he thought , but to crown it all my nose started to bleed a frequent occurrence most likely due to the high blood pressure I still suffer from . These two Alsatian dogs were getting restless so must have got a smell of the blood. Funny how certain memories stay with you all one’s life . Cheers JS..

[Des Taff Jenkins]

Hi John S.
I had a surprise yesterday watching a program from the UK called Tipping point. There were two contestants left, a young woman and a bloke who said he was a retired MN Captain from Yorkshire. The Question , What land lies the other side of Italy in the Messina Straits? He said very confidently Turkey, the girl said Sicily. To me he looked like a retired coasting skipper.
Des

[happy daze john in oz]

We all began life at sea with all manner of ideas of what we would become, where we would go an who we would meet.
Some came to fruition, others withered on the vine, maybe because of the vine.

But we learned how to live, how in some instances to survive and how to become better people.

But we were up against shipping companies, those bean counters in the office who had vey little understanding of real life.

From my perspective going to sea was the best thing I have ever done.
It set me up for life and life variances along the way.
Like many I have met with the good, the bad and certainly the ugly when it came to working.

But I got through it all in one piece, now looking at all those who complain because the bus was late.
Life has far more challenges than that.

[John Arton]

The only superintendents I had a beef with was catering supers.
The first instance was when I was on the Empress of Canada and was on bridge watch whilst alongside on the landing stage. We were taking on galley stores that whent down to the freezers and store rooms via the hatch just in front of the bridge. Regularly the stevedores would land a sling on deck and help themselves to a case or two of frozen beef, steaks etc. The amount they were helping themselves too was far in excess of what could be considered fair. Knowing the catering super was in the captain's cabin just below the bridge I phoned down and told them that the stores were being pilfered, I was told to ignore them and not create a scene. Later learnt that both the super and most likely the captain were getting a back hander to turn a blind eye to the pilfering for fear of the stevedores going on strike and delaying the ships departure.
Later on C.P had a contract with Hardings of Bristol to supply 3 months deck, engine and catering stores and spares to any of our ships in a u.k or continental port so when that happened two big articulated lorries would turn up with all the stores. Talking to the drivers of the truck containing the food stuffs they told us that en route from Bristol to the ship they would stop off at the catering super home and drop off a couple of cases of steaks or other meat. In his garage he had a number of chest freezers that would be filled each time Hardings made a delivery to a ship.
As for deck or engine supers a good friend of mine, a captain who recommended me for promotion, got a shock visit from HMRC whilst on leave, they claimed that he had received a massive back hander from a Singapore dry dock he had been in. They showed him all the delivery notes he had signed but he was able to prove that although he had signed those notes they were not invoices and that payment was made after the ship departed and costings agreed between the yard and the attending super/company representative.
Rgds
J.A

[Ivan Cloherty]

In the three companies, British, Swiss and UAE that I worked as a supt, I was never once offered a bribe or asked to turn a blind eye. With shipyards I worked with, British, Dutch. Norwegian, Indian, Pakastani, Singaporean I had a reputation for forensic scrutiny of their worksheets and invoices, I had seen others who had succumbed and lived on their nerves, I like to be able to tell people to F--k off if accused of anything. The worst supt I worked with was Swiss/Austrian, not sure whether it was corruption or just bloody incompetence or a mixture of both, I suspect the latter, anyway I advised the owner I did not want him near any vessels I was responsible for as I considered him a danger to crews and vessels.

[happy daze john in oz]

There was at one time in the Port of London a cafe with cheap prices, very cheap prices.
Story was this was a union run cafe, the owner an ex wharfie got all his supplies from ships in port.
Steaks and any other thin he needed.
All supplied as requested but the price he sold at set by the union.
He made a good profit and the users of the cafe a very cheap meal.
It was reported that many shipping officials also used the cafe and could not understand the low prices.