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Thread: A taste of honey

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    Default A taste of honey

    Just enjoyed watching an old film on T.V. 'A taste of honey'
    some wonderful scenes of the Manchester ship canal, and an
    Manchester liner underway, seems not too long ago, but it is
    63 years ago,

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    Default Re: A taste of honey

    John,when did the canal close?

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    Default Re: A taste of honey

    It is still open, check the web site.

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    Default Re: A taste of honey

    Quote Originally Posted by dave moore View Post
    John,when did the canal close?
    Dave, Manchester Docks at Salford closed to shipping finally in 1982. The Eastham end is still going with tankers using Stanlow and other shipping using Runcorn. They also run a canal trip up to Manchester from Liverpool on one of the Mersey ferries, a good trip I have heard.

    John, the ship seen in the Taste of Honey was the Manchester Explorer I believe. She was one of the small Lakers built for the old St.Lawrence seaway, 260 feet long so as to fit the old locks. When the new seaway opened in 1959 she was redundant and was sold on.

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    Default Re: A taste of honey

    Anyone who ever sailed up the Manchester Canal lived a great experience it used to amaze me watching people going about there daily lives, As you could many times pass houses with the mothers sweeping the step. Follow the link you can still take the trip up the canal and take it from me its worth every penny right into Salford Quays. Terry

    https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attrac...6-Reviews-Manc
    {terry scouse}

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    Default Re: A taste of honey

    In the 80's my sister lived in frodsham and when visiting her would see ships sailing up the canal passing frodsham marshes and often thought it would be nice to sail up the canal. By the 90's the canal had become almost second home for me with hardly a month passing without a trip there either to discharge or load chemicals at eastham, stanlow, Runcorn, Carrington.
    Always enjoyed those calls despite the long drag from the bar light all the way up to Carrington which could often take up to 14 hours, especially if the jersey pilot insisted on joining you hours before the time needed to arrive at eastham lock at 2 hours +/- h.w. eastham and then have to listen to the mersey pilots boasting how brilliant they were at getting the ACL jobs into Gladstone lock, moaning about how badly paid they were off after peel ports took over the MDHB or how expensive Ryanair was making their regular jaunts down to the south of France. Looking back I'm afraid to say that most our company appointed pilots were terrible moaners and a number of them expected a bottle of a carton. The canal pilots would also ask for and insist on paying for the same.
    Going up then canal and seeing the engineering that involved in its building was always a joy, the hydraulic motors that operated the swing bridges are still the original ones. It did have its dangerous moments though such as yobbos landing lit fireworks on our deck when we were fully laden with highly flammable and toxic chemicals or being stoned by gypsies standing on the abandoned rail bridge that crossed the canal just before you enter partington oil basin.
    Sailed with a number of ex Manchester liner lads in c.p. and often had joint parties with a Manchester liner when in saint Johns Nova Scotia.
    Happy days index.
    Rgds
    J.A.

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    Default Re: A taste of honey

    Welcome to the site John
    Enjoy as we do
    Ron the batcave

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    Default Re: A taste of honey

    Thanks, John:

    A nice insight into sailing up the Ship Canal - I am most amused (still laughing) at your comments on the Mersey Pilots - rings so true!

    I think the MSC Pilots and Tugs earned their corn in dragging those lengthened, loaded, Liberty Ships all the way to Salford in 1950 and 1960s.

    Cheers, Merv Rowlinson

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    Default Re: A taste of honey

    Liberties were no problem, but the other Furness Pacific boats where 500+ feet long, and there were occasions when the prop touched the bank, but not often. Beieve some long twin screw boats had to stop outboard prop on bends.
    Did many trips up and down the ditch and would calculate speed by condoms per minute.
    One early trip in early 50,s when motor tugs had only recently been introduced, saw the skipper of the steam tug aft pick up a shot gun and shoot a rabbit on the bank Tug pulled over to side and deck boy jumped ashore. picked up rabbit, ran to catch up, tug back to bank and deck hand back on board.
    Another time on a Prince boat, we were bunkering on way up, and had just finished when we saw a Pacific boat coming up the canal, so we actually singled up to bunker pipe amidships. If we had got behind her we would have had a night in canal and not in the Clouse or Market tavern.

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    Default Re: A taste of honey

    Remember leaving Salford about 1960 was second mate and was left in the Shipping office to sign on the crew by dribs and drabs . The old man gave me a list of reqiuirements On leaving Salford was 3 men short so phoned up the shipping office and they sent 3 replacements down.going out the locks at the Liverpool end the 3 absentees jumped on board so we had 3 too many. Couldn’tt understand how the skipper was so calm about it , then realised thank God for the pilot cutter at point Lynas. JS

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