Hello everyone.

[Bob Hay]

I've been a Member here years ago and just rejoined (I hope).
Bob Hay ex Booth Line, Lamport and Holt etc

[happy daze john in oz]

Welcome back, hope you enjoy all we have to offer now.

[Des Jenkins]

Hi Bob
Welcome back mate, give us some of your adventures as some of us are to old to remember when last you where on the site, and tall tales are always welcome.
Des

[Bob Hay]

Hi Des. thanks for the request. This is not a tall tale. I was 2nd Engineer on the Booth boats 'Valiente' and 'Viajero' in the '60's running up and down between New York and Iquitos in Peru.
We were tied up in Belem one time behind either the Veloz or Venimos and having a drink with their lads they asked us would we take some rifles and ammo up to Manaus for them as their run had been rescheduled down the coast and not up the Amazon. All seemed straight forward as some bloke had been arranged to come down and pick them up there.
Unfortunately , someone around the wharf had seen them being transferred to us and into our dunnage hatch before we went up the road for a good time.
About 7a.m. a squad of Brazilian Marines clambered aboard and made us stand out on the deck while the rifles were brought into daylight. I really thought we were for the high jump, but couldn't believe our luck when they went away with them.
However they had gone aboard our other vessel and some were arrested for 'illegal arm smuggling' and the British Consul had to come up from Rio to get it all sorted out, which it was, as apparently the guy in Manaus was contacted and proved he had ordered them (supposedly for hunting). This was at the height of the Cuban / Russian missile crisis so the Brazilian authorities were a bit on edge.
We only found all this out after we proceeded from Belem up the river and to be honest, myself and the 3rd were seriously considering jumping ship in Iquitos.

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Thanks John. I've been in Oz myself and family since 1972. Seven years for Adsteam tugs in Port Hedland and three years for Lombardo Marine on supply boats out of Darwin and Sedco Drillship off NorthWest Shelf, before coming ashore.

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Thanks John, I thought I'd replied to you. I've been in Oz with my family since 1972. Seven years foron Adsteam tugs in Port Hedland and three years with Lombardo Marine on supply boat and Sedco drillship before coming ashore.

[Bob Hay]

Welcome back, hope you enjoy all we have to offer now.

Thanks John. I've been in Oz myself and family since 1972. Seven years for Adsteam tugs in Port Hedland and three years for Lombardo Marine on supply boats out of Darwin and Sedco Drillship off NorthWest Shelf, before coming ashore.

[j.sabourn]

Hi Bob , I started off much later than you but with Total Marine of Fremantle, sailed with Vince Lombardo think he was the nephew of the older Lombardo who I relieved on the NW shelf think it was the Miclyn Pride . They were securing a pipeline on the bottom. Went from there to Mermaid marine and also worked for Tidewater. Some of Total marine ships belonged to Swires of Hong Kong and they had their own Superintendant but he was
only allowed 12 weeks at a time in country and had to keep going back and forwards, he asked me how I managed to stay in country permanently, I said the usual had the brain removed.!!! Knew someone in UK who put me in touch with the super for Adelaide Steamship Company and he gave me a ref . To emigrate to Oz, said I would have no trouble with employment , the only hard part was getting into the Guild. Cheers JS

[Bob Hay]

Aye JS, I think the Guild was dominated by ex Blue Flu and BI members. The Institute was far more willing to recruit any engineers.
Yeah, met Vince Lombardo in Darwin when I was on the Grizzly Bear a big supply boat servicing a rig in the Coral Sea. He was up there having something to do with some Fremantle prawn trawlers and came on board mooching for 'a few drums of lub oil' (free).
Was quite annoyed that I wouldn't give him any, indignantly informing me that if you work for Lombardo 'we're all family'.��
The rig and supply boats (Grizzly and Polar Bears) were owned by the Hunt Brothers from Texas and what would've been a lucrative contract all operated from Darwin was sunk by the Seamen's Union and their ridiculous demands, to the extent Hunt pulled out of the whole deal.
They weren't going to be dictated to by 'some godamned union'.
That's when I transferred to the Sedco 472 a D.P. Drillship working off the N.W. Shelf.

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I can see I'm having a bit of a problem navigating this website and seem to be repeating myself when looking at my posts from 2012.

[j.sabourn]

I brought the drill ship Mariner down from Singapore to WA in 1994 she had a Dutch master ,very good at his job. I was there for my certificate and the Ocean passage and carried a full Australian crew the mate I had was going to relieve me after cleared inwards in Oz as his cert. Wasn't big enough for deep sea. After I left they got caught with their pants down and nearly lost the ship I heard on the scuttlebut grapevine as left it too late for picking up the 4/point moor , the Dutch skipper used to lay and pick up the moor himself ,no dynamic positioning on that vessel.Rumour hand it she was almost on her beam ends, think it finished the Ozzie master
was a nervous wreck after the experience. Think there were a couple of others as well. Young Vince must have been in his twenties at the time he was with me a true blue Lombardo man and didn’t mix too well with his crew mates . Think it was the Mermaid Raider was on doing a bottom survey between Sydney and Auckland for a cable and that was in 1999. Cheers and welcome back to the Club. It’s gone BYO since you were last here. Cheers JS