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18th May 2020, 06:21 AM
#11
Re: Women crew members and wives at sea.
John, not sure how you would go on the modern ships, particularly the cruise ones.
Skipper with his wife as well as a couple of senior officers.
General crew, very often husband and wife on the same ship but in different departments.
It works though and often is the only way they get to see each other.
Happy daze John in Oz.
Life is too short to blend in.
John Strange R737787
World Traveller
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18th May 2020, 07:26 AM
#12
Re: Women crew members and wives at sea.
A ship was called 'She' was because ships. like women, are unpredictable and you never know what they are going to do next!
However I suspect a more practical reason was because the person who had overall responsibility in ye olden days was called a 'ship's husband'
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19th May 2020, 05:21 AM
#13
Re: Women crew members and wives at sea.
#13... works on some ships I suppose , as it did in Nelson’s time. But the standards of some ships I have been on would not be suitable. Depends what your expectations are. The ships that were being built even in my time , the accomodation was bare BOT. Even to cabin space and length and width of bunk. You won’t get a ship on the Australian Coast today without air conditioning , or you wouldn’t when I left in. 2002 The fore runners on what we called modern was thermotanks and a blower system . Might have been healthier today who knows with these weird viruses. JS
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19th May 2020, 06:16 AM
#14
Re: Women crew members and wives at sea.
John, not sure about containers, though have heard they are very good, but with cruise ships you would not believe it.
The accommodation is almost as good as it was back then for some of the bloods on board, they have a crew bar far beyond the old Pig, meals for each different nationality, a gym and swimming pool, phones enabled to make calls from any where and many other attributes.
The only down side is that some crew cabins are below the water line.
Happy daze John in Oz.
Life is too short to blend in.
John Strange R737787
World Traveller
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19th May 2020, 10:42 AM
#15
Re: Women crew members and wives at sea.
Why is a ship a "she"?
We always call a ship a "she" and not without a reason.
For she displays a well-shaped knee regardless of the season.
She scorns the man whose heart is faint and doesn't show him pity.
And like a girl she needs the paint to keep her looking pretty.
For love she'll brace the ocean vast, be she a gig or cruiser.
But if you fail to tie her fast you're almost sure to lose her.
On ships and dames we pin our hopes, we fondle them and dandle them.
And every man must know his ropes or else he cannot handle them.
Be firm with her and she'll behave when skies are dark above you.
And let her take a water wave - praise her, and she'll love you.
That's why a ship must have a mate; she needs a good provider.
A good strong arm to keep her straight, to comfort her and guide her.
For such she'll brace the roughest gales and angry seas that crowd her.
And in a brand new suit of sails no dame looks any prouder.
The ship is like a dame in that she's feminine and swanky;
You'll find the one that's broad and fat is never mean and cranky.
Yes ships are ladylike indeed, for take them altogether
the ones that show a lot of speed can't stand the roughest weather.
(Author unknown)
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19th May 2020, 08:00 PM
#16
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20th May 2020, 01:20 AM
#17
Re: Women crew members and wives at sea.
Hi Victoria, they already had a name Trans Pacific, Trans Atlantic!!!!
As for wives at sea, on my first ship the Skipper had his wife aboard, very nice motherly type, everyone liked her and was on their best behavior when she was around.
Not so on the British Builder where the skipper brought his new bride, an ex school teacher both in their fifties, she interfered in everything on deck, even complaining to the Mate about the fact that we hadn't done the painting properly. We held the ship up in Durban for four days, until they sent her home, got hammered by the South African police , put two blokes in hospital one with ruptured kidney, that was after about four months we were eventually out for twelve. One thing it made my mind up to emigrate to NZ.
Des
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20th May 2020, 04:21 AM
#18
Re: Women crew members and wives at sea.
Most wives who travelled with their husbands used to sign on as supernumerary , they also in most cases had to sign a, waiver for insurance purposes , however don’t know how such would stand up in a court of law. One can’t really villify or otherwise the carriage of wives. . The same as the seamen themselves who all had different temperaments and habits. If they started interfering in the routine of the ship they should have been shot down in flames at the start. This Mrs, Captain business should have been a non starter. One ship I was on had 7 wife’s on board and they all had different ideas which they kept to themselves as were told to. The only restrictions on carrying supernumerarys was lifeboat capacity, and.was the one used mostly not to carry them. I often wonder what they use for an excuse these days with the much smaller crews , maybe they have cut back also on the lifeboat size to give a handy excuse. JS
Last edited by j.sabourn; 20th May 2020 at 04:29 AM.
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20th May 2020, 07:30 AM
#19
Re: Women crew members and wives at sea.
I had a female for a second cook on one ship I was on and what a PITA she was. Every time we stored she would say that things were too heavy for her and that was the last you'd see of her until storing was over. She also seemed to be one of those unlucky females who had 3 or 4 periods a month, which involved her staying in bed all day until I explained to her that I was an equal opportunity bully and she was next on my list.
Then on another ship we had a female I.R. who took great delight in barrelling blokes because they were all brought up not to hit women. She swung on me once. After that, there were two hit. One as I hit her back and the other as she hit the deck. I told her that if she's going to act like a man, she has to expect to be treated like a man. She never c=came near me again.
So my experience with working with women on ships ? No thank you and as for wives as passengers ? More trouble than their worth and yes, I speak from experience on that too.
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20th May 2020, 08:00 AM
#20
Re: Women crew members and wives at sea.
See your point Rob, but by the same token I worked off shore here and you probably know better than me the system . Had a seaman sent up to Dampier from Melbourne he was off the Tasmanian ferries and so was his girlfriend so had a nice setup going. He joined us in Dampier and lasted a week. I think a ferry was his only link he had with the sea .went around like a moon struck cow , no life in him at all. Usd to keep coming to me and saying he shouldn’t be here. So put him on a plane back to Melbourne and then told the company and union what had done. You get all types on ships . Cheers JS.
PS If there had been any come back from the union or the managers I would have said it was a Safety Issue as thought he may of been suicidal . Hope he got his job back on the ferries. May have worked out better if they had sent his girlfriend instead of him. . JS
Last edited by j.sabourn; 20th May 2020 at 08:25 AM.
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