Women crew members and wives at sea.

[Doc Vernon]

In my time at Sea only passenger Liners, we never had any Females in the Catering Dept. Only ones i saw were the Purserette. And possibly one or two Female Officers but not many at all.
Must have come into force after my time
Cheers

Plenty ashore though LOL

[j.sabourn]

#75 It came about by the law and equal rights for women mainly . A lot of the shipowners jumped on the bandwagon and appeared to be sympathetic to the equal rights movements etc. the one good thing that came out of it from a seaman’s point of view , the accomodation which for years had been in decline and depended on measurements mainly, had to be improved on, plus bathroom facilities etc etc. he paid up for this , which if had been a full male crew would not have done. However female crews in a lot of cases did not work, ask Buries Markes about their pregnancy rates. To me and Is only my opinion , if a working ship. Is no place for a woman attractive or not.
Ocean liners and cruise ships are different they carry the staff including their own police force. In the way of master at arms etc.but there again I don’t class passenger. Liners as working ships apart from those running around after others . JS.

PS Today at sea on again working ships you would be hard to find a catering staff , which may consist only of a Cook in some instances , the only place you will find luxury is if passengers are carried. JS

PS Think I put up a crew list recently of the Nordic Explorer and although a crew of about 50 on board seem to recollect the catering staff consisted of 2 cooks as feeding was 24/7 and one steward. JS

[cappy]

If women on board ( not passenger ships) cause so much problem why was it allowed? Surely there must've been some protocol for this type of thing? I couldn't think of anything worse couped up with a bunch of men in a ship with nowhere to go to get some peace!
Luckily my sailing experience was temporary in that I went from A to B then escaped asap on shore so I could get the freedom to be on the move again. LOL

THE thing that got me with women aboard was ....although it was only captains wives and much older than myself ....the constant thought of ......IF.......we were young sex machines on a desert island ....sometimes many days at sea the need for a woman growing .....i guess the average crew age was about 20 to 27.....i saw some horrendous fighting down in oz and kiwi over shore girls and even threats of acid being chucked on guys in there bunks......better on tramp ships if no women at sea ......just my view R 683532

[j.sabourn]

Hope you were putting the Bromide in your own coffee, and not others to take advantage of the situation Cappy.
JS

[cappy]

Hope you were putting the Bromide in your coffee, Cappy JS.

naw john just taking things in hand ....lol cappy

[Ivan Cloherty]

If women on board ( not passenger ships) cause so much problem why was it allowed? Surely there must've been some protocol for this type of thing? LOL

It was rules made by people who'd never been to sea and didn't realise what they were doing. Possibly made their decision with all good intentions, but the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Also caused malcontent with ratings, if the Captain could have his wife on board, why couldn't the greaser have his wife on board, was the captain's wife more important as a person than the greaser's wife as a person. Yes rank always has its privileges, works ashore on an Army Base, doesn't work on a ship, as those who have been at sea can testify.

Again a lot depends on the attitude of those at the top, a young woman (or older woman) can lounge around in a bikini on the boat deck, but the deckhand is instructed not to work topless whilst on the boatdeck and officers are forbidden to remove their shirts, which is something I've experienced, that attitude is not conducive to a well run ship.

[Ralph Knowles]

#80 Cappy, Glad to hear that you were not a broker of untruths. A true seaman!

[happy daze john in oz]

If women on board ( not passenger ships) cause so much problem why was it allowed? Surely there must've been some protocol for this type of thing? I couldn't think of anything worse couped up with a bunch of men in a ship with nowhere to go to get some peace!
Luckily my sailing experience was temporary in that I went from A to B then escaped asap on shore so I could get the freedom to be on the move again. LOL

Victoria, in our time it was only passenger liners that had them, and not a lot of them a that.
As to protocol, I doubt any of us knew what that was about back then.
Females, booze and a good time was the only protocols we worked on.

[John Arton]

I sailed with a number of female deck cadets and sparkles and can honestly say they were more hard working and concentious than most of their male counterparts. Single berth en suite cabins on all ships so no problems with accommodation but one pervy 2nd mate did burn his bum on the radiator in the drying laundry room, attempting to sniff one of the females underwear.
Regularly had wives and occasionally children on board when deep sea and never had any problems and they were an asset to the social life on board, especially on festive nights.
Rgds
J.A.
Rgds
J.A.

[Ivan Cloherty]

I sailed with a number of female deck cadets and sparkles and can honestly say they were more hard working and concentious than most of their male counterparts. Single berth en suite cabins on all ships so no problems with accommodation but one pervy 2nd mate did burn his bum on the radiator in the drying laundry room, attempting to sniff one of the females underwear.
Regularly had wives and occasionally children on board when deep sea and never had any problems and they were an asset to the social life on board, especially on festive nights.
Rgds
J.A.
Rgds
J.A.

Probably a later period than the 50's and 60's John and having their own facilities would have caused less disruption. Glad someone had a positive experience.