My starting to be a sailor

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Lakercapt
Posts: 554
Joined: July 19, 2010, 4:51 pm

Re: My starting to be a sailor

Unread post by Lakercapt »

After my vacation I was offered a position on a new building that was near completion and the mate that was supposed to go got sick (a sign that all was not well(sic).

I joined just before sailing from Norway at the end of February and it was bitter cold but we were bound for Tampa to load for Fremantle and then load in Port Pire and Walvis Bay for Avonmouth. A short trip to work out any problems.

The trip across the Atlantic was miserable and it was pleasant to get down south and into the “Gulf.” Loading was efficient and I was very surprised that the captain decided to sail, not via the Panama Canal but down the Atlantic and round the Cape of Good Hope. It was a bigger surprise when we were going to do the great circle route from there to Fremantle. This area of the world is known for its bad weather and I asked the captain to reconsider as I would not be able to get any deck work done. He of the old school would not hear of anything that was contrary to his views. (Now I knew why the other mate go sick!!)

It was a terrible trip going so far south I thought we would see penguins! With one gale after another and the daily run much reduced. So any advantage of it being a shorter distance was nullified. When we got there at a place outside Fremantle called Kwinna? which was miles from nowhere it was a disappointment but when I went on the dock the sight that greeted me was one I never expected. As the final coat of paint had been applied in freezing conditions in Norway and the buffeting we had received with the bad weather there was hardly any paint on the hull and the ships name was no longer recognizable.

We had no chance to do anything here and when we got to Port Pirie I gave the crew a job and finish to repaint he hull. They did it in three days thanks to the Canadian who invented the paint roller. They then went on a big party as that port was renowned for its accommodating ways. Little had changed since I first was there in 1955 and they still used the ships cranes and grabs to load in spite of a brand new unused loader system that the WWF had refused to allow.

From there it was on to Walvis Bay and there is no greater fool than an old one as again the captain insisted on the GC routé. We had a brief stop at Capetown for bunkers. It was when we were securing that the master called me a fool in front of crew members. I completely lost my cool and old him that this fool was no longer going to load the cargo or run the crew but only do my watch. It was a very relaxing time for me on the way home to Avonmouth and any decision I referred them to the master.

On arrival the shore captain was here to meet us and I told him my version of the voyage. He asked me to do another voyage but I declined as I had been away for over four months and had honestly had enough of this obsolete way of conducting business. No sad fare thee well and I was looking for another job. I found one that turned out to be a great learning experience and I will relate this in the next episode
Lakercapt
Posts: 554
Joined: July 19, 2010, 4:51 pm

Re: My starting to be a sailor

Unread post by Lakercapt »

When we transited the Panama Canal ,surprise, surprise. There were two bags of mail. One was the long missing one and a new batch. In the first one was mail from my wife confirming that she was pregnant the other telling me about the birth of my daughter.
Our trip to Liverpool was uneventful and most of the crew had that nautical euphoria called “The Channels” when the end of the voyage is near. I was inflicted too as I was anxious to see my wife and daughter. A funny incident about when my wife went for the post natal check up the young intern said in a sort of confidential voice that it would be OK to have sex again. He was rather taken aback when my wife said I don’t think my husband will like that. Not the normal response. It was only when she explained that he was a sailor in the middle of the ocean at that time!!.
Payoff and the captain hardly spoke to me which suited me just fine and off I went to a well earned vacation . A few days later I received a letter from the company offering a two year contract with better salary and leave but I had no intention of signing. Two weeks later they called me to see if I would fly out to Panama to bring a ship home and again I declined. What would have happened had I been on contract I asked. We would have insisted that you go was their response. Nuff said
Pete in Holland MI

Re: My starting to be a sailor

Unread post by Pete in Holland MI »

Kinda cool to hear of bottles washing up. Have heard that a few times in my life time.
Lakercapt
Posts: 554
Joined: July 19, 2010, 4:51 pm

Re: My starting to be a sailor

Unread post by Lakercapt »

The trip through the Panama Canal is always an interesting experience and the engineering in the new part I have only seen on news clips and they certainly have made improvements. Here is a bit of trivia. What direction would you be heading when you go from the Pacific to the Atlantic?
North West

The port of St. John in NB Canada is one of the most depressing places I have been though there are natural wonders like the reversing fall and the extremely high tides. A surprise visitor was the deck superintendent (shore captain) to do a surprise inspection. I was standing on deck when he said when you have time I would like to see the port lifeboat swung out. No time like the present I said and with my two trusty apprentice’s, headed up there. . Removed the securing pins and lifted the lever and as sweetly as you like the boat swung out and stopped at the embarkation deck. Bet that was a surprise I said to him as you could not do that when you allowed the ship to sail from Liverpool. Did he look a bit crestfallen and I did not earn any brownie points.

I was allowed a couple of days leave and went up to Toronto to visit my brother and family and was more than ever convinced that I wanted to live in Canada but it was not going to be easy to get the approval. Then back to the ship and once more Tampa to load for N.Z.

The crew were their usual misbehaved louts and the long trip to NZ we managed to get some work done. It was a place called Wangara with another port to finish. A party mood for our merry men and again the pilot and tugs were standing by. With the help of the Bosun, Chippy, two mates and both apprentices we secured the derricks using the preventers and the runners. Then I rounded up the non crew party goers including from the captain’s cabin and pt them ashore. The captain I would not allow on the bridge and once we cleared had the steward clean up all the empty bottles and mess.

I had by this time had had enough of this carrying on and told the captain in no uncertain terms that I would not let this performance happen again or I would call the office and tie the ship up. That went down like a lead balloon and he hardly spoke to me for the rest of the voyage.

Back to Mourilyn to load sugar for Liverpool and I was getting anxious as the birth of our child was imminent. I plagued the Sparks and he never missed a traffic list from Portishead Radio where all messages were sent to ships by Morse code. On 12th August the news finally arrived that I was the proud father of a daughter. I had hidden away four cases of beer and four bottles of rum plus two bottles of champagne to wet the baby's head.

What surprised me was we were in the middle of the Pacific and two hours after the birth and I received a message. My wife had alerted the nursing staff and a telegram form was ready for her to send to me. As a side note I put a message into one of the champagne bottles and next day threw it over the side with a message inside. Six years later his bottle washed ashore in the Philippines Islands and was picked up by a group having a picnic on the beach. That was the only one I have ever been picked up of the dozen I have thrown over board. My daughter has it in her scrap book now.
Lakercapt
Posts: 554
Joined: July 19, 2010, 4:51 pm

Re: My starting to be a sailor

Unread post by Lakercapt »

The good news for me that my confirmed that she was with child and baby was due in the latter part of April. Gone are the day when it took ages to confirm a pregnancy as now all that is required is to plddle on a stick and instant results!!.
The trip to Mourilyan was a work up getting the holds cleaned for sugar but a case of beer at the end of each day was incentive enough.
If our merry men were expecting bright lights and wild times they were in for a big shock as the only thing there was a wharf to load the sugar. It was quick load and again a long slow trip across the Pacific. It is a lonely place as we never saw another ship until nearing Panama. At night it’s a magnificent sight to see all the stars without the lights caused light pollution caused by cities. The soaring albatross as it wings nearly without movement for hours on End. In the morning just as it was getting light one of the 4/8 watch would walk the deck and collect the flying fish that had landed on board during the hours of darkness. I used to like standing at the bow watching the porpoise swimming in the bow wave. Another thing that was obvious was the man made garbage floating by. Mainly plastic but an amazing assortment of other man made junk.
Lakercapt
Posts: 554
Joined: July 19, 2010, 4:51 pm

Re: My starting to be a sailor

Unread post by Lakercapt »

It was all surprises these first few weeks. The first time we held “Board of Trade Sports” (boat drill and firefighting exercises) it was a joke. The fire hoses had holes and fittings were not there. As for the lifeboats we could not even get them out of the chocks let alone lower them to the embarkation deck. How the ship was allowed to sail from Liverpool in that condition was a mystery to me. So with the aid of the two apprentices we set to getting things up to standard. We discovered two new sets of falls for each boat so someone must have had an inclination that all was not well. We secured the boats and started working on them stripping all the blocks and tackle and replacing the falls which is a very difficult job getting them to the correct length. It was with a great deal of satisfaction the three of us managed to lower them without a problem. The third mate in between watches sorted out the stores and their other equipment and refreshed the water tanks. A combined effort got the fire pump to work and the other hoses and extinguishers up to standard. It was just as well we had done so as when we arrived in Tampa to load the US Coast Guard boarded and inspected all the safety and navigational equipment.

The loading of phosphate went well as well as the crew loading up for the voyage and it was more or less a repeat of leaving Liverpool. Our orders had changed too so instead of Australia were now going to a place called Bluff at the south end of the south Island in N.Zealand. It was a long haul and again it was water rationing when the rain maker broke down. We passed through the Panama Canal and to our disgust there was no mail for the ship. My wife still wrote each day so I knew something was wrong and when I wanted to send a cable to the office in Glasgow the captain would not allow the Sparks to send it. His endeared me to him further as you can imagine. He had served his time with the company and had never been anywhere else so the old habits were ingrained. We arrived in Bluff and the agent was met with a great deal of hostility as again there was no mail. He got on to the postmaster (it was a Sunday) and they discovered three bags so a mutiny was avoided.

The crew true to form thought that that we were a cruise ship, and enjoyed all the pleasures of shore leave (unofficial) leaving a couple and the poor apprentices to shoulder the load. The worst was still to come as our orders were changed and we were to go to the Queensland port of Marillion to load sugar, not for the UK but St. John in New Brunswick Canada. So much for the short trip I was promised.

To be continued
Lakercapt
Posts: 554
Joined: July 19, 2010, 4:51 pm

Re: My starting to be a sailor

Unread post by Lakercapt »

My wife and I were now in a bit of a conundrum. We had decided to buy a home and this particular builder as well as requiring a deposit required that any additions or alterations we wished had to be paid for in cash so the bank balance that we had acquired by being true to our heritage, frugal , was nearly gone. Another major decision we made was it was about time to start a family and had stopped taking all the contraceptive measures. Another very serious one was we wanted to immigrate to Canada. The latter was a real tough one and as it turned out the toughest to achieve but we were not disappointed at this first pro forma response.

I needed to get our finances in order and requested a ship with not too long voyages. Got just the thing I was informed a ship going to the States to load phosphate at Tampa for Australia and then sugar back to Liverpool where I was to Join it. The company was a well known “tramper” and that should have been my first warning. When I saw it should have done a round turn and headed home but money is not the root of all evil, its the love of money that is .So I boarded this rusty wreck. It reminded me of my first ship as the lay out was very familiar with two hold for’d of the bridge one hold between the bridge and the engine room and two before the poop housing where he rest of the crew were accommodated. The only main difference was here we had a three cylinder Doxford diesel instead of a steam plant.The accommodation was laid out exactly the same.

Come time to sail and a crowd of drunks piled out of taxis and continued to party in spite of us having pilot on board and tugs standing by. The captain, who under current rules would not have been allowed to command a vessel he being well on the road to happiness, said we would sail so of we sailed with the help of the two mates, Sparky and the willing apprentices. Heaven knows how we managed as I had the steward assist the captain and put him to bed. We never saw anyone to work until to booze ran out and I told the captain to ration it to two cans of beer a day and a packet of cigarettes if they worked. It was a very reluctant crew that set to and got the sugary mess of the holds cleaned up. I invited the toughest sailor to my cabin and told him to close the cabin door as I wished to have a little chat. I pulled back my pillow and showed him what I kept there and should anyone get any ideas of causing problems he would be the first. We had an understanding after that!!
Paul A
Posts: 428
Joined: June 28, 2010, 12:30 pm

Re: My starting to be a sailor

Unread post by Paul A »

Lakercapt, it's really interesting to hear stories of ocean trades of a British shipping co. BTW, my family immigrated to Canada from Fife, specifically Cupar in the 1820's.
garbear

Re: My starting to be a sailor

Unread post by garbear »

garbear wrote:
Jerry at Duluth wrote:Captain, I really enjoy your stories and hope that you keep them coming. When you wrote about the alfalfa pellets cargo, I recalled many of them that we loaded at Duluth. Most of them were in Brovig tankers and the trimmers were in the tanks. the tank would be loaded until the cargo filled up to the small hatch and then the men would have to trim the cargo by hand in order to dig their way out of the tank. The cargo was referred to and I believe the ILA contract referred to the cargo as GREEN DEATH. The longshoremen would cough up this green stuff for days after the ship left. The contract called for a premium wage for this cargo but it never seemed worth it to me. I look forward to your lakes career and wonder if we met. When I was a vessel agent at Duluth, our company represented most of the Canadian fleets.
Jerry
Think years ago when I listened to the scanner, I heard you talking to the vessel officers or your boss. By chance was the first name of your company's owner Mark? My son went to grade school with one of his sons and my daughter went to school with his daughter.
Post was meant for Jerry at Duluth.
Lakercapt
Posts: 554
Joined: July 19, 2010, 4:51 pm

Re: My starting to be a sailor

Unread post by Lakercapt »

That will give the game away now wouldn't it.
But the owners first name was not that but Similar to my nationality and I don't mean Brtish!!
garbear

Re: My starting to be a sailor

Unread post by garbear »

Jerry at Duluth wrote:Captain, I really enjoy your stories and hope that you keep them coming. When you wrote about the alfalfa pellets cargo, I recalled many of them that we loaded at Duluth. Most of them were in Brovig tankers and the trimmers were in the tanks. the tank would be loaded until the cargo filled up to the small hatch and then the men would have to trim the cargo by hand in order to dig their way out of the tank. The cargo was referred to and I believe the ILA contract referred to the cargo as GREEN DEATH. The longshoremen would cough up this green stuff for days after the ship left. The contract called for a premium wage for this cargo but it never seemed worth it to me. I look forward to your lakes career and wonder if we met. When I was a vessel agent at Duluth, our company represented most of the Canadian fleets.
Jerry
Think years ago when I listened to the scanner, I heard you talking to the vessel officers or your boss. By chance was the first name of your company's owner Mark? My son went to grade school with one of his sons and my daughter went to school with his daughter.
Lakercapt
Posts: 554
Joined: July 19, 2010, 4:51 pm

Re: My starting to be a sailor

Unread post by Lakercapt »

Yes Jerry I think that we did met as we had a agent when we loaded foreign (overseas) cargo.
But the laker stories are a little while yet as I had a tough time immigrating to Canada
Jerry at Duluth

Re: My starting to be a sailor

Unread post by Jerry at Duluth »

Captain, I really enjoy your stories and hope that you keep them coming. When you wrote about the alfalfa pellets cargo, I recalled many of them that we loaded at Duluth. Most of them were in Brovig tankers and the trimmers were in the tanks. the tank would be loaded until the cargo filled up to the small hatch and then the men would have to trim the cargo by hand in order to dig their way out of the tank. The cargo was referred to and I believe the ILA contract referred to the cargo as GREEN DEATH. The longshoremen would cough up this green stuff for days after the ship left. The contract called for a premium wage for this cargo but it never seemed worth it to me. I look forward to your lakes career and wonder if we met. When I was a vessel agent at Duluth, our company represented most of the Canadian fleets.
Jerry
Lakercapt
Posts: 554
Joined: July 19, 2010, 4:51 pm

Re: My starting to be a sailor

Unread post by Lakercapt »

From Calumet and the hazard of the bridges we went to Detroit to load KD cars. These were slim plywood boxes that had complete that parts packed in these boxes fillng every cubic inch. All parts including ,nuts and bolts and washers etc. The panels, engines, gearboxes, windshields and glass door and any other part required to assemble a car. These crates were all of a different sizes and were to be stowed on the tween deck. To get them into position the forklifts would push then using the prongs. To secure the second layer star like steel pieces of steel were placed on top. The damage caused by the forklifts was not obvious as they sprang out and no visible mark showed. When these boxes were opened by the receiver all the damage was easily seen. Course the ship we to blame as clean B/Ls were signed by me. It was only when I had seen a crate opened and witnessed the crushed panels, broken and other parts that had been rendered useless all caused by the forklift tow motors pushing them into position. That is why I understood other companies refused to carry this cargo.
Next port we Toledo to load a cargo hold of Alalfa grass pellets. What a mess they turned out to be with green dust everywhere. I pitied the guy that controlled high speed belts directing the cargo that was shooting out the trimming belts as it was near zero visibility. This stuff we highly imflamable as one fellow on deck stubbed his cigarette on deck and next to no time a fire was shooting along the deck. I belief it was also explosive.
The final port of loading was Montreal and a good passage to Europe and the several ports of discharge.
A new set of ships agreement was to be signed on the final discharge port but I had been many months without a proper vacation and declined to re-sign. This was to be a two year agreement and not choice when to get off for vacation. When I got home I called the company and asked t go back on the Norway runs hips but was told they had no vacancies so once again I was looking for employment.
Guest

Re: My starting to be a sailor

Unread post by Guest »

Love stories from people on the inside great
Rob W

Re: My starting to be a sailor

Unread post by Rob W »

Lakercapt,

I was just looking at the numbers and was like "wow looks like some extra number there"...... 10,000 is proof we will still be interested!!

Rob W
A J

Re: My starting to be a sailor

Unread post by A J »

Capt., thank you for sharing all that you have and are willing to write. It's great to see that many views to your posts! You will find the boatwatching community is respectful of everyone's privacy and it is left to each individual of what all they want to divulge. Please keep posting at your discretion!


Alex
Lakercapt
Posts: 554
Joined: July 19, 2010, 4:51 pm

Re: My starting to be a sailor

Unread post by Lakercapt »

My oh my am I impressed that over 10,000 members have viewed my stories so far
I have still a few about my time before I immigrated to Canada so I hope that I can maintain your interest. Some are, I consider amusing.
I have remained anonymous but if anyone does recognise me please refrain from divulging as I will revel who I am laterr.
Lakercapt
Posts: 554
Joined: July 19, 2010, 4:51 pm

Re: My starting to be a sailor

Unread post by Lakercapt »

As a little addendum to this last post something that just came to mid. We had been up to Calumet to discharge (why anyone in their right mind would build a terminal there for importing foreign cargo is beyond my understanding as a more unsuitable place I have yet to berth). On completion we were to go back to Rail to Water Transfer and load a couple of hold with soya bean meal. As this ship had a wooden sheathed wood tank top ceiling we had covered it with a plastic to avoid any contamination. As we who have been to this place know the main shipments from there are coal, coke and such types of cargos. We were all ready to load this experimental cargo and a crowd of people watched in horror as when the belts started a pile of petroleum coke shot out from the loader and covered our pristine clean cargo hold. The words I uttered are not suitable for print so I will leave that to your imagination.!!
Lakercapt
Posts: 554
Joined: July 19, 2010, 4:51 pm

Re: My starting to be a sailor

Unread post by Lakercapt »

The trip across the Atlantic was uneventful and the ports were Hamburg, Bremen ,Rotterdam, Antwerp and final load port of Le Havre. We discharged and loaded at the same time and I was pleased there was a super-cargo to assist as the range of goods was multitude. I was pleased to see the last of the straw and hay as that was a pain since we loaded it. Another ship took a prize bull to Montreal and I was thrilled it was not us. We loaded cases of wines which had to be watched like a hawk but the stevedores were past masters at getting into them
Final items loaded were two locomotives for CN railroad and they were well secured on deck as if they ha d got loose it would have been chaos. The gods were kind to us and a good passage across was comfortable. Discharge in Montreal was no problem and then it was up the “Seaway” with the long hours doing that and the Welland Canal. It was daylight when we went through the American locks with the sightseers on the special viewing platform. When we were doing the “Canal” and the “Seaway” we were paid a special bonus as we were not paid overtime for all he extra hours. It was a big deal as when British ship owners paid you a bonus - you certainly earned it!
As on the previous trip the welcome we received from locals was outstanding consisting of being taken out for meals, movie tickets, local sights etc and if you had a special request they would try to accommodate you. Evan one knowledgeable kind person took me back to see the Indians and explain the rules of baseball. It was years later when I supported Toronto Blue Jays that I realised he had instilled some knowledge.
One occasion when the Bosun and I were on the wharf looking to see how the crew were coming along with a painting job when a guy approached us and asked if we spoke English. The Bosun whose first language was Gaelic kidding him along and said we did. He asked us questions about the ship, were we were going etc. We answered him and he asked where we had learned o speak such good English with a funny accent. At school we replied. Will they did a good job he said!! With a broad Scottish brogue the bosn and I had a good chuckle and wish him good morning ini Gaelic
To be continued
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