Basketball nets on the boats

[bhale849]

I started working on the boats in 1979 on the Str. Wilfred Sykes, I don't remember us having any basketball nets, but we did have a crew of 30 to 32 people (including a passenger porter and a second 3rd engineer - our "Deck Engineer" who maintained the self-unloading system, and took care of anything outside the engine room). We had lots of time to tan on the hatch covers, enjoy the views in the rivers, and even hit driving-range golf balls over the side (we had a plastic mat with built-in tee mainly for passenger use).
In 2004, I was on the MV. James R. Barker. I remember the Basketball Net. I also remember that we had a crew of 18, that deckhands and A.B.s worked the tunnels when not on the dock or doing deck/sanitary work or wheeling. What little free time they had was spent sleeping, on the internet, or watching Direct TV in their rooms. I never saw Anyone use the Basketball Net.

[Chief]

I know that some ships had basketball hoops down in the cargo holds. We used to play vollyball out on deck using a tether ball. One guy used to reload shotgun shells all season and at the end we would have a skeet tournament off the fantail. We all kicked in to the guy for the cost of the reloading supplies and everyone would put money in and the winner of the tournament won the pot. Don't see too much of that anymore. We couldn't even watch TV unless e were in the Welland Canal, or near a big city like the Detroit River, Chicago, Milwaukee or the SOO River. This was right at the advent of VCR's and once in a while we would watch a movie. Mostly people would read, sleep, or work on hobbies. One skipper I had used to make golf clubs and another rebuilt his Harley.Times have definately changed.

[Al]

Back to the original question about the basketball hoops, I wonder too if the ships have had crew reductions as 'cost saving measures' like most other industries so those that are on the boats don't have as much leisure time either? Just a thought?

Dunno. I suppose it could be shrinking crew sizes or lack of interest among older crew members. As far as guests are concerned, my impression is that most are older and probably not likely to be out shooting hoops. Besides, wouldn't you feel badly if you were a guest and you lost the ship's basketball over the side?

[ed]

We I was growing up , back in the 40's and 50's , we rode our dinosours to school each day and parked them in the dino rack. After school we worked in the fields tending crops and came home when it got dark. I remember seeing the first snowflake What's a basketball hoop ?

[jsbrown]

Denny and Al, what you said is the same with me, and our friends parents could punish us too, but if that happened then our parents would punish us because some else had too. I think that's why we were always better behaved at friends houses, didn't want two spankings LOL. Back to the original question about the basketball hoops, I wonder too if the ships have had crew reductions as 'cost saving measures' like most other industries so those that are on the boats don't have as much leisure time either? Just a thought?

[Al]

Well put. When I was a kid growing up in the distant 1960s, our only rules from our parents were "Don't get into trouble" and "Be home on time for supper." We were always home on time for supper. We never got a ride anywhere from our parents. If you wanted to get there that badly you could ride your bike, which we did. We didn't have anywhere near the facilities kids have today. We played our hockey on frozen ponds (once we used a flooded cornfield that had frozen) or water-filled tennis courts at the local park. Until I could drive, I walked about a mile to high school, including in the dark in the winter. Now, I see the school bus stop every block because in our low-crime city it's considered far too dangerous for kids to walk more than a couple of blocks. Parents are always standing at the bus stop because we know no child can be left unattended outdoors. Symbolic of it all was when I saw two young girls walking home from our local park on a nice spring day. Instead of talking to each other, they were walking with their heads down focused entirely on texting from their cell phones.

[Denny]

To Guest and Paul I can relate to both of your stories gentleman as when I was a kid in my neighborhood, we (us kids) after we had school would spend hours on end outdoors playing ball riding our bikes doing whatever. We would play until dark and beyond and my mom had to stand outside and yell and call for me and my brothers to come home for dinner or whatever. Back then, we had tons of kids in the neighborhood to play with and everyone was out playing baseball, football and basketball games you name it. During the winter we would play hockey games on the ice if it was frozen and thick enough. Yeah, we had some computers and games such as the old Atari games but, nothing like these kids have today. Today, these kids are so spoiled with the cell phones and text stuff and all this modern stuff they don't know how good they really have it. If only they knew what life was like without the internet, cell phones and social media? They wouldn't have believed how we managed and survived especially in bad weather and in the winter when we were kept indoors all the time.

[Guest]

In the tiny town I live near the baseball field used to be busy every night with children of all ages playing together.
No more, same number of kids in town but they mostly inside playing with electronic devices.

[Paul A]

I think it's the internet and cell phones Denny.

[Denny]

What has happened that not too many boats anymore have the basketball nets or backboards on them? I saw the James R. Barker earlier this year and she is the only one that still has one on her bow as far as I know. Years ago, I remember the Mesabi Miner, Paul R. Tregurtha and Indiana Harbor all used to have them along with the American Integrity. Now, you don't see hardly any boats with them anymore. Is it a liability issue if someone gets hurt while playing or is it the fact of "too many balls were going overboard on ship?" Just curious as to why not too many boats have them anymore especially for guests and passengers travelling on them in the summer months.