Ships'n'Sailors [Archive] - Yo! Liverpool Forum Community

brian daley

11-24-2008, 10:22 PM

You will be reading tales of some of the men who sailed under the Red Duster,this is a photo of two of my old shipmates on the Marchon Trader. The guy with his elbow on his knee was called Alan Mc Mullen, a giant of a man ,he once saved the life of a shipmate during the Algerian war of Independence. They got caught in an angry mob of Arabs who attacked them with knives,alans mated suffered a couple of stab wounds that made his lose consciousness and Alan put him over his shoulder and fought his way through the mob ,getting several knife wounds in the process. he succeeded in getting to safety and saved his mate from bleeding to death. Another man who rightly fits the definition of hero. The other guy? like me he was just an ordinary seaman called Fred.

brian daley

11-25-2008, 08:54 PM

This was an old fireman on the Marchon Trader,his northern irish accent was so strong that I had a hell of a job keeping up with what he was saying. as far as I could understand ,he was from a place that sounded like Port Avogie,but then that is what it sounded like to my untutored ears. Any of you out there any idea of where that sounds like?

naked lilac

11-26-2008, 06:35 AM

kevin

11-26-2008, 08:39 AM

Brian.. Have you ever noticed..When you enlarge this picture of your fine mates.. and hansom too.. that Alan McMullen, who saved the shipmate by tossing him on his shoulder.. Has a head of a man in the picture on his shoulder...

He's just showing off - most sailors are content with a parrot.

brian daley

11-26-2008, 12:08 PM

Nice one Kev,Boom Boom!!
BrianD

naked lilac

11-26-2008, 06:19 PM

:PDT_Aliboronz_24::handclap: yes, the Parrot!! good one.. Love the stories and pics on here.. keep them coming... aloha

brian daley

11-28-2008, 07:55 PM

I had a cabin mate on a banana boat called Joey,he was a handsome sod,looked like Heathcliffe with his dark gypsy visage and wild black hair. A finer man I never met ,but he was funny and told the most outrageous tales. I cannot relate them all on this site but there is one that I will share with you.
he was on a Shaw Savill liner doing the Australian and New Zealand run and, like many a young sailor before him,he skinned out in Kiwi. As any sailor will tell you,it's easy jumping ship ,it's staying on that's hard. The Kiwis had a more enlightened attitude than the Ozzies,if you could stay out of sight until your ship had left the coast then you stood a chance of getting a job. Trouble was ,that job would be one that no one else would want. So Joe found himself in charge of the night soil collection wagon. To those of you who don't know what that is,it was a horse drawn cart which had an aluminium lining,open topped,it was Joes job to go around the Dunnies,dry toilets, and tip their contents into the cart.
Now the horse that drew that cart knew it was a shameful occupation,it stood between the shafts with it's head hung low and trudged from door to door as Joey filled the cart. To protect himself from the cloaca,Joey wore a sack over his head and shoulder ,rather like the coalmen did in the old days. He was'nt too enamoured of his job ,but it was a living ,even if it meant he did'nt have many friends;this was in the days before Brut and Hai Karate.
That old horse knew the round better than Joey and as it came to the last door it would straighten up in the shafts ,and, as soon as Joey was aboard,it would take off like Sherga and gallop back to the depot. All that stood between Joey and the contents of the cart was a small splash board behind the drivers seat. When that rig was in motion the load,being liquid ,would swill up and down the tank as the horse picked up speed. Joey was standing on the buckboard pulling on them reins with all his might trying to slow Sherga down as the swill became a wave and the wave became a Tsunami. It would hit that splashboard and come spraying over poor Joes Head and shoulders. I can see that scene now ,that besacked loon howling at the horse as he tries to stave off another wave of schritt. Happy days eh?

gregs dad

12-02-2008, 07:32 PM

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee283/exactavarex/image-9.jpg
Just found this old colour slide which I took in late 50`s early 60`s a night shot of the RMS Mauretania in the Huskisson Dock,unfortunately the slide has already started to deteriate.

brian daley

12-02-2008, 08:31 PM

That's a wonderful shot Joe, my Uncle Joe served on the Maurrie and she was a much loved ship,thanks for sharing it with us............got any more golden oldies ?

captain kong

12-02-2008, 09:31 PM

gregs dad

12-03-2008, 10:22 AM

Classic photo of a classic ship.built on the Mersey at Lairds 1938.
I have saved it.
No one mourned her passing.
Cheers
Kong

PS
How do you get a slide into a photo????
I have a lot of them from when I was in CapeTown .

There are a few slide scanners on the market,I use an Evion flat bed one with an attachment for slides which I`ve had for a couple of years cost was ?50. The slide scanners advertised in the press go from ?70 to ?100

captain kong

12-03-2008, 05:20 PM

Thanks for that. Gregs Dad,
I will look into it, I have a box of slides taken over thirty years ago, so try that.
Cheers
Kong.

brian daley

01-08-2009, 07:41 PM

Many years ago I was on one of Elders and Ffyes,the Chirripo,and my cabinmate was a guy from the south end called Norman Harris. After we had got to know each other he told me about his father in law, a man called Billy Swinchin. He related how Billy had been in a homeward bound convoy in 1942 on a Moss Hutchinson ship ,the Etrib,when it was torpedoed off the Spanish coast. Billy and the bosun dived overboard and made for a raft where he and the bosun stayed for two days when an empty lifeboat floated by. The bosun swam to the lifeboat and Billy stayed on the liferaft. That was mid June 1942, Norman then went on to tell me what seemed like an old sailors yarn. A U-boat picked up Billy from the raft......75 days later!! He also told me that Billys' surname was really Swinchino and had been anglicised by the man himself. Last year I contacted that brilliant marine researcher Billy Mcghee and he confirmed Normans story, Billy was indeed picked up on the 29th of August by another U-boat and imprisoned in Mila Nord P.O.W. camp. The commandant refused to believe Billys' story but the U-boat captain authenticated his tale with a signed letter,written in English which Billy kept in his possession when liberated in 1945. One detail missing from the official story but told to me by Norman,was that Billy himself could only remember being alone on the raft for a few days with just a seagull for company. His next memory was being taken on board the U-boat, and a seagull was still resting on the raft.
Did any of you old salts come across this very interesting character?

captain kong

01-08-2009, 08:57 PM

No sorry Brian never heard of that interesting story.
I just did my bit on the Cameo Murders if you are interested.

roccija

01-09-2009, 12:11 AM

:)
I certainly believe Billy's story about the seagull. Russian sailors believe that
seagulls are the souls of departed seamen, and if any gull lands on your ship,
they will take care of you and keep you safe.

Bob F :handclap: :handclap:

captain kong

01-09-2009, 10:43 AM

Last week I was in Fleetwood for a few days, I was crapped on twice by the gulls, Glad cows dont fly. tho` last summer I was hit on the head twice by fish the gulls had dropped when they were chasing each other. They both went under the grill. so maybe they are not so bad.

kevin

01-09-2009, 11:21 AM

You've been grilling gulls?
:shock:

captain kong

01-09-2009, 12:44 PM

Yes, I have been spitting feathers ever since.

Ron B Manderson

01-09-2009, 02:08 PM

I was told that Alehouse grilled the birds for hours, but the would not confess to dropping the fish
I bet Taggart would have had success
Ronx

kevin

01-09-2009, 02:57 PM

For Brian's sake, I hope he has got it right - that they were gulls and not Albert Ross's.

Ron B Manderson

01-09-2009, 03:18 PM

For Brian's sake, I hope he has got it right - that they were gulls and not Albert Ross's.

Nice one cirel

Albert Ross inspector Ross from Taggart
10 out of 10 kevin

kevin

01-09-2009, 03:35 PM

Nice one cirel

Albert Ross inspector Ross from Taggart
10 out of 10 kevin

Sorry Ron, have to admit I didn't make the Taggart connection. Stopped watching it years ago.

captain kong

01-09-2009, 10:05 PM

Hey, I was nearly killed by an albatross once.
I was on the Monkey Island on the dreaded `SUEVIC` in 1955 sailing through the Bass Straits, from Melbourne to Sydney. There was a realy hooley blowing
seas and spray all over the place.
There was a flash of white in the darkness as the offending bird flew completely out of control past the foremast light. in a split second it hit me across the chest and right shoulder.
I did a double somesault as the big bird hit the funnel and bounced down onto the after deck.
I was in agony as my right shoulder was completely out of its socket and my chest was black with bruises. I had to go to hospital when we got to Sydney to have it put right under anaesthetic.
The bird had a ten foot wing span. it was dead on the after deck and the crowd stretched out the wings to measure it.
They say it is unlucky to kill an albatross, I guess on this occaision it was unlucky for an albatross to hit Alehouse.

captain kong

01-11-2009, 04:08 PM

Wasnt seafaring a wonderful life.
To wake up in a morning, scratch the belly, have a shower, Mother makes the egg and bacon breakfast.
Later walk to the newsagents shop, buy the Daily Mirror, roll it up and walk down to the alehouise.
Order a pint, read about yesterdays winners and losers in the horse racing, no luck, try the barmaid, no luck there, then someone comes in and says, "the Britannic is going through"
Leg it to the Pool, and at six o`clock you are sailing to New York. Magic.

bangorreg

01-26-2009, 01:50 AM

brian daley

01-26-2009, 08:22 AM

So now we know, Cap'n Kong was responsible for the whole Indo Chinese fiasco. Through his meddling, the balance of power was upset and thus the Domino Effect took place which led to the overthrow of U.S, Imperialism and the resurgence of Red China, the seeds of economic change were sown which were later harvested as the World Wide recession.The Banking system collapsed, the Islamic Oil states began to dictate the Western economies and world now sits waiting for the end of civilisation as we know it. And all because he disagreed over how much he owed on his bar bill when he and old Phouma spent the night in a knocking shop in downtown Vientian.
Downright disgraceful I call it.

captain kong

01-26-2009, 12:54 PM

QUARREL ERUPTS IN LAOS' REGIME; Paratroop Captain Rejects Premier's Orders to Halt Fight Against Rightists

October 1, 1960, Saturday

VIENTIANE, Laos, Sept. 30 (AP) -- A quarrel that could split the Laotian Government wide open erupted today between Premier Souvanna Phouma and Captain Kong , the leader of the August coup, Captain Kong put Prince Souvanna Phouma in power.

Sorry about all that lads, but you know how it is when you have had a few bevies. Prince Souvanna Phouma was an old mate of mine but when we had a few bevies in the Phouang Xien Bar in Vientiane he tried to take my girl away so I thumped him and then he had me barred from every bar in Laos. So I went to see my old Mate Uncle Ho, in Saigon, and he gave me a hand to sort him out, Then that started the Indo China War and that spread to the Viet Nam war and the rest is history. All because of old Souvanna.
I went back up the Mekong last March 2008 and fortunately no one recognised me, here is a photo of me and Uncle Ho, in Ho Chi Mhin, Saigon.

Waterways

01-26-2009, 01:32 PM

Captain Kong, did you ever work out of Manchester Docks? Manchester Liners, etc.

captain kong

01-26-2009, 03:32 PM

I only sailed out of Manchester once, that was on the `Manchester Merchant,` summer of 1961.
I usually sailed out of Liverpool until it closed then I was on contract to Esso.

captain kong

01-26-2009, 04:33 PM

Waterways

01-26-2009, 04:53 PM

I only sailed out of Manchester once, that was on the `Manchester Merchant,` summer of 1961.
I usually sailed out of Liverpool until it closed then I was on contract to Esso.

Manchester Docks were very busy (one time the UK's third largest port after London and Liverpool) until the early 1980s, then it all went under very quickly.

The canal is superb.

captain kong

01-27-2009, 11:41 AM

Waterways

01-27-2009, 11:58 AM

Yes it is an excellent Canal, not used now, just a ditch. I always enjoyed sailing down there very scenic in parts and interesting in others. It should be used by carrying container and bulk barges from Liverpool, that would take thousands of lorries off the roads.. Cheaper transportation and less polution.
But the Road Haulage Association have too much influence and wont allow it.

A few ships each week get to the end of the canal, just before the quays. A German ship offloaded wood in the dry dock there a year or so back. It is still used.

In the olden dayes, industrial towns clustered around ports because transportation was clumsy and expensive - Liverpool and the inland Lancashire industrial towns is an example. Cheap energy made it easy to have a port a long way from an industrial centre - the newish container transit port Felixstowe on the bottom of the English south east rural coast is an example.

Post-Panamax container ships are ships too large for the Panama Canal and are trans-ocean only they are so big. The biggest working ship in the world is a post-Panamax ship. They hold from 10,000 containers upwards. They tend to use only one port each side of the oceans - they don't hop from port to port, except one ship that travels from the Far East to the UK and Holland and maybe France as well. The cargo is very cheap per mile using these large ships. As energy costs rise these ship will predominate.

The vast bulk of the cargo transportation costs is taking the container to the ship at one end and from the ship at the other. Some containers are loaded onto smaller container ships at a Post-Panamax port to transit to other regions. The biggest cost is the road haulage cost of containers. Rail can reduce that cost, taking containers directly from the ship to container terminals in various regions keeping road haulage aspect to a minimum. Road transport would then only be a matter of a few miles.

The Manchester Ship Canal was made virtually obsolete as the port of Manchester, 46 miles from the sea, was closed down. Now the upper reaches of the canal are slowly being used again as smaller ships take cargos that previously went by road. Containers will be off loaded from Post-Panama ships and taken by smaller ships 46 miles inland. This is also being done by imported wine from north and South America for Tesco. Offloaded at Liverpool from large containers ships and up the Manchester Ship canal to a bottling plant - this all previously went by road from ports 200 to 300 miles away.

Tesco never had the foresight to put the plant on the canal banks and cut in a lay-by. It is a few miles from the canal, so road transport is needed for the last leg. The canal is underused and undersold by Peel. It is a 36 mile linear docks and port can be cut off at any point along its banks - port Warrington is proposed.

The lower reaches of the canal - Runcorn down - are heavily used.

So Victorian infrastructure of rail and canal is slowly being put back into commission - proven by the Olive Mount Cord rail link in Liverpool to double the container train throughput.

Energy is getting expensive again and to keep costs down, the trend may
reverse where industry clusters around established ports again and rail passenger travel is predominant.

phredd

01-27-2009, 12:37 PM

It has been some months since I have seen a Tesco shipment go up the canal but I am not saying they do not do it anymore.

If you are interested in the canal why not take a summer cruise on it.
See here for more info :-

http://www.merseyferries.co.uk/manchester-scc/index.aspx

Well worth a trip and DONT forget your camera.

Phredd

kevin

01-27-2009, 04:24 PM

I docked in Manchester after many trips, when Harrison Line had general cargo vessels before the move to container ships and bulk carriers.

liverbob

01-28-2009, 04:50 AM

sailed from manchester twice,on the javenese prince and the pacific liberty.also took the ferry cruise from liverpool up the canal,it was great brought back some good memories.
liverbob.

brian daley

01-28-2009, 10:41 AM

I was up and down the Alley alley oh more than a few times,Everards used to send some of their old nails up there to get a free cleaning,the water was so toxic that it burnt the bottoms clean. I honestly can.t remember the amount of times I went on there,the Austility was there nearly every fortnight,we used to run to Carrickfergus and alternated between Avonmouth and Irlam for loads of aviation spirit. The Assurity used to go for gas oil which we took to Donge in France. The Athel Princess took a load of molasses to Salford docks ,I was up there on the Acavus ,a Shell tanker and I paid off up there after tramping on the Rowanmore. We were always in danger of getting hit by old prams and mattresses that the little bleeders would drop on you from the high bridges. They used to aim for the funnel. I was in a pub in Irlam when Chubby Checkers "Twist Again " was on all the Juke boxes. There was a big red nosed guy busking outside with a clarinet,somebody threw a shilling in his cap and asked him to the play "The Twist" .He answered quick as a flash "I cant Twist but I'll do my best to screw some bugger" Northern wit ,you can't beat it!

Trader

02-01-2009, 02:12 AM

Although I am from Manchester I spent the first four years of my sea career sailing out of Liverpool and Birkenhead with Blue Funnel line from 1952 to 1956.
I joined the Manchester Progress in 1956 and what a difference from Blue Flue. She was an old ship built in 1935 and the accommodation wasn't half as good as what I had been used to but the lack of bull---t made up for it. We lived aft and our grub had to be carried from the midship galley in kits, not a very nice job on the North Atlantic in winter.

I did about six months on the Progress and then joined the Manchester Vanguard a brand new ship built for the old St.Lawrence Seaway. She was only 258 feet long so as to fit in the locks on the old seaway which were 260 feet long. She had single berth accommodation and everything was aft so there was no going outside to get to the messroom. She ran up the Great Lakes to Toronto, Hamilton, Buffalo N.Y., Cleveland Ohio, Detroit Michigan, and finished up in Chicago Illinois where she turned around and called at various other ports loading for home. Milwaukee Wisconsin, Kenosha Wisconsin, Sarnia Canada. Because the old seaway only had a draft of 14 feet we used to top off in Montreal, Three Rivers and Quebec to get down to our full draft.

She was a cracking job with good crew, good grub, good accommodation and plenty of overtime. In the winter when the Lakes iced up we ran from Liverpool to Lisbon, Tenerife and Las Palmas on charter to Yeowards, a well known Liverpool company with general cargo out and bananas, tomatoes and new potatoes home. Sometimes we loaded outwards from Dublin and Belfast with seed potatoes and bales of peat. The peat was used to pack the boxes of new potatoes.

I did over two years on her before moving on. More of that later, just off to bed.

Alec.

brian daley

02-01-2009, 01:08 PM

Good read Alec, brought back many memories. look forward to seeing some more,
BrianD

captain kong

02-01-2009, 01:38 PM

Trader

02-01-2009, 11:48 PM

I sailed on the Manchester Merchant in 1961, we did the yanky coast, Halifax NS. St Johns NB, Norfolk Va., Hampton Roads, and some others in Chesapeake Bay, Wilmington NC, Charleston SC , Savannah Ga. Jacksonville Fla.and some others. a good run.
My mate Jack Lomax, from Bolton was Bosun on the Lake boats for many years. He is Dead now.

Hello Brian,

I did the same run on a couple of Manchester Liners, as you say "a good run" but hard work especially on deck. Just 12 hours between some ports, work all day then sea watches and arrive at another port.

I sailed with your mate Jack Lomax on the Manchester Fame for a couple of years, in fact we were watchmates. Jack was a good shipmate ex. RN. I think. His nickname was "dhobi" Jack as he was always washing his gear, he was immaculate even when we were up to our eyes in sh-t overhauling the running gear Jack looked as if he had just come out of Burtons window.
He must have become bosun after I left the Liners as he was always AB. when I knew him.

I replied to your inquiry about Jack last year on another site, BMN, but you never replied. I find that site difficult to get around as it is full of Personal Messages etc. You probably missed my reply about Jack. As I say though, a good shipmate, sorry to see that he has passed away.

Alec.

Trader

02-02-2009, 12:58 AM

Good read Alec, brought back many memories. look forward to seeing some more,
BrianD

Thanks for that Brian but I don't think that I can come up with the likes of your stories.:)

Anyway, to carry on with my memories of the Manchester Ship Canal.

I left the Manchester Vanguard and joined the Manchester Port which was on the "yankee coast" as we called it and as Brian(Captain Kong) has described on another post. East coast of the States, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Newport News, Norfolk Virginia, Wilmington Delaware, Georgetown N.Carolina, Charlestown S. Carolina, Savannah Georgia and Jacksonville and Miami Florida. A good run, only away about two months and usually ten days in Manchester.

I got fed up with the USA and thought I would have a change and so joined the Uskmouth, a chatty old tramp which had just brought a cargo of timber from Archangel. She was what was called a "West Hartlepool Jeep" built during the war on a Canadian design. An old triple expansion steamer top speed about 10 knots all out.

We went back to Archangel and picked up another cargo of timber for Garston, (I thought that would get your attention Brian Daley:shock:). After discharge we went down to S.Wales to load coal bricks for Genoa then on to Livorno (Leghorn) to load copper pyrites for Barrow in Furness. From there back down to Cardiff to load 6,000 tons of coal for Madeira. We spent nearly two weeks there discharging. There were no cranes so the coal was discharged by our own derricks using baskets which were tipped into small lorries and sometimes horse and carts. (This was in 1959). In contrast, I had a phone call from a Greek seaman friend of mine today who has just docked in Europort, Rotterdam, with 170,000 tons of coal and expects to have finished discharge in less than three days. It makes you think.

Just off to bed again, will finish off tomorrow.

Alec.

brian daley

02-02-2009, 07:00 AM

Thanks for that fascinting insight into the working conditions faced by dockers in those bygone days of steam. Does anyone out there remember bunkering in Belfast? made Madeira look positively high tech. The poor old dockers had to run up a plack with a sack of coal on their back.
Yes Trader, Garston did strike a chord,I'll be getting stuck back into reminiscences about that lovely old place very soon,
BrianD

captain kong

02-02-2009, 11:21 AM

Hi Alec.
Thanks for all that ,
Some funny memories of that Yankee Coast when I was on the `Merchant`.
Yes Jack was in the RN first, Always a bit serious, never laughed a lot. he lived just around the corner from me about 100 yards away living with his sister. Last time I saw him he said he had a heart attack so I told him to get down to the Dreadnought Hospital at Greenwich. I never saw him again, I went away for six months on an Esso tanker and when I came home the house was empty and no sign of him or his sister. He was bosun on those small Lake boats, `Faith?.`
I was in Savannah,on the `Merchant`, in a club, had a few bevies, I came out and going to walk back to the ship when a car pulled up and two girls were inside. "Are you a Lymie? ``yes`, "then jump in Mother loves Lymies`. it was dark, I didnt notice, They were both crosseyed and twins. We got to the house and they took me in. " Hi Mom, we have found us a Lymie` Mom came into the lounge and she looked like Ben Turpin, she was crosseyed as well. They gave me a Bourbon, then another and another until I was getting crosseyed.
I said to one of the twins, `Come on lets go to bed`, the other one said `OK`. I said, " I wasnt talking to you". then the Mom said,
"I never said a word"
So Mom said "If your going to bed with my daughters then I am coming to"
What an unbelievable night, I eventually got up out of bed, around five in the morning, and left the three of them snoring, I crept out of the house and got a taxi back to the ship.

Waterways

02-02-2009, 11:44 AM

I always found it fascinating that ocean going ships could sail halfway across America in those huge Great Lakes - and when in the middle of them you do not see land either. Some of the biggest ships in the world sail those lakes (massive bulk carriers), but cannot get out as they are too large - some of the ships look ugly too with no splayed bows as ocean going vessels have. Some of the oldest used ships in the world are there too, as the water is not corrosive salt water.

I always wondered if a ship canal could have been built from Duluth (Bod Dylan was born there) to the Pacific. Then no need to use the Panama Canal and ports could be cut in off the ship canal too.

brian daley

03-02-2009, 09:17 AM

Well it looks like it is going to be a bit quiet on here for a while;what with the credit crunch,falling fat stock prices and Captain Cong going off to Antartica.
(Does'nt he know Amundsens beaten him to the South Pole) I guess we'll just have to get stuck in with more of our tales,how are things going with Novena Fred? And where is our favourite electrician Ron,is Kevin repairing a bilge pump. Our Jeff must have jumped ship,the old messrooms looking empty;c'mon on fellers ,stop hiding,
BrianD

captain kong

03-02-2009, 09:31 AM

Not gone yet,
Off in the Morning to Cape Horn then on to the white continent.
Amundsen did not get to the South Pole. I have done a check with my sat nav and he was 407 metres out so I am going to plant the Union Jack where it should be.
Jeff Glasse is not around. I had him executed in Walton, unless his son, Jeff Glasse turns up in the mean time.
There is no Satelite comunication down there so I wont be able to send emails.
Tatty Bye every one. I will bring the photos back.

kevin

03-02-2009, 11:42 AM

captain kong

03-02-2009, 10:15 PM

+Have a happy holiday Kevin. Get down on the Mataxis.
Cheers
Kong.

brian daley

03-02-2009, 10:26 PM

Happy hols to both of you,come back refreshed and full of stories!

kevin

03-03-2009, 09:01 AM

Happy hols to both of you,come back refreshed and full of stories!

Not a holiday - I'm a speaker at this conference:

http://www.traveldailynews.com/pages/show_page/28927

They've paid my flights and booked me a suite in a 5* hotel - all for a 20 minute presentation on Saturday morning.

Paying a scouser to talk - how soft is that?
:PDT_Aliboronz_24:

captain kong

03-03-2009, 09:33 AM

Very intereting Kevin, not bad work if you can get it.
Enjoy.

I am off to the big South, taxi is here. Sayaonara.
Cheers. Kong

kevin

03-04-2009, 02:49 PM

Don't have to do without my daily fix of Yo. Got internet access in my room.

kevin

03-18-2009, 08:18 AM

Just posted this on another site, and thought it might raise a chuckle here also.

A junior engineer joined us - think it was on the Novelist - and over time we learnt that he'd been raised by his grandmother but she'd died a couple of years ago. One night in the bar he'd had quite a few and told us his gran used to drive him mad by squeezing the toothpaste tube at the top.
The next day he was on watch and someone went into his cabin and squeezed the toothpaste at the top. For the next 2 weeks it was done everytime he was on watch. He never said anything but did tentively ask a few if they'd seen anyone going into his cabin. He never guessed we were doing it as he didn't remember he'd told us what his gran used to do.
After two weeks he was looking very jumpy and we asked him why. He eventually admitted he thought his gran was haunting him. We asked why and he told us about the toothpaste. We couldn't keep straight faces and eventually told him what we'd been doing. He was too relieved to be angry!

captain kong

07-09-2009, 09:52 PM

Adventure in south america.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

HERE IS AN ADVENTURE WE HAD IN 1958, HOPE YOU LIKE IT.

In 1958, I arrived in Rio Quequien in Patagonia on the Houlder boat, `Urmston Grange`.
Just a small town on the river with a few wood shacks, stockyards, an abatoir and one pub with an ugly old bartender.
We had a beer in the pub and asked the barman where was all the life around here. He said the next pub, `Hotel Nova Pompaya` was up the road about 15 kilometers, we didn`t know what a kilometer was but Charlie thought it was less than a mile ,so we didnt have far to go. We got the only taxi in town and after an hour of bouncing on a rough dirt track through the pampas we arrived. It was dark and in the moonlight we could see a couple of small shacks behind a saloon with a hitchin post outside, and a wood side walk. A few horses were hobbled, with their front legs tied, grazing.
A dim glow of an oil lamp showed through the batwing doors. This was the Hotel `Nova Pompaya`.
We walked through the batwing doors into a dim bar room only lit by two oil lamps, a group of gauchos sat around a table. They wore baggy keks made of white canvas, Boots up to their knees, a gun belt and big sombreros, we thought that we had walked onto a John Wayne movie lot. Behind the bar was a very attractive young barmaid , she was serving a gaucho with four thimble sized glasses of Anis,
`What are you having , Men` I asked, `The same but big ones`,.they replied.
The barmaid smiled at me "quatro bottelos Anis y quatro grande vasas por favor mia querida." I said squinting my eyes trying to smile like John Wayne.
The barmaid was amazed and the gauchos got up to look at us , muttering , Mucho loco hombres.
We started on the four bottles of Anis, we`ll show these Gauchos how to drink, they dont call me Alehouse for nothing.
We emptied the four bottles andCharlie ordered another four, on the bar was an old gramophone with a big horn on top. I went to the barmaid and asked what her name was, Theresa, and if she would play a record.
She smiled at me and put on a scratchy old record of a tango, turned the handle and wound it up. I asked her to dance, after a bottle of Anis I was a fantastic dancer, I held her in my arms and swayed to the music and the Anis, I could feel the warmth and contours of her body as I held her close and as we danced she responded and pressed herself against me, I could smell her perfume. It felt good, it had been two weeks since I had held a young lady in my arms and that was Cleopatra in Buenos Aires, I hoped Theresa wasn`t like `her`.
I whispered in her ear that I wanted her , like now. She told me to go outside and wait but not to let the gauchos see me. I went back to Charlie and Martin and told them I was going outside to see Theresa. `I fancied her` said Charlie, "I fancied her as well` said Martin, , "Too late this time I got in first."
I slowly walked to the door and slid outside when the gauchos weren`t looking.

A minute or so later Theresa whispered from the darkness, we met and kissed passionately. `Come`, she said, holding my hand leading me to a small shack, we went in and she lit an oil lamp, it was just a small room with a bed a chair and table. We fell into a passionate embrace onto the bed, she was panting with desire,
" Mucho rapido, mucho rapido" she gasped, "Dos minutos". So I mucho rapidoed as fast as I could. Her long finger nails were scratching my back as she screamed and threshed about underneath me, she was fantastico.
Dos Minutos later we were getting dressed breathlessly. " Go" she said and mind the gauchos.
I strolled back into the bar as casually as I could with my legs still trembling.
Then Martin and Charlie were shouting " how was it , was she good".?
The gauchos didn`t like it, they knew what was going on, Two minutes later Theresa walked through the back door and a gaucho went to her shouting abuse at her then he belted her across the face , she screamed in pain and a trickle of blood ran down from her lips.
I jumped up and went over and smashed the gaucho in the face with a big iron fist knocking him over his table and knocking the drinks and all his mates on the floor. I stood over him, " You Barsterdo, don`t ever do that again".
I was walking back to the lads when there was a hell of a bang and crack and a bullet whistled past my ear and hit the top of the bat wing door splintering the wood and leaving the door swinging.
" Kinnell" I turned around and the gaucho was stood there pointing a revolver at me. The smell of gun powder in the air, Martin and Charlie had disapeared through the door as fast as the bullet, this was not in the script.
I was wetting my knickers, " Take it easy , Hombre, Que pasa, que pasa nada." I said as I was walking backwards towards the door, as I got there I dived through the door as there was another bang and the door frame splintered...
I found Martin and Charlie hiding outside in the darkness, fortunately the gauchos didn`t follow us , we stood there trying to figure out what to do, there was no telephone or electricity up there so we couldn`t call a taxi.
We were stranded 15 kilometers from the ship,. "Here`s another fine mess you`ve gotten us into " said Charlie.
Just then Theresa called from the back of the saloon, I went to her, she flung her arms around me and we kissed, I could taste the salt of her tears and blood on her lips. She put a card into my hand, and whispered, " Via con dios , mi amor, hasta la vista." I kissed her again for the last time "Adios mia querida," I said as I slipped the ring , that Magnolia had given me last year when I had been thrown off a train, (another story), onto her finger, then she was gone into the darkness.
I stood there choked, if I had transport I would have taken her with me.
I walked back to the lads, " What are we going to do now` said Martin. We were stood by the horses, `Lets take these` I said,
`We can`t ride a horse `said Charlie. `It`s the only chance we have if those gauchos come out we are dead. OK lets go.` we took the ropes off their legs and I climbed aboard one, Martin managed to get onboard his but Charlie dived on his and fell off the other side and landed on his head, he eventually got on and we set off at a swift cantor, with a couple of bottles of Anis down us it was easy and soon we were yeehawing and yahooing as we galloped across the pampas. It was just like the charge of the Light Brigade
We arrived at the jetty and and straight up the gangway in single file and onto the after deck , we climbed off and went into the mess room " Kinnell, what a night" we told the other sailors. I pulled the card that Theresa had given me out of my pocket.
It was printed, " Theresa y Diaz y Llanos. Hotel Nova Pompaya, Rio Quequien,
on the back she had written, "Mi Amigo Brian, con simpatico y mucho amor, Su Amigo, Theresa." I still have the card fifty one years later and often look at it and wonder what ever happened to her.
I went to have a shower before turning in and found that I couldn`t take my shirt off, it was stuck to my skin with dried blood, Charlie said ",Have you been shot?" No it was from the scratches from Theresa when she was in her frenzied passion.
I had to stand under the shower for a long time until I could peel the shirt off my back.
Next morning at 6am the Bosun and the Mate were banging on our cabin doors, " All hands on deck, muy pronto,"
We all staggered out on deck feeling as rough as a badgers bum, Our bodies were wracked with pain from the long horse ride and the effects of the Anis..
When we got there we were surprised to see the afterdeck full of people. There were four gauchos, two Vigilantes, the Captain, Mate, Engineers and stewards and three large horses galloping around.
They were all shouting and gesticulating and when we appeared the gauchos started shouting and pointing at us.
The Captain was trying to get order out of chaos, he said to us " Did you steal these horses last night?" We told him that the gauchos were shooting at us and trying to kill us so we had to take the horses to escape.. Meanwhile the Peggy brought out a large jug of coffee and we had a mug each, next thing we were staggering about as drunk as monkeys, The advantage of drinking Anis that it stays in your stomach and when you have a drink next day it reactivates it again Two drunks for the price of one.
The Vigilantes wanted to arrest us for horse stealing and said there was a death by hanging for horse theft, this wasn`t unusual at that time . In Argentina, around that time about 15000 `Deschemisados` the shirtless ones, had gone missing in Argentina and were later found in mass graves,
At this we were rolling over laughing, then the gauchos said they wanted to shoot us, and when the gauchos tried to get the horses down the gangway we were hysterical laughing at their performance The horses were rearing up on their back legs and neighing, We were saying what kind of horsemen are these, us Sailors could get them up the gangway and they couldn`t get them down. The whole afterdeck was in complete chaos, The Captain who was fluent in Spanish had a word with the Vigilantes and gauchos, he then got the Stewards to go with him amidships and a few minutes later returned with six cases of Grants Standfast whisky. We just happened to have a cargo of Grants Standfast Whisky, There was one each for the Vigilantes and the gauchos. and they went down the gangway happy, The Mate got the sober AB`s to rig the derrick and with some canvas slings they swung the horses over the side and landed them onto the jetty. The Captain told the three of us to turn in and he would see us on the bridge in the morning.
All shore leave was stopped while we were in Rio Quequien.
The following morning Charlie, Martin and me went up on the bridge and met the Captain, He said we would be logged a days pay for being drunk and another days pay for missing a days work. also it would cost us two weeks wages each to pay for the whisky. "What?" we said , thats half a months wages we can`t afford that." "Do you want to make it one months wages?`, He said, `those Vigilantes could have taken you away and that would have been the end of you. I saved your lives not because I wanted to but I didn`t want to be short handed on deck for the rest of the voyage. "
Some times you just can`t win.

brian daley

07-09-2009, 10:59 PM

Vintage stuff Brian, I could smell the cheap cigars and taste that anis,as for Theresa,eh muy bueno!!
BrianD

captain kong

07-12-2009, 09:20 AM

FAREWELL TO BOB FAIRLEY

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Today I recieved the very sad news of our old friend and shipmate Bob Fairley, He has passed over the Bar. I recieved the sad news from Malcom on Vancouver Island. Bob lived in Ontario. Canada.

Bob Fairlie has crossed the bar. His daughter informed me of his passing, on Thursday. Bob was a veteran of the Second World War, and a man who
was proud of his participation in those exciting days, particularly serving on
the Murmansk run. Bob left the sea in the early fifties, married and emigrated to Canada, where he and his wife raised a family. He was also a member of the Canadian Merchant Seamans Assoociation, and it was when he came to Victoria to attend their general meeting that I got to meet him, having got to know him on the old Sailors Home site. Captain Kong and Ernie Higham recently hosted him at the Eldonian - see photos on the ships gallery thread,
and Ron Manderson did the same last year when Bob visited Merseyside.
So, those of us lucky enough to have enjoyed his company, however briefly,
can look back on it with a smile, as Bob had an a dry sense of humour that
really cracked you up.
So, let us all raise a glass to a fine man. Cheers Bob.

Ernie and I met up with Bob just over two weeks ago in the Eldonian Club and I posted his photos on the Gallery, It was a great pleasure to have met him, he always had a good sence of humour and kept us entertained with his jokes, sadly no more. It was a great shock to hear the news.
Bob served on the Russian Convoys during World War 2.
All the best Bob on your new venture. Cheers.

1, Bob with me and Ernie, 2, Bob with a fellow Russian Convoy Veteran,
3. Bob and his mate from Wallasey. three weeks ago.

bangorreg

07-13-2009, 12:18 AM

Hi Brian.
Very sad to read that your friend and shipmate has passed away.
Regards Reg.

captain kong

07-13-2009, 01:14 PM

A SAILOR DIED TODAY
He was getting old and skinny
and his hair was falling fast
and he sat around the alehouse
telling stories about the past.

of a war that he had fought in
and the deeds that he had done
in his exploits with his buddies
heroes everyone

and tho`sometimes to his neighbours
his tales became a joke
all his buddies listened
for they knew whereof he spoke

But we`ll here his tales no longer
for old Bob has passed away
and the worlds a little poorer
for a sailor died today.

He wont be mourned by many
just his children and his wife
for he lived a very ordinary
very quiet sort of life

He held a job and raised a family
quietly going on his way
and the world won`t note his passing
tho` a Sailor died today

kevin

07-13-2009, 03:22 PM

Kong - excellent, thank you.
I'm sure Bob would be thrilled.

kevin

07-14-2009, 11:32 AM

Hi chaps,
Not that I think you'll miss me or anything, but off to Brittany tomorrow (if I ever get the car and roofbox loaded) so won't be posting for a couple of weeks.
Adieu,
Kevin

Paddy

07-14-2009, 11:41 AM

Have a nice time :037::celb (6)::celb (23)::wynar:

kevin

08-01-2009, 01:38 PM

Back again. Rather wet and I've now got gills behaind my ears and webs between my fingers and toes.
Going MUCH further south next year!

brian daley

08-23-2009, 11:46 PM

Is it me or does anyone else seem to think all the sailors have gone AWOL.?
I have'nt been too active of late because I have been having setbacks in my recovery (consultant said I had to have another op) so I have not been feeling too bright.But, I miss the banter that usually takes place here. I am awaiting the next chapter of Far Kinnell and look forward to some more cyber duelling between Cap'n Kong and his arch nemesis The Glasser!
I'll just have a stroll round the poop deck,might bump into someone we know...........see you at No 5 hatch later,
BrianD

Norm NZ

08-24-2009, 12:20 AM

They'll all be 'tucked-up' in their hammocks by now Brian! where you should be at this time -o-day! OK for me , my days is only just started!!!:PDT11Cheers , and look after yourself!:PDT_Aliboronz_24:

pablo42

08-24-2009, 09:05 PM

Hi Brian, where did you go when you were at sea? Did you have a regular run or wherever you were sent? Where was the place you used to look forward to?

captain kong

08-24-2009, 09:24 PM

Hi Brian, Been busy in and out of hospital. I have to have an Op. on the 1st of October for the shoulder injury caused by the attack by the Big Bull Sea Elephant when I was on the Antarctic continent in March.
The bones have now healed and I now have to have the ligaments and tendons stitched.
All that because I got too near his cows, surely he didnt think I could fancy one of those, they stink something `orrible, a bit like Port Boat Mary in Sydney. I was hoping to go back to South Georgia in October when the season opens again to help with the salvage of the old Hull trawler that was abandoned there, a five month trip. but the injuries prevent me from going,.
I had a chat with the Glasse when I was at the Vindi re union, and so when he gets over the writers cramp I will have to have him destroyed again.
-----------------
Here is a Pathe News link, it may bring back some memories to anyone who did the Cape run, it is the `Windsor Castle` built in Lairds, Birkenhead.
also a few other ships. it is silent but very interesting
Click on the Icon for FULL SCREEN much beter to watch!
http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=74945

bangorreg

08-25-2009, 06:24 AM

Hi BrianD Think you should get back asap, Captian Kong is out of control.
Reg

brian daley

10-15-2009, 04:44 PM

I came across this in one of my old books, a patriotic poster from WW11. Seamen were wanted in those days..................if only........,well we can dream can't we?

pablo42

10-15-2009, 04:50 PM

I came across this in one of my old books, a patriotic poster from WW11. Seamen were wanted in those days..................if only........,well we can dream can't we?

And their pay stopped when their feet hit the water. What price heroism.

captain kong

11-03-2009, 04:04 PM

HENRY LARSEN 　
QUEST TV(Channel 38 Freeview) and SKY TV Channel 167
Mighty Ships Henry Larson

The Henry Larsen is one of the Canadian Coast Guard's icebreakers; join her as she sets sail for a seven-day mission to patrol the treacherous North Atlantic.

Tues 3rd Nov. @2100
Weds.4th Nov. @1400 and 2200

captain kong

11-04-2009, 06:04 PM

That was a good one, Larson cracking ice off the coast of Newfoundland, reminded me of the Canadian Pacific and Manchester Liner days.

On again at 10pm tonight.Wednesday

pablo42

11-04-2009, 07:25 PM

Thanks Captain.

captain kong

12-13-2009, 05:55 PM

Today, Sunday 13 December, 2009 is the 56th anniversary of my shipmate, Ken Hignett`s death. same day and date, 1953. I have just had a few Rums as I always do on this date, a drink to his memory.
Ken was 20 years old, he lived at Number 1, Mill Cottage, Mill Road, Birkenhead. We had arrived in East London in the Eastern Cape in South Africa the day before.
The Seamans Mission had a picnic arranged for us off the New Zealand Star and a coach complete with some lovely Mission girls and a hamper of food took us to Bonza Bay about 15 miles up the coast.
We went into the sea for a swim before the food was served. Ken couldnt swim and soon got into difficulties, he shouted to me to help him, he was just waist deep. I stood next to him and held his arm and tried to walk up the beach. A large wave hit us and when we surfaced we could not touch the bottom and then we were swept by a fast current out to sea. I shouted to another mate, Ronnie Vickers, of Cromwell Road, Birkenhead to go and get some help from the beach.
Meawhile the tide took us out beyond the surf, huge waves battered us swirling us around under water. after what seemed an eternety, I lost Ken, I couldnt find him, another lad turned up to help, Mo Riley, Ronnie must have got the message to the beach. then I saw Mo with Ken and then he was gone, Mo said he thought Ken was dead then and he lost his body.
I became unconcious and it all went black, meanwhile a South African lad swam out and rescued me with a 800 metre reel of rope and I was towed back to the beach. and taken to hospital.to be resuscitated. Meanwhile the South African lad, David Brinton, swam back out and rescued Mo Riley.
A very brave lad.
Ken was washed up the following Friday and buried by the Mission in the East Cemetery in East London.
In 2001 I went to South Africa and to East London and found Ken`s grave, and laid a Merchant Navy wreath on it. In 2002 I appeared on the TV show with Esther Rantzen and she introduced me to David Brinton who had saved my life and also Mo Rileys life, a fantastic experience to be able to thank the man for giving my life back.
Every year on this date I always phone him and sometimes go to see him on this anniversary. Thanks David.

the rescue.

pablo42

12-13-2009, 06:16 PM

Good story Captain. What a sad ending.

captain kong

01-27-2010, 08:34 PM

Here are some old photos from the 50s.

No.1 In 1959 on the Good Hope Castle, Me at the top of the Top Mast fixing a new main mast Navigation light.
My mate Ted is on the `table` below me. Ted and I went to school together and sailed for a few years together. I saw him last week and he is dying of leaukemia.

No.2 In 1956 on the Corrales, a Fyffes banana boat, off the coast of West Africa, with a shark we had caught. Wish I was as fit now as I was then.

No.3. In 1957 on the Adelaide Star in the Southern Ocean, bound for Australia, with a Flying fish that had decided to join us by flying onboard.

brian daley

01-27-2010, 08:38 PM

Nice pics Brian,keep them coming,
BrianD

captain kong

01-28-2010, 11:27 AM

Here are three photos from the Blue Funnel ship Euryades, a Sam Boat, in the Spice Islands in 1960
No.1.
Me with Charlie Kakatoa on my shoulder. He was a cockatoo [ kakatoa ] I got in Java and became a good mate, only problem, Charlie was a plonky.Always drunk on Javanese brandy.Good talker, good drinker.I left him in a bar in Padang Sumatra, after six months, and felt awful.
No. 2.
The deck crowd , this is a Sunday, we always wore our best sarongs on a Sunday and for going ashore in, Blue Funnel uniform in those days. My avatar is my working sarong.We had a stand to hang the parrot cages on, Charlie had no use of cages, he could tear one to pieces in seconds.
No.3.
This place had no name, just a latitude and longitude, a small lagoon in an island where we loaded teak logs from Borneo, that is the deck crowd fooling around as we were slinging the logs loaing them. No dockers there.

Happy Days.

pablo42

01-28-2010, 11:59 AM

Nice one Captain.

captain kong

01-28-2010, 12:55 PM

No.1.
Heilicopter from Court Line loading stores off Cape Town onto Esso Caledonia, 280,000 ton tanker.
No, 2,
Learning to fly in Cape Town.
No.2.
just landed a badly injured Norwegian Seaman in Cape Town.

captain kong

01-28-2010, 01:06 PM

No. 1 .
Tanker Esso Aberdeen, 125,000 tons loading crude oil over the bow from the Brent Spa, loading buoy, 250 miles north of the Shetland Isles. Cargoes exported to the States, Canada and Eurpean ports.

No.2.
Esso Dalriada, 300,000 tons, discharging crude oil from Kharg in Iran at Ain Sukhna in the Gulf of Suez through a floating pipe line to the shore and then across the desert in Egypt, through the Sumed Line, to a port near Alexandria on the Mediterranean, to be loaded again and taken to Europe, This new terminal saved the ship, too big to pass through the Suez Canal, doing a two month voyage around the Cape to Europe

pablo42

01-28-2010, 01:24 PM

Nice one Captain.

captain kong

01-29-2010, 03:47 PM

No.1.
Me greasing a span wire from the top of one samson post to the other on `Dunedin Star`
No.2.
Watch below. no hammock just a lashing from the four corners of a blanket, on tanker, `Clutha River` in 1962 coming up the Red Sea.
No.3.
Just left the Cunard berth, Pier 92 in New York, on the`MEDIA` first week in January 1956, Temperature 30 below. The Hudson River was frozen. The United States Lines liner, `United States` or `America` is alongside their berth behind.

pablo42

01-29-2010, 03:52 PM

Nice one Captain. I bet you'd still go up there wouldn't you.

kevin

01-29-2010, 04:17 PM

Nice one Captain. I bet you'd still go up there wouldn't you.

More King Kong than Captain Kong.

pablo42

01-29-2010, 04:21 PM

More King Kong than Captain Kong.

Ha, he'll scrag you for that...

captain kong

01-29-2010, 05:26 PM

Ha Ha.
No1.
me aloft again painting the mast on on the` Manchester Merchant` in 1961
No.2.
About to ship a big sea in the Atlantic on the `Matina` Fyffes banana boat.

brian daley

01-29-2010, 07:42 PM

Some great pics there Brian, brought back a lot of memories,and not all of them good. I can still remember how fragile I felt after a night on the sauce and being stuck up a forestay to do the Stockholm tarring. you know what I mean?
BrianD

captain kong

02-04-2010, 06:02 PM

This is the Auxilary Schooner `Wongala` quite well known on the Australian and New Zealand Coasts
My brother John, he of the Aspinalls Cambrinus Craft Brewery in Knowlsley, Liverpool. Brewer of the finest real ales to the Northern Shires. Master Mariner and Master Brewer.
He sailed on `Wongala` for six months carrying explosives from Sydney and western Australian ports to Milford Sound in New Zealand under sail. She had a reputation as a submarine, leaving Sydney Heads and then submerging and surfacing 12 days later in New Zealand
She was built in 1954 in Hong Kong and then was wrecked on Bett Reef near Thursday Island, top of the Reef.on 22 July 1981

photos.
No.1
On Bett Reef at Low tide discharging what remains of her cargo and stores etc.
No,2.
High and dry on the Reef
No.3.
Under sail.
No.4.
outward bound before rigging sails.

brian daley

02-04-2010, 07:42 PM

Very interesting pics Brian.........and you say this vessel runs on Cambrinus Ales? hic"
BrianD

kevin

02-04-2010, 07:47 PM

I remember climbing a mast on my first trip (I was an engineer and mast's were nowt to do with me) to see what it was like up there and I got a mate to take a picture of me when I was at the top. The Chief Engineer went absolutelyfekkinberserk when he found out.
I decided it was to remain a once-in-a-life-time experience.

pablo42

02-04-2010, 07:47 PM

Nice one Captain.

kevin

02-04-2010, 07:49 PM

Nice one Captain.

I was never a captain!

pablo42

02-04-2010, 08:01 PM

I was never a captain!

Tweren't for you...

Twas for a real seafarer...

brian daley

02-17-2010, 10:21 AM

Two pictures ,60 years apart. We can see a Prussian bargee and his family ,propelling a raft of logs to some distant woodyard ; a journey that will take them two months to complete. The family live in the straw hut ! the second picture shos a modern German river barge,the family live aboard in conditions as good as any ashore and with all mod cons too. I know which way I would prefer to travel ! It is something that I always wanted to do ,to travel through the European river systems ,down to the
Black sea,following in the wake of those travellers of old .
BrianD

captain kong

02-17-2010, 02:15 PM

It is something that I always wanted to do ,to travel through the European river systems ,down to the
Black sea,following in the wake of those travellers of old .
BrianD

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pablo42

02-17-2010, 02:37 PM

Nice one guys.

brian daley

02-18-2010, 08:52 PM

We were leaving Siberia dock in Antwerp and were passing through the lock to enter the Scheldt.As we were waiting for the lock to to level up we heard an enormous explosion off our starboard bow and looked to see one of the enormous chemical "tanks" at the Bayer Plant erupt. We could feel the blast ,and we were nearly a mile away. The fire quickly spread and it seemed an age before we saw any fire fighters. We were leaving the lock by the time they arrived and never saw what finally happened. The pall of smoke rose hundreds of feet and was visible to us as left Belgium altogether. That was in August 1967,ring a bell with anyone?
BrianD

captain kong

02-18-2010, 11:45 PM

You got an echo there Brian.

You got an echo there Brian

brian daley

02-19-2010, 12:11 AM

Blind b***er,they're two different pictures,
BrianD

captain kong

02-19-2010, 08:53 AM

There were two posts there Brian, unless my Glefiddich is playing tricks with my eyes.

brian daley

02-19-2010, 03:27 PM

It is cold and snowy outside as I write these words. I converted more slides last night and amongst were these from 67'. This is a Moss Hutchinson liner ,the Kypros,and we were in Famagusta ,on the then undivided island of Cyprus. As you can see ,the sun is overhead and the heat was like a furnace, I supped no end of 7Ups to stave off my thirst. I can almost fel that sun as I look at these old photo's,
BrianD

pablo42

02-20-2010, 03:24 PM

Nice one Brian.

captain kong

02-20-2010, 04:29 PM

my brother, he of the Aspinalls Cambrinous Craft Brewery, purveyor of the Finest Real Ales to the Northern Shires, sailed on the Kypros in the late 60s.
I sailed on her sister Memphis in 1960/1, good ships and a good run.

brian daley

02-22-2010, 12:07 AM

Whilst rooting about amongst my library ,looking for some books to lend a friend ,I casme across this little beauty that has been sadly neglected these past few years. This is a log of the Royal Tour undertaken in 1901 by the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York's ,who later became King George V and Queen Mary . What makes this journal rather special is that it was written and illustrated by someone from the lower decks. Webb and Bower ,the publishers ,brought out this edition in 1988 and it is a facsimile of Petty Officer Harry Prices journal. I offer you the cover and a page just to give you a taster;see if your library has it ,it gives a fascinating insight into the mores of the Edwardian age,
BrianD

pablo42

02-22-2010, 12:16 AM

Nice one Brian.

Samsette

02-22-2010, 05:41 AM

That little journal looks like a real treasure, Brian, with sketches and drawings to highlight it. Lovely cover, too.

Aden never seems to change much over the century

ItsaZappathing

02-22-2010, 10:53 AM

PHOTOS STORED IN AN OLD BROWNIE CAMERA

Thought you might find these photo's very interesting, what quality from 1941.
Pearl Harbor Photos found in an old Brownie stored in a foot locker

THESE PHOTOS ARE FROM A SAILOR WHO, WAS ON THE USS QUAPAW ATF-11O.

I THINK THEY'RE SPECTACULAR!

PEARL HARBOR

December 7th, 1941

Pearl Harbor

On Sunday, December 7th, 1941 the Japanese launched a surprise attack against the U.S. Forces stationed at Pearl Harbor , Hawaii . By planning his attack on a Sunday, the Japanese commander Admiral Nagumo, hoped to catch the entire fleet in port. As luck would have it, the Aircraft Carriers and one of the Battleships were not in port. (The USS Enterprise was returning from Wake Island, where it had just delivered some aircraft. The USS Lexington was ferrying aircraft to Midway, and the USS Saratoga and USS Colorado were undergoing repairs in the United States.)

In spite of the latest intelligence reports about the missing aircraft carriers (his most important targets), Admiral Nagumo decided to continue the attack with his force of six carriers and 423 aircraft. At a range of 230 miles north of Oahu, he launched the first wave of a two-wave attack. Beginning at 0600 hours his first wave consisted of 183 fighters and torpedo bombers which struck at the fleet in Pearl Harbor and the airfields in Hickam, Kaneohe and Ewa. The second strike, launched at 0715 hours, consisted of 167 aircraft, which again struck at the same targets.

At 0753 hours the first wave consisting of 40 Nakajima B5N2 "Kate" torpedo bombers, 51 Aichi D3A1 "Val" dive bombers, 50 high altitude bombers and 43 Zeros struck airfields and Pearl Harbor Within the next hour, the second wave arrived and continued the attack.
When it was over, the U.S. losses were:

Casualties
USA : 218 KIA, 364 WIA.
USN: 2,008 KIA, 710 WIA.
USMC: 109 KIA, 69 WIA.
Civilians: 68 KIA, 35 WIA.
TOTAL: 2,403 KIA, 1,178 WIA.
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Battleships
USS Arizona (BB-39) - total loss when a bomb hit her magazine.
USS Oklahoma (BB-37) - Total loss when she capsized and sunk in the harbor.
USS California (BB-44) - Sunk at her berth. Later raised and repaired.
USS West Virginia (BB-48) - Sunk at her berth. Later raised and repaired.
USS Nevada - (BB-36) Beached to prevent sinking. Later repaired.
USS Pennsylvania (BB-38) - Light damage.
USS Maryland (BB-46) - Light damage.
USS Tennessee (BB-43) Light damage.
USS Utah (AG-16) - (former battleship used as a target) - Sunk.
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Cruisers
USS New Orleans (CA-32) - Light Damage..
USS San Francisco (CA38) - Light Damage.
USS Detroit (CL-8) - Light Damage.
USS Raleigh (CL-7) - Heavily damaged but repaired.
USS Helena (CL-50) - Light Damage.
USS Honolulu (CL-48) - Light Damage..
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Destroyers
USS Downes (DD-375) - Destroyed. Parts salvaged.
USS Cassin - (DD-37 2) Destroyed. Parts salvaged.
USS Shaw (DD-373) - Very heavy damage.
USS Helm (DD-388) - Light Damage.
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Minelayer
USS Ogala (CM-4) - Sunk but later raised and repaired.
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Seaplane Tender
USS Curtiss (AV-4) - Severely damaged but later repaired.
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Repair Ship
USS Vestal (AR-4) - Severely damaged but later repaired.
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Harbor Tug
USS Sotoyomo (YT-9) - Sunk but later raised and repaired.
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Aircraft
188 Aircraft destroyed (92 USN and 92 U.S. Army Air Corps.)

pablo42

02-22-2010, 10:55 AM

Fantastic Zap. nice one.

brian daley

02-22-2010, 02:19 PM

I was e.mailed those picrures a while back Zap and I was amazed at the quality of them . It was an old box Brownie with which they were taken and I find that hard to believe. I owned a Brownie in the fifties and the quality of the snaps I took never came close to the quality of those. It must have been a high speed film ,look at those explosions, every spark has been captrured. Is this a hoax? I'd love to know the truth. Or were Kodak selling second rate film over here?
What does Joe think ?
BrianD

pablo42

02-22-2010, 02:26 PM

Harbourm

02-22-2010, 03:24 PM

Hi Brian,
Did you ever come across this old girl, the Troopship "DILWARA". I sailed to Cyprus on her last voyage as a troopship in September 1960. Formerly owned by the British India Steam Navigation Co, she was sold to the China Navigation Co and renamed "KUALA LUMPA".
The trip took two weeks so we were starting to get a tan by the time we arrived. The accomodation wasn't anything to shout about, narrow bunks in the forward hold.
Thats me on the left of the ph

Harbourm

captain kong

02-22-2010, 04:45 PM

I see your knees are not yet brown Harby.
It is 1960, the Daily Express is reporting on Patrice Lumumba of the Congolese Comunist revolution, He ended up assassinated and then the Soviets named the Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow after him. They taught urban and guerrila warfare and industrial sabotage.
Good photo of ther Dilwarra. I have saved it in my collection of ships. I saw her quite a few time out east.
Cheers
Brian.

captain kong

02-22-2010, 04:52 PM

Re, Pearl Harbour, I went there two years ago and sailed across to the Arizona wreck and memorial, It seemed strange standing over all those dead sailors still inside there. I noticed that after all those years oil was still bubling out of the wreck.
The photos were excellent. I have seen them before and the quality is very profesional

Samsette

02-22-2010, 08:02 PM

There are some who think that youg photographer must have hot-footed it all over Pearl Harbor that day, in order to capture so many different shots from so many different locations. Never-the-less, they are welcome additions to what we have already seen of the "day in infamy."

tess tickle

08-22-2010, 01:27 AM

brian daley

09-22-2010, 08:19 PM

Ships Gallery

Autumn is full on and it is time to look at some more ships pictures

This is the passenger liner Orcoma, built in 1908 by Wm. Beardmore & co. of Glasgow for the South American West Coast service of the Pacific Steam Navigation Company. During the First World War she served as an Armed Merchant Cruiser on the Northern Patrol, maintaining the seaward blockade of Imperial Germany, and she was evbentually broken up at in Blyth in 1933.

This study is by Ben A. Carrier,who is thought to have lived and worked in Liverpool . There are no biographical details and only two other known works by this artist
BrianD
[ATTACH=CONFIG]17290

brian daley

09-24-2010, 11:57 AM

Ships Gallery 002
This is the Circassian Prince of 1869. She was the first tanker to be built by C.S.Swan & Hunter of Wallsend , and only the second in a fleet of many to be owned to be owned by James, later Sir James, Knott of Newcastle, founder of what was to become the great ,and celebrated, Prince Line.
Sold in 1902 ,to the first of two successive owners,Circassian Prince ended her days in 1922 ,when she was towed out to sea and scuttled off the coast of northern Peru.

In this study ,by one of the several collective studios in Hong Kong of Chinese ship-portrait artist’s ,Circassian Prince is shown wearing the Prince Line house-flag at the stem and miozzen, at her bridge halyards four flagsL.S.N.V. of her identification hoist in the Commercial Code of Signals then in force and, at her mainmast ,the house flag of the Royal Dutch Oil Company ,to whom she was on charter,
BrianD
17291

brian daley

10-03-2010, 08:50 PM

The Antrim

This is the twin screw steamship Antrim,built by John Brown&Company of Clydebank in 1904 for the Midland Railway Company . This was the first of 4 vessels,near sister- ships, to inaugurate a nightly service to Belfast from their then newly developed port at Heysham. She also did the summer run between Heysham and Douglas (IOM) .During the First World War she was requisitioned for trooping across the the Channel and was sold in 1928 to the Isle of Man Steam Packet Co., who renamed her Ramsey Town and employed her in their own service between Douglas and Heysham.. She was sold to a breakers yard in 1936.
This portrait was by an amateur artist Arthur Knowles.
BrianD
17398

brian daley

10-03-2010, 08:55 PM

When I first laid eyes on this little craft , my first thought was that it might be a fishing boat,I was wrong. This is an iron steam lighter,named Number twelve,which was built in 1878 by H. Murray & Co. Ltd of Port Glasgow for thew Carron Company of Carron,near Falkirk. In 1922, following 44 years spent principaly carrying transhipment equipment along the Forth & Clyde Canal between Grangemouth and Port Dundas,she was laid up at Carron, but three years later she was acquired by owners in Hull, to whomshe rendered another 15 years service before being broken up in 1940.
This portrait was the work of an amateur artist A.George who was probably a crew member,shows the Number Twelve on its bow. She is at sea and is using her weathered sail to augment the propulsion of her 2 cylinder,16 horse power engine,
BrianD17399

brian daley

10-05-2010, 10:41 PM

The Oriental

The Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation company’s barquentine-rigged passenger liner Oriental,the second successive vessel of the Company to be so named,was built in Greenock by Caird & Co. in 1888. Sold in 1915 to the Hong Kong Steamship Co. and twice renamed,she acted as a relief ship in Yokohama following the devastating earthquake of 1st. of September 1923. She was then acquired by a Japanese owner and was broken up the next year.

This was painted by a Royal Navy purser, James Scott Maxwell(1845 to 1922)who is said to have carried out more than 1,100 ship portraits of every type and nationality,
BrianD
17420

captain kong

11-19-2010, 08:23 PM

November 1979 the POOL FISHER was overwhelmed by heavy seas off the Isle of Wight, 13 people died, 12 crew and the Chief Engineers wife, Mrs Doris Carvil, and two young lads survived. I was a witness in this event and had to go to the Inquest and then to the Admiralty Court of Inquiry, A very sad case.

POOL FISHER`Disaster.

On the 3rd of November 1979, in Hamburg the cargo ship, POOL FISHER, owned by `James Fisher of Barrow,` completed loading a cargo of Potash, destination Runcorn on the Manchester Ship Canal.
The bulk cargo had been loaded in the two hatches in a pyramid, it was not trimmed level.
On the way out of the dock she hit the quay, stem on quite heavily.
She then sailed across the North Sea, meeting heavy weather all the way and shipping seas over the foredeck. The canvas hatch covers at No. 1 hatch came adrift a couple of times, the sailors having to go out on deck to batten down the canvas and hammer the wedges into the cleats.
Meanwhile I was Second Mate on the tanker, ESSO PENZANCE, we sailed from the Fawley Refinery, on the Solent on the 5th of November 1979, bound up the Channel for Immingham on the Humber.
At 11pm that night I was the Navigator on watch and was 11 miles South of Brighton, my watch keeping AB was Paddy Colgan from Dublin.
The weather was rough, winds of 40 kts from the West and a big heavy sea running.
Ahead of me I saw the lights of a vessel approaching on a reciprocal course, it was swinging to port then to starboard, showing alternative red and green side lights. I called him on the VHF radio, confirmed our identities, and asked him if he had a problem, the Second Mate of the Pool Fisher, replied that he had problems with his steering. I told him to carry on with his course and I would move to the South of him and give him plenty of sea room.
As he got abeam of me, half a mile to the north, he was outlined against the shore lights of Brighton and lit up by a full moon. His fore deck was mostly submerged and his stern was high in the water, I could see his propeller and rudder quite clearly.
I called him back and told him that was why he had problems with his steering, he was well down by the head. He said he was OK and would carry on.
On the morning of the 6th of November, I went on the bridge again at 0745, the Sparky told me he had been up all night on a Mayday call with some ship called `Pool Fisher`, there was a big search for her, the Royal Navy ships co-ordinated by HMS CARDIFF and helicopters were searching for her 25 miles South of the Isle of Wight.
The Sparky said that Niton Radio, on the Isle of Wight, had heard a brief call, saying ?This is Pool Fisher, we are going over now,? then silence. This call was not on the Channel 16 VHF, it was on channel 28 so no one would have heard it. No position was given, she could have been anywhere. So the Searchers had no idea of where to search.
I found the time of the Mayday around 0550 and run a course line, time and distance from 11pm when I saw her and that put her around six miles SSW of the Needles on the Isle of Wight.
After receiving the information the search pattern was brought up to the position I gave and they found wreckage and in that were two young lads Mark Fooks, 17, and Don Crane ,18, clinging to hatch boards in seas up to 40 feet high. They were on the point of death with hypothermia, the winch man from the RN helicopter went down and sent them up and took them to Haslar Hospital near Portsmouth, where they were treated, three other bodies, including the Chief Engineer?s wife, were recovered and taken ashore.
We carried on to Immingham, when we arrived at the oil berth it was full of Reporters and TV Camera men. Two big men walked up the gangway, and kept every one else away. They took me to my cabin, they were ?Esso Security,? Not your usual Security, These guys could frighten anyone, they were heavies.
I was questioned and then warned not to speak to anyone, ?Or else?.
I said ?Or else what,?? He replied, ?Just or else.? with an icy stare.
These men were dangerous. I don?t even know why.
They did the same to the Captain and Sparky. I never forgot those men.
Also Captain Vale, Surveyor, of the Board of Trade came on board and interviewed me. He took the statement and sketches that I had made of the event. He also examined me for my Masters Ticket the following June.
We did our discharge and then sailed back to Fawley.
When we had moored alongside, two Policemen, Adrian Walder and Sergeant Murray arrived on board and wanted to question me about the events of that night, 5th of November.
I gave them a statement of the events including sketches of the attitude of the Pool Fisher when she passed us, down by the head and that was that.
In February 1980, I was in College at Fleetwood, doing my Masters Ticket, when a man from the Treasury Solicitor turned up at my door and gave me a summons to attend the Inquest on the 13 dead off the Pool Fisher.
I drove down to Gosport and checked into a hotel for a few days,
I met the relatives of the dead, the two lads who survived and had a drink with them in a bar. It was very sad; the widows were telling me that they were summoned to appear at the Coroners Court. They asked for assistance with fares and hotel bills, the wages had been stopped on the day the ship went down nearly three months before. Fishers of Barrow would not give them any assistance and they were really suffering. One widow told me she had to go round to her neighbours and beg for money to pay for her train fare from Birkenhead to Gosport. When they got to Gosport at night they had to go knocking on doors trying to find somewhere to sleep that night.
At the Inquest, on the 20th of February 1980, I had to stand in the witness box and was sworn in to give evidence of what I saw and about the VHF phone call conversation I had with the late 2nd Mate. Don Crane also confirmed the conversation as he was in the wheel house at the time.
In a Coroners Court the Jury is allowed to question the witnesses. Sometimes difficult giving evidence in using nautical terms and they do not understand what they are.
The worst part of it was when the Pathologist gave evidence on what he had done to the three bodies that had been recovered. It was quite gruesome the way he described removing the brain, the lungs, the heart, the liver and kidneys and so on. These were measured, examined and weighed. It was like reading out a shopping list. The widows and the 17 year old son of Mrs Carvill had to listen to all this. It must have been horrifying for them.
When the Court was over, the Jury recorded at the Coroners advice an Open Verdict.
The evidence the two lads gave were as follows.
Don Crane, age 21, of Moreton, Merseyside, said, When they left Hamburg with a cargo of Potash, he thought the ship was down by the head. When he was on watch he took over the steering and the ship was not handling well.
At 4am on the morning of 6th November 1979, the Bosun, Mr Terence Morgan of Wallasey, said, "Get on deck quick, the ship is going down.".
Mark Fooks and I dashed up the Alleyway and I found my way out into the sea. I went under and when I surfaced I could see the rear section of the ship sticking up out of the water I swam away and turned and could only see lights below the water.?
He told the Court that he had heard the 2nd Mate talking to the Esso Penzance which was passing in the opposite direction.
Mark Fooks the other survivor told the Court, the Pool Fisher had completely keeled over in the gale force winds. He climbed out onto the side of the vessel where people were trying to coax Mrs Doris Carvill, aged 55, into the sea.
He said he went towards her looking for a life raft. Mrs Carvill panicked, she clung to him, she said "Dont leave me, dont leave me, stay with me."
Mrs Carvill`s body was one of three recovered from the sea by HMS Cardiff, A Seaman from her told be they found her and another man in the sea, they were both dead and in an "embrace". a very sad scene, Ten crew men were never found including her husband, Mr Eric Carvill, Chief Engineer.
Mark Fooks then said he was washed overboard into the sea. Amid all the wreckage he found himself clinging to some hatch boards with some other crew members, but slowly as time went on they slid off and disappeared one at a time, probably from hypothermia. Only Mark and Don Crane stayed
afloat clinging to the hatch board.
The Bosun, Terence Morgan should have been commended for bravery, but it was never mentioned. He was on deck with his life jacket on and when he realized the two lads were missing he went down into the accommodation to save them but but was lost..
Commander Doctor Frances Golden, RN, of the Institute of Survival Medicine, said, "The two lads who survived were exceptional, they clung to wreckage for over five hours in gale force winds amongst waves 40 feet high.
It was probably their age and fitness that helped them to survive".
Coroner Mr. Michael Baker, recorded open verdicts on the twelve men and one woman who died in the sinking.
After we came out of Court, the widows and the two lads and I went into a nearby pub, for a well needed drink. It had been a harrowing experience for everyone.
The following day we all went home.
..
In November of that year 1980, I was summoned by The Treasury Solicitor
to appear before the Court of Inquiry, to give evidence, in the Norbreck Castle Hotel in Blackpool.
The Court was in session from 24th of November to 9th of December 1980 before Mr G.R.A. Darling, RD, QC, assisted by Captain C.W. Leadbetter, RD, RNR. Ret`d., Captain P J Pembridge and Sq. Ldr. CF Trigg, Msc. [Eng]Ceng, FI MechE. Into the circumstances attending the loss of the motor vessel POOL FISHER in the English Channel with the loss of 13 lives on 6th November 1979.
The result was,????.
The Court having carefully inquired into the circumstances attending the above mentioned shipping casualty was probably caused by the entry of water into the fore part of POOL FISHER`s hold following a failure of the aftermost section of the hatch boards on her No 1 hatch, which failure was caused or contributed to by the wrongful act or default of her Master, John Maclaren Stewart and her Mate, Francis William Cooper.

QUOTE. From the report.
About 1300 on 3rd November 1979, Pool Fisher sailed from Hamburg with a cargo of 1,250 tons of muriate of potash, in bulk, bound for Runcorn on the Manchester Ship Canal. The weather across the North Sea was force 7 with a gale warning in force. On the morning of the 5th of November the tarpaulin on the after end of No. 1 hatch had to be re-secured.
There could have been some increase in the forward trim with water entering her chain locker and focsle space, through the spurling pipes, or with the cargo settling forward with the pitching, or with water entering the hold when No 1 hatch had to be re-secured. Also some change to the trim by the consumption of fuel and stores.
At 2250 on the night of the 5th of November1979, the tanker, ESSO PENZANCE sighted Pool Fisher about 11 miles south of Brighton. She was steering erratically. That is consistent with the evidence of the survivors as to her steering. At that time the wind was westerly 8 to 9.
At 0547 on 6th of November 1979 Niton Radio received a Mayday call on VHF Channel 28 from POOL FISHER in the following terms;
Mayday anyone hear me, Mayday going over, position South west of St Catherine`s Point.?
Niton Radio requested a better position but received no rely. The Mayday was immediately relayed on Channel 16 and 2182 kHz.
The watch keepers on the Pool Fisher were the Mate, the Bosun, Terence Morgan and Able Seaman Throup, None of them survived, so it is not possible to find precisely what happened.
The two survivors Don Crane and Mark Fooks were asleep in their cabin when they were woken by the Bosun who was wearing a life jacket and shouted, "Quick lads, get up on deck, she`s going down by the head".
Both with other members of the crew followed the Bosun, it was very difficult due to the steep list to port. When they reached the cross alleyway on the starboard side, the Bosun shouted "She`s going". Don Crane was swept into the sea, Mark Fooks who was ahead of Don managed to make his way to the boat deck. He said the Bosun got out as the ship went onto her port beam.
He then saw the Second Engineer, the Chief and Mrs Carvill, all wearing life jackets. He climbed up the starboard side and saw A.B. MacDonald, then he was washed over the side.
Don Crane and Mark Fooks were not wearing life jackets they were fighting for survival in the sea with the help of the hatch boards. The Fleet Air Arm helicopter crews were complimented on their efforts in saving the lives of Don and Mark, there were no other survivors.
The cause of the capsize and sinking of the Pool Fisher was probably caused by the lack of, or insufficient number of locking bars or locking wires on the No 1 hatch, combined with her low free board. When No.1 hatch board were stripped off by the sea, the forward draught was rapidly increased by the rapid entry of water into the hold. The free surface effect of the water caused her to list to port on to her beam ends and to sink by the head.
The Master is responsible for his vessel in all respects and at all times. The Mate is particularly responsible for the battening down of hatches.
The sinking occurred, as we find, the hatches were not battened down properly.
With great reluctance therefore in view of the high esteem in which the Officers concerned were held and because they could not come before the Court to defend themselves, we nevertheless feel bound to find thet they were responsible for the failure, which led to the loss of the Pool Fisher. Although we cannot but be sympathetic to men, whose arduous way of life and demanding schedule of voyages may leave then tired from time to time we do not feel that so fundamental a matter as failure to batten down for sea cannot be excused.
The advice given in M. Notice No.666 remains as valid today , as it always was and just as vital to the safety of life at sea.?

That was taken from the report of the Court.
I was questioned at great detail by the various QC representing the DTI, the Ship owner, the QC representing the Captain and so on.
Some of the questions asked made me feel as if it was all my fault, I had a hard time trying to defend myself against some of the questions, especially from the QC representing the Company, James Fisher and Son.
I had 32 pages full of questions asked over two days. A quite stressful time.

I found the treatment of the bereaved families by James Fisher and Son, the ship owner was severely lacking.
One day I was in the hotel lobby, a young lady walked in and asked me if there was a Court of Inquiry going on here.
I said yes and that I was involved. She told me that her husband had died on the Pool Fisher. No one had informed her that there was an Inquiry.
She had read about it in the newspaper and had travelled to Blackpool from Bangor in North Wales to see what was happening as she could not get any information from anyone.
I took her in the bar to sit down and she told me her story.
When the ship went down the pay was stopped that day. She still had not received the wages he had earned before he had died. They had received Nothing.
She and her husband were buying a three bed roomed house overlooking the Menai Straits in North Wales. Now she could not pay the mortgage and so was evicted from her home, she had just given birth to her third baby just after the ship went down. They were dumped into a two bed Council flat.
Then three weeks ago, on the anniversary of the disaster, 6th of November 1980, her husbands Mother had taken a train down to Bournemouth, which overlooks the site of the sinking and then walked into the sea and was drowned. I was nearly in tears listening to her story, so sad.
I asked her if she had eaten that day, she replied no. so I then took her to the Restaurant, I was on expenses paid for by the Treasury Solicitor, I ordered an expensive wine and the best dinner for two, which we both enjoyed, a lovely lady who did not deserve the treatment off the ship owner and other authorities. Even though I was confined to the Hotel for the duration, I put her in my car and drove her to Preston rail station to get her train to Bangor. It was the least I could do for her.
The AB on watch with me on the Esso Penzance, Paddy Colgan was flown over from Dublin to give evidence. It was good to see him again as we were good mates at the time, a very funny man always laughing. He was now a taxi driver in Dublin.
He made the Court laugh when Mr Darling asked him if the Pool Fisher was on a reciprocal course to our ship. He replied, "I dont know about that Sor, but we wuz goin` one way and she was goin` the other".
The two lads, Don and Mark, were also good company in the evenings, we would meet up in the bar, Mark had his mother with him, and they all had a good sense of humour.
I got to know Mark and Don quite well during that time, They both thanked me for informing Niton Radio of their position as the search was concentrated 25 miles away and they would have surely died if the search had not been brought up to their position.
Mark was also lucky on another occasion, after the sinking of the Pool Fisher, he went to the Shipping Pool in Liverpool and told them he wanted a Big Ship as the small ones sank under him.
They gave him a job on a 150, 000 ton bulk carrier by the name of `DERBYSHIRE`, he flew out to Yokohama in Japan to await her arrival. She did not arrive, she went down in a typhoon with all hands, 44 people died. After a week in a hotel there Mark was flown home again.

At the end of the Inquiry, many people had various misgivings about the verdict.
In many discussions afterwards, various theories were discussed.
Such as the water may have entered the hold from another way rather than through the hatch cover. She did hit the quay wall heavily in Hamburg and in a previous incident during 1979 had sprung the rivets, in No.1 hold, this being welded up at the time.
When she sailed she had a freeboard of only 1.7 feet on he forward well deck.
Some of the securing cleats were defective and this could be the cause of the wedges being forced out by the weather. Not all the required number of locking bars or wires were fitted to the hatch. Were there enough of these on board?

Don Crane had said he thought the ship was down by the head when she sailed from Hamburg, she was definitely down by the head when I saw her seven hours before she capsized.

There was a telephone call from the Master to the Company the day before she sank. The Coroner asked the Managing Director of James Fisher & Son,
If they kept records of all the phone calls from their Ship Masters, he replied Yes. The Coroner then asked him if he had a record of this phone call. The Managing Director, replied No.
So there was speculation among some people, What if the Captain had said he had problems with the ship and could he call into another port for shelter while they sorted out their problems with the trim or hatch covers and the Ship owner said No, get to Runcorn as soon as possible. He would therefore carry on and then capsize. ????
But this is only guessing and therefore cannot be used in a sensible argument.

Today the POOL FISHER lies in 40 metres of water, upside down with her bows broken off and standing on end. 6.7 miles SSW of St. Catherines Point.
I recieved an email from Mark`s sister Jackie, she told me that Mark later took up scuba diving and went back to dive on the Pool Fisher, Now that took some courage.
Don Crane never went to sea again, he married and went to Vancouver and is now a successful business man there.

I hope you , [I cannot say enjoyed reading it ] but found it interesting.
Cheers, Captain Kong.

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Last edited by Captain Kong; Today at 09:50 PM.

brian daley

01-05-2011, 08:18 PM

Old Sailormen

A friend of mine,who was the source of most of my ship pictures, called to visit me during the Christmas break. He has been following my posts on this site and wanted me to look at some papers that have been in his family archive since Victorian ,Edwardian and continue through WW1 until 1919.
The papers contain the history of his great grandfathers sea going career and include all his discharges and personal references. I will post them at regular intervals because it would take up lots space. The Barrie family were based in Arbroath, in Scotland and were partners in the Dent shipping line. The young
David Barrie ,and his brother Charles Barrie, both opted for blue water shipping, and because their family’s ships only worked the traditional home waters ,it meant they had seek positions with the major shipping companies.
I will start with some letters of reference and then proceed through their discharges in a future posting
182291823018231

brian daley

01-06-2011, 10:42 PM

Surprise 1796
The surprise was a French built frigate, she was small, more a corvette or the British sixth rate. Her French name was L’ Unite . She was captured in the Mediterranean by HMS Inconstant, when she was serving the French Revolutionary Navy. Her Royal commission was in the Adriatic and she later passed, under a new commander ,and was taken to the West Indies where she served as a Sixth Rate with great distinction.

The painting is oil on canvas as was the work of Geoff Hunt in 2003

brian daley

01-07-2011, 11:43 PM

Below are extracts from the discharge book of Mr C.S Barrie, started out as an apprentice in the DENS Iron Works and was released from his indentures in 1904. He did work on some of the family's coastal vessels and then found a berth on a foreign going vessel,this proved to be the perfect way on learning about ships engines and began his deep life on a ship called the Trafalgar. You will that ships captains reference to Charles when he left for a better berth. His discharge book shows that he spent a large part of his time at sea on the Bibby Liner Warwickshire,joining it as a 5th engineer in May 1909 and leaving it in January 1915 as 3rd engineer.

18250this 1825518251182521825318254

brian daley

01-09-2011, 10:53 PM

I have some final documents about Charles Barrie, to summarise,he was born in the 1880's and lived for just 64 years. In that time he been an appentrice in an iron foundry,he graduated to the position of marine engineer and rose through the ranks serving in many company's but the Bibby Line was where he spent the bulk of his seagoing life. He retired drom the sea during WW1 and took a shore job as an Engineering Surveyor , aposition he remained in until his death in 1948.
I will continue this thread with the story of David Barrie, who was a true sailorman.
The pictures below show the last page in Mr Barries discharge book,a letter of reference from the master of the Baron Inverdale,a ship of the Hogarth line,and finally,a couple of pages from his passport; it gives you a picture of the man and his wife makes them real,
BrianD

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ellergreen

01-10-2011, 10:55 AM

Just to lighten the thread :-)
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brian daley

01-10-2011, 01:18 PM

I forgot to include the most important document that Charles Barrie had,his Certificate of Competency ,First Class Engineer. This is a lovely piece of work,the paper is thick and heavy and feels almost like cloth,I have had to reduce the size of it from A1 to enable me to copy it here,
BrianD

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brian daley

01-10-2011, 10:56 PM

David Barrie started his sea going career as a boy rating ,sailing on some of the family's coasters ,where he learned his sailor work. Come sixteen ,he managed to get a deckboys job on a barque sailing to Christiana (now Oslo) in Norway. The vessel was out of Arbroath ,which was where the family then resided and his first few trips were out of that port. David was an excellent seaman and the many reports we have from his many captains show that he was a good man to have aboard. By July 1870 he had become an Ordinary Seaman,thus beginning his climb to the top. There was no such thing as a discharge book in those days ,all that a sailor got was a certificate of discharge. This was double sided and gave details of the crew man and his vessel on the face side,and details of his conduct and ability on the reverse. If a Master thought well of a man he would also compose a letter of reference,as will be shown here.
I make no apologies for the condition of the certificates ,they are like tissue paper and are 140 years old. There are more letters and things to show ,so I hope the moderators don't keep knocking them off site
BrianD
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brian daley

01-11-2011, 10:45 PM

Here are some of the letters of recommendation that some ships masters penned for David Barrie, the dedication he showed for his vocation led to his rising to the very peak of his profession. I will post more on the morrow,
BrianD

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brian daley

01-11-2011, 10:51 PM

brian daley

01-12-2011, 09:10 PM

Here are some more of the discharge certificates for David Barrie,you may note the small changes that have taken place ,they became one sided just prior to the issue of discharge books. If you have a close look at the reverse on one you will see that David had reached(albeit temporarily) his goal of sailing as master.
BrianD
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captain kong

01-31-2011, 09:53 PM

PRINCESS VICTORIA SINKING 59YEARS AGO TODAY
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58 Years ago today, 31 January 1953, the ferry Princess Victoria sailed from Stranrare for Larne in N.I. In a short time the wind and sea got up and eventually it was hurricane force blowing down throuigh the North Channel, the same storm that flooded south east England killing over 500 people and thousands in Holland., The sea stove in the stern doors and she took water on the car decks, the free surface effect gave her a ever increasing list The Maydays went out, the Sparky died at his Post and was awarded a posthumous GEORGE MEDAL, Unknown to the rescue services she was blown over 30 miles south of her reported position No one was able to find her. 133 passengers and crew died, all women and children died.
The wind was reported to have gusted up to 120 mph,
I was on an Everard tanker, AMITY, we had sailed from Heysham for Belfast early that Saturday morning.
I was on the wheel just before noon when I heard the Skipper talking to Portpatrick Radio,they wanted all ships to proceed to the area. We were being smashed around in some of the most horrendous seas I have ever seen in 45 years of seafaring.we were like a submarine.we could not make much head way against those seas and wind. I remember us being in touch with the Pass of Drumochter, another small tanker and Donoghadee Lifeboat. By the time we got off the Copelands it was dark and no sign of anything except a screaming gale and heavy seas. We searched around not knowing where to look , until Sunday morning we then crept into Befast Lough, the saddest thing I saw was HMS Consort and the minesweeper, HMS Woodbridge Haven . They were overtaking us quite close, with the dead bodies lain on their quarter decks.
The Princess Victoria had drifted 30 miles to the south that is why no one could find her. The strange thing was, she was never out of sight of land in all that time.

ItsaZappathing

02-05-2011, 11:32 PM

Very good that Brian & CK :handclap:

brian daley

02-09-2011, 09:02 PM

I left off this tale when writing about David Barries climb through the ranks up to the top. I have been sent the book of the family business ,and David's Masters certificate,both shown below. After reaching the top of the tree,David ,like his nephew Charles, came ashore and got the position of surveyor with one of the marine insurance companies. He was based in London and was very succesful at the job,his years of shipwork were a great help, there was very little he did not know about ship construction.Unlike his nephew, David's spell on this world came to a very unexpected end. When he was negotiating his way ashore down a very badly rigged gangplank,he missed his footing and ended up in the dock. His heavy weather clothing was too heavy for him to keep his head above the water and he drowned in the very water that he had sailed on for most of his life
BrianD

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brian daley

02-10-2011, 03:17 PM

]The notes below were issued to Allied Personnel during WW11. These particular notes were amongst the papers of Captain David Barrie. How they came to be there is a bit of a mystery because the observant among you will note that The Egypian note bears the head of King Farouk and he never came on to the throne until just before 1939. These notes were issued to stop black marketeering. The local populace of each country had different notes and so these banknotes were of no value to them. The last country to have a separate currency for alien was Communist China,it was called the Yuan and was printed in English ,French and German.

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