Ships gallery

[Ken Berry]

Hi All You Guys,
Now I have got rid of the Mersey mist out of my eyes.What a great site to be able to read.Well first about being up the mast on a square rigger.They were mad those guys, when late March 1956 I was on a New Zealand Coaster M.V. Holmglen on delivery to NZ.We had been delayed for over 2 months,with being frozen in the Canal out of Hoogezand North Holland.Built in the Bodewes Shipyard.We manged 4 Miles backward off Finnisterre in 24 Hours in a real howler.The following night there had been this booming sound coming from For'ward.In the Engine room the MAN 8 cylinder engine I still reckon gave a small jump with each boom.I got the Short straw as she had more engineers tickets between the 3 of use than the QE2.So when the 2nd arrived down he asked what that Booming noise was,he actually thought he was dreaming it.But decided differently pretty quickly. I turned in pretty quickly and was just settling nicely when Chief comes in and tells me we have to get up for'ward as the hull is going one way and the for'ward mast the other way in the rolls.Anyway we managed to get to the lower turnbuckles and they couldn't be tightened any more as obviously the yard had saved their efforts rather than use the top turnbuckles.So Maurice and myself had to go up the ladder on the mast and tighten the top turnbuckles.
We made it OK but I will always rememberCaptain Keith the Super and Old man for the Home trip.saying "He would have sworn at times we were only hanging on by our arms at times".No way we told him our legs were wrapped round the mast that tight that it took longer for to get our legs loose than it did to tighten the turnbuckles.We matched the Old Clipper record of 63 days.Captain Kong did you know an Eric Watts with Cunard he was a First Officer.I used to visit him quite a lot 2 years ago.He had been crook for a fair while.Some one mentioned the Whale Back hull or Turret hull.My Maternal G/father was on the S.S.Sagamore,3rd, Engineer WW1 when she was torpedoed 3rd,March 1917.He was 1 of only 7 survivors picked up by the S.S.Deucalion 12th,March 1917.He ended up losing his lower limbs to just below his knees.have you any photos of her.I have a couple pre 1912,but she had passenger accomodation for 60 added.My Dad didn't know what he missed by not going to Sea.He is the only one out of a hell of a lot of the male rellies who did.Thanks guys for a great evenng reading,viewing and reminissing.Best Regards Ken B

[captain kong]

Hi Ken,
thanks for interesting letter.
Here is a photo of the SAGAMORE, I think it will be the one, it is from the pre first WW days.
PHOTO IS FROM THE "OLD SHIP PICTURE GALLERIES" with thanks to them.

You mentioned Sailing ships, My brother sailed on one on the Australian and New Zealand coasts. it was the `WONGALA`, she was a `Powder Boat` carrying explosives around the coasts. She was reputed to have been more of a submarine than a sailing ship, she would go down off Sydney Heads and surface off New Zealand 12 days later.
She ended up on a reef off Thursday Island.

I dont know Eric Watts of Cunard, there was a Captain called Frederick Watts, he was Master of the Caronia.around 1960 ish.

[captain kong]

We had a meeting with `ar Bob from Ontario, Canada, at the Eldonian Club yesterday. A few bevies sunk and lamps swung.
Here are some photos.

me, Bob, Ernie, then Bob and his mate from Wallasey, then Bob and his mate again , then Bob meeting a fellow Russian Convoy Veteran.

[brian daley]

This is a picture of the S.S. Nagoya,a P&O liner built just before the First World war. She was on the Far East run to India ,China and Japan. She did a short spell as a hospital ship on the North Russian coast in 1918 ( was she treating the British who were wounded during the Russian Civil War ?)
She is shown here going to the breakers yard in Yokohama in 1932,a very sad end to an illustrious career.

[brian daley]

Here's a picture to evoke some memories;a Maggie Booth liner that was built on Merseyside in 1958.She ran a regular schedule from Liverpool to Lisbon,Barbados and the River Amazon ,all the way to Manaus. How many of you salt waterrmen sailed on her?

[brian daley]

This is a picture of the steamship Defender,one the Harrison Line that sailed out of Liverpool,She is shown heading into the Mersey passing New Brighton.
The little coaster in the foreground seems minute in comparison with the Defender; note the columns of smoke from the other vessels on the river, this was painted in the Merseys heydays.
BrianD

[brian daley]

Heres a graceful old timer;built by Denny Bros in Dumbarton she saw service with the Southern Railway from 1924 under the name of Dinard.She is shown here in her wartime colours as a hospital ship. She returned to ferrying in peacetime and worked the Dover /Boulogne route until 1968. The Finns bought her and renamed her Viking and did ferrying in the Gulf of Bothnia until 1970 when she was sold for scrap.46 years service,they built them to last back then!
BrianD

[captain kong]

Here are two old vessels of a bygone age that are still afloat.
`Balclutha` British built, preserved in San Francisco.
and the British built`Fals of Clyde` preserved in Honolulu, Hawaii. she was converted to an oil tanker and cargo ship. I have been onboard them a few times and are very interesting ships.
Why cant the British preserve ships???

[brian daley]

Here's a golden oldie,The Monarch of Bermuda of Furness Withy lines.Built at Newcastle on Tyne in 1931 she was one of the first luxury cruise liners,an all electric vessel she weighed 22424 tons and served on the New York /Caribbean run for very many years. An awful lot of Merseysiders crewed her in that time.

[ChrisGeorge]

Super thread here! Wonderful to explore Liverpool's maritime heritage in this way. Thanks, Brian and everyone!

Chris

[brian daley]

Here is a seldom seen shot, none of you Vindi boys will recognise it;it is the old Gravesend sea training school. I spent a couple of very happy weeks there in 1958 .I was at the Vindi but spent two weeks at Gravesend training for the Armistice Parade. The boys who attended Gravesend were called 'peanuts' because they were not allowed to go about in more than groups of two. The thing I liked about Gravesend was the view of the river. Situated opposite Tilbury it afforded a view of the great liners that travelled up the Thames as well as the cargo boats and barges .The vessel on the river here is the 4 masted barque Olivebank, at 2795 tons she was part of the Erilson's grain fleet and was registered at Mariehamn.
BrianD

[brian daley]

This is a shot of the old passenger landing stage down you know where.
I remember it like this when we went on our shool trip to the Isle of Man.I also tied up here when I was with Cunard and Canadian Pacific. What a wonderful place it was then. It was bustling with porters and the vans from the chandling companies, mostly horse drawn then. I hope the new landing stage provides the same kind of "busyness". It would be great to see more of the modern liners plying their trade from there........
BrianD

[Paddy]

I remember in the early sixties this time of year going over to Belfast. On arrival at the Pier Head the cobblestone was criss crossed with tram lines. The excitement of boarding the Irish boat was immense and claiming the top bunk in the cabin was all important. We would get there about nine o clock at night the evening summery and light. We would go up on deck before she set sail. Liverpool to my young mind was an all important place and a great city to come from. I have never lossed that feeling about the place. Sailing up the river it would be dark and the nights journey was ahead of us as we retired to the cabins. All excitement and fun. In the morning at first light we would go out on to the top deck and look at the approaching coast line of Ireland sheer delight as we sailed into Belfast. We would count the forty shades of green from under the bridge, as the rural shades made themselves manifest. Our Kid always insisted that there was forty one a dispute that could not be settled. And then docking at Belfast and once again cobblestones criss crossed with tram lines and away in the van. Lisbon, Lurgan, Armagh, Omagh, Portadown, and into Donegal the sheer joy of being a boy in summer.

[brian daley]

This picture brings to mind the lines of John Masefields wonderful poem "Sea Fever" The coastal vessel pictured is the 'Cromarty Firth',built at Ardrossan in 1919 for the B
Border Shipping Company. Come on now ,all together "Dirty British coaster ,with a salt caked smokestack,ploughing through the Channel on a mad March day............................................... ........................."
BrianD

[Paddy]

I loved the narrative verse of Masefield as a lad Brian. Masefield was the first poet I mastered in English lit. The Everlasting Mercy, Reynard the Fox, Widow in the Bye Street, and of cause the great seafairing narrative The Dauber. I was in Dorchester Museum perusing the Hardy room when my eyes caught a model of a sailing ship it was very intricate and had been put together with great care. There was an inscription with the information that Masefield had put it together as a present for Hardy.I could not help feeling a slght envy or to be kinder to myself a frustration that such a great poet could be also such a fine craftsman. 'Tear your heart out' 'Don't give up your day job Jude' Still I came away with the knowledge that I know the works of the both writers who gave such a great contribution to English lit. And I did once build a Spitfire!