# There are good things about life at sea...



## TDG (May 26, 2009)

..... but not many on days like this :roll:

www.liveleak.com/view?i=975_1283799588


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## pippin (Nov 15, 2007)

That's the trouble with todays floating shoe-boxes, they don't consider them to be ships nor think about the sea being rough.

It would give the pampered passengers the wrong impression if heavy-weather precautions were built in.

I my day (yeah, the 60's!) everything on board was either fixed or was capable of being fastened to the deck with turnbuckles.

Tables had fiddlies to stop things sliding off.

Bunks had boards to stop you falling out.

Passengers and crew? Well OK we did have to stagger around a bit!


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## TDG (May 26, 2009)

pippin said:


> ....Bunks had boards to stop you falling out...


And sometimes a case stuffed under one side of the mattress so that when you got in, you were wedged against the bulkhead :roll: 
Toward the end of my time at sea I served on the 1st generation of cellular container ships ( ACT 1, 2 etc) and the trip across the Southern Ocean to Auz was very depilating, >25 degrees to >25 degrees for day after day :x 
Better stop now and do some gardening .....the ceiling lights are starting to swing :roll:


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## pippin (Nov 15, 2007)

Oh come on TDG, it was the life-jacket that we stuffed under the mattress!

_the trip across the Southern Ocean to Auz was very *depilating*_

What? Oh, you didn't have to shave your legs!!!


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## TDG (May 26, 2009)

pippin said:


> Oh come on TDG, it was the life-jacket that we stuffed under the mattress!


You obviously didn't serve on the ACT 1 Class :roll:



pippin said:


> _the trip across the Southern Ocean to Auz was very *depilating*_.... you didn't have to shave your legs!!!


No, but subsequent "events" causes the mind to drift off in strange directions occasionally 
I've never been the same since World Cup Final day 1966 on the mv "City of Poona" :lol:


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## pippin (Nov 15, 2007)

My first ship was the City of Port Elizabeth.

My second was an old clapped out tramp - sailed from the Tyne on world cup day. 

A pub had given the crew an old B&W TV. 
As Sparks it was my job to get it running.

DC ship, AC telly so had to run a cable from the rotary converter that powered the Captains broadcast receiver.

I made up an aerial from welding rods cadged from the engine room.

I spent most of the match behind the TV twiddling the vertical hold control.

Just as the winning goal was scored we totally lost the picture!

Happy days!


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## TDG (May 26, 2009)

pippin said:


> .....I spent most of the match behind the TV twiddling the vertical hold control....


But I guess that got the trip off to a good start for you with the rest of the crew :?: :wink:


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## TDG (May 26, 2009)

pippin said:


> My first ship was the City of Port Elizabeth.......Happy days!


But not when the starboard main engine tried to throw itself all around the engine room a few hours out of Las Palmas :evil:


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## Gazzer (May 1, 2005)

What a coincidence. I use to be an R/O with RSL of Cardiff whose ships were registered in Bideford......


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## TDG (May 26, 2009)

Gazzer said:


> What a coincidence. I use to be an R/O with RSL of Cardiff whose ships were registered in Bideford......


 :idea: Coincidence City / City of Coincidence :!: 
So it's true - it's a small world :!: :wink:


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## Spacerunner (Mar 18, 2006)

You civvies had it easy!

Try the Bay of Biscay in a clapped out WW2 frigate. We started in a Force Ten then lost the radio or summat techie and never knew how high it got.

Only two crew up top, OOW and lifebouy sentry. I had to promise OOW that I would heave the lifebelt to him if he went overboard. I told him not to bother with me as I wanted to go quick and there was no way the pirate we had as a skipper was going to heave-to to save a sprog bootneck.

That was after spending a week in the tiller flat pumping the rudder's hydraulics back and forth as the sterring whell or summat important had fallen off.

Wouldn't have minded so much if I had been a matelot!! :lol: :lol:


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