01 Thursday Jun 2023
I have a thing about islands and bridges. My love of islands is easy to explain because of growing up in Guernsey. Bridges? Well, it is possible that the bridge thing began when I joined the Merchant Navy and began to view bridges from different angles including from below when arriving at and sailing from various ports.
mv Sheaf Royal – passing under a bridge in New Orleans in November 1973
It is two months since I last posted. Where have I been? Decorating mostly. Plus a short visit to Yorkshire …
After loading coconut oil in the Philippines, the Stolt Sheaf sailed to Yokohama to load Ethylene Glycol. I don’t remember …
After sailing from Singapore the Stolt Sheaf was due to load coconut oil and soap stock (a derivative of coconut …
The Stolt Sheaf only spent two days in Singapore including time at anchor. I did get time to go ashore …
I was assigned to anchor watch with the third mate while the Stolt Sheaf was waiting for a berth in …
While at anchor in the Shatt-Al Arab fellow cadet Dougie and I fell out with the Chinese second steward who …
There was another British ship at anchor not far upstream from the Stolt Sheaf when she was stuck in the …
Having finally made it to the Stolt Sheaf after three days of travel, including being stranded in Kuwait for twenty-four …
When I found out that I was to fly to Iran to join the Stolt Sheaf on 3 May 1975 …
Having completed the first college phase of my training in March 1975 I was informed by my shipping company that …
Some folks might think that cadets studying at Marine College were learning to drive ships. I suppose we were, but …
Deck cadet training in the British Merchant Navy in the 1970s involved alternating phases of sea and college time. Training …
A seafarer who experiences unusual levels of excitement after finding out that he or she is to be relieved at …
For the last year and a bit I have been typing up the journals I kept during my first two …
Rust happens. Especially at sea. When I joined the Sheaf Royal, she was only a year old and there was …
My first visit to Russia (then the USSR) took place during February and March 1974 when I was a first …
After just ten hours in Port Cartier in June 1974 loading iron ore (my second ten hours in Port Cartier …
My second trip to sea did not seem to involve ports of an exotic nature. During my first trip there …
I apologise for the lack of recent blog activity, which is down to illness and Christmas. The previous post described …
If you are following this blog you will know that I have been taking a journey down memory lane revisiting …
There is a six-hour pilotage through an archipelago of many islands of varying sizes to reach the Finnish port of …
Leaving Canada in her wake the Irish Wasa plodded slowly across the North Atlantic, averaging roughly 11.5 knots, and burning …
This post, which interrupts the flow of my reminiscences from life at sea in the 1970s, is a response to …
After just ten hours in Port Cartier the Irish Wasa was back at sea, loaded with 16,000 tons of Canadian …
On my first visit to Port Cartier in Canada in May 1974 it took roughly five hours to load the …
I realise that I have been missing for a month or so in respect of blog posts, which for a …
I introduced Martin, the other deck cadet on the Irish Wasa, in my previous post. I had never met anyone …
My first period of leave passed quickly. Having arrived home on 22 March 1974, it took my employers exactly one …
When George Cuthbert and I joined the mv Sheaf Royal as first trip cadets in October 1973 we had no …
I recall being somewhat excited at the news that the Sheaf Royal was to load a cargo of grain in …
Ebs and Flows... 