Quote:
Originally Posted by tweediekiwi
All that history about the Southern Garden is fascinating. I have probably heard Dad talk about it at some time but I'm sure he didn't know all of it. When he shipped out from Grangemouth ( or Port Bannantyne?) in 1957 the CE, Magonegall was all Dad called him (a large and very fit heavy drinker who came to the ER in clean overalls and white gloves!), called him to his cabin and showed him a plan of the ship. Macgonegall pointed to a pipe above his head and asked Dad where it went and what it's for, so he spent about a week crawling all over the ship finding out. Then he was spot-tested every time he saw the Chief or one of the engineers. He spent a lot of time on refrigeration, working on the salt flat cleaning coils and maintaining generators, packing glands and fixing steam leaks before he got to work on the main engine. I guess that's what 6th Engineers did?
With Salvesens he also sailed on the Hadrian Coast and the Fidra, coasting around Britain and trips to Norway for timber. He loved Norway and was always talking about how clean and beautiful Oslo and Trondheim were.
Dad took me on board the Southern Garden one day when I was four. As we walked along the deck, Captain Magnus Polson(?) approached with his full uniform on. I'd never seen anything like it and, as kids do, I asked the wrong question. "Are you a sailor?" He and Dad had a laugh and he said yes, he was a sailor. Great memories.
And I get the Dusty Springfield reference now ... I thought you were taking about someone's nickname, a guy who pulled pistons or something. Sorry, bit slow some days now.
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A good post!
When I was a lowly Cadet and just about to ship out for the first time, the very scary Superintendent Iain Dalglish asked us during one of his Tuesday evening lectures,"What is the first thing you find out in the engine room?"
I was the first to reply,"The location of extinguishers and their type, emergency equipment and BA sets!".
No one else responded. After a long silence, he said,"That is the second thing.", long pause,"The location of ladders and the emergency escape routes is the first thing that you learn. How may steps up or down, how many footsteps, and in which direction to the nearest escape route?"!
He then went on to tell us that fire is the most feared peril on board ship and, in the event of a fire, we would be blinded by the smoke. It was our duty to ourselves, and the company, to survive any emergency: "Remember", said Daggy, "a ship can easily be replaced. Not so easily, a good, trained engineer!"
Regarding your father's experience with the Chief, this is a normal activity when one is new on a class of vessel. It involves considerable "bilge diving"! Which is the line, where are the valves, what type, any bypasses, where does it originate and terminate? All duly noted in your breast pocket notebook, recorded cleanly between watches, a veritable "working manual". And why trace the lines? The valves are normally identified by brass disks, sometimes with a tag number to id from the P&ID drawing, stating the fluid and direction, e.g. SW INLET - Okay, that is on overboard suction - Where does it attach to the hull - SAFETY!
Unfortunately, many times the discs are removed during maintenance or painting and are not replaced correctly! This is where your first hand knowledge comes into play - As per the Chief's demand to your father!
Best Regards,
Dave