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aHow about a favourite ships thread?
We could even move onto a "most hated" thread too!
Even if you've haven't actually joined your first ship yet, you're bound to have a favourite of some description - so lets get them on and then we can heckle at will!
To start of with, a personal favourite of mine - the good ship 'British Skill'.
A fine product of Harland & Wolff in Belfast, same yard which build the Titanic of course, and this one was just as seaworthy!
I spent 5 months on this MIGHTY vessel running around Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Singapore and Japan. Load ports were generally awful, but discharge ports generally very good, mainly because to do a full discharge took the best part of a week due to frequent black outs/breakdowns/oil spills etc.
Some very happy (hazy) memories of lots of time alongside in Tokyo Bay (Disneyland was great for picking up women!), Brisbane (the Valley!), Sydney (Kings Cross!), Singapore (four floors!) etc.
On a good day she could just about do 12 knots, downhill, with the wind behind her, with sea passages regularly interrupted by frequent black outs/breakdowns and a few oil spills.
She was pretty 'tired' by the time I was on her, with the crew hammering through the rotten decks/bulkheads on a daily basis, and just about everything else either rusted solid/seized/broken down/running at slow speed/life expired/on its way out. Every day was a different challenge, mainly because we never knew what would break next.
Saying that, we had it pretty easy compared to what the Engineers had to deal with.
Indeed I recall a heated discussion going on between our Chief Engineer and a Superintendent about the lack of planned maintenance that had been signed off. The Chiefs response was the classic "we haven't got time for maintenance - we're too busy dealing with the emergencies!".
She was also one of the last ships in BP to have decent sized crew - 17 (all British) Officers and about 22 ratings.
One of the hallmarks of this class of ship was a firm work hard/play hard philosophy - you worked your bollocks off and partied like a madman - only way to stay sane.
She also had a (serious un)healthy cockroach and weevil population onboard which shared the massive accommodation with the rest of us.
Oh but we loved her!
The Bars were always busy, the Officers especially so as quite a few of said Officers had their wives with them. Silver service for all meals (Uniform required to be worn for all), Steward serving in the Officers bar between 1700-2200 and BBQ's every weekend, usually in conjunction with some sort of theme/fancy dress party.
I've since found out that we're all likely to be shaving with her these days, her having gone to that great shipyard in the sky at Alang.
A fine photograph of her passing the Sydney Opera House which was taken whilst I was aboard hangs in my living room as a reminder of some very happy times.
Rust in Peace old girl...
We could even move onto a "most hated" thread too!
Even if you've haven't actually joined your first ship yet, you're bound to have a favourite of some description - so lets get them on and then we can heckle at will!
To start of with, a personal favourite of mine - the good ship 'British Skill'.
A fine product of Harland & Wolff in Belfast, same yard which build the Titanic of course, and this one was just as seaworthy!
I spent 5 months on this MIGHTY vessel running around Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Singapore and Japan. Load ports were generally awful, but discharge ports generally very good, mainly because to do a full discharge took the best part of a week due to frequent black outs/breakdowns/oil spills etc.
Some very happy (hazy) memories of lots of time alongside in Tokyo Bay (Disneyland was great for picking up women!), Brisbane (the Valley!), Sydney (Kings Cross!), Singapore (four floors!) etc.
On a good day she could just about do 12 knots, downhill, with the wind behind her, with sea passages regularly interrupted by frequent black outs/breakdowns and a few oil spills.
She was pretty 'tired' by the time I was on her, with the crew hammering through the rotten decks/bulkheads on a daily basis, and just about everything else either rusted solid/seized/broken down/running at slow speed/life expired/on its way out. Every day was a different challenge, mainly because we never knew what would break next.
Saying that, we had it pretty easy compared to what the Engineers had to deal with.
Indeed I recall a heated discussion going on between our Chief Engineer and a Superintendent about the lack of planned maintenance that had been signed off. The Chiefs response was the classic "we haven't got time for maintenance - we're too busy dealing with the emergencies!".
She was also one of the last ships in BP to have decent sized crew - 17 (all British) Officers and about 22 ratings.
One of the hallmarks of this class of ship was a firm work hard/play hard philosophy - you worked your bollocks off and partied like a madman - only way to stay sane.
She also had a (serious un)healthy cockroach and weevil population onboard which shared the massive accommodation with the rest of us.
Oh but we loved her!
The Bars were always busy, the Officers especially so as quite a few of said Officers had their wives with them. Silver service for all meals (Uniform required to be worn for all), Steward serving in the Officers bar between 1700-2200 and BBQ's every weekend, usually in conjunction with some sort of theme/fancy dress party.
I've since found out that we're all likely to be shaving with her these days, her having gone to that great shipyard in the sky at Alang.
A fine photograph of her passing the Sydney Opera House which was taken whilst I was aboard hangs in my living room as a reminder of some very happy times.
Rust in Peace old girl...
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