[QUOTE=Ordinaryseaman;28982]Cool thread with a lot of great stories! I love learning about the sailors who sailed before…
Anyone have pics?[/QUOTE] the asphalt carrier the asphalt commander had to many problems to list and proper decorum prohibits me from listing others.
The slop chest was always out of beer and whiskey and the captain red lined me for PMH that was un cool. Lot of Mass Maritimers here and KP .Some hawsepipers.
Lots of fighting and drinking vomit urine in the passageways in the morning dryed blood streeks all over the bulkheads.
I made on cruise and wired the union i quit. Roaches and rats everywhere. Its not worth it to work in the Merchant marines low pay ect
the people on here for crew were horrible. The food was so bad i brought my own.
[QUOTE=knotship;1798]El Segundo, <br><br>While I have not heard many positive feelings from those ex AC hands who I have sailed with, I do have to agree with you that sometimes the worst of ships can still offer the best of experiences. My own story was to be chief mate and later master of the last WWII stickship still sailing in her original configuration with the machinery, cargo gear and accomodations she was built with and believe me when I say that all were quite primative, rough and dirty 50 years after she was launched when I sailed on her in the first half of the 90’s. As tired and greasy and uncomfortable and low paying as she was, to get to sail on what was end of the line for the many thousands of ships which were built in that time of the mankind’s greatest shipbuilding effort to me was a badge of honor I am proud to wear and I have the scars to prove it. To myself, she was the equivalent of the last windjammers at the twilight of their era in the 30’s when they raced with their grain cargoes from Australia to Europe. You knew that when they were gone, the world would never see their kind working on the seas again. Ok, I might be over romantic looking backwards, but it was fun getting to work with the exact cargo gear found in those old wartime vintage textbooks we had in school. <br><br>Today, I like modern and well maintained. I’ll take a pass if the ship is sheets of rust hidden under a thick layer of grease. I especially like ships that you don’t get hurt or killed on, which don’t burn, blow up and/or then sink out from beneath oneself. <br><br>cheers<br><br><br>postscript: that same ship still lives and occasionally sails as a “mercy” vessel for a group called Friendships in Lake Charles so actually that era is not yet totally dead although the SPIRIT of GRACE is no longer inspected or classed and sails under a waiver granting her special status since she is not engaged in commercial trade.<br><br>A link to her is found at: <A href="http://friendships.org/FSFleetKnotClass.html]http://friendships.org/FSFleetKnotClass.html</A>[/QUOTE] yeah their were to many trouble makers on this ship and the Unions MEBA MMP put them their because they caused so much trouble on other ships including me! I loved every minute of it. Master Mates and Pilots life in the old days slop chest full of whiskey, beer makers mash.
[QUOTE=Ordinaryseaman;29075]Thanks Kevin:)[/QUOTE] Right now my gal called me up from Castine Maine. I’m not happy with my former lover from the cleaning gear locker on the Azz Diz asster. She 2/M didn’t like to fulfill her part of our sexual CBA. Sound familiar friend? Well does it. Well i never got one pay raise on disaster. But what i did do was file for Dept of agriculture food stamps at New Haven and in Texas city. A pay raise in the Merchant Marines consists of BAIL CARD FOOD STAMP BOOKLET a johnny bag (lunch / prison lunch) .a apple and stale styrofoam cup a bug juice. When u join the Merchant Marines you are part of the bravest of the brave and party people that know how to boogie and know how to survive. MM&P is mostly Kings Pointers complaining about berthing on Sealand ships.Boston MM&P theirs no more breakfast coffe and danish in the hall. The hawser pipers are the best group of guys to work with. Being in the merchant Marines is kool! All the woman you meet over seas. I will miss the ASPHALT COMMANDER AND THE ORIGINAL RELIEF CREW. LIKE BEING IN A MOTORCYCLE GANG ON STEROIDS!!! LOT OF FORMER MARINE CORPS US ARMY IN THE MERCHANT MARINE NOW!!!
[QUOTE=knotship;1749]<P>Well known throughout the industry as the “Ship of Pain”<br><br>good by to bad rubbish that gives the US Merchant Marine its reputation as a decrepid train wreck. How many steamships do we still have compared to any other maritime nation? What is the average age of the fleet? <br><br>cheers </P>[/QUOTE]HI i shipped out from the MMP Hall Massport Boston my agent was a guy called kadnemell stanley karndnamell always laughing smoking cigs i didnt find him that funny nor the asphalt commander. filthiest ship
i have ever been on, Miss Sealand Container ships so much i could cry. I frankly don’t know how the Coast Guard lets that train wreck ass disaster sail on the open ocean let alone come into american ports. Whole ship smelt like a zoo inside out side like a tar pit. Everything is paper cup paper plate. no heat in the cabins. i made one trip and quit under mutual agreement clause. Saw two hot very hot female engineering cadets from USMMA, nice tits nice ass real pretty hair hour glass bodies.The officers on this ship were pretty tough bunch Hawse Pipers mostly ex military biker type.
[quote=ds;1649]the legend of mm&p has been scrapped!
The crew of the mt asphalt commander sends word that the vessel has discharged her last cargo and is on her way to chittagong, bangladesh, for scrapping. The sargeant marine vessel, vertically manned by mm&p, left newport news, va., on feb. 25, under the command of captain david mclean. It is expected that the vessel will arrive in bangladesh around april 18, with beaching scheduled between the 20th and 23rd. (mm&p newsletter)[/quote] just to let you know i predict the energy independence will sink just like el faro did. To many stress cracks on all the hoppers plus
their are also structural cracks on the ship sides. You cant say you were not warned!!!
[quote=cma_decky;1657]anyone want to explain to me how this ship is a legend? Is it just the cool name?[/quote]yeah uh this ship was crewed with many dead beats . We use call to call er the island of mis fit toys. All people fired from various steam ship companies for fighting drinking wife swapping running brothels aboard ship
gambling …
I love learning about the sailors who sailed before…