You’re a better mariner than me because I might of kept on walking when I hit the gas station. You must of really like the crew that you went back for. What happened to the owner/captain, he stay in business or moved on to bigger adventures which is common for such eccentrics? Also, what nationality was he? I’m guessing Russian, Greek or Palestinian?
1 Like
I very much doubt it. I’m just some yardbird roustabout who scored a bit of sea time beyond my qualifications, hardly what you’d call a mariner at all. It was indeed our love for the rest of the crew that brought us back, we both agreed that if it wasn’t for them he could have solved the situation for himself.
It had been pretty OK up until then, if highly unprofessional, and this was our first glimpse of the darkness to come. I’m not sure if it was his psyche deteriorating in front of our eyes or if he’d been keeping it bottled up. Either way, it ended only a few months (half a year?) later in what I believe you call a suitcase parade. The ship ended up in extended layup, first in Tunisia and then in Venice, and he tried to get it sold for years. I don’t know what happened in the end.
The Man was Argentinian by birth. I’m not going to say which country he emigrated to, because some people would probably figure out who I’m talking about. I don’t think it’s relevant anyway; His behavior wasn’t typical of any culture, but of a raving lunatic.
3 Likes
I heard a story about a captain who was working on a boat somewhere in Africa, he went ashore to meet with a ‘lady friend’, he never returned to the ship that night and the crew were worried about him, then early in the morning he showed up to the ship but he was completely naked, the ‘lady friend’ he had went to meet had robbed him and taken all his clothes, somehow he made it back to the port and they let him in naked.
4 Likes
I worked with this wacko bipolar captain on a small anchor boat who was attacked by the CE 2-3 months before I started working with him. The assault was never reported because as soon as he threw a few punches on the captain he fell down with a heart attack & had to be taken ashore in an ambulance. This nutcase captain would use the ships intercom 24 hours a day to call people to the bridge over the stupidest stuff. Everyone hated him.
But about Africa, he said when he worked in Nigeria for Trico Marine he had a falling out with the crew. They jumped him & beat him so bad he had to be put in the hospital. He bragged about the story & said he really only needed 2 or 3 days in the hospital but dragged it out for over a week. Me being sceptical of sea stories I asked around to people who worked at Trico when it was around & sure enough it was true. The same with my predecessors assault & heart attack a few months earlier. That notorious captain had a few more stories of getting his ass kicked or kicking others but I couldn’t verify them so won’t repeat them.
1 Like
Have many memories, but can only tell a few to protect the innocent.
1 Like
Not quite a sea story but…
Back around 1980 I got a phone call from the Coast Guard about a small boat up on the beach in the surf. My dad and I hopped in the truck and went to investigate.
Turns out a father and son ( about 14 yrs old) had taken delivery of a new boat and proceeded to leave the marina. Instead of turning to port when they reached the bay ( to go under a bascule bridge about two miles East) then went to starboard. After traveling almost 20 miles in the wrong direction they passed under a fixed bridge and went out the inlet into 2-4 seas. The son had the presence of mind to suggest they put on their life jackets as they proceeded down the beach in the seas and ultimately wound up ON the beach.
The fathers last name was Corrigan and he was a Navy Commander. We never checked to see if he was the son of Wrong Way Corrigan as my dad and I were laughing too hard for the next year. A true story
3 Likes
I never worked for Trico but they and a few others in the GOM were notorious for tolerating asshole captains. I heard one of these Trico “captains” screaming over the PA at their deck hands while on a brief stop in Cameron LA. Later, I got an application sent down to me from a prospective oiler who previously worked at Trico. I interviewed him and asked why he left Trico. He said he did not leave he was fired for throwing a binder thru the wheelhouse window. I asked him why he did such a thing, he said he was sick of being yelled at by a fat ass on the bridge and being treated like a dog. I hired him. Turned out to be a great worker. Last I heard he got a license.
1 Like
We might know the same guy! Are you sure it was Trico? I knew a QMED who went to work for ECO for 1 hitch but was fired. I asked him how it went & he said he threw something at the yelling captain in the bridge but didn’t expect to hit the cabin & crack up the glass. That boat ran around Fourchon for a few months with a cracked window. The QMED did get his license & was a good worker & decent dude to hang around with. Was your guy from the very western part of the Florida panhandle?
No, not sure if he worked for Trico but ECO had the same quality of “captain” back then so perhaps. I distinctly remember Trico and ECO “captains” berating deckhands over the PA. Low class POS “captains” . Possible I got Trico and ECO confused but too many years too many ships does that. This was around 1997,approximately, so if the guy you are thinking of was around that time it could be. I do not remember where the guy was from. He was a hard worker and a good guy. Small world.
Nope, the guy I knew did it around 5 years later in the early 2000’s. He was working siesmicgraph in ‘97 but made the same “lazy yelling fat ass” comment which jarred my memory. Some of those captains back then sure talked big on the loud hailer being 4 decks & 200’ away. They were more behaved when in closer proximity though.
1 Like
Well, it’s good to know the tradition carried on with folks having a BS tolerance limit and the courage to break shit on the way out.
1 Like
Klaveness, likely that woman saved you by keeping the lights on, I don’t know how I would of responded but doubtful I’d of let it pass without being pretty ‘personal’.
some of the people mentioned in these stories … well, i’m kind of old now, doubtful even with a life of military and sea going I’d take much heed to their orders nowadays.
2 Likes
Back when I was a GUDE/WIPER
Had a captain on a car carrier I was on that loved using the PA for everything, including screaming at the crew at 3am for a radio that wasn’t returned and he would keep talking until it was returned and making stupid noises on the PA.
Turned out said radio was in use by the AB on Gangway watch.
Another was during my Apprentice days up on the Lakes, there was a Captain whom was rarely ever seen outside of his cabin except for the days he liked to grab the chief and take over controls in the E/R to bring the ship off course, Captain said he liked to make sure the brid- sorry ‘wheelhouse’ watch was paying attention.
1 Like
Worked for a capt who liked the tipple and came back half in the bag. Apparently he took a shower, fell asleep, slid down, the water ran down his arm and to the deck where it rolled aft into other cabins. We tore up the C/E’s shower thinking he had a leak. It’s hilarious when you think about it. He owned up to it. I know a lot of people would have stayed mum.
5 Likes
I knew this paper captain once. We were on a DP vessel doing our 5 year trials, specifically the steering portion. We were performing a box move and the vessel began to slowly roll in a circular motion like a top. This upset the old man who plaintively begged the DPO to “make it stop”. I don’t know what he was thinking since there are multiple ways to manually take over a DP3 vessel. But this guy was mostly known for staying in his office.
2 Likes
We were at sea when several CO2 cylinders blew off to atmosphere. The CO2 room was a separate block on the aft deck. We discovered the reason for the fault and after inspection felt that more would blow off. The next morning we had a meeting of the safety committee and I explained our findings and recommendations. I strictly recommended that service technicians attend the vessel at the next port and rectify the problem. The C/E took a back seat during the meeting and hardly spoke a word. The Captains opinion was that he had a feeling that everything would be alright and that this problem could wait until we went to dry-dock in three months time. I asked him where he was getting this feeling as I had explained clearly the problem. His reply was that he had been on a ship which was 25 years old. This ship had a spare propeller on the poop deck and they never had to use it once? The members of the safety committee looked at each other in bewilderment. The problem was rectified by Unitor Technicians about two weeks later no thanks to the Captain or Chief. Both were unbelievably incompetent. About four months later a few days before we both signed off, the Captain
came to my cabin and showed me a bad report he was giving me. I said “I know what this is about and it’s you who should get the bad report” We had a new Chief Engineer by this time and he was very happy with my performance. So it was just a personal thing between the Captain and I. This is not a beat up on Captains as I have sailed with many quality men in this position.
3 Likes
My captain who thought it was a good idea to needle-gun the bridge wings while we were transiting Singapore Straight. 
3 Likes
I was eating on the mess deck after watch. Master had taken over while we were working cargo at the rig. Just two officers working 12-12. He then comes walking in into the mess from the back deck (main deck level). “Hey, Dave…who’s watching the DP system!?” Dude couldn’t sit still.
2 Likes
these stories hurt !!! , I’ve a few but I’d rather just leave them astern.
3 Likes