Oh I’m a neighbor to the south, but I know you’re safe until he takes his pants off or doesn’t have a cheeseburger handy 
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Seadog, I used to wear a sportcoat on crew changes, and it did result in getting better seats sometimes… Have no idea why I stopped doing that. One of the captains that trained me was always a sharp dresser on crew change. He didn’t care much for flip flops or smoking in the galley.
Other than the larger bulk of Randy’s gut, Frenchie could have been his twin. If both showed up in Sunnyvale at the same time, Mr. Lahey would have a tough time figuring oat which one was more worthy of his affection. As usual, he’d probably let the booze decide. Know what I’m sayin’ dog?
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When Ch.Off. I had a Chinese crew member coming to complain about feeling unwell.
He told me; “Inside come outside two times. No can do”
Which clearly meant that he had wormitted twice and couldn’t hack it any more. Clear as a bell.
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I think the carrier HMS Victorious had the distinction of having the longest bar of any vessel at sea and that included passenger ships.
On decommissioning the wardroom piano was catapulted of the flight deck with due ceremony.
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Back in the day when a lot of British companies specialised in different trades around the world I had a friend who was mate with a company that did the African coast. He thought this crewman had told him he had diarrhoea and gave him the appropriate medication. After about 5 days the crewman through another member of the crew got the right message through and a laxative was duly prescribed.
The entire crew maintained a vigil on deck until a large number of air changes had taken place throughout the accommodation.
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Cheeseburgers for lunch again?
A few whiners experienced the less than rinsed soap off of dishes. Just so I’ve been told or heard. Probably an unsubstantiated rumor.
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On one ship there was a single toilet in the Change room that was used when in work cloths. There was a large gap under the door so you could see if somebody was using it from the entrance door.
One day the Cook had served something that was off so the toilet was in frequent use. The Ch.Eng. who was a practical joker, put his work boots strategically in the toilet cubicle and closed the door.
He then took up a strategic place to observe the faces of the people looking in to find the toilet occupied and getting more and more anxious and bothered.
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On Dutch ships we got two hot meals per day. The main event was lunch with the usual Dutch dishes, meat, vegetables, potatoes and gravy plus desserts. During dinner both a hot meal was served as well as bread, butter and assorted meat spreads, fish and cheeses. The hot part was things like labskaus, a sort of Northern European hash, all kinds of pasta dishes with red sauces, also Mac and Cheese. Furthermore Nasi Goreng, Indonesian fried rice, fried potatoes with corned beef and fried egg, German fried potatoes, onions and diced pork and things like that. On Sundays we got the famous Indonesian rice table for lunch. Most of us skipped breakfast to wet the appetite…
Indonesian rice table.
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Ahh, Nasi Padang. 21 dishes on the table. Take what you like.
In traditional Indonesian Rumah Makan you pay only for the dishes you take.
With a couple of “Bir Bintang Besar” it is a meal fit for Orang Blanda dan Thuan Besar.
No red beans and rice?! I’ll just have a spoonfull of fatback and possum bottoms on my way out.
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Deep sea, and on the cable ships, it was no uniform then no food. I’ve seen people asked to leave saloon as they didn’t have a tie on. It was fair enough, those were the rules and there were ties available in the bond. As usual the engineers and ROV crew tried to get clever and tried having their meals in the duty mess in civvies but they soon came to heel when they weren’t allowed any wine in there!
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What about fatback and beans, will that do?
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I was invited onboard a cable ship for lunch, the barman was cutting limes for the gin and tonics when we walked in. I don’t think I have to say any more.
What’s the engineer’s job like on a cable ship, anyway, are they doing “cable stuff” or just the plant?
It was great working on them.
Mostly engineers plant stuff but they also did a bit of winch driving,
The Dutch. Vera nice folks, smart, open-minded, honest, sensible I find. But curiously blind to their own cuisine. I love Dutch food, and you can’t seem to get it anywhere outside of The Netherlands, and Dutch people have no idea what you mean when you say you love the food. But I’m telling you: every broodje is a wonder. Broodje is to sandwich as Vermeer to a kicked-over-can-of paint.
There were almost always a C & W cable ship stationed in Singapore in the 1960s onwards.
Most of the time moored at the Cable & Wireless wharf in Telok Blangah (next to Keppel Shipyard) or at anchor on Western Anchorage.
For a time this was the CS Retriever:
Her history:
They kept good proper Colonial style on the C&W cable ships, just like on the Royal Auxiliary ship “Sir Lancelot” that was usually also anchored on Western Anchorage in the 1960s. (My Father-in-Law, Capt. A.J.Walker, was Master on her for several years when under British India management)
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