Chasing Conrad: A Tale of the Sea and a Glimpse Into the Abyss

209 Pages·2015·2.39 MB·English

by  Simon J. Hall

Chasing Conrad
A tale of the sea and a glimpse into the abyss
Simon J Hall
Whittles Publishing
Published by
Whittles Publishing Ltd.,
Dunbeath,
Caithness, KW6 6EG,
Scotland, UK
www.whittlespublishing.com
© 2015 Simon J. Hall
ISBN 978-184995-155-5
Also by Simon J. Hall: Under a Yellow Sky
All rights reserved.
The right of Simon J. Hall
to be identified as the author of this work
has been asserted by him in accordance with
the Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988.
No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted,
in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, recording or otherwise
without prior permission of the publisher.
Printed by
Latimer Trend & Company Ltd.,Plymouth
Contents
Acknowledgements ................................................ iv
A Guide to Seafaring Language ............................... v
Preliminary ............................................................ vii
1 School for the Almost Serious ............... 1
2 War and Pisces .................................. 15
3 Slow Passage ..................................... 38
4 Painted Iron .................................... 60
5 An Interlude in the North East .......... 82
6 Indian Ocean .................................. 105
7 Death of a Giant ............................. 126
8 Chasing Conrad .............................. 140
9 Gazing into the Abyss ..................... 165
10 Hark the New Dawn ......................... 176
The Ship’s Epilogue ............................................. 196
Acknowledgements, thanks and apologies
First, in writing this book I give unrestrained appreciation and thanks to:
Butcombe beer and Doom Bar bitter, Châteauneuf-du-Pape, a very occasional cigarette, Tetleys
tea, junk TV, Ibuprofen, sherbet lemons, Admiralty charts 1263 and 748B, my discharge book, all the
letters I wrote home (which my mother kept), pictures of my father, Roget’s Thesaurus, the Oxford
English Dictionary, The Third Man, directed by Carol Reed, Hold My Hand I’m Dying by John Gordon
Davis, Joseph Conrad, Rudyard Kipling, Alfred Noyes, Robert Louis Stevenson, Somerset Maugham,
The Principles of Ethics, Volume 1 by Herbert Spencer, Jack London, the Internet, Cosi fan Tutte by
Mozart, Silver Machine by Hawkwind, Apple, my PC, Microsoft Word, William Shakespeare, Under
Pressure by Queen, Friedrich Nietzsche, Whittles Publishing, my seafaring friends – John, Jimmy,
Barry, Dick, Charlie, Moz, Patsy, Shooey, Des et al. – all of you who gave me compliments about my
first book, all the people I will offend with this second book, my kids who provide the context, my
beautiful and ever-encouraging wife Antoinette … and all the gods that move us all.
This is a casual sequel to the book I wrote on my experiences when I first went to sea; Under a
Yellow Sky. Several readers who were not blessed with a seagoing life were mildly baffled by some of
the nautical terminology used in this earlier book. To address this shortcoming, I have now included
a guide to seafaring language.
All the shipping companies I served with were decent and honourable organisations. I have not
mentioned the names, although many who read this and who were at sea at the time might believe they
recognise those organisations I am writing about. There is no intended criticism expressed or implied,
and I apologise for any offence any might choose to take. Any failings are mine and mine alone.
Even if you sailed with me, you will be lucky to recognise yourself in the pages of this book. I have
made deliberate changes, not only to people’s names but also to the order of events. I have sometimes
transplanted occurrences between different ships to confuse the trail. The reason for this clouding is
to avoid embarrassment to those who would prefer to keep their past to themselves, nothing more.
So, if you come across an unpleasant or stupid shipboard character and think: ‘My God! That’s
me!’ Take heart – it might not be. Whilst this book is intended as a true account, those of you who
remember the details and chronology in a different way should make allowances for these changes. Of
course, some may just remember events in a completely different way.
Last, I have been brutal in my descriptions of some of the British ports in the 1970s, although this
represents my experience. These places have all changed now, and many are veritable garden cities. I
hope my words do not cause any modern-day inhabitants to become too exercised – there were some
very mean corners of the country at that time.
There is no embroidery in these pages, beyond my choice of words.
iv
A Guide to Seafaring Language
AB Able seaman
Abaft Behind
Abeam Out to one side of the ship, at right angles to the fore-and-aft length
Aft Backward (as a direction on board a ship); or the back area of the ship
Aldis lamp Very bright hand-held lamp that flashes: used for signalling
Ape Deck cadet
Ballast Weight, usually water in tanks, put into the bottom of an empty ship to make her stable
Bilges Bottom-most inside part of a ship, where water (usually filthy) accumulates
Bits Steel bollards on the poop deck and fo’c’sle head
Bollards Steel posts on the dock for securing ships’ ropes
Bosun Chief petty officer in charge of the deck crew
Bow Front of the ship
Bridge Command and navigational centre of the ship
Bulkhead Wall
Bumboat Small boat that ferries supplies and people between the shore and ships at anchor
Bunker fuel Fuel oil for ships
Cabin Room
Cargo blocks Pulley-wheel mechanisms with steel wires running through
Casab Deck storekeeper (Chinese crew), a petty officer
Chief Chief engineer officer
Chief mate Chief officer
Choff Chief officer
Clutter Waves close to the ship picked up by radar
Coaming Raised lip around a hatch, to help keep water out
Deadweight Measurement of a ship’s capacity, mainly applicable to tankers
Deck The floor on a ship, as well as a particular level on it; e.g. the boat deck
Deck boy Uncertificated deckhand under age 18
Deck storekeeper Petty officer on deck, junior to the bosun
Deckhead Ceiling
Dogs Securing lugs on hatches and watertight doors
DHU Deck hand uncertificated
Dodger Curved steel plate on the bridge wing that deflects the wind
Draft / draught Depth of a ship under the surface of the water
DR Dead reckoning: an estimate of the ship’s position
DR Declined to report – a black mark on a seaman’s discharge record
Dunnage Wooden planking to protect cargo from steel decks and bulkheads
ETA Estimated time of arrival
Fathom Six feet: traditional measurement of sea depth
Fireman Engine room worker
Fiver Fifth engineer officer
Flying bridge On a tanker, the raised walkway between accommodation blocks
v
Chasing Conrad
Fo’c’sle head The raised deck at the front of the ship (pron. fokes’l, short for ‘forecastle’)
For’ard Forward (as a direction on board a ship); or the front area of the ship (pron. forr’d)
Foreign Going Arts. Agreement (Articles) signed when someone joins a deep sea ship
Fourth Fourth engineer officer
Fourth mate Fourth officer
Gross tonnage The way ships are measured, except tankers (which are measured by deadweight)
Gunwales Stiffened top edges of the hull of a wooden boat (pron. gunnels)
Hatch Large square or rectangular covered opening in a deck for cargo to be loaded and unloaded
Her Don’t forget that ships are female
Holystoning Scrubbing a wooden deck with a cement block, water and sand
Hook Anchor
Home Trade Articles Agreement a seaman signs when joining a coastal waters ship
Kung hei fat choy Cantonese for ‘Happy New Year’
Knot Measurement of speed: one nautical mile per hour. (‘Knots per hour’ is a useful indication of an
unreconstructed landlubber.)
Leci Electrical engineer officer (pron. lecky)
Marks Maximum load lines painted on the side of a ship near the waterline, aka Plimsoll Line
Mate Chief officer
Midships On a tanker, the accommodation block in the centre of the ship
Monkey island Deck above the navigating bridge
MV Motor Vessel
Old Man Captain or master
Petty officer Senior crew member positioned between the officers and the crew
Pilot Someone employed by a port authority to guide ships into and out of the port
Point 11.25 degrees (directional, relating to a compass bearing; one point is 1/32 of a circle)
Poop deck Top deck at the aft end of the ship
Port Left side of the ship, when looking for’ard
Pratique Permission for a ship to enter port, after it has confirmed that there is no infectious disease on
board
Q Flag The plain yellow flag flown when a ship is requesting inward port clearance (pratique)
Quartermaster Helmsman
Ralston Analogue stability calculator, for checking a ship’s stability
Roads Anchorage area in a port
Second Second engineer officer
Second mate Second officer
Sparks Radio officer
SS Steam Ship
Starboard Right side of the ship (when looking for’ard)
Stays Wire ropes that brace the masts
Stern Back end of the ship
Stevedore Someone who loads and unloads ships in port
Stores Deck storekeeper (British crews), a petty officer
Supercargo Someone hired by the shippers to supervise cargo work in port
Taffrail Polished wooden rail around the outer edges of the upper accommodation decks
Telegraph Device to indicate engine speed requirement: e.g. ‘Full Ahead’
Third Third engineer officer
Third mate Third officer
Truck Cap on the top of a mast
Tween decks Cargo storage decks under the main deck
Wharfie New Zealand slang for stevedore
VLCC Very large crude carrier
vi
Preliminary
When my twentieth birthday arrived, I was studying for my Second Mate’s Certificate of
Competency, having just served three and a half years as a deck cadet in the British Merchant
Navy. Phew, that was the hard part over, I told myself, now for the good life. A good life it
was, too, but no less hard, on reflection. The problems and pressures that tested me were just
different, and I remained forever handicapped by the confines of my own personality and the
errant foolishness of my notions. Older and wiser; but not wise.
For the next six years I served as a junior officer across a range of ships, across the range
of the world. My life was both halcyon and turbid. I am comfortable in writing of what
happened, not only of the good things but also of my fecklessness and waste.
Most young men look forwards, they look for change, they look for new things. Not me. I
had a reverse gene; I looked backwards. The life I wanted and the life I sought had started to
die out before I was born, although there were still scraps of it left, if you looked hard enough.
So I looked for it and I chased for it: Chasing Conrad.
vii

1
School for the Almost Serious
In the 1970s, when I was a young man in my teens and twenties, my nautical life and my
lifestyle placed me outside the ring of most gatherings of normal society. My conversation
was founded on the experience of having called into places around the world that were off
the well-trodden track. I mixed with eccentric people, I visited shady and savage parts of the
world, I was commonly found in the company of the unsavoury and I spent my relaxation
time in dockland bars that were frequented by the strange and the unnerving. I drank too
much, I was caught up into violence too often, I rubbed shoulders with rough people, the
brutish, louts, bar girls, drug addicts, madmen. On balance, I also met extraordinary people,
the brave, the committed, those who lent a hand, people who shined a light wherever they
went. My very job was to travel the world away from the tourist corners, and by doing so
I journeyed beyond the social map. This life all too often made social interaction awkward
when I came home. Young men who were younger than me asked me questions of my life at
sea, the majority of which were leeringly designed to flush out some licentious tale. ‘Girl in
every port, eh?’ ‘Every girl loves a sailor, right?’ and so forth. I would reply with a shrug or a
nod and a smile. Sometimes, they asked naive questions in such an earnest manner that I felt
I was unable respond without mocking them: ‘I’d love to be in the middle of a hurricane. Is it
fun?’ ‘Do you kill pirates?’ and such like. Young men who were older than me found it more
difficult to ask questions because they were keen not to underline their own more passive
and sedate lives. They kept quiet when I spoke of some occurrence in a far-flung part of the
world and just gave knowing nods, to let everyone know they had their own hidden depths
of excitement.
In the world in which I existed, I was worked to excess, but I was young and strong
and healthy, which allowed me to stay up all night to drink the wine and then work the
next day without a break. I had no hobbies, and few interests beyond the job that I did and
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