The Pride of Nations (part one) - Page 2

bananabrain · 09-13-2006, 11:28 AM

of course, dear oscar was such an example to follow in that department. i say this as a great fan of his wit and work. anyway, i prefer dr johnson on second marriages: "a second marriage is the triumph of hope over experience."

hur hur hur.

b'shalom

bananabrain

Quahom1 · 09-13-2006, 11:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bananabrain

of course, dear oscar was such an example to follow in that department. i say this as a great fan of his wit and work. anyway, i prefer dr johnson on second marriages: "a second marriage is the triumph of hope over experience."

hur hur hur.

b'shalom

bananabrain

amen...(did i say that?)

Phyllis Sidhe_Uaine · 09-14-2006, 12:54 AM

Rading the two anecdotes reminded me of an incident between me, my (former) sister-in-law and a few British sailors.

Milwaukee had a visit from a soon-to-be-decommisioned British naval vessel, and they (the sailors) granted free tours of the ship while they were in port. My brother, (former) sister-in-law and I went down to see the ship (curiosity + me = meow) and took the tour. Francine (the sil) stuck with me while Barry got a bit distracted by the artillery, and I soon regretted having her tag along.
I found out she was asking the occasional sailor if he was married and if he was Jewish. I was embarrassed enough by something I blurted out to a leftenant (he was showing some of the stuff they did in "Welding Class" and I blurted that they looked like some of the toys my nephew played with [luckily, the leftenant looked at one of his companions and joked in that typical British manner, "Ah, yes. Executive toys."]) She asked if he was married and volunteered that I wasn't. Needless to say, I wasn't a happy camper.

I'm just grateful that she wasn't with me when I toured a Soviet ship that was welcomed into Milwaukee harbor after saving several people that would've drowned if not for the Soviets and the Polish tall ship that was here for Polish Fest (an ethnic festival here in Milwaukee.)

Sorry about the possible derailing of the thread.

*hands out :kitty:s and ferrets*

Phyllis Sidhe_Uaine

flowperson · 09-14-2006, 12:57 AM

Q...Great stories! Which all goes to prove ...again... that government is the problem...people are the answer.

My Dad was in the U.S. Army during WWII and served most of his duty as a radio operator on supply ships shuttling between the Aleutians and Seattle. Lots of great stories about that time from him which I intend to put to words sometime. The Canadians flew patrol planes up and down the "inside passage" every day and demanded the "code pass" of the day as they buzzed the ship. Dad woud have an envelope with a code for each day of the trip and was always worried about sending the wrong one and getting blown out of the water.

On the good side, the Cap'n would slow the ship down to idle speed and all able bodied hands would throw their hand lines off the stern and catch halibut, salmon, and cod for dinner. He told me of some monumental storms and seas that he experienced in the Bering sea going to and fro from Kodiak, Attu, etc. Thanks again for your stories.

flow....

Quahom1 · 09-14-2006, 01:38 AM

Now where was I...? Oh yeah, we were on our way to play the bad guys.

See, weeks before, US Customs agents and DEA (undercover) were approached to make a purchase of dope, about 20 tons. So the game settled to this:

Five Coasties would run the ship (one skipper, one navigator, one Bosn's mate and two engineers), while the RCMP would have their "ninja" team on board to make the final bust. Of course there was a representitive from the US Customs and one from DEA along for the ride (only fair, they set the whole thing up, besides one doubled as the ship's cook...damn good cook I might add). Again we Americans were only back up (a support platform for Canada to enforce their laws). So, we're sailing around the west coast with what looked like twenty tons of dope in conex boxes, waiting for contact...and got five crew on board (with 20 ghosts haunting our decks). Well after a few days, the ghosts start getting bored, so they (the RCMP ninjas), decide to have a fantail shoot...their targets?...floating beer cans, and their armament?...assault weapons.

Needless to say the Coast Guard Commander acting as "Master and Skipper" of this rig was not at all pleased with gun fire coming off the back of "his" vessel, nor the fact that the targets were empty containers of "alcohol" that he had no idea were aboard to begin with...and he got pissed off. (big difference between the Canadians and Americans, pertaining to alcohol onboard a "sovereign vessel", let alone one that is jointly sovereign... (at the time). So he turned the ship around, and started heading back to Seattle.

That got everyone's attention. So, we had a "muster", and during that muster the RCMP "ninjas" made it plain..."We're bored! What can we do?"

Clearly they were not sailors, nor were they loafers, either. After the "Skipper" made it clear he was the "Master of the vessel" and his rules were law (which all readily agreed), he did a very cool thing. He asked the RCMP police some questions...

"Who looked at the stars at night, who liked working on engines, who liked to cook, and who had a thing with electronics, and who liked radios?..."

After that muster, we had a "crew".

NOTE: For the first five days, there were two engineers standing six hours on and six hours off in the engine room, and we were doing everything, from security rounds to acting as oilers, to throttlemen, to EOWs. The Skipper would sleep like Thomas Edison (cat naps, every three hours for 15 minutes). The "Navigator" slept at the chart table on the bridge. The Bos'n mate had gotten a couple of RCMP curious about manning the helm (which made him about four days smarter than the rest of us)

(the MK1, "Machinery Technician First Class", got so frustrated that he put a bottle of Jack Daniels in a box and hung it on a bulkhead with a glass front and a hammer hanging next to it and a placard glued to the glass that said 'In case of personal overload, chain engineroom doors and break glass'). American military vessels do not allow the use of liquor, on duty or off, while underway, except in exigent circumstances...

So the breakdown of the new "crew" was four Bridge/Pilot House watchstanders (helmsmen and lookout), two cooks, two radiomen, one extra navigator
eight engineering watch standers, and one RCMP officer assuming the role of Executive Officer/First Mate.

On day eight, the Coast Guard crew of five slept soundly for an entire six hours, while the Canadians carried out their "underway duties"

Note: the Coast Guard Commander slept on a cot in a corner of the bridge, and the MK1 slept on the deck plates, with a bed roll, in the Fidley to the Engineroom.

By day 14, everyone slept in real racks...and the "ninjas" were more precise about taking readings than we "engineers" ever were (they would argue about every damn reading)...

This crew was in safe hands...and no one was shooting at beer cans off the fantail...

Quahom1 · 09-14-2006, 02:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flowperson

Q...Great stories! Which all goes to prove ...again... that government is the problem...people are the answer.

My Dad was in the U.S. Army during WWII and served most of his duty as a radio operator on supply ships shuttling between the Aleutians and Seattle. Lots of great stories about that time from him which I intend to put to words sometime. The Canadians flew patrol planes up and down the "inside passage" every day and demanded the "code pass" of the day as they buzzed the ship. Dad woud have an envelope with a code for each day of the trip and was always worried about sending the wrong one and getting blown out of the water.

On the good side, the Cap'n would slow the ship down to idle speed and all able bodied hands would throw their hand lines off the stern and catch halibut, salmon, and cod for dinner. He told me of some monumental storms and seas that he experienced in the Bering sea going to and fro from Kodiak, Attu, etc. Thanks again for your stories.

flow....

Nothing has changed. The Cannucks watch our backs, and we still "fish", when we get the chance. Rules still are 40 lb test line with brass hex stock as a jig cut at a 45* angle on both ends...no bait...