Across the Atlantic to Europe

Saturday 14^th February/Sunday 15^th February

The morning was spent cleaning the deck heads, deck, bulkheads and all the equipment on the bridge. We also did the same in the Radio Shack. When we had finished we were given the rest of the weekend off.

Monday 16^th February

The first job today was to change the water in the lifeboats. Each lifeboat has two 20 gallon tankers. Using the fresh water fire hose it did not take long to swill them out and top up. There was quite a bit of oil around the motor lifeboat so I cleaned this up with the aid of a bucket of ‘Spillwash’. This was also used to clean the deck below the plughole. After smoko we had emergency drills and muster. This time I went for’ard with Russ the 3^rd Engineer to start the emergency fire pump. I failed to start it the first time so Russ had a go and succeeded. However, oil started to leak from the filter so we had to stop it. I went to get a shifter and soon it was all tightened up. This time I managed to start it. As soon as it was going the pressure gauge started to build up and it was obvious there were no values open. Russ kept the revs down and I dashed up to the deck and whacked open one of the values, spewing water all down the forecastle head.  When it had been run long enough we shut it down and attended the lifeboat muster. As soon as the ‘all clear’ was sounded the Chief Officer detailed me to find two children’s life jackets for the Chief Engineer and to stow the spare life jackets in the fo’castle which had previously been stowed in the hospital. When this was done I went back to the lifeboats where the Bosun instructed me to fix new painters The old ones were 18 fathoms and so I went fo’ward and started to measure off the new lengths when I was called for dinner. After dinner I finished cutting the new rope and then dragged it around the fordeck to remove the kinks. I then took them into the starboard boat, cut off the old painter and removed the slip painter. I then spliced the painter to the eye which was very difficult as the shackle holding the eye was rusted up solid and immovable, combined with that was the rolling motion of the ship and the gripes. The slip painter was a relatively simple matter of an eyesplice to fit the wooden pin. When they were finished I measured out two more lengths for the port life boat. There was no time to splice these on so I left the old ones on.

Tuesday 17^th February

After cleaning the bridge again we got all the ‘fireworks’ out of the lifeboats and the ship’s magazine locker on the bridge wing. We checked the condition, expiry dates and numbers. The 3^rd Officer asked us questions on their operation. Recently one of the turbochargers had been playing up and today we were going to stop the engines so it could be investigated. There were rumours of the ‘Bermuda Triangle’ striking again! At about 09.30  I took the wheel and we started to slow the engine down, at the same time I brought her round into the wind. Eventually we stopped and drifted around rolling evenly in the swell. I stood by the wheel for the rest of the morning, testing it now and again to prevent the steering motors from overheating. After dinner a USA Navy aeroplane, circled us for an hour or so, coming quite close and low at times. Mid afternoon we started up again and I took the wheel till we got back on course. For the rest of the day I spliced the Port lifeboat’s slip painter on and Billy the painter. We were starting to roll now and I found it hard to get to sleep.

Wednesday 18^th February

Could not sleep last night and this morning Billy and I started to replace the inboard grabline and starboard lifeboat. Due to the weather conditions Billy and I had to relieve the watchman. In fact when I went up to the bridge in the morning we were on manual steering. I had never steered in weather as bad as this before. The largest roll whilst I was on the wheel was 30 degrees to port. It was quite an experience and quite exciting. It reminded me of canoe-surfing at home. After dinner Billy was on the 12 to 4 and so the Bosun helped me finish off the grabline which Billy had started to put back in the morning. As soon as that was done I was given the job of securing loose items such as the fresh water hose as they were in danger of being lost over the side. In the evening I worked the 8 to 12 watch, steering and lookout an hour about with an AB.

Just completed painting the “last” Federal Steamship funnel

Thursday 19^th February

 I had the morning off and we returned to automatic steering. In the afternoon Billy and I replaced the Port lifeboat inboard lifeline. Instead of doing it in the boat, we unscrewed all the clips, took the whole rope off and then fitted the new one to the clips more comfortably seated on the afterdeck. The only problem was as we returned to fix it back on the boat, two of the crew had been painting and so all the white paint around the lifeboats was wet!

Friday 20^th February

Today we were going to renew the outbound grablines. First thing we removed both port and starboard lines. We then fitted new ropes to the clips, sat on the funnel deck. On one big roll I could not stop myself and slid right across the deck to the rails, picking a tin of paint up between my legs on the way. On impact the paint leapt out of the can in one body, and was fortunately mostly blown over the side, leaving me with a warm backside from the friction and a left foot coated with white paint. We were rolling mainly to port so, wearing safety harnesses, Billy and I proceeded to fit the outboard starboard grabline. Once completed we decided it was too dangerous to go in the port lifeboat so we left it.

Saturday 21^st February

Today, instead of working the morning, I was put on the 4 to 8 watch, starting in the afternoon, as we had to revert to manual steering. The turbo charger had been surging again and so it was decided to stop again as there was a possibility of worse weather hitting us. I spent the time in between steering practicing azimuths and look out duties.

Sunday 22^nd February

During the 8 to 12 last night we had reverted to automatic steering, but I was confused when I woke at 09.30 instead of being called at 03.30! We were given the rest of the day off.

Monday 23^rd February

As the WILD FULMAR is due for a survey all the Lloyds doors had to have their seals checked. All but 2 had paint on the rubber seal. It took me all day with a pot of paint stripper, a wire brush, a sharp knife and a rag in a bucket of water. In some cases several applications of paint stripper were needed. As soon as it was wire brushed, it had to be washed down so as the paint stripper would not have chance to eat away the rubber. It was very cold and I had all my working gear on at once! In places where it was thick a knife was the best method, but the wire brush seemed to do the trick.

Tuesday 24th February

Back on watches as we went up the Channel. I was on the 4 to 8. Visibility was poor, especially around the Dover Straits. We passed a 65 foot draught V.L.C.C. which judging by the distance between the mast lights was definitely V.L. Dover radio gave constant bulletins of weather conditions, the position of V.L.C.C. and details of a ship travelling the wrong way down the separation zones (towards us). On the afternoon watch we passed close by two oil/gas drilling rigs. The fog had lifted by now but visibility was still restricted.

Wednesday 25^th – Thursday 26^th February

I still continued on the 4 to 8, back on automatic steering, just keeping a look out. On the morning watch of the Thursday the AB told me about a haunted ship he was once on. At night footsteps could be heard walking up and down the wheelhouse top. Occasionally the bridge wing door would fly open (even though locked) and the door into the accommodation. One day the halyards were flapping against the mast so he and the 3^rd Officer both went up and secured them to the rails. By the time they returned to the bridge, and locked the door, they were loose and flapping again! It was supposed to be the ghost of an AB who was killed falling off the ‘Christmas Tree’. We had to return to manual steering as the automatic helm would not cope with the swell as the weather was getting worse. We took the pilot on at 13.00 and arrived at 20.30 at Helsingborg, Sweden. I went to stations aft and operated the windlass as we berthed.