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Amalric

7K views 9 replies 5 participants last post by  loco 
#1 · (Edited)
Amalric (60)

The German built Amalric at Napier NZ. Built 1960 7.791gt. In Crusader colours with Shaw Savill funnel.
 

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#2 ·
and a port-side view:-
 

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#3 ·
Photo of her laid up awaiting sale in Sandon dock, Liverpool, May 1977.
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I joined her when she arrived in Avonmouth having finished her time on the West Indies Crusader run. She was expected to complete discharge in Liverpool, which we did, and then sail again.

However, she was put up for sale, and was sold to Greeks as KYMA in approx June 1977.

Martyn
 
#4 ·
Hello Loco,
The Amalric was my first ship as a J/E after finishing my cadetship. Joined her in Kingston, Jamaica, in August '75 and paid off 9 months later in New Orleans in May '76. Had a great couple of round trips from the Caribbean to NZ including stops in Fiji, Samoa and Pitcairn Island. Even carried a few Pitcairn Islanders as passengers. Spent both trips on the 4-8 so plenty of bronzying time.
Got stuck in Auckland for 6 or 7 weeks on one trip due to the crew going on strike over parity of wages with NZ sailors. Crazy.
Had to fit a new crankshaft into the stbd fwd generator - bloody hot work barring it over while the 2nd blued the bearings.
We had a great time on that ship - good fun.
 
#5 · (Edited)
Hello Feather;

It must have been a thing with the gennies-IIRC, she arrived in Avonmouth with only one main genny and the emergency genny working; I think at least one of the others had a big hole in the sump.

It was partly the time taken for repair, I think, that made her be put up for sale and not complete discharge and go back to sea.

I recall that some of the crew were talking about the strike when they paid off; also some had been on there for considerable time and were then looking forward to extended leave.

It must also been something of a shock for the paying off crew as, having been on the WI-NZ run, the day she arrived in Avonmouth (Easter Friday or Saturday, IIRC), it was snowing..........

Martyn
 
#7 ·
The gennies were naturally aspirated, 7-cylinder MANs if I remember right. We always had very poor diesel and suffered from a lot of burst HP fuel injector pipes when the return valve at the top of the fuel pumps would stick open..... Bloody pain but at least these pumps had 'lifters' so the HP pipe could be changed while the gennie was still running.
The strike was bad for the senior officers as they suffered a lot of abuse from the crew who formed a picket-line on the dock to stop anyone from working the cargo. When it was resolved and we could sail again the company tried to make the Captain etc. take back the crew but they refused and forced them to send out a new, volunteer crew from the UK. These were decent chaps who worked well and the rest of the trip went along with no issues.
I seem to recall the 1st Mate was an Ali Ross but am not sure. He was tough bugger who disciplined the Lampie and the Chippie with a good old 'chastisement' behind the poop house! Couldn't do that these days.
 
#8 · (Edited)
The only two I remember who paid off in Avonmouth on her arrival were the cadets I relieved-Jim Tidswell and Richard Valance, having been at Warsash with them both.

Any talk about the strike was just general conversation during hand-over, and I think most of the inbound crew and officers paid off the same day and went home.

I can't now remember most of the names of the relief crew officers, but Master was F Boise; 3/O Alan Brinkworth; 2/E Roger Dove (I think he joined on arrival); 3/E Harry Pierce; J/E Richard Shutt. I can still remember a few more faces but not names.

Martyn
 
#9 ·
I once did a quick 6-week Medi-discharge run on the Icenic when Boize was skipper - December '76 to Jan '77. Joined in Limassol to relieve the deep-sea crew and paid-off in Cardiff. I was on the 12-4 with the 3/E known as 'The Screaming Skull' because he was so thin. The 'Chief Thief' and the cook were rubbish and we ended up having a massive row with them in the Officers saloon one 7-bells lunchtime. They reckoned we couldn't have any cheese for the 3/E to have a sandwich. Heard that the pair of them were sacked later because they were caught pinching NAFFI butter from the cargo.
I remember Dick Shutt (or Duck **** as we called him). We both did a couple of weeks relief crewing on the Orduna in Avonmouth over Christmas 1978. He was J/E and I was one of the 4/Es (There were three of us for some reason). He borrowed his mum's new car so we could get to the pub and back but one night he was driving us back in heavy snow and the pitch dark and ended up on the railway tracks..... Flattened all 4 tyres, damaged the rims somewhat and broke the back end out of the gear box linkage housing. Managed to lift the car off the tracks and push it into an empty warehouse (with the help of a friendly dock policeman who saw the whole thing). The next day we hammered the rims flat, fitted 4 new tyres and re-attached the gear-change linkage so he could take the car back across the bridge to Cardiff......
 
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