Another 'majestic' company that there isn't enough about on here, I should perhaps be more specific, nothing about the one trip that I did on the Dorset, it's a selfish thread I know, but what the heck.........
I'd never really been anywhere of real note until I joined this lovely ship, I'd not long been out of Gravesend Training school, my first ship was the Clutha River, we were sent from Hull to Milford Haven to join her, we went to Curacao then to Rotterdam, I spent most of the trip wondering when we would be back in England, really questioning whether a life at sea was the life for me, there seemed to be too many things to have to get use to, learning the art of walking, quelling that seasick feeling, and how to peel spuds in large enough quantities and as fast as the cook needed them, as I say....very, very daunting.
Having said that I still preferred to be Galley boy rather than pantry boy.
My next ship, Anadara, Shell tanker wasn't much more noteable, we joined her in Rotterdam, brought her to England....and I signed off, using the excuse that it was New Years eve , or thereabouts, so I didn't feel too guilty, still didn't think I would last long at sea.
Then I got on the Dorset, at first it was just doing various ports around the coast, loading various cargoes in readiness for her next trip to New Zealand, there wasn't particularly anything of note, there was another lad from Sheffield, I was from just outside Sheffield, he was sailors peggy, so it was easy enough for us to hit it off, he was about my age as well, which also helped, though to be honest age difference wasn't a problem when you're on a ship.
Anyway we did the coast and the Chief Steward, I think his first name was Royston, he offered me to go to New Zealand after we'd done the coast.He never bothered us, which means he was happy how the cook and the baker were running things, seemed a nice chap.
The cook and the baker were real smashing blokes, the cook was from East London, always had a roll up in his mouth, though maybe not when he was over the stove, the baker was a Polish bloke, lived in Leigh-on-Sea, and he was a top bloke, and a brilliant baker to boot, I use to forego my couple of hours off some afternoons to help him do the bread rolls, he taught me how to do them, and I still make bread to this day.
That ship was the most memorable one to me, I only spent 5 years at sea, and only ever did such a long trip the once, I mainly did Hull to the continent after that, with Ellerman Wilson and United Baltic, all enjoyable but none quite as wonderful as the Dorset.
Some of the things that stand out to me, we caught the tail end of a hurricane and it smashed through the deckhead in the officers saloon, we were all 'skating' up and down in the galley, even with the fiddles on the stove pans were splashing their contents all over the place, scary it was.
I had a good cabin mate, Dave, from Workington, if my memory serves me well. It was back in 1966, my team Sheffield Wednesday got to Wembley and played Everton in the F.A. cup final, we had an Everton fan on board, Wednesday went 2-0 up but lost 3-2, the cook let me have the morning off to listen to it on the radio, top man!
We had a wonderful time in New Zealand, climbed what felt like a mountain in Lyttleton, got to the top, with the peggy from Sheffield, hadn't had a smoke all the way up, sat down took my baccy tin out only to find I didn't have any ciggy papers with me!
The seaman's strike was in full swing, we got back to England, had to take the ship to dry dock at Falmouth, after having been berthed at King George docks in London, and signed off in Falmouth.
Was so pleased to be going home, and am left with nothing but 'marvellous memories' of my one trip on her.
If anyone reading this was on her at the same time, drop us a line, would love to share some memories!
Cheers..........Ray.
I'd never really been anywhere of real note until I joined this lovely ship, I'd not long been out of Gravesend Training school, my first ship was the Clutha River, we were sent from Hull to Milford Haven to join her, we went to Curacao then to Rotterdam, I spent most of the trip wondering when we would be back in England, really questioning whether a life at sea was the life for me, there seemed to be too many things to have to get use to, learning the art of walking, quelling that seasick feeling, and how to peel spuds in large enough quantities and as fast as the cook needed them, as I say....very, very daunting.
Having said that I still preferred to be Galley boy rather than pantry boy.
My next ship, Anadara, Shell tanker wasn't much more noteable, we joined her in Rotterdam, brought her to England....and I signed off, using the excuse that it was New Years eve , or thereabouts, so I didn't feel too guilty, still didn't think I would last long at sea.
Then I got on the Dorset, at first it was just doing various ports around the coast, loading various cargoes in readiness for her next trip to New Zealand, there wasn't particularly anything of note, there was another lad from Sheffield, I was from just outside Sheffield, he was sailors peggy, so it was easy enough for us to hit it off, he was about my age as well, which also helped, though to be honest age difference wasn't a problem when you're on a ship.
Anyway we did the coast and the Chief Steward, I think his first name was Royston, he offered me to go to New Zealand after we'd done the coast.He never bothered us, which means he was happy how the cook and the baker were running things, seemed a nice chap.
The cook and the baker were real smashing blokes, the cook was from East London, always had a roll up in his mouth, though maybe not when he was over the stove, the baker was a Polish bloke, lived in Leigh-on-Sea, and he was a top bloke, and a brilliant baker to boot, I use to forego my couple of hours off some afternoons to help him do the bread rolls, he taught me how to do them, and I still make bread to this day.
That ship was the most memorable one to me, I only spent 5 years at sea, and only ever did such a long trip the once, I mainly did Hull to the continent after that, with Ellerman Wilson and United Baltic, all enjoyable but none quite as wonderful as the Dorset.
Some of the things that stand out to me, we caught the tail end of a hurricane and it smashed through the deckhead in the officers saloon, we were all 'skating' up and down in the galley, even with the fiddles on the stove pans were splashing their contents all over the place, scary it was.
I had a good cabin mate, Dave, from Workington, if my memory serves me well. It was back in 1966, my team Sheffield Wednesday got to Wembley and played Everton in the F.A. cup final, we had an Everton fan on board, Wednesday went 2-0 up but lost 3-2, the cook let me have the morning off to listen to it on the radio, top man!
We had a wonderful time in New Zealand, climbed what felt like a mountain in Lyttleton, got to the top, with the peggy from Sheffield, hadn't had a smoke all the way up, sat down took my baccy tin out only to find I didn't have any ciggy papers with me!
The seaman's strike was in full swing, we got back to England, had to take the ship to dry dock at Falmouth, after having been berthed at King George docks in London, and signed off in Falmouth.
Was so pleased to be going home, and am left with nothing but 'marvellous memories' of my one trip on her.
If anyone reading this was on her at the same time, drop us a line, would love to share some memories!
Cheers..........Ray.