[Ian]

The Hain S.S. Co.'s TREGENNA was another Readhead product, being completed in 1949, one of three steamers delivered to the company that year.

[tanker]

She was probably scrapped under Pakistan flag as SAFINA E. NUSRAT in middle 70s.

[Billyg]

Horrible or Hungry Hains SS. Both names suited them. I sailed on the Trewidden for two trips( I think that was the first sign of madness) A bigger heap of rubbish you could not ask for , miserable little cabins for officers and crew were 14 to a cabin with Chippy and Bosun sharing. Three legged economy Doxford diesel. Economy because the b----y thing hardly ever went. . One trip was across to Newport News in the States 23 days, down to Panama with a load of coal for Japan about three weeks, through Panama and great circle to Japan 42 days , three weeks in Japan discharging 6,000 ton of coal because either the boilers wouldnt cope or the winches kept flying to pieces . Light ship to Fiji 38 days, 6 weeks loading sugar by hand . and 38 days back to Panama.Left Panama Dec 7th for L/Pool and docked Jan25th via Las Palmas 10 days for repair. Run job to Londan where she was sold or given to Nigerian Shipping and became the Lamumba River or something but she never made it as she clappped out going down the river and they towed her straight to scrap. I lost 3 1/2 stones weight on that ship due to hard work and bad food( bare BOT feeding) and a dry ship to boot. Skipper was a martinet and the old chief Fred Hughes dropped dead two days after we paid off. Not the best of my seagoing experiences . Its a good job we were a happy crowd of queens and crooks or we would have sunk the thing. The Tressillian she sank, out of sheer spite I think. It was put down to a burst freezer cooling pipe in the tween decks getting water into the grain cargo and pushing the sides out of her.
I do go on dont I ??
Billyg.

[marlinspike]

Sailed in her 1955. Signed on Birkenhead paid off Hull. Able seaman. Birkenhead to New Or'leans - Japan - Vancouver then UK. Terrible trip home across the Atlantic(Febuary) lost a lifeboat and damage to derricks: aft accommadation flooded days on end. She was a happy ship though with a good Liverpool crowd on deck and below: food quite good if I remember rightly.

Like they say: the last ship was the best ship!!

Good memories: a a good photo of her.

Cheers and take care: marlinspike
Peter Blackley

[fred henderson]

Hain's were part of the mighty P&O. It appears that they operated a very aristocratic, upstairs / downstairs, regime in Billyg's time with Hain.

Fred

[R58484956]

For engineers to call the chief "Chief" is accepted in the majority of companies, but not on the P & O.Had a lad come from another company who happened to call him "Chief"
Mr ***** I am not a ******* red indian, and in future you will address me as Mr *****. if you are still with us.

[rgj1917]

Originally Posted by Billyg

Horrible or Hungry Hains SS. Both names suited them. I sailed on the Trewidden for two trips( I think that was the first sign of madness) A bigger heap of rubbish you could not ask for , miserable little cabins for officers and crew were 14 to a cabin with Chippy and Bosun sharing. Three legged economy Doxford diesel. Economy because the b----y thing hardly ever went. . One trip was across to Newport News in the States 23 days, down to Panama with a load of coal for Japan about three weeks, through Panama and great circle to Japan 42 days , three weeks in Japan discharging 6,000 ton of coal because either the boilers wouldnt cope or the winches kept flying to pieces . Light ship to Fiji 38 days, 6 weeks loading sugar by hand . and 38 days back to Panama.Left Panama Dec 7th for L/Pool and docked Jan25th via Las Palmas 10 days for repair. Run job to Londan where she was sold or given to Nigerian Shipping and became the Lamumba River or something but she never made it as she clappped out going down the river and they towed her straight to scrap. I lost 3 1/2 stones weight on that ship due to hard work and bad food( bare BOT feeding) and a dry ship to boot. Skipper was a martinet and the old chief Fred Hughes dropped dead two days after we paid off. Not the best of my seagoing experiences . Its a good job we were a happy crowd of queens and crooks or we would have sunk the thing. The Tressillian she sank, out of sheer spite I think. It was put down to a burst freezer cooling pipe in the tween decks getting water into the grain cargo and pushing the sides out of her.
I do go on dont I ??
Billyg.

Not at all mate. Great story. Robert

[Mick quinn]

Wasn't Hogarth's hungry ships?

Regards
Mick

[Polarum]

Can any of you happy (or hungry) Hain's people post a photo of Trewidden?
I sailed on her in 1962 when she was known as Ankobra River - it was quite a grim experience - and I skinned out in London.,

[ruud]

Ahoy Polarum,

Not the best piccie of her, but better then nothing, maybe someone else will show up with a better one.

[Polarum]

Many thanks Ruud. As Ankobra River, the ship was an unseaworthy rust bucket held together by countless layers of paint. I used to turn in wearing a lifejacket. As for food - well anything that Hungry Haines might have served up would have been considered a gourmet meal. Cheers!

[Polarum]

Ruud. Now that I've got my glasses on, the Trewidden in the photo looks too 1960's to be the floating wreck on which I sailed. The Trewidden I am looking for was built around 1944.

[ruud]

Ahoy Polarum,

Now I think this is the Trewidden you're looking for?She was the fourth by that name,still another to come built in 1960-1972,the one that was posted.

Shipsname:TREWIDDEN(4)
Owned:1944-1960
Gross:7,273
Built:1943
Wharf: DOX
Fate:
ex-HARLESDEN
59-ANKOBRA RIVER
64-ELAND
68-Broken Up Kaohsiung

[Pilot mac]

ahuy ruud,
photo is definately the last Trewidden built about 1960.

regards
Dave

[PollY Anna]

Does anybody remember Hain's House Flag (Two Black Balls) we were always running it up on the old Trelevan 1963.

6 weeks in the Gulf no air con we weren't softies, but we were young and we still had fun and managed still to find Booze even in the GULF.

[Hamish Mackintosh]

Originally Posted by PollY Anna

Does anybody remember Hain's House Flag (Two Black Balls) we were always running it up on the old Trelevan 1963.

6 weeks in the Gulf no air con we weren't softies, but we were young and we still had fun and managed still to find Booze even in the GULF.

Anyone know which of the Hains boats signed on in Hull on May 13th 1952 ,I missed her and often wonder what she would have been like, and where she wen't,

[chrisrice]

tremorvah was a good ship was on her in 1962. Had a good trip to fiji in the sun good food and a good cook chrisrice

[Wainui]

I agree with Chris Rice, good cook on the Tremorvah on that trip

[slick]

All,
I served my time with Hain's in fact joining the TREVOSE at Canary Wharf No.3 on December 16th. 1958
It proved to be not exactly the brassbounders's view of life.
It was just plain unmitigated hard graft, on building shifting boards for the the Home run from Australia, the Carpenter took great delight in in informing of us of two things, one holding up an adze we were told that this is the tool that Noah build the Ark with, the other was that unlike us who had merely four years time he had in fact served seven years to become a Shipwright.
One of the more unglamorous jobs we had was the lighting of the Galley fires, what else, Hains did not believe in electric or oil-fired stoves so it was coal fired with oily rag ignition.
All pilotage wheels were undertaken by the three Apprentices , no matter how long or when, it was possible that the three of you could actually be on the wheel under pilotage for up to eight hours a day. The reason given was that as Indentured Apprentices we could not give evidence against our Master.
One of the more rustic features of Hain's was that there were no phones other than to the Captain or the Engine Room, if the OOW required his watch he would blow on his whistle (an Acme Thunderer, I still have mine) one blast for the standby man or two blasts for the Farmer, however for the Apprentices three blasts were used and no matter where you were you had to go to the bridge.
One of the most memorable things that happened to us three Apprentices was in Geelong when loading Grain, the waitress in the restaurant came to us after we had polished off the "Monkey Gland" steak, it had almost broken us, she said the boss knew that we were not that well fed, and he offered us three honeycomb sweets free gratis and for nothing, I can forgive the Australians all for that one gesture of kindness, which I remember almost fifty years later.
One other task we had as Apprentices when loading grain was that we trimmed one hatch on our own usually No. 4, all ventilators were plugged and covered we had the job of sewing covers over the the Ventilators.
On the way home we used to sail a Composite course down to a Latitude and the Parallel to Capetown, to avoid ice.
All lookouts were undertaken on the Focsle, the only time you were allowed to leave was if you took water over the bow.
Average time to UK or Ireland sixty five days with water rationing.
We used to take up to thirty six Salt Tablets a day in the tropics, or Persian Gulf. I just wonder how that fits in with todays aversion to salt.
We all carried Green River Knives and our Spikes were made from what was known as a Sharples spindles from a purifier from the Engine Room,
Seamanship was ingrained in us till it became second nature, Seamanship was described to me by a Seaman philosopher as the "art of improvisation".
I know this has all passed and one shouldn't hark back however I was taught by men who had been through WWll, lifeboats still had Amphetimines in the stores Motormen still had "Hurry up" bags to hand, and when on the rare occasions Officers wore their Uniforms , it looked as though somebody had thrown a Salad Bowl at their chests.
They were to a man self effacing and most matter of fact about it all I am proud to have been taught by them and I feel that I owe it to them to uphold their memories.
Yours aye,
Slick

[PollY Anna]

Nice story Slick, I felt the same way as a deck hand. I did two "Tree" boats and enjoyed both Trelevan & the Treneglos. Did you do either in your time. I also found them reasonable feeders, but could not get on with meat, pots and 2 veg at 12 noon with temps over 70 degrees, but would do it all again.

[keith greenway]

There were FIVE Tregenna’s.

In January, 1880 the second steamship built for Hains
was named Tregenna. Like many other large tramp companies, their ships were
registered in small places on the coast; Edward Hain used the family birthplace, St. Ives.

TREGENNA 1880-1892
( 92-To Leith Owners 20-CAP LA HEVE. 23-CARRIE 33-Broken Up )

TREGENNA(2) 1892-1915
( 15-STATHE 26/09/1916-War loss )

TREGENNA (3) Torpedoed/sunk 9 miles South of Dodman Point by UB57 on her maiden voyage from the Tyne to Gibraltar with coal. 26/12/1917
26/12/1917-War loss on her maiden voyage

TREGENNA(4) 1919-1940 ex-WAR BULLDOG 17/09/1940-War loss
TREGENNA Torpedoed/sunk NW of Rockall on voyage from Philadelphia to Newport in HX71 with steel, thirty three crew lost. 17/09/1940

TREGENNA(5) 1949-1959 59-SAFINA-E-NUSRAT 76-Broken Up Gadani Beach

[ChrisandJulie]

Hi Everyone,
Does anyone remember the TRELAWNEY ? My dad sailed on her as Bosun from 3.12.56 to 15.7.58 His name is Geoff Warriner, If anyone has any memories good or bad !!! please let me know, I am researching his MN career and I am after stories of his life at sea. He is still going strong (just turned 79) but has suffered a stroke, which has affected his memory to some degree. Any info or photo's would be great.

Thanks

Chris Warriner.

[glancon]

Hi all,

I sailed as JOS the Trevethoe in 1951 carrying general cargo and ammunition for troops in Cyprus, Suez, Singapore & Hong Kong. The food was edible, just. Fresh water had to be hand pumped up to a header tank on the poop deck, the poor old Peggy had to do the first hours pumping every morning, then everyone did it as required. Bathing was restricted to one bucket of cold water. On the way out the Lamp trimmer, who was partial to drinking brasso and boot polish ect. was found dead in the foreward storeroom and was buried at sea. In Singapore one AB fell into a monsoon ditch and was paid off to an unknown fate. On route from Japan to Australia three sailors admitted to having Syph, no officers owned up. Just before leaving Australia, which was suffering a huge potato famine,the Chief & 2nd cook skinned out taking the entire stock of potatoes with them. We lived on powdered spuds cooked by the 2nd Steward & pantry boy all the way to Columbo. Potatoes never tasted sweeter. It was however a very happy ship.

Glancon

[deekeye]

Hya All
I sailed on the Tremeadow in 1962 (I think, long while ago to remember)did home trade to Swansea then to Cardiff then on to Liverpool signed off home trade and resigned deep sea for KIWI broke down 2 days out of Panama drifted for god knows how long till chief engineer got off his ass and sorted things out. I signed on as catering boy 6am turn to scrub port and starboard alleyways then clean 3rd mates cabin then clean 3rd engineers cabin then officer and gentlemens shower and head then catering staff showers and head and then had to be in the galley by 8am phew!!!!!!!!!!! speedy gonzales.
non stop from then on thru Panama picking up fresh water on the way then on to Auckland 7weeks non stop, 10 weeks up and down the north and south islands then back home pay off London or so we thought docked in London woke up next morning and found we had shipped staight back out for 21 days on the continent.But all in all a bloody good experience would'nt have missed it for the world. all in all was away for about 10 months on that trip.
The other thing I remember is the chief cook selling kippers in NZ for thirty bob a pair cos apparently you could'nt get smoked fish in kiwi.
all the best to all
Dick.

[billblow]

Anyone got a decent photograph of the Hain ship Trevessa which founded in the Indian Ocean 3rd June 1923.The crew took to two lifeboats and sailed almost 2000 miles to Mauritius. The first boat landing there after 23 days at sea. The second boat landed on Rodriguez Island after 26 days at sea. 34 of the 44 man crew survived the ordeal, my grandfather Charles Bainbridge was in the second lifeboat and survived. So I would love a decent photo of the Trevessa