[tolka]

good day all

I inspected the "Westerence" ex gainsboro miller at battersea on the hard
complete dry out in july 1987 and then purchased her in sept same year

ted pike was the snp broker a true gent ..

Conditions of sale from Crescent tech director Mr Tait was too change
the hull colours from red to whatever colour I prefered ..... who pays says I?
no answer.... slipped her at strood and managed to get painting and slipping
costs from them due hogg.... remember superinendant McKay with no
fond memories of saturday morning downpour and no sign of my bill of sale ....
he tried old trick of soft cap stuffing on blocks to hide the hogg ... imagine
trying to bluff a drydock company owner with that old chestnut..

anyway had good 5 years out of her except for the "BlackPig " inside ful pump
Blackstone... eventually a Stork.... no more dry sumps

Does anybody know if David Breaksspear is about these days ,

rgds
Tolka

 

[Jed Partington]

London and Rochester Trading Company / Cresent Shipping

In the early 70s I was apperentice marine engineer at the Strood Yard have fond memories of all the work undertaken in the yard and sculling between vessels on the bouys at Strood. Also the out jobs around the coast and in the london docks with Lou Bailey and Peter Burke. So many Crescent vessals moored side by side in the London Docks.

 

[Pedro Barcos]

Saw the Ordinence a couple of years ago, running stone around Mull. She now has a small bucket crane on her deck. Fantastic seeing the old names again, I had some wonderful times onboard these flat irons. My first ship was the Nascence with Harley True (Captain) and his wife Nancy (I think my memory serves me right). I then went on to sail on The Crescence, Tarquence, Ambience, Boisterence (Captain Chris Bell), Stridence, Kinderence, Luminence, Zealence and Quescence and Ordinence. A name i have not seen is the Westerence, she was similar to the Ordinence. I live close to a retired Humber pilot and he remembers Crescent's coasters as 'red devils'.

The westerence got sold to Tolka shipping Dublin and was called Eve Rita then she was renamed Mantan then renamed Avoca under that name she had an Arklow shippping connection,they sold here on to the French were she finished here days running from the french mainland to Belle isle, skipper on her when she was westerence i remember was Terry Uden, i heard somewhere the Capt Chris Bell passed away.

 

[Pedro Barcos]

Just looking through my D.B. and noted I was on the "Fallow Deer" in 1979 and the company stamp records it as Crescent Shipping. I can't remember very much about her, the minds shot!

Fallow Deer in those days would have been Capt Ted Long.

 

[TEAPOT]

sailed in pertinence 17jan 5june 1964,normal run lon sugar refinery to blyth & back,one run to Dunkirk.capt harris was skipper for a while,huey Cullen mate.accommdation & food very good.

 

[brokenelastic]

Diction

I was 2nd mate (as I now call it--crew of 3) on the Diction in around '71. With Stan Cresswell and Wally Jones. Those were definitely the days... Where are they now?

 

[third hand]

I was the first third hand in the Diction when she was first launched back in 1963 can only remember the skipper as Allen and the mate as Chris but I do remember she was a real ******* to steer. She is now being converted to a houseboat

 

[brokenelastic]

I don't remember her being hard work to steer except the time the steering chains came off while we were near (and then very near by the time it was all back together) one of the forts in the Thames estuary. We had auto pilot by then which might have helped.

 

[third hand]

Diction

When she was first launched she did not have auto pilot this was fitted later to correct the steering problem. In a book CRESCENT SHIPPING there is a paragraph that goes

holding a course was generally hard work while some even managed to make an involuntary turn round in a river to the consternation of all concerned. The worst performers were Action, Caption and Diction. Things improved when auto pilot's were fitted. [un quote] I must admit this happened to me on one occasion

 

[brokenelastic]

Diction

When she was first launched she did not have auto pilot this was fitted later to correct the steering problem. In a book CRESCENT SHIPPING there is a paragraph that goes

holding a course was generally hard work while some even managed to make an involuntary turn round in a river to the consternation of all concerned. The worst performers were Action, Caption and Diction. Things improved when auto pilot's were fitted. [un quote] I must admit this happened to me on one occasion

Often thought she had a mind of her own but she never did that to us!! Not when we were sober anyway...

 

[david freeman]

Mr Alcock BP Tankers Manager for Engineer Apprentice-Scheme

Don/dan Alcock? while in the late 50's mid 60's was the manager of the BP Tanker Engineers Apprenticeship, had in hid prior professional life been an engineer and ship surveyor with the BOT Marine Department.
Why do I mention this is because Mr Alcock was known to arrive at one of the refinery jetties in the IOG, in a crescent company van- Lift from Strood station, and pass the time with the Cresent Staff and sometimes with their Sheerness office (opposite bank to the IOG refinery) talking to the Tugs based at IOG/medway.
The reason also was to come and see/talk to some of the BP sea going engineer apprentices, or to deliver a roasting or listen to the reasons for something, personal, while serving in the fleet.
I believe it may have been possible for some of the BP Cadets to serve part of their apprenticeship at the slipways of Crescent Shipping on the medway? as well at the IOG Refinery.
By the way Mr Alcock had a habit when speaking to a crowd of his appentice's of puckering/rolling up his nose, and the Bolton Tech lads/ apprentices of my year nickname him 'Breare Rabbit'.

 

[kenneth newman]

good times but long hours

hi I worked for crescent from 1973 till 1978 just wonted to say hello to all that might remember me.

 

[kenneth newman]

Hi I was on the horation and the cadence

 

[kenneth newman]

4-2-2016

Hi again I'm working for p&o at the moment on the ferries out of dover to Calais but I never thought I would say this I do miss the coasters of crescent shipping.I have quite a few photos of them days hopefully one day I will show them on this site.

 

[timstermatic]

Hi to everyone on this thread.

I sailed on both the Kinderence and the Jubilence (The Big Ones at 3000 dwt) between 1987 and 1989. I also had the chance to work on board while both of them were in dry dock and I have a good memory of both vessels inside and out.

When I first joined the Kinderence it had just returned from cable laying in New Zealand. Whilst I was a deckhand on the Kinderence it was a constant round trip from Dagenham to Utrecht and then over to Belfast before heading back to the Thames.

I also sailed on one of the sea barges from Mistley down to St. Malo. We were a crew of 3. I can't remember the name, but I think it may have been the Militence.

I was one of the class of '88 at the NSTC in Gravesend and 3 of us ended up with Crescent, although we were officially employees of Hayes.

 

[ALAN TYLER]

Crescence 1936

Anybody got any information on the Crescence built at Goole in 1936, I believe she was involved with the RN in the 2ndWW doing recovery work of crashed aircraft possibly in the Solway Firth.

 

[bobske.rotrex]

Bobske

I worked on Crescent shipping when a teenager for 6 months to get me into deep sea pool it would have been about 1969/1970
I was on Thames Barge the "Flanagan" s Charlie Read , what a character one very very nice chap indeed .
From there I went onto coasters on the "Elation" cant remember the Skipper but am so pleased I had this in my life .

Hope this help

 

[captkenn]

sailed in pertinence 17jan 5june 1964,normal run lon sugar refinery to blyth & back,one run to Dunkirk.capt harris was skipper for a while,huey Cullen mate.accommdation & food very good.

The Pertinence has had hardly a mention in this. i sailed on her for 8 days in June 1967 (Applause)

 

[seaman38]

in 1950's did a relief job as mate on the 1940 built Dominence, worst found ship I ever sailed on, putting into Tyne for shelter Force 9, skipper wanted all hands to go and take coal from the Staiths without paying. I stopped them, wasn't putting my name to it. The one chart available, yup, just one of the whole British Isles, way out of date, navigated by Brown's Almanac (the previous years). Needless to say, the Skipper and I never got on and I was glad to get off for my own sanity and safety

 

[Luke Ashley]

Has Jostrica been mentioned?
If so, what number comment please?