[tanker]

A good pic of SAMARIA in middle 70s.for your remembers Rcharlton!!!!
Gp

 

[RCHARLTON]

Thanks. Spent almost two months tied up along side her in New York during Longshoreman's strike in early 1969. She was a very nice ship and a major improvement over the Saxonia class. Wish I could have sailed on her.

Ray Charlton

 

[Marcus Cardew]

I was on the Samaria in early '68. Jimmy James was the Old Man, Larry Crump was Mate, Mike Wadsworth 2/0, Barry Hird 3/O, John Williams and I as 'prentices, Brian Beecham R/O, Dave Coombs in finest form as an Engineering Cadet, J(Johnny?) Spears as E/O, and 'Nice to have you Singing & Drinking again' Jack Elliot as the Chief Steward......

 

[RCHARLTON]

Was Mike (The Mighty) Quinn on her at that time as 3rd or 4th engineer? He came from Maryport and was quite a character.

One of my recollections of the Samaria was that her engine room was spotless. We had all sorts of problems with our engine room on the Saxonia at the time but our Chief seemed to be only interested in having the main engine painted the same shade of Canary Yellow as the Samaria. He had a very strange set of priorities.

 

[Marcus Cardew]

Hi Ray,
The name is familiar, but my contemporary sight book records didn't extend as far as all the Engine Room gang...

The deck side was kept as fabulous as the engine room.

The Bosun on the Samaria was big Joe (from Malta), who was responsible for keeping her as tiddly as 'Daddy's Yacht'...

 

[john g]

I was on the Samaria in early '68. Jimmy James was the Old Man, Larry Crump was Mate, Mike Wadsworth 2/0, Barry Hird 3/O, John Williams and I as 'prentices, Brian Beecham R/O, Dave Coombs in finest form as an Engineering Cadet, J(Johnny?) Spears as E/O, and 'Nice to have you Singing & Drinking again' Jack Elliot as the Chief Steward......

I was at college with Dave Coombs it was rumoured around that time he fell in the dock in New York is that a fact ? I know he ended up on the Brocks boats and last heard of as a refrigeration engineer ......john g

 

[Marcus Cardew]

I was at college with Dave Coombs it was rumoured around that time he fell in the dock in New York is that a fact ? I know he ended up on the Brocks boats and last heard of as a refrigeration engineer ......john g

Hi John,
I dunno about New York, but I remember a party we had on the Media in La'Pool, and the Samaria lads came across... Sometime in the small hours, we lost Dave, and when we finished up, we locked up the wardroom and turned in. When I got up next morning, and meandered out of my cabin, I was greeted by big wet oily footprints along the officers deck to my cabin... Horrified, I quickly soogied away the evidence (down to the engineers deck!)... A Mystery .. Later that day, we met up with Dave and his pal from the Samaria, and it transpired that Dave had rolled under a settee in our wardroom (hence why we couldn't find him).. When he came to, he found that he was locked in, so he opened a scuttle, and made a good go of climbing up onto the boat deck... Not quite good enough, as he fell into Huskisson Dock... He then swam round to the steps, clambered out, and aimed back to the Samaria.. Wrong Ship!.. After he'd worked out that there was no further fun to be had on the Media, he finally made it back to his shed.....

 

[john g]

Thanks Marcus you are right, the memories are a bit vague now. Dave was a Cunard apprentice, I see from some of the crew lists on this site he ended up on Brocks and Moss boats. I think I got the info on his job ashore at the Brocks reunion in Bootle some years ago.Was there a second bash after that?(late 90's)

 

[Marcus Cardew]

Hi John,
I didn't get to any Brocks bashes, but have done a couple with old MAR pals, Warsah and Southampton... Going down there next week, to a boat christening with ex Brocks Sparky Mullarkey......

 

[michael james]

Marcus, Would that be big Bill J. Mullarkey ? If so he was Sparks on ss Mahanada with myself 3rd mate - have Christmas 1966 menu with his "monica" on the reverse, remember me to him please.

 

[Marcus Cardew]

Hi Michael,
Yes it is. I sent him a copy of the menu when it was posted, and he was much amused.. Will extend salaams when I see him next week....

 

[michael james]

Hi Michael,
Yes it is. I sent him a copy of the menu when it was posted, and he was much amused.. Will extend salaams when I see him next week....

Thanks Marcus. (Thumb)

 

[Cunarder]

I sailed on the Samaria in '69 - my first trip as senior R/O - The radar went cactus in thick fog in the middle of the night off the Grand Banks - no pressure lad!!

Alan Marsden

 

[Tony Selman]

Radar on the Samaria eh? I did two trips as R/O on her in 1967. On the first the scanner motor packed up near the Ambrose Light and it took me two days alongside in NY to change it as it was jammed solid and bolts etc were shearing. Then I couldn't get the new one to fit. Nightmare.

On the second trip there was an intermittent fault on the homeward run that took me nearly 4 days to fix working continuously between watches. Finally fixed an intermittently breaking down diode in the Channel and I only saw it because it was pitch dark on the bridge and then saw a slight spark as it broke down. When I replaced it I put it in upside down but the end result was that all the low ranges were fine but the long ranges weren't and they could live with that. When we got to Southampton Gordon Caddy gave me a bollocking for not fixing it earlier because in the offending circuit the reading was 0.1v lower than the normal 20v. I was on my knees by then and furiously told him that if we worked to that level of tolerance on valve driven radars I would spend my whole life looking for faults that didn't exist. I never did get on very well with him.

I had hardly slept or eaten for a week and when I got off the train at home my Mother cried when she saw me. Not all trips were good ones.