The only specialised marine publication in Oceania that focuses on the maritime industry, from super yachts to small craft to large commercial ships, including coastal shipping, tugs, tow boats, barges, ferries, tourist, sport-fishing craft
Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaleditions.com/i/119485
VIP.S88 CREW VOLUNTEERS WANTED Help keep the call of the by-gone era of steam alive. We are looking for enthusiastic volunteers, men and women, to join our crew so the old hands may pass the skills of yesteryear to the next generation of guardians of our heritage steam tug William C Daldy. No experience necessary. Are you interested in working boilers, steam engines or just being on deck to learn new skills or refresh the old, be it steam, engineering or seamanship? Do you enjoy making new friends and the camaraderie of the sea? If you answer yes, then please contact: Alex Franklin, 027 568 8623 or Richard Parmee, 021 659 800 www.daldy.com Global Leader in Anti Fouling Technology ANTIFOULING THAT PROTECTS 10,000 COMMERCIAL SHIPS WORLDWIDE NOW AVAILABLE HERE FOR YOUR BOAT STOCKISTS: All Marine Norsand Boat Yard Wairau Paint Centre Linkup Paint Supplies Dickson Marine Tissiman Marine Dunedin Shipping Supplies Whangarei Whangarei North Shore Tauranga Nelson Lyttelton 09 438 4499 09 430 8485 09 443 3430 07 571 8921 03 546 9024 03 328 7585 03 477 7212 VIP.S80 Then the cursing started. From the wheelhouse Lew roared out abuse to all and sundry, the German mate did the same to Lew, the German skipper back aft of his own ship had appeared and was also giving Lew a mouthful. It was a full on session of verbal abuse, and the Germans were outdoing the English very nicely. A standoff ensued as Lew brought the ship to a standstill, a gap of only 20 feet lay between both parallel ships. The verbal abuse continued, the German mate forward and the German skipper aft with their peaked caps and folded arms were determined not to have us lay alongside them! Lew wasn���t going to back down either. Lew signals me that he���s going to go alongside them again. Spinning the wheel over and giving the main engine a gentle nudge ahead, the bow once more swings in towards the Germans bow ��� albeit at a much gentler pace. I get the spring ready a second time and when within reach, lassoed their bollard again, and again the German mate reaches to lift it off before any strain came on it. I roared at him to leave it alone but he lifted it off throwing it in the water and giving me a string of curses for my troubles. Lew was incandescent with rage, the Wegro was now gliding past the German ship and once again rust and paint filled the air as the two steel hulls screeched and scraped in agony. And then the shooting started! Our Chief Engineer appears on deck roaring and shouting at the Germans. Rushing about in his white boiler suit, earmuffs perched on his head, the idiot is waving a pistol and actually shooting at the Germans who scatter for cover. Then Chief does the unbelievable and leaps onto the German ship going arse over tit in the process. Lew���s gaping from the bridge in utter disbelief, we are rooted on the fo���c���sle watching this circus unravel. Chief pulls himself upright and rushes to the wheelhouse of the German ship where the German skipper can be seen frantically talking on the VHF radio. The gun goes off a couple more times as German crew dare to peer above the hatch coverings. Chief tries to get into the German ship���s wheelhouse but it���s locked. Our ship is now sitting still in the dock just a few metres off the German ship, and spectators are now cautiously looking from other moored ships to see what���s going on. Chief is now looking decidedly uncomfortable on the Germans upper deck with not a German in sight and realising he���s put himself in a serious situation, he arches his arm back and throws the pistol with all its might out into the dock; it arcs through the air and splashes into the water. Within minutes there are Police launches screaming in on us, Police cars racing down the quays, and a helicopter buzzing overhead. Chief cuts a strange figure with his arms raised rigidly skywards, earmuffs like two yellow tits on top of his head and a large pot belly protruding from his white boiler suit as Police cautiously approach him with drawn pistols. He is roughly handcuffed and hauled away. Dutch Police swarmed on board the Wegro taking no nonsense from any of us either. Our ship is escorted to a lay-by berth where explanations and statements are required by the Police, each one of us grilled in turn. It transpires that the Chief Engineer was known to the Police having previous criminal convictions for petty crimes and thuggery and wouldn���t be returning to the ship for quite some while which suited Lew perfectly. Now Lew had a legitimate opportunity to get shot of the troublesome engineer, whilst giving himself scope to play about in the engine room to his heart���s delight. Lew was incensed at the German���s un-seamanlike behaviour that day and continued targeting any smart German he could find: of course it never occurred to Lew that it was his un-seamanlike behaviour that instigated the incident in the first place. No captain in his right mind would ever want a clapped out rust bucket manned by cowboys crunching alongside their ship. Would you? Polymer Group Ltd e: sales@polymer.co.nz 0800 999 001 www.polymer.co.nz March/April 2013 Professional Skipper 59