Thread: Fast job?

I was late for Stalwart in 74. Mate and I, leave and posting from Anzac to Stalwart. Usual deal, leave ends at 12:00, no probs, we catch the plane from Adelaide to land in Sydney about 10:00, plenty of time to get on board, do the post in and then, step ashore and hit Rockers. We're on leave, nobody tells us Stalwart sails at 09:00 that morning. We wing inot Sydney, I look out the window of the 727, tap the mate on the shoulder, "Hey Bill, isn't that Stalwart?"
I lean back, Bill leans over, "Yep, beer?". 3 days later, planes, trains and taxi's, and 1 or 2 beers. We are sitting with a carton between us waiting on the wharf in Hobart for our ship to come in.
If you did that little surprise trip, just before "skippy 2", it was Killick Stoker Billy Strickland, and myself, drunk as monkeys, big grins because there was no book to throw at us. They made the mistake, we had a rip roarin road trip south. and

Shorty.

Maybe it was a Wessex, we lost, I think it was "skippy 2". I was FMU, main machinist shop. We called into Gladstone at the end of the exercise, a couple of mates and I hired an XA Falcon from Avis, headed up to Rocky. Why? Rocky has a Base Hospital, say no more. Turns out I'm the only one makes it, right in Hospital for the weekend. Turned the Ford over just short of town, the rest is still a bit hazy, but has something to do with ships and stuff.

Shorty.

Originally Posted by shorty943

I was late for Stalwart in 74. Mate and I, leave and posting from Anzac to Stalwart. Usual deal, leave ends at 12:00, no probs, we catch the plane from Adelaide to land in Sydney about 10:00, plenty of time to get on board, do the post in and then, step ashore and hit Rockers. We're on leave, nobody tells us Stalwart sails at 09:00 that morning. We wing inot Sydney, I look out the window of the 727, tap the mate on the shoulder, "Hey Bill, isn't that Stalwart?"
I lean back, Bill leans over, "Yep, beer?". 3 days later, planes, trains and taxi's, and 1 or 2 beers. We are sitting with a carton between us waiting on the wharf in Hobart for our ship to come in.
If you did that little surprise trip, just before "skippy 2", it was Killick Stoker Billy Strickland, and myself, drunk as monkeys, big grins because there was no book to throw at us. They made the mistake, we had a rip roarin road trip south. and

Shorty.

Maybe it was a Wessex, we lost, I think it was "skippy 2". I was FMU, main machinist shop. We called into Gladstone at the end of the exercise, a couple of mates and I hired an XA Falcon from Avis, headed up to Rocky. Why? Rocky has a Base Hospital, say no more. Turns out I'm the only one makes it, right in Hospital for the weekend. Turned the Ford over just short of town, the rest is still a bit hazy, but has something to do with ships and stuff.

Shorty.

It was "Skippy 2" and I too was on Anzac and did the paying off cruise so we obviously served together - I was a Cadet on Anzac and then a Mid on Stalwart. I was too young then (but not now) to understand why you might have needed to use the services of a hospital on the quiet. I was on the bridge when we went into Hobart (and you were ****ed on the wharf about to be run in - I hope I did the table "off caps" - remember Hobart cause it was`bad weather and we had trouble getting alongside and had too many engine movements and nearly ran out of compressed air to start/stop the engine for each movement.

In Harvey Bay I managed to break off two accommodation ladders off the accompanying destroyers coming along side then in the 40' boats. Was also on watch when the boiler blew up at anchor - told the officer of the watch who was a asleep who said don't worry about it - but the Captain gave me a dressing down out on the bridge wing over it - I should have dobbed in the OOW but didn't - I now live in Canberra and often have lunch at the national library - old Capt Burnside was there nearly every day - mustn't have had a life in retirement - he died about 6 months ago - I hated that old ^&*$#$.

Arh - it all brings back memories of younger days.

Gazzz

PS - Met some young ladies when I was in Anzac and visiting Brisbane - met the same young ladies when we were in Brisbane again in Stalwart - nice young ladies - because I was a Mid we had to be in bed by 2300 in the Gunroom and the young ladies just had to come and tuck a few of us in - as I said nice young ladies.

Sorry Garry, not our fault, leave pass said 12:00, you know sailors, every second of leave counts. Navies mistake not ours.

Isn't learning to drive boats fun. I took out the old wharf at Garden Island WA in 1970 as a 15 year old junior recruit, with an old WW2 GPV.

Hospitals employ people called "nurses", my fine young sir.

If you were a cadet on Anzac, was the paying off cruise to Fiji your first sea time? Remember your flat? Above the stern gland spaces? Early morning, sea has come up Zac is tossing and twisting, and all hell breaks loose as a stoker swears, throws open a hatch and water goes everywhere in the darkness? That was me. Sorry Garry, it was my job. You had to learn to expect anything, anytime, it was our job to teach you. Hope we did a reasonable job?

Shorty.

Originally Posted by shorty943

Sorry Garry, not our fault, leave pass said 12:00, you know sailors, every second of leave counts. Navies mistake not ours.

Isn't learning to drive boats fun. I took out the old wharf at Garden Island WA in 1970 as a 15 year old junior recruit, with an old WW2 GPV.

Hospitals employ people called "nurses", my fine young sir.

If you were a cadet on Anzac, was the paying off cruise to Fiji your first sea time? Remember your flat? Above the stern gland spaces? Early morning, sea has come up Zac is tossing and twisting, and all hell breaks loose as a stoker swears, throws open a hatch and water goes everywhere in the darkness? That was me. Sorry Garry, it was my job. You had to learn to expect anything, anytime, it was our job to teach you. Hope we did a reasonable job?

Shorty.

Yep on that trip - yes was my first time - yep learnd to hate that stern gland space and its noisy hatch and you noisy stokers - my hammock was above the fridge so during the night the ropes on the hammock would loosen and I would be on top of the fridge with it running and vibrating - used to give me a cheap thrill.

What wasn't a cheap thrill was driving the throttle steam valves down in the engine room during the midnight to 4 watch with all you hairy arsed stokers running around, particularly when an offer was made to have a look at the golden rivet - never liked being in boiler rooms or engine rooms at night - scary places, scary people

Yeah - I got trained there but didn't do me any good.

Gazzz

Ah, dear old "Zaca-Maru". She holds a special place in this old sailors heart.

All except the young Middy, who nearly killed me. Did not propperly dog down the airlock top hatch to No 2 boiler room on entry. When he opened the lower hatch, we got an explosive decompression in the boiler room. That left me clinging to the false front of the boiler furnace, surrounded by fire. Probably didn't look to good from anywhere else in the boiler room either. A second or two later, the door gets slammed shut by the Killick, and I'm on the way up the ladder to shred the Mid. Got met by the Killick's size ten boot in the chest, with "No,shorty,No", coming from his mouth. Can't remember the Middy, can't even remember the trip, we took you young officer chaps out for six weeks, had a week or so to refuel and supply, then we were back down to JB, to pick up another "crew", and off somewhere else. Just remember the fire.

Still kept it up in civvy life, boiler rooms and power stations, industrial engine rooms, back to sea on small merchant vessels. As an Officer, can you beleive that. In 72, I knocked back the offer to go to Creswell, did not want to be an officer, just to serve my country. Get out of the Navy, still want to work at sea, find out that in order to get the work I want, I have to qualify as a junior officer. Me.

Que sera?

Shorty.

Small world. I was a stoker and did Rimpac 80 on her. Spent 18 mths in 4 H C/L I'll scan my pics.

Stalwart eh? I knew a few blokes from that ship maybe around 76 -77?

- they used to drink at the Jungle Bar at the Menzies where I worked for a while; and at the Frisco.

Even got a tour of the ship when it was in Garden Island - fascinating.

GQ

The machine shops on Stalwart were good for fixing things - not ship things but car things - never used the equipment for Landy stuff but my Jag has quite a few bits that were either fixed or made from scratch using the ships gear - its amazing what a few beers will get you especially when "two per day per person" applies - extra specially when the tinnies had to be opened.

Gazzz