Afternoon All!

[Pilot24]

A good friend of mine directed me to this forum for which I thank him.
I've just retired after having been a Harbour Pilot in Belfast for the last 21 years and having 25 years prior to that between Bank Line and Stena UK.
Looking forward to navigating round the ste.
Cheers

[Dartskipper]

Welcome aboard Pilot24. Sorry to be a bit late in responding, but better late than never. (Except when taking the Watch!) Make yourself at home, take a tour of our rapidly expanding Gallery, and catch up with the various threads. You will find that many members have a laconic and irreverent sense of humour, as well as excellent knowledge, with lots of experience. (At sea and on runs ashore, too.)

Regards,

[Kelpie.]

You wont regret it, enjoy the site and your retirement,
Crawford.

[pompeyfan]

Pilot24

Welcome to SH. Good to have you aboard

[Engine Serang]

Hi Pilot,

Good to have another East Antrim stalwart onboard. You, me and Tmac (H&B) will give NI a strong voice against all the English Nancy boys on the site and the very disillusioned colonials.

I am not a fan of Bank Line but most of my neighbours worked for Stena/P&O Ferries and the Bardic Ferry.
You may find that I have a laconic and irreverent sense of humour, as well as little knowledge, with no experience. You don't have to be mad to join but ………………..

[billyboy]

A warm welcome aboard from the Philippuines Pilot. Please enjoy all this great site has to offer

[Tom Alexander]

Originally Posted by Engine Serang

Hi Pilot,

Good to have another East Antrim stalwart onboard. You, me and Tmac (H&B) will give NI a strong voice against all the English Nancy boys on the site and the very disillusioned colonials.

I am not a fan of Bank Line but most of my neighbours worked for Stena/P&O Ferries and the Bardic Ferry.
You may find that I have a laconic and irreverent sense of humour, as well as little knowledge, with no experience. You don't have to be mad to join but ………………..

Welcome aboard, but pay no attention to E S. I suppose I am what he considers one of the English Nancy boys on the site, but also very much a Colonial (albeit methinks not disillusioned). He knoweth not that which about he speaketh. (Shakespoke!)

I think he is upset because we up on deck always know where we are, whereas him and the others down in the bowels haven't a clue.

[R58484957]

Greetings Pilot24 and a warm welcome to SH.Bon voyage.

[Varley]

Is he the short guy we were expecting? Felix rather had his eye the orange box as I don't like him sleeping on the counterpane during the day. And who, pray, is E-S calling colonial? If the potato fits, wear it.

(Sorry yet, Pilot?)

[Pilot24]

Originally Posted by Engine Serang

Hi Pilot,

Good to have another East Antrim stalwart onboard. You, me and Tmac (H&B) will give NI a strong voice against all the English Nancy boys on the site and the very disillusioned colonials.

I am not a fan of Bank Line but most of my neighbours worked for Stena/P&O Ferries and the Bardic Ferry.
You may find that I have a laconic and irreverent sense of humour, as well as little knowledge, with no experience. You don't have to be mad to join but ………………..

To be very honest I wasn't a fan of Bank Line for the last few years! I finished as second mate and had to put up with a richard cranium of a mate for three voyages and a captain who was stuck in the 60s !!!!! I always swore that when I moved up the ladder I would never treat anyone the way I was treated!!!

[Varley]

Oh. F..! we'll have to put them on different watches or we'll not get into the smokeroom for the pair of 'em moaning over the potato harvest. A ladder? I bloody told you so.

[Engine Serang]

Never mind Varley, he hasn't got a Ticket.
Tmac, I'm not so sure off, he may only be a Dockyard Matey with an OND or T5. But us Certificated Officers run the show.
Don't be so hard on us still stuck in the 60's, I'm a 60's child. Rolling Stones, summer of love, long hair, vinyl LP's and Satisfaction.
"I always swore that when I moved up the ladder I would never treat anyone the way I was treated", did you stick to it?? If you did you're a better man than me.

[Tmac1720]

Jeeze thanks guys, I am a child of the 50's so you lot have made a happy man very old.

Never sailed on a "Bank boat" as I was only a whippersnapper when the last of them were built but I know we did guarantee them as far as the bar then it was "if it breaks bring it back and we'll fix it, maybe"

Good to see another "Norn Iron" sign on, it was getting very lonely with just ES and me to wave the flag or fleg as it is know here.

[Tmac1720]

Originally Posted by Engine Serang

Tmac, I'm not so sure off, he may only be a Dockyard Matey with an OND or T5. But us Certificated Officers run the show.

Excuse moi I may be only a dockyard matey but I do have a cerstificate of incompetence awarded to me by Harland and Bluff signifying I is an injuneer wot was trained by them..... so there....

[Engine Serang]

Originally Posted by Tmac1720

Jeeze thanks guys, I am a child of the 50's so you lot have made a happy man very old.

Never sailed on a "Bank boat" as I was only a whippersnapper when the last of them were built but I know we did guarantee them as far as the bar then it was "if it breaks bring it back and we'll fix it, maybe"

Good to see another "Norn Iron" sign on, it was getting very lonely with just ES and me to wave the flag or fleg as it is know here.

You were not a whippersnapper, Gowanbank was completed in January 1968, you were approaching middle age and old enough to attempt a half whiskey and 20 Gallagher Greens.

[Tmac1720]

Gallagher Blues if you please, never liked the green ones.

Sorry forgot about the Gowanbank, was 17 at the time so still a snotty nosed apprentice

Speaking of cigarettes my journeyman insisted I had a "real" cigarette, he gave me a Capstan full strength.... I thought my head was going to explode

[BobClay]

Did a trip on the MV Weybank in 1970/71. First trip deep sea as a sparks. Only a short trip, 13 months, as we hit Liverpool so Bank Line decided to change the crowd early (was supposed to be 15 months.) I think that was the last general cargo ship I ever sailed on, after that all tankers, ore carriers and a brief box boat jaunt across the North Atlantic for three weeks.
Plodded across the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans in that time. Never really got the same kinds of runs ashore afterwards so I sort of look back on it fondly. But time and memory does that I've noticed.

[Tom Alexander]

Originally Posted by Tmac1720

Speaking of cigarettes my journeyman insisted I had a "real" cigarette, he gave me a Capstan full strength.... I thought my head was going to explode

Still speaking of cigarettes, when I was about 14, I went on a school bus trip through Belgium and Northern France. Somewhere around Amiens I managed to buy some Gauloises Bleu and was foolish enough to light one up while traveling on the bus. The French teacher who was supervising us came down the aisle and said that as punishment for my action I would have to smoke it to the bitter end !!!! -------- To which I replied, Sir, I lit the bitter end !
(Which has got absolutely nothing to do with this thread, anyway.)

[Engine Serang]

Poor Pilot24 must be underwhelmed with what he has read so far. I'm confused myself which is par for the course. Talking about par, bloody Rory let us all down when he fluffed the Masters. Paddy Power will be singing and dancing around Atlanta.

[Engine Serang]

Very quiet on the Western Front, sorry the Western Ocean. Touch of the Marie Celest ?
Writers block is a terrible affliction but Nursey has a cure. Probably.

[Les Gibson]

My one trip (18 months) with Bank line as 1st lecky was dreadful. Wrote a long tale of woes on SN about it and was immediately attacked by the 'Bank boat mates' who probably couldn't get a job anywhere ashore and thought Bank Line was the the greatest thing since sliced bread. Most of them had been with the company since they were cadets so knew no better. Strange I never saw many engineers or leckys sing the company praises.
Now I will duck!

[Engine Serang]

Les you are heading into mortal danger. The combined forces of Macnab and Rawlinson are now buying wee dolls and packets of pins. Expect sharp pains in your nether regions. I recommend paracetamol, savlon and Jameson.

Deep down they are oul romantics with hearts of gold but don't forget they have sharp pencils.

[Les Gibson]

Thank's for the warning E.S. It's all been tried before. most of them escaped to their own site, strictly for Bank liners, where they can tell one another what a super company it was. It just proves to me anyway that what I have said is true. The truth does hurt
Maybe I was just unlucky and there were some good times/ ships/feeders all I know is that we would hit the cafes in port for food before we hit the bars. And we were screwed by the OM on the bond. That was just the good part!

[Les Gibson]

Actually Alistair and Alan were the only two who responded sensibly to my postings on SN with what I thought were valid points about Bank Line.

[Pilot24]

Originally Posted by Engine Serang

Never mind Varley, he hasn't got a Ticket.
Tmac, I'm not so sure off, he may only be a Dockyard Matey with an OND or T5. But us Certificated Officers run the show.
Don't be so hard on us still stuck in the 60's, I'm a 60's child. Rolling Stones, summer of love, long hair, vinyl LP's and Satisfaction.
"I always swore that when I moved up the ladder I would never treat anyone the way I was treated", did you stick to it?? If you did you're a better man than me.

Yep! I stuck to it and boy, did it work wonders at times. There were times I lost the bap but whoever was on the receiving end knew they had crossed the line.
Nowt wrong with the 60s just the fact this old man thought we still had a thousand deck crew and that second mates didn't need to sleep.