(No
….. not Gins)
The Halcyon was not the only shipping Co that distributed free Jenever to its Officers as stated by Herman Willemse in his much appreciated story “Jenever.” Reading the story triggered these memories.
In
the late 1950s I had the pleasure of being assigned as Radio Officer by my Pimp
to be part of the tramping Vinke fleet .
Radio
Holland, being our pimp as they distributed us , R/Os,
in gay abandon all over the Dutch merchant fleet to work without much regard to
our wishes, has never been a great favourite of mine after I studied and got my
certificates (2nd & 1st class) at the independent Higher Maritime School of
Rotterdam. They (RH) even allocated you a number and, only just refrained from tattooing it permanently
on one’s arm.
Not having an original thought in that body they copied Marconi
UK to the letter, even to fitting Marconi radios for a while.
With
administration procedures that could easily equal those of real important companies, like the nowadays
Trump Org, and wages with sometimes (heaven forbid) miniscule wage increases,
they could be no one’s favourite, but there again serving with Radio Holland
was better than having no wages at all whilst being seconded in the Dutch ARMY
or Royal Navy after being plucked from a “foreign” flag vessel that had the
misfortune to enter Dutch harbour space.
Alright,
that’s my gripe. Let it be said, before I go on, that RH Rotterdam was operated
by some very friendly individuals, it was just that at the Rotterdam school I
was programmed to be a free spirit. After 7 years and thus free from military
conscription I fulfilled my desire and
continued sailing under “foreign” flags and was finally able to build up a
“spaarpotje” until I too got bitten by “she who had to be obeyed” and dropped
the anchor in Australia.
And
so in the early days, as
indicated above, I set sail on “sum” ships of Vinke Co: the Leersum, Bussum, Loppersum.
I
was allowed to spend some years with them and managed to feel part of the Company.
Contrary to normal procedure I now had a feeling of belonging and after some
time when other company officers were talked about over dinner I too, knew who they were
talking about and “belonged”
Tramping
along with the freighters or the tankers gave me the opportunity to enjoy the sights of the world.
My photo collection grew.
While
we sailed from port to port we enjoyed that rarest of joys: a free litre of
Jenever (dutch gin) frequently, but of a frequency I
have now forgotten.
Real
bottles, not refills were distributed and were there to be drunk.
No,
I did not barter for goods or help for the Radio Room, any requirements there
were Radio Holland’s problems as long as I managed by hook or by crook to keep
the radios going. And if the antenna was down in port and the PDRH list
unreadable…….who cared…….there were always sights to see and adventures to be
had ashore.
It
was a funny sight the see a Vinke ship come past in the tropics.
Still
without air-conditioning at that time and a fridge jealously guarded by the
chief-cook, we, of below Captains rank could only cool the bottle of jenever by
wrapping it in a wet towel and hanging that contraption in the open porthole
such that the wind, generated by our speed , would play over the wet towel and cool
the bottle. The Chief Steward was not impressed by the many stinking
towels that were exchanged during the trip but the jenever was cool enough to be enjoyed.
It
was around that time that the Radio Officer (of young years, not thought to be
able to handle a whole litre of jenever himself) received an influx of college officers
visiting at all hours of the evening.
I
enjoyed these little get togethers and did not mind sharing my bottle with the
old seadogs of higher ranks. Quite a few came from the island Terschelling and
many a story was told. A slight headache the next morning was only a small
price to pay.
It
smoothed the way to walk out on the bridge at all hours of the night and share
a conversation with the officer of the watch whilst hanging on the railing of the bridge wing
while the ship cut through the flat phosphorous sea under the ink-black star studded sky, lit by a tropical moon.
I
still do not know why we had to ship wheat from the U.S.A all the way to Calcutta and than
proceed to Western Australia to load wheat for England.
Logistics ?
Ach,
as long as the bottle of gin arrived and could be drank with friends, we did
not care and by filing
the various reports we kept our Pimp happy such that we stayed
employed.
What
a way to make a living for a young fellow.
73’s
Gerry G.M. Aalders
Sydney.