He was a nautical treasure. He was a true professional at his trade. He was a career deckhand.
He was salty, cagey, talented, a good shipmate full of kindness.
My first oil barge didn't have laundry facilities. We would wash our duds on the tugboat that was hauling us around. Once I left my dirty laundry bag. When I got off watch I looked at it and simply walked past it and racked out. I was too tired and needed some sleep.
When I woke up my laundry was gone! Someone had stolen my dirty underwear! I was mad as a wet hornet but had to go in watch.
When I got off watch, still angry I started to go below and a voice shouted out, "Hey!" I turned. It was Vic.
My laundry bag flew through the air and landed at me feet. "You looked tired so I figured I'd take care of your wash." I thanked him and took my bag below and found everything to be clean and well folded. Vic was THAT kind of a guy.
He was about 20 years my senior and was still an Ordinary Seaman and could never advance any further because he was colorblind. He was also illiterate and for some reason unable to learn to read although he had tried every program out there.
His career had spanned decades and early on he had sailed post war Liberty ships bring either merchandise or humanitarian aid across the Atlantic. He told me of seeing a lot of damage from the war as they sailed into various unloading zones.
One of his stories was hilarious.. Somehow they cut a deal with the skipper whereby they would work passage back to the States. The pair came aboard almost instantly and cheerfully worked like dogs the whole trip back to Baltimore. He said they were the two happiest guys in the world until they got to the States where they were immediately picked up. Vic opined they were most likely military deserters trying to sneak back into the States.
Anyway, Vic was a whirlwind and incapable of sitting down or standing still. He was a very much in demand deckhand in spite of his illiteracy. There was literally nothing he could not do on a boat and skippers trusted him implicitly.
He was well liked by all and well respected. Any derogatory comments about his illiteracy drew angry glares from everyone. In his sixties he could outwork men forty years his junior.
Vic I always look at as a prime example of a man that could overcome his handicaps.
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