Again, someone asked me why I have not made posts about my career at sea.

I gave him my stock answer.

"Wait until I retire and I'm going to write a book exposing the entire industry!"

It will actually be somewhat of a disappointment because the so-called good old days are long gone and have been gone since about the time I entered the industry. It was in the process of cleaning itself up when I entered it almost thirty years ago. The major turning point was the Good Friday Prince William sound oil spill back in '89.

Yet, probably after three or four decades the old stories of the days of yore still refuse to die.

About ten years ago I met a New York cop that told me that even then if a cop called in and mentioned tugboat, barge or merchant seaman that a backup or three would be immediately sent, no questions asked. I laughed and said that most of the guys on the water these days were family men with wives and kids. I pointed out that a DUI was reason enough for a sailor not to have his papers renewed.

He said he knew it but that old habits die slowly. The cop sheepishly told me about an old retired skipper in his late 80s that fell. He called for an ambulance and said it was for 'Old Joe the retired tugboat guy'. Apparently the dispatcher heard the word tugboat and two cruisers showed in in seconds. It was one of the funnier cop stories I have heard over the years and the cop was a good storyteller. I laughed like hell as he grinned.

Interestingly enough, over the years I have seen more drug and alcohol abuse by the shore side people than by our guys and even that has been extremely rare. I have had to deal with a couple of drunken dock men and inspectors over the years. The last time was well over a decade ago. It was an inspector and the dock man and I quietly whisked him ashore and had him replaced rather quickly. The incident was handled quietly and I never heard of that particular inspector showing up with any alcohol on his breath.

When I was a novice I saw a drunk dock man dealt with by a middle management type who simply relieved him. Later I heard he was quietly suspended. The supervisor said, "He's a good guy."

I shot back that good guys don't drink at work and risk other people's careers. The supervisor said I had a point. The next time I saw that man he was sober as a judge and thanked me profusely for not reporting him up the chain.

Still, when you look at the big picture, the industry is pretty damned clean and is a far cry from what it was and a VERY far cry from the public's perception of what the maritime industry really is.

As far as violence goes, my career on the water includes commercial fishing. I have not fished since '86 and to be honest fishing was somewhat of a circus. There were no papers required, anyone could fish and it drew all sorts of people. I knew of at least two murderers and a number of fishermen I knew personally had extensive criminal records.

I have been out of the commercial fishing business since '86 and know nothing of what it is like today.

Since I have been working in a license/documents required tug and barge business I have only seen one actual fist fight and two somewhat serious shoving matches. In one of the shoving matches someone went down on his ass. In the other a mouthy green deckhand got bounced off of a bulkhead a couple of times.

In the latter incident no real harm was done and the whole issue was quietly buried. The tug skipper agreed that no real harm had been done. There was more good than bad because the green kid learned the boundaries. Actually it gave the kid a pretty good lesson in life.

Recently I did hear of one unpopular shore side supervisor shoving a pile driver that was working on the dock. Bad move. Pile bucks tend to be Old School. After the pile buck knocked the supervisor flat on his ass he picked himself up only to be fired. The supervisor had it coming for two reasons. First he shoved somebody. Secondly he deserved to be canned for outright stupidity. Anyone that picks a fight with a pile buck is just plain stupid.

Companies don't put up with that kind of thing anymore. For one thing, lawsuits tend to get expensive fast. It's no longer a let's duke it out and may the best man win world anymore. An employee getting into a fist fight with someone can cost the company a fortune.

I, personally, did not witness this incident but the person that told me about it said he actually saw the whole thing and had to make a witness statement.

One has to remember that these jobs have seen quite a bit of change over the years. Many moons ago the food was lousy, there was little machinery and long, heavy towing hawsers were warped in by hand. It was damned hard cold and wet work and anyone with even an inkling of education avoided it like it was leprosy.

Good deck machinery has replaced Armstrong's patented line haulers. Refrigeration and other modern conveniences have made it a lot better of a job to have. The caliber of people increased.

What was once a simple job considered a haven for criminals and throwaways has morphed into a pretty good career.

Most guys out here are guys with wives and kids to feed and tend to steer clear of trouble. They have responsibilities ashore.

Since the US flagged shipping industry has fallen off a large number of people out here are maritime academy grads with degrees.

At first there was some resentment until it became clear that competence and merit came first. Over the years I have seen a King's Point grad replaced with a man with a grammar school education and I have seen the opposite happen, too. Over the years I have worked with maritime academy grads and they have been anywhere between first class and dismal. Actually the degree itself means little out here. Performance comes first.

The old bar busting, drinking and fighting Popeye or Barnacle Bills of the past are long gone. Still, it is pretty funny that a lot of people still live in the dark age and believe that sailors are the way they were a century ago.
















To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY