Full & By 1 August 2010

Full & By The crew journal of the

barque James Craig

ISSUE 21 AUGUST 2010

Full & By 2 August 2010

Web site: www.shf.org.au/JCraig/JCraig.html Compiled & edited by Peter Davey & Kylien Hitch-man pedavey@gmail.com, K.Hitchman@unsw.edu.au Contributors: PeterDavey, Morrin Grigg, Steven Smith, John Cowie Layout: John Cowie Cover photo: John Cowie The opinions expressed in this journal may not necessar-ily be the viewpoint of the Sydney Maritime Museum, the Sydney Heritage Fleet or the crew of the James Craig or its officers.

Full & By The crew journal of the barque

James Craig

CONTENTS

Teenage Sea Cadet dies after fall from

training ship.

Caroline Davies 3 Timber Cargoes 4 ADF June 2010 Exercise: James Craig Voyage 26

th to the 30

th June 2010.

Morrin Grigg 5 In Distress. Barque‘s Perilous Time at Sea.10 First Sea Trials. Steven Smith 11 EOFYS or The ADF End-of-Year Sail. John Cowie 12

The James Craig‘s Rough Voyage. 15 The Bosun Explains—Knots. 16 James Craig Daysail Diary. 17

Full & By 3 August 2010

A 14-year-old sea cadet died after falling from the rigging of a training ship during a celebra-tion weekend to mark the organisation's 150th anniversary. The schoolboy, from Kent, had been furling the sails on the TS Royalist after yesterday's events as the sailing brig was at anchor in Stokes Bay, south of Gosport, Hamp-shire. The crew of the Royalist managed to reach him within minutes. Paramedics continued resusci-tation attempts as he was transferred to a life-boat and then winched aboard a coastguard helicopter but he was pronounced dead at the Queen Alexandra hospital in nearby Havant. An investigation has been launched by the Maritime Accident Investigation Branch. The tragedy happened at the end of two days of celebrations at Gunwharf quays in Portsmouth. Cadets on land took part in displays and dem-onstrations while a marching band paraded through the marina. There were 19 young cadets from the corps' southern area and 10 staff aboard the Royalist,

the Sea Cadet Corps training vessel. As part of the celebrations they climbed the rigging for a formal salute and dressed the ship with flags and bunting. The ship then em-barked on what should have been a six-day sail. "At this particular juncture all we can say is that the captain took the Royalist out of the harbour at the end of the Sea Cadet festival at Gunwharf quays and took it to Stokes Bay, not very far away, for anchorage," said Mike Cor-nish, chief executive of the Marine Society and Sea Cadets . "The cadets were ordered to furl and reef the sails which is standard operational procedure for the night and unfortunately the cadet fell while aloft. He had climbed the rigging with the other cadets." He described the incident as an "extremely tragic accident" and said it was "appalling for all those involved". He added: "Royalist is a two-masted brig and has been in service for over 39 years with the

Teenage Sea Cadet dies after fall from training ship.

By Caroline Davies 3rd

May 2010

Full & By 4 August 2010

Sea Cadet Corps. She has an impeccable re-cord of safety. This is the first incident we've ever had with the loss of a cadet on any of our ships. It is a tragedy. "We are devastated by the news and our thoughts are with the parents of the sea cadet who sadly lost his life." Under standard procedure the cadet would have been wearing a safety harness but they do not wear lifejackets when climbing the rigging in case they get tangled up, he said. It is thought he fell six to nine metres (20ft-30ft), and was in the water for around four minutes. It is not known if he struck his head as he fell. The other cadets, who were due to spend a week aboard the ship, were re–united with their parents. The anniversary celebrations, with the motto "Get outside. Get involved. Get adventur-ous. Get new friends", had been running throughout the weekend. Solent Coastguard said it received a mayday from the ship at 8.30pm yesterday, stating that a member of the crew had fallen over the side while it was at anchor. A statement released by the Marine Society and Sea Cadets said it was the first death the ship had experienced since she was commissioned in 1971. "The charity is deeply saddened to report that a tragic and fatal accident occurred on Sea Cadet training vessel TS Royalist on Sunday May 2 2010," it said. "Our thoughts are with the young cadet's family at this distressing and painful time. The charity is now working with the Maritime Accident In-vestigation Branch to establish the full details of what happened and offering every assistance to the local authorities and police. "The protection and safeguarding of young peo-ple is of paramount importance to the charity, and we take our duty of care very seriously. TS Royalist is staffed by experienced and qualified crew." The voluntary youth organisation is open to young people aged 12 to 18 but members must be at least 13 and-a-half to go to sea. TS Royalist is the Sea Cadets' flagship training vessel and has taken 30,000 cadets to sea over the past 40 years, with the capacity to take up to 24 at a time. The ship has a permanent crew of six, plus up to three additional staff. The Sea Cadets have 14,000 members at 400 units around the UK. This article was reprinted with permission of “The Guardian” guardian.co.uk

Stories from her past. TIMBER CARGOES. The barque James Craig arrived at Port Jack-son yesterday with a cargo of white pine, from Kilpara, and went to Johnstones Bay. Last week the barques Hazel Craig and Jessie Craig, with timber cargoes, from New Zealand, arrived at Melbourne.

The Sydney Morning Herald, Thursday 1 August 1907, page 8

BARQUE JAMES CRAIG SOLD The barque James Craig (646 tons) has been sold subject to sighting in dock. She will go on the Woolwich pontoon to day.

The Sydney Morning Herald, Friday 16 June 1911, page 10

THE JAMES CRAIG. The barque James Craig arrived yesterday morning from the River Thames, New Zea-land, and anchored in Johnstone's Bay. When leaving Thames on March 6 she encountered strong south-westerly gales which broke the upper topsail yard. The latter part of the jour-ney was without experience, and the NW winds were met with. The vessel brought a cargo of white pine. The Sydney Morning Herald, Wednesday 18 March 1908, page 10

A BARQUE‘S ADVENTURES. The barque James Craig, which left Port Mo-resby five months ago, was picked up by the steamer Poonpar, 15 miles from the Richmond River, on Sunday, and towed to Woolgoolga. The vessel has been buffeted about for many weeks, and had previously lain at Port Mo-resby for seven years, her bottom being too fouled to permit of her sailing.

The Brisbane Courier, Tuesday 26 August 1919, page 6

Full & By 5 August 2010

SUMMARY OF RESPONSES TO CRITIQUE From the 40 crew 21 responses were returned. These are summarized below with comments logged as written by responders: To assist us evaluate this program could you please complete the following questionnaire. Please place a tick in the appropriate box. We would also appreciate any comments on each item. 1. Introduction and pre-course material

Comments

I didn‘t receive the book or briefs until the last minute it was a failing on my behalf.

It was much easier to understand once a practical side was put to it.

Think about simplifying the pre-reading material and creating a simple yet comprehensive over-view of the ship and related mat-ters.

I honestly did not read it all due to time constraints but what I did found fascinating and it provided scope.

Effective, if read prior to joining.

The intro was good but it was hard to know what was being talked

Not useful at all Not very useful Quite effective Effective

1 14 6

ADF June 2010 Exercise JAMES CRAIG VOYAGE 26

TH TO THE 30

TH JUNE 2010

Photo—John Cowie

Photo—Ewa Korczynski

Full & By 6 August 2010

about until you tried it.

The training we received before sailing I found was quite useful and effective though I strug-gled with remembering the names for all the ropes.

Booklet was helpful but I honestly doubt if anyone actually read it all outside of the 2 days of training.

Good intro and demo‘s. 2. Please rate the quality and attractiveness of the food.

Comments

Good variety, cheery staff.

Food was always excellent and there was plenty of it. Compliments to the Chef.

Loved the food.

Compliments to the chef and all involved in the meals and nibbles on board. High quality of fruit.

Excellent.

Craps all over Defence food and the service was excellent.

Plenty of food and cooked well. No complaints.

Excellent

I was quite satisfied with the food we were given.

Great selection and variety.

More variety for those who prefer different foods would be good e.g. fish and another form of meat.

Nice food, varied.

Excellent!! Eye fillets and chicken breast maybe?? 3. How effective was the alongside training?

Comments

There was a lot to take in but I think the basics were instilled in us.

It was slightly confusing with the name and positions of various lines, sails etc. but that is to be expected with a ship of this complexity.

Crew provided clear and understandable instruction. Their experience and willing-ness to teach was greatly appreciated.

Michael Rocks.

The instructors were willing and patient, they put up with a lot considering the age and inexperience.

I think for military personnel 2 days training is all that is required, then off.

Same as above.

Jumped ahead too quickly due to time constraints and it was hard to understand all the new words.

Very well done.

Good quality Acceptable Poor Quality Unacceptable

16 5

Very Good Good Poor Not good

11 10

Photo—Ewa Korczynski

Full & By 7 August 2010

4. How good were the Trainers ?

Comments

Alex and Peter had an intimate knowledge of the ship, which they were quite happy to share.

Ensured understanding of the ship and en-couraged participation in all aspects. Ability to learn names was outstanding.

Dave was fantastic! Top bloke. Happy Birth-day Dave.

As above the trainers were willing and enthu-siastic about training.

Owen and Alex were awesome. Mary was super supportive. Kate a great cook.

Natalie was awesome but Erwin has to stop pretending to be French

No negative points.

All give very clear instruction.

They were really helpful with the climbing.

They were friendly and very patient and great to learn from.

Love crusty old fellas!

Very friendly and patient.

If they were unsure they would just ask another trainer, very friendly and knowledgeable.

Fiona, Herman, Dave and Juri are all good trainers. 5. How would you rate the voyage at sea and the sailing?

Comments

I was a little sea-sick at the start. All-in-all, it was a very good experience.

Beautiful weather made the already positive experience all the better.

Was ill at first but the whole trip and crew were very enjoyable

A good time was had by all. Good weather perfect.

Had a brilliant time.

Everything I found enjoyable and challenging.

Too short. 6. Accommodation arrangements including Sleeping and Bathroom.

Comments

I‘m an infantry soldier, so this was top notch for something of this nature.

The hammocks offered a novel experience.

Interesting to sleep in hammock for the nights, only there was a clunking noise during last day due to equipment against the hull.

All works well.

Very Good Good Poor Not good

20 1

Very Good Good Poor Not Good

14 6

Very Satisfactory Satisfactory Unsatisfactory Not at all satisfactory

10 11

Photo—Ewa Korczynski

Full & By 8 August 2010

Great fun swinging in the hammocks.

It was an exciting and unique experience.

Sometimes very late at night, due on watch member. Would have liked to have slept in ham-mock.

Clean and comfortable. 7. What do you think you learnt whilst with the Sydney Heritage Fleet and voyaging in the

James Craig?

I learnt a great deal about how complex sailing really is. I also learnt that officer cadets are not too bad (it won‘t last though).

More about team work and how to live more closely with each other.

How to work together and tall ship train-ing.

Too much to list here. This voyage of-fered me one of the steepest learning curves I‘ve had it was both a challenge and an opportunity.

Teamwork, leadership and you can have fun while working.

Overcoming sheer terror to do my job!!!

New skills, perspective and made new friends.

Overcome some fears, climbing, sailing.

Teamwork is very important to get the job done there can not be one hero.

Heights are scary but fun. Also how to steer a ship.

The general business of sailing a tall ship and appreciation of history, team-work.

How to sail a tall ship.

How to climb rigging.

Rope skills as well as the basic con-cepts behind a tall ship. It also helped to improve social skills and leadership.

How to sail a tall ship.

All about square rigs.

Pretty much everything I did was new.

All about the running of a ship. How to work effectively in a team environment.

A lot about others, group working and square ships.

Seamanship from a time before mechanical propulsion 8. How do you think this event has assisted you in your career?

I don‘t think it has really assisted me in my chosen field. It would be an excellent thing for as-piring navy personnel to attend.

Put more salt in my veins.

Gave me further insight in to the Navy life at sea.

Insight into ship handling, further experience working in a team and working with unfamiliar people.

Being able to work with sickness, stretching the boundaries of work space.

Yes, most definitely.

Photo—John Cowie

Full & By 9 August 2010

Tolerance with people who can annoy you as in trainees not staff.

My career a bit late but very useful for jun-ior member, teamwork, watches etc.

Team building skills.

Gave me an understanding of the Navy and reminded why I was in the army (I like ground).

It help me by taking me into a alien envi-ronment and challenging me to my best.

N/A

My job is very related to leadership, social skills and team work, so what I learnt was very relevant.

Improved confidence. Improved public speaking.

Put me in an environment close to people.

Gave a good platform and environment in which to get to know others.

Team work, living in close quarters.

Yes, I do.

N/A. 9. What single thing could be done to improve your experience?

More days at sea.

Miracle sea sickness tablets.

Nothing – it was perfect.

Nothing – I even thought your safety procedures were brilliant.

None I was happy with the way it was run very professional.

Not get sea sick.

Photo—John Cowie

Photo—John Cowie Photo—John Cowie

Full & By 10 August 2010

Another day out. Maybe some rough seas.

Make it storm maybe.

I honestly believe the training was very well done and catered for our training requirements.

N/A

Not getting sea sick.

More time.

N/A.

Photo—John Cowie

Stories from her past. IN DISTRESS.

BARQUE'S PERILOUS TIME AT SEA. Leaking badly, and with 4ft of water in her hold, the barque James Craig was towed into port in distress by the tug Hero on Saturday morning. Whilst putting a line aboard the James Craig, off the ―Heads‖, the tug Hero and the James Craig came into collision. The stern of the James Craig was considerably damaged, some of the plates being pierced. The Hero sustained only minor damage. The James Craig, which is an iron barque, for-merly known as the Clan McLeod, built in 1874, was bound from Newcastle with coal for Tas-mania. When off Gabo she struck heavy weather, and her topside seams opened, letting the water pour into her at a rate faster than the pumps could cope with. In this condition the vessel remained for 48 hours. Then the wind lightened, and enabled the captain to navigate her under the lee of the coast to Sydney. Cap-tain Murchison (who during the war served in a decoy ship in the British Navy) said that last Sunday week he did not expect that the James Craig would make port again. From stem to

stern mountainous seas swept the barque, buffeting her and throwing her about like a cork. The forepeak was filled with water, the cabins had 3ft of water in them, and most of the stores were destroyed by the water, whilst the decks were awash. For two days the ship remained in this plight. The crew, without a break during the 48 hours, were engaged pumping and boiling with buckets, living the meanwhile on tinned food. Unable to cope with the water, they did not know how much there was in the ship, or at what rate she was leaking, as, on account of the decks being awash, it was Impossible to take soundings. In this condition the James Craig was on the point of being abandoned when the wind mod-erated and veered to the south-west. This enabled Captain Murchison to make for the land, and by skilful seamanship he managed to get his ship under the lee. The James Craig, on her arrival here, anchored In Double Bay. The crew Is still engaged in pumping and bailing the water, but a very considerable quantity had by yesterday been removed, and the danger.

The Sydney Morning Herald, Monday 24 May 1920, page 6 & 8

Full & By 11 August 2010

Nearly thirty years of hard work came to fruition on August 12th 2000, when the three masted barque JAMES CRAIG put to sea for her first sea trial. Three other sea trials took place on the 13th, 19th and 20th. I was lucky enough to be a crew member for these four days. This was the first time in 78 years she had put to sea un-der her own sail power. Seventy people were on board. Headed by the Master, Captain Ken Edwards. First Mate was Peter Pole from New Zealand and the Second Mate was Ross McLean from the USA. (An ex Sydneysider). The crew was split up into four watches. Also on board were some observers from TAFE and some of the hard working pro-fessional riggers, headed by Ross Pearce. Despite outward appearances, the ships rig was not yet complete, and we had a ‗green‘ crew. The only thing that took us by surprise was that nothing major went wrong, either ship or crew wise. There were nil injuries. The trials ex-ceeded the best expectations, except one. The wind forgot to show up on the last three tri-als. Most of our forward motion came from the donated MTU diesel engines. The seasickness rate was only about 1%. The ships motion is very friendly. In the six weeks prior to the 12th August 2000; The two mates conducted sail training along side wharf 7. This explains all those sails going up and down. Being mostly mature age trainees, we listened very intently, worked very hard and learned a lot in that time. This paid dividends during the trials. The channel 9 helicopter filmed us on the 12th and we got a lot of air time on the news that night. Unfortunately we had only one sail up at the time. By the 20th, we had 14 (of 21) sails

up. No more were possible. The more sails we have up, the more spectator craft we at-tract. No matter how far out to sea we are. On the 19th we entered the harbour with 11 sails up. The ship has shown herself to be a thor-oughbred. Hardly surprising, given her pedi-gree. You can feel it with your feet. The other amazing thing about her is the bond she has created within the crew. There is no ‗agro‘ on board and we trust and treat each other like family. I think the fact we are volunteers con-tributes to this. We now have a crew choir. One thing the crew learned was that crewing a tall ship is not for the physically chal-lenged. It is hard, rewarding work. It‘s a little ironic that the ship is named JAMES CRAIG, because some of us have nick named it the Gym Craig. (Two words synonymous with fitness and weight loss in the 21st century). On Sunday November 12th 2000, the JAMES CRAIG officially became part of Sydney Heri-tage Fleet‘s ―Operational Fleet‖ division.

Stephen Smith. Seaman JAMES CRAIG

This edited article was first published in ‗ALL HANDS‘ magazine in October 2000

Photo—Steven Smith

THE FIRST SEA TRIALS

Photo— Sydney Heritage Fleet

Full & By 12 August 2010

In 2008 the Assistant Cook, in a somewhat con-fused state, was evacuated from the James Craig via the sea boat & ambulance to Frank-ston Hospital. Despite this turn of events he was awarded a ―Wooden Spoon‖ & is now li-censed to operate as Cook in the ―General Pur-pose Area‖. Thus, in June 2010, he became the Cook for the ADF Exercise – June 2010 (End-of-Financial-Year Sail) & needing a voyage assis-tant he invited Burkie, whose contents contain-ment ability had been well established on the 2008 Melbourne Trip, to join him again. Naturally, Burkie jumped at the chance as he could renew his friendship with Bin, often ribbed for his NZ accent but known for his strong sup-port of the Chief Steward‘s attempt at separat-ing the organic & in-organic rubbish, Zak, known for his heavy duty carrying capacity & Buck, who proved that he could carry a variety of vegetables without damage.

When Burkie arrived on board, he was sur-prised to learn that he was not to sleep in the deckhouse with the two Assistant Cooks but he was to be accommodated, with the Cook, in the Engineer‘s cabin. Initially he was at the end of the Cook‘s bunk but as the Cook kept kicking

him Burkie opted to move to the spare top bunk. He enjoyed himself so much in that po-sition he refused to move & spent the entire 3-day voyage happily looking down on those who entered the cabin. The two Assistant Cooks were ―deckies‖ who volunteered to work a shift of 15 hours on & 9 hours off rather than a watch of 4 hours on & 8 hours off. It also meant that they could sleep the night through instead of getting up at mid-night or 0400hrs. Whether they volunteer to be part of the ―Galley Crew‖ in the future is un-known but an uninterrupted night‘s sleep is a good selling point. The 3-day voyage (Monday to Wednesday) to Port Stephens & back was the final compo-nent of the 5-day ADF Exercise. A contingent of 40 Federal Guards, Officer Cadets & Mid-shipmen spent 2 days (Saturday & Sunday) on board the James Craig, alongside at Wharf 7, participating in the ―Introduction Course to the James Craig‖ & then followed up with the 3-day sail. Sailing at 1000hrs on a cold Monday morning, with the sun shining & a good breeze blowing the James Craig made her way down the har-bour. Under instruction from the trainers & with help from the James Craig crew the ADFers put their training to practical use by setting the sails. Once outside the Heads & on turning North for Port Stephens the engines were cut & the James Craig commenced a magic 3-day sail. In perfect conditions with sunny days, low swell & favourable winds the Master was able to break out all 21 sails, much to his satisfac-tion. Tuesday morning around 0300hrs the First

EOFYS or the ADF END-OF-FINANCIAL YEAR SAIL

Photo — John Cowie

Bin, Zak & Buck on deck prior to departure

Photo—John Cowie

Burkie relaxing prior to departure

Full & By 13 August 2010

Mate was awakened by change in the song of the free-wheeling propeller, initially he thought that the engines had been started but soon real-ised that the James Craig had taken advantage of the prevailing wind & was sailing at a very respectable 10 knots. She continued to sail well & throughout Tuesday she still making 9 knots. The conditions, though cold, were sunny & the ADFers were able to practice what they had learnt over the 2-day stint at Wharf 7. They proved that the ―ratlines‖ are aptly named, as after an initial reticence on the part of a few once they had done their ―Twice Over‖ they were up those lines like the proverbial drain-pipe. Another ADFer commented that he rock climbed so he had no problem with climbing, the Cook hoped he realised that unlike moun-tains, ships move.

In keeping with an Introduction to the James Craig, two ADFers from each watch were allo-cated as peggies to help the Chief Steward or in the Galley. Those that were, fulfilled their duties with muted enthusiasm & an independent in-spection of the heads on the return to Wharf 7 revealed an above professional standard of clean. One ADFer ended up in the Galley three times & when asked by the Cook whether he had vol-unteered he replied that he had been up on deck doing nothing so the Watch Leader had

sent him below to be peggy. The Cook gave him some sage maritime advice – ―if you are doing nothing make sure nobody can see you doing it‖. On Monday evening, true to the James Craig tradition of heeling over at meal times, she heeled to starboard just as the beef casserole was being dished up. As a result the cream & custard, sitting on the freezer, ready to be served with the hot pudding, slid off & liberally coated the floor & the sea boots of the crew lining up for their evening meal . A cheer went up & the Cook, thinking it was a comment on the casserole, exited the GPA to receive the accolade only to discover, instead, that the deck had been painted cream. Somewhat chastened at mistaking the cheer the Cook returned to the GPA muttering about trainee helmsmen in decidedly blasphemous & un-parliamentary language. The Assistant Cooks, on the other hand, calmly went about their serving of the crew midst the custard & cream chaos. The Oil (cream) Spill Detail, with an efficiency honed by numerous Spill exercises, leapt into action mopping up the spill & spreading sand over the affected area. The resultant sand spread & heavy sea boots pol-ished the deck by the freezer to a lighter Photo — Ewa Korczynski

Photo—John Cowie

Twice Over

Setting the sails

Photo—John Cowie

A gentle swell

Full & By 14 August 2010

shade of grey. Discussions are now under way to employ the sand & boot method to turn the

rest of the ―below decks‖ area into a matching shade of grey. The dramatic spill events were captured by the Ship‘s Video Recordist, who was making an archival record of the evening meal. It is ru-moured that she is now producing a spill train-ing video for BP. Calm returned to the Mess area, the meal was served without further incident & despite offers of an extra slice of toast & jam the Cook was unable to determine whether the heel to star-board was the result of a trainee helmsman or a rogue wave. The Ship‘s Victualler, when buying the provi-sions for the crew meals, was unable to get the oven-bake crumbed fish fillets as specified by the Dietary Consultant (currently on a spiritual retreat somewhere in North Queensland). The Provedore assured the Victualler that the sug-gested substitute was oven-bake so the Cook was very surprised to learn, on reading the cooking instructions, that the crumbed fish fillets had to be deep-fried for 4-5 minutes. The Cook broke out into a cold sweat (no deep-fryer on

board – OH&S reasons), contemplated slash-ing his wrists (rejected – blood on the deck an OH&S hazard) but was soon calmed & much relieved when the Chief Steward solved the problem with her suggestion of pan-frying. Thus the crew were treated to pan-fried fish fillets rather than the specified oven-baked. (note to Victualler; always read the cooking instruction before purchasing). The Cook found that the ADFers were courte-ous & showed him the requisite respect by addressing him as ―Sir‖, however, there were occasions when he was addressed as ―Cooky‖ or ―Cheffo‖ – possibly influenced by a less than respectful James Craig crew member. One of the Midshipmen expressed her opinion to the Cook that the food was awesome & gourmet. The Cook could not help but wonder about the food served aboard naval vessels if standard James Craig fare was regarded as gourmet. So the Cook, with his customary modesty, thanked her for her compliment & enquired about the food served on the naval vessels. She said that after two weeks at sea the beans were limp. Another ADFer thought the sandwiches of whole-grained bread were great, as were the fillings, since he was used to getting white bread with a slab of cheese & ham.

Photo—John Cowie

An experienced helmsman

Photo—John Cowie

Wednesday morning

Full & By 15 August 2010

Wednesday morning dawned as the James Craig continued her way back to Sydney, the Cook, as is customary, went on deck before the 0600hrs breakfast preparation rush had started, to get a glimpse of the sun coming over the ho-rizon (he was a hour too early), gaze at the wind-filled sails & smell the wind (something not possible from the room without a view). That over the Cook, Chief Steward & Assistant Cooks readied themselves for the breakfast rush & being the last day baked beans on toast (another James Craig tradition) were dished up. No sooner had they cleared the GPA (Galley) than they started to prepare lunch & once that was over the engines cut in & around 1345hrs the James Craig came through the Heads (feeling rather pleased with herself that she had managed to perform so well – notwithstanding the new paint job). Back at Wharf 7, after putting the ship to bed, the Master invited the old & new crew to par-take of light refreshments & alcoholic bever-ages. He then gave a positive assessment of the voyage & presented the new crew with their certificates of completion. The Cook was given a rousing cheer but he was not on deck to receive it, he was down be-low preparing the pre-return to Canberra meal for the ADFers. Fortunately the Chief Steward & Assistants Cooks were on deck to receive the rousing cheer.

Burkie awakened by the cheer, roused himself from the top bunk & began to prepare the Cook‘s gear for the trip home. With a feeling of satisfaction & a little sadness at the comple-tion of the voyage Burkie knew that once again he had proved his worth & was fairly confident that he would be invited to sail again on the James Craig. John Cowie Crew James Craig.

Photo—John Cowie

Stories from her Past

THE JAMES CRAIG‘S ROUGH VOYAGE.

The barque James Craig, which trades to Hobart, was 40 days on the recent voyage from Auckland to Melbourne (says a Sydney paper). Three times when within ten miles of Port Phillip Heads she was blown to sea. and drifted across Bass Strait to north-eastern Tasmania. Storms were encountered during practically the whole of the voyage from New Zealand, but the worst was experienced on sighting Barron Island. The ship could not stand against the storm, and her sails were taken in, the wheel lashed, and the ship al-lowed to drift sideways in the angry sea. This lasted for three weeks, during which the cap-tain did not remove his clothes. The ship was tossed about In the sea like a cork, with the decks often under water. One night she was at the entrance to the Gippsland Lakes, and 48 hours after she was drifting near Flinders Island. Life lines were stretched along the deck for the men to grasp when in danger of being washed overboard. After being tossed about Bass Strait for nearly three weeks at , the mercy of the storm, the food and water supply ran short, and the men were rationed. Some days after, however, the storm abated, and the ship reached port safely. Captain A. Purdon, who is in command of the James Craig, belongs to Hobart. The James Craig Is one of the oldest surviving intercolonial sail-ors. Built in Sunderland 47 years ago, she sailed the seas in many parts of the world as the Clan Macleod for something like 30 years, part of which time she was in the Newcastle coal trade. Then she was acquired by the for-mer Craig Lines of Auckland, and glven her present name. When that line disposed of its fleet she was purchased by the British New Guinea Development Company of Sydney

The Mercury (Hobart, Tas), Thursday 28 July 1921, page 4

Home again

Full & By 16 August 2010

KNOTS A knot is made never tied. A hitch is taken or made fast. A splice is put in. Putting two lines together is bending. A tangled line is cleared by overhauling it. A line is coiled down, never up. A knot that is fouled or loosens is capsized.

DO NOT…… store a rope in an damp place; it may mildew.

store rope in a very dry place; it will dry out & become brittle.

allow rope to be stored near acid, acid fumes or storage batteries which continually give off acid fumes. The slightest trace of acid will ruin a rope.

pull rope from outside of a coil; it may kink. Pull it from the inside counter-clockwise.

allow a rope to be kinked.

remove a kink by pulling on the rope; un-kink by twisting the rope around itself when not under strain. Massage the kinked place to bring it

back to its original shape. put a sharp bend in a rope if it can be avoided; the fibres will break or become weakened at the bend.

overstrain a rope. For a long life & safety. Rope should be used at strains of not more than one-fifth of the breaking strength.

subject a rope to sudden jerks. A sudden jerk is the same as overstrain.

expect a soft laid rope to wear as long as a hard laid rope with a hard wear-resisting sur-face.

expect a hard or medium laid rope to be as nice to handle & as flexible as a soft laid rope.

cut a rope without first tying whippings on ei-ther side of the place to be cut; otherwise the strands will unlay.

use a knot if a splice can be used. A splice is much stronger that a knot.

coil a rope in the wrong direction as it will kink. Most ropes coil best when put down clock-wise.

New Bedford Cordage Company, New Bedford, Massachusetts

Photo—John Cowie

Full & By 17 August 2010

James Craig Daysail Diary

Photo — Ewa Korczynski

Photo — Ewa Korczynski

Photo — Ewa Korczynski

Photo — Ewa Korczynski

Photo — Ewa Korczynski Photo — Ewa Korczynski