Sea Stories

[Guest]

Great story as always Capt. Takes me back to the first time I had command myself. The "what if..." going through the noggin. You captured it perfectly. Kind of miss those days.

[Alex]

Cool, thank you Sarah, what did you think of being part of a namesake of a lake boat? Thanks for your time

[Guest]

Yes, my sisters Martha and Alexandra were the other two. Thanks for asking.

[Alex]

Hello Sarah, are you one of the namesakes of the boat that was named Pierson Daughters? Thanks in advance.

[sarah pierson]

I check these posts every so often. This one really made me smile.
I miss my father, Robert Pierson. I know that he admired every person who ever worked for him. If you were a deckhand or a captain, it made no difference. Thank you Captain; he spoke of you often.

[captrmetz]

This was our first trip to Superior WI. You can see the water tanker that was loaded in Vavcover for the trip for fresh water. It was also use to see if the tracks were line up with the unloading dock.

[howie8]

Great story Capt Metz, glad to here you are feeling better, when you wrote ( all I saw was a mess of red & green blinking lights as far as my eye could see ) that brought back memories for me I was a wheelsman on Shell Oil Tankers for a number of years and we sailed that route quite a few times . Looking forward to your next story!

[Denny]

Thanks for the Sea Stories Capt. Metz and great to see and hear you are back with us again. Hope that you are recovering and also doing well this winter. Please keep your stories coming as they are always well said and put and always enjoyable. I got my stuff all set for the next Sea Stories as far as Hot Chocolate along with the Marsh Mellows to help pass this winter. Stay Warm Captain!

[Lakercapt]

When the "Incan Superior" had finished the runs to Superior from Thunder Bay she was fitted out for the voyage round to the West Coast. One of the things ah was needed was a railway tank car that was secured to the deck. This as the ships tanks did not have sufficient capacity to do the trip. It was filled with water when we crossed Lake Superior.
I was on board as an advisor as the rest of the crew were all West Coasters and had never been down the Lakes or Seaway.
I recommended that a GPS be fitted for the trip as this would help in the navigation. They had a "Loran" but an older model.
This was fitted in Montreal.
I still have the pen and pencil set that was presented to the crew who did that re-positioning trip though I did not do the sea voyage. My name engraved on the Cross set.
One thing that we found out was a big split in a ballast tank as I wanted all ballast in when going downbound. This alas was just before we were due to sail and delayed us for a spell. Guess the fine "lady" did not want to leave her home!!

[Guest]

Reminds me of a time I was on the JAW Iglehart downbound into the Livingstone Channel at night. The new mate missed the mark for starting the turn but the veteran wheelsman had already started the turn by putting just a few degrees of right wheel on, just to get it moving in the right direction. When the mate did finally call to start the turn the wheelsman loudly repeated the steering direction-"start her right," even though he already started the turn on his own. Always a good idea to get in good with your wheelsman-they can make or break you every time.

[Holubecois]

These are great stories. Tell us more if you have them. :)

[Guest]

I was on the Blough while a new third mate was being broken in. After a few runs through the St. Mary's, the old man got out of his chair and told the mate to take her down Hay Lake, he was going to his cabin and finish some paperwork. Later, the captain informed me he scooted down to his room and stuck his head out the window and watched the whole time. Just needed to boost the mate's confidence.

[Guest]

Thank you for the story Cap it brought back to mind the length of time I have been working in the ship repair trade as I worked on your vessel while you were laid up in Midland Ontario the winter of 1980-81 rafted beside the John E F Miesner at the Simcoe Grain Elevator.

[Les Weston]

Great story, Captain. .Thanks. Hope ypu are recovering well

[Scott]

I love that Capt.
"I'm off to bed, she's all yours"
Talk about a trial by fire! I'll be buying a Capn. Metz book this week. Love the stories. Thank you Captain.

[Mich Bob]

Thanks Cap`. Just what I needed after making a big pot of hot sauce tonight. Have a great remainder of the weekend.

[Billius]

I too appreciate your story Cap! Thanks!

[bill bird]

Capt Metz:
Thanks for the story.
Not sure if Capt Bissette reads this thread regulary so I have sent the story to him.

[Paul A]

Thanks Capt. Metz! It's great to have your stories to pass another winter.
I hope you're doing well.
Paul

[captrmetz]

Since the shipping season is over on the Great Lakes I thought I would write a few Sea Stories. Some of you bought my books and heard my stories before, but we have new boat nerds in our family that did not hear my stories. It will help pass the lonely winter day's ahead. I will post two Sea Stories per month. Enjoy. Capt. R. Metz

New Captain, Old Ship, November Gales

When I left the Incan Superior in the fall of 1980, I flew to Toronto. From there, I took a taxi to the office of the Soo River Company located at Thorold, Ontario. The office was inside a neat little white house situated next to Lock 7 Motel.
I met Captain Ron Dean, and he introduced me to Mr. Robert Pierson. I liked everybody from the start. It was a family atmosphere - and that atmosphere would last for 20 years. In many shipping companies, employees are nothing more than their employee number. No so with Soo River. You were treated like family.
I was surprised that Robert Pierson was so young; after all, he owned a shipping company. And he was not the last bit high-headed. He was a regular, nice guy.
Dinner was with Captain Dean. We talked about the company, and he told me I would go aboard the E. J. Newberry as second captain, since I hadn’t been down the Seaway in years. That was quite all right with me.
After dinner, Captain Dean shook my hand. “Good luck.”

I didn’t sleep very well in my room at Lock 7 Motel that night. I thought back to the night just before I joined my first ship, the Thomas Wilson. I didn’t sleep very well that night either. “Here we go again,” I thought. “What will happen this time?”
Before I knew it, the alarm clock was blaring. Time to go. At 3 AM, eyes barely open, I was standing next to the guard shack as the bow of the Newberry inched her way into Lock 7 of the Welland Canal. I met Captain Jerry Bissette, and life started over again.
Everything proceeded nicely aboard the Newberry. I was learning how she handled and we made the Seaway trip a few times. After about two months, in the black of night, Captain Bissette turned and said, “You take her through the Brockville Narrows yourself this time.”
“Cap, I don’t think I am ready to be turned loose by myself yet,” I protested.
“Well, I am going to bed. She’s all yours.” Off to bed he went.
I certainly felt lonely in the quiet of the wheelhouse. Of course, I would not dare show my fear in front of the wheelsman. I was thankful that it was dark inside the wheelhouse. He couldn’t see my knees knocking together.
I walked up to look out the front window. All I saw was a mess of red and green blinking lights as far as my eye could see. How in the world could I go in between all those flashing lights? They were everywhere. Beads of sweat formed on my brow. “God, I am in command!” I thought.
The bow was to the first set of lights. “Okay, red, right, return,” I said to myself. The red flashing light passed off the starboard bow, and the green was off to port. “Made it!” I thought, as the next pair came close. “Okay, now do the same thing again. And again. Heck, this is all right.” I just kept taking the first two ahead of me and keeping the ship between them. Actually, I started feeling pretty good about what I was doing. But the feeling did not last very long.
“…downbound, Brockville Narrows in 30 minutes,” came the security call over the radio.
“Oh, no!” I thought. I had never met a ship in the narrows, not even in the daytime. It was risky business to meet another ship there. “What should I do? Call the captain? Try to beat the other ship through? What if I try and don’t beat him?” Panic was setting in.
Then I heard a calm voice over the radio. “Good morning, Captain. Where about are you?”
I tried not to let the fright show in my voice when I replied. “Just below McNair Island,” I managed to gurgle out.
“Oh,” came the calm voice, “in that case, we will be through the narrows in time to meet you below Skeleton Island.”
Those words were beautiful. And he was right where he said he would be as we passed in the night. I glanced at my wheelsman, expecting to see horror on his face, but he just stood there humming an unrecognizable tune without a worry in the world. He didn’t know how much I had suffered. Really, I would have never left me in charge of the bridge that night, or any other night, until I had gained more experience.
Captain Bissette went on holidays, and Captain Percy was placed in command. He was a much older man. I don’t think he was very impressed with me at first. I guess we got off on the wrong foot when he asked me where the key for the safe was located.
“In the safe,” I said. “It’s never locked.”
“Well, it is now; I just locked it.”
I started laughing, quietly, but he heard it. That was it for me.
Thirty days later, when Captain Bissette came back, I asked Captain Percy if he would put a good word in to the office for me to sail my own ship.
“No,” was his answer. “I will not put in a good word for you because you will never make a good captain.”
I was shocked by his answer. Wow! I was really sorry then for laughing over that safe key affair. He never did call the company for me.
We were all glad to have Captain Bissette back. “How did things go with Percy?” he asked me.
I told him exactly what had happened, and I included the verbiage about how I would never sail my own boat and would not make a good captain.
Captain Bissette grunted, walked over to his desk, and called the company’s office. “I’d like to speak with Captain Dean,” he said. “Ron, this is Jerry. Do you have a boat for Dick to sail? He is ready to be cut loose and should have been weeks ago.” There was a pause, and Jerry handed me the phone.
“Get off in the [Welland] Canal upbound and fly to Thunder Bay,” Captain Dean told me. “When you get there, join the H. C. Heimbecker as master.”
Thank you, Captain Jerry Bissette.
~ ~