United States Merchant Marine Academy - Midships Yearbook (Kings Point, NY)

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while crossing the main deck from port to starboard near the midships section, Skip came across the sailmaker, old Jimmy Mitchal. Jim had shipped for many years aboard Yankee whalers, sailing in both the forecastle and the steerage. Now, with age, he preferred to ship as a sailmaker rather than a harpooner or boat- steerer. Needless, to say, he was probably one of the most respected men on board, and for Skip, he was a blessing from Heaven. While fighting to traverse what first seemed to be an uphill climb and the next moment, a downhill tumble, Skip heard old Jimmy sing out Come here boy. And with that. Skip spun around to see who it was that was beckoning him. ' Ter green ain ' t ya? said Jim. Looking puz- zled and at a loss for words, Skip didn ' t reply and only managed to stare at Jim with a look of half amazement and half amusement at this bearded man with such stern and authorative voice. Perhaps there was friendship to ' be had in this world of apparent strangers who were all so busy with their duties that they only ever rarely passed the time of day between each other when meeting or passing during the course of their work. Maybe within the heart of this Nimrod of the Sea Skip could find a warm spot to harbor all that was in his mind— maybe this man would console him when he was troubled and cajole him when his accomplishments be- gan to go to his head. Maybe here Skip could find recognition and friendship. Yer green, ain ' t ya? the old salt bellowed again and Skip, still in a daze, continued to stare on as if he had lost his tongue. Well, answer up lad— it ' s only a question. Not meant to be an insult. Everything has to have a start. Nothin, not even a whaleman, just is! The saloon on the CHARLES W. MORGAN. The cap- tain sat at the head of the table and his wife and officers sat around him. mmiummmi

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Just before the mate went forward to weigh anchor, Skip heard the captain tell him to have the crew muster on the poop deck promptly on the first even bell after they cleared the estuary of the river. Just what the captain had to tell the crew was of great importance to Skip and he knew that he must make that meeting. Little did he know that it was customary for the captain of a whaler to address the crew and inform them of how things were to be run aboard his vessel at the start of each voyage. Little did he know about how his stern but impressive idol would conduct himself on this voyage. Up until this point, Skip thought him to be a pretty democratic person and definitely not the type that would be a tyrant as soon as the land ceased to be in view. Except for a little matter called wages, Skip thought him to be pretty fair and level headed. As he signed articles, the captain told him that his lay was 1 250 and if he didn ' t like it, he could look for a berth on another ship-he was too green to be worth anymore than that. A lay. Skip found out, was the share a man received of the net profits of the voyage after he signed off articles at the end of the voyage. Well, these few seemingly stern words could be forgotten and with youth. Skip didn ' t even consider the money end of the voyage. He was young and through his eyes, the most important thing was success-that would definitely include wealth and was definitely the most important of the two. A view of the forecastle of a typical whaler Take note of the seachests located in the low i r right Seanu n stowed all of their gear in these chests. What are you here for? the captain shouted at the crew. What are you here for? Maybe some of you don ' t know, so I ' ll tell you. You come to go awhaling-to get oil-to work. Work! That ' s what you ' re here for. We don ' t ship you to play. If you ' ve got any other idea, you ' ll find out you ' re mistaken. I ' ll see to that I will! And I warn you-Fll have no fighting aboard my ship. Any quarrels you have, bring ' em to me. I ' ll settle ' em for you, I will. And I don ' t want to hear no cussin ' . It ' s an infernal bad habit, and I won ' t have it. If I catch anybody swearing, I ' ll see to it that he ' s flogged-dammed if I don ' t! As for grub, you ' ll get plenty of vittles-if you work. If you don ' t work, there ' s a good chance you ' ll starve. No need to grumble about the grub, neither. If you don ' t get enough, tell me ' bout it. Obey the officers ' orders at all times. Do your duty, and I ' ll treat you well. But if you make trouble, look out! I ' m no man to stand for it, I ain ' t! No, not me— and don ' t you forget it. Well, the sooner we get a cargo of oil, the sooner we ' ll get home. I guess that ' s all. Now go forward, where you belong. As Skip set out to work his way forward, he began to consider the meaning of the captain ' s words. What are you here for? The words seemed to hang in the breeze about him. Whales . . . oil . . . work. Even a landlubber could see the difference between a whaler and a merchant man and between a whaleman and a merchant sailor, even Skip was beginning to understand. Well, the ne.xt thing on the agenda for a green cabin boy was to learn his ship from stem to stern. So it was that Skip started forward to explore this island that was to be his home for the next few years-a home as strange to him as a virgin jungle to the young explorer on his initial expedition.

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iptain s private stateroom. The bed was supported by gimbals and a magnetic compass was suspended from the overhead so that he could keep an eye on the progress of the ship without going up on deck. In a meek voice half filled with fright and the other half respect Skip replied Yes sir. Well let me give ya some advise if ' n yer new. First off, I tain ' t sir. Only them that live beyond me in the stern receive that distinction and privilege. Next, to tell you is you had better git them shoes off afore they ' re ruined or ya break yer darn wiry neck. Ain ' t no need fer fancy foot gear aboard this here ship, we keep the decks holistoned an ' what we can ' t reach with the hohstone, nature keeps smooth and polished with the wind and the sea. Besides, do ya good to git yer feet conditioned to yer home. Makes ' em as hard as leather— someday you ' ll never need to wear shoes again. By the way better head for the Fo ' c ' sle an ' git some straw and a bunk fer ya to sleep on afore night ' s on us. It ' s late in the year an ' won ' t be long afore she ' ll be closing in on us fer the evening. Look to see who ya can trust up there and strike up a friendship with a couple of the fo ' c ' sle gang. Ain ' t everyone of ' em that ya kin trust on these ships. Too much riff-raff bein ' shipped these days-they ain ' t lookin ' at what they ' re shaggin ' to fill out the crews. Well, be gone now an ' do as I told you. If you run into any trouble, just sing out Sails an ' I ' ll be right with you-a young feller like you needs a might bit o ' protection once in awhile. So it was that Jim closed his conversation. Without a second thought, Skip started on his way heading for the- now wait a minute, Where ' s the forecastle? he thought out loud. Damn youngsters-nowadays they ship ' em without even tellin ' ' em which end is the bow. Yes, old Jim heard his exclamation and came to his aid immediately to rescue him from the near clutches of distress. I guess if ya ain ' t ever seen a ship afore, I can ' t blame ya fer not knowin ' how she ' s built. Come along with me an ' I ' ll learn ya all I knows about ' er. First, we ' ll head forward an ' settle what I set you out to do. On the way forward, to the hatch opening from the forecastle to the deck above, Jim ex- plained everything that caught his eye and did so with ease and an air of professional knowl- edge. Thar ' s the trypots. No, not along the rail. There afore the main mast where they belong. That ' s whar we try the oil out of the hides o ' them darn critters, the whales. She ' s a bark lad with square riggin ' on the fore an ' mainmasts and fore an ' aft rigging on the mizzin. Plenty o ' room fer head sails forward too. Can ' t say as I ever sailed a smoother ridin ' ship myself-course, what ' s one man ' s goose is another ' s gander! So it went that Skip was taught everything that was on deck and all that was below them too. While they were touring the ' tween deck area, Jim told him to take extra note on every- thing there because, being a cabin boy, this is where he would be doing most of his work. Here, this space is the fo ' c ' sle. This is whar you ' ll bed down an ' spend yer restless nights ' till ya get used to sleepin ' with the motion o ' the ship. No, not that bunk. Take this one back ' ere. She pitches less than she rolls an ' besides, you ' ll git some heat in the cold weather from this here bulkhead. Crew mus ' all be green— ain ' t a sea- soned whaleman alive that ' d pass up a berth as good as this. Come on, lets have a look at the midships section. That ' s whar we cut the blanket pieces into horse pieces an ' slice the horse into bible leaves. Store all the empty barrels an ' tools here too, makes ' em handy when needed in a