NAUTILUS P01 OCTOBER 2010.qxd - Nautilus International

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October 2010 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 27 SHIPS’ LIBRARIES The Marine Society’s ships’ libraries service team sends out more than 40,000 books a year to ships and installations around the world which sells new books at competitive discounts (see box below). One can also buy e-books for the geeky new e-readers, about whom Mark observes: ‘Working with nautical documents, there’s a whole dimension there where e-books probably have the advantage in terms of texts over print documents; simply, they’re easier to handle. But in terms of the seafarers’ libraries, there’s still nothing like a book.’ Books, he says, are egalitarian. ‘A lot of our seafarers may not be computer literate, but they have reading skills, and so there’s a fairness in putting these hundred books of all categories on a ship and saying, take your pick, rather Picture: Thinkstock than here’s an e-reader, this is a vast catalogue of 40,000 books, try and find something you would like.’ Now for some Gradgrindian hard facts: fthe Marine Society has 150,000 books in its exchange library and supports around 40 shipping companies with book services covering some 320 ships worldwide feach ship gets between 20 and 2,000 titles, and the largest libraries on passenger cruise liners number 1,300 books fbooks stay on ships for four to six months, and are delivered one to three times annually f5,000 new books a year are brought in to replenish the library fduring the last financial year, 346 libraries were sent out to 319 vessels and 27 installations and 40,332 books were dispatched worldwide The books are sent via a landing agent and then either reexchanged — possibly many times — or shipped back to the UK. The four main book exchange depots are in Rotterdam, Fujairah, Singapore and Hong Kong. But books can be off-loaded anywhere in the world. Although shipping companies are not formally charged, Marine Society does invoice for a requested contribution. Discounts at Society shop The ships’ library service is a wonderful resource, but seafarers may owant to purchase books as well as borrowing them. Nautilus urges members, and others in the industry, to first check out the Marine Society’s new online bookshop at www.marine-society.org/bookshop The online shop can supply any book in print, e-books and CD-roms at competitive discounted prices, as well as nautical revision aids. It also runs an out-of-print book service which aims to source hard-to-find books at a reasonable price. The Society has strong links with key industry organisations like Marisec, IMO and the Nautical Institute which enables it to offer nautical and maritime titles at competitive discounts. Its customer service is based on knowledge and empathy with seafarers. And it’s a not-for-profit service. Books services manager Mark Jackson explains: ‘We’re not bothered about making a fast buck, we just want to cover our costs. And it’s part of our charitable objective that we’re providing books as cheaply as we can across the whole spectrum of what our readers are interested in.’ gSo remember, if you want to bag a book, bookmark www.marinesociety.org/bookshop The ratio of fiction to factual books is 60/40, and the most popular title read by seafarers is the classic To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. The most popular book in the last year has been Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol. On seafarers’ reading preferences, Mark notes: ‘I thought, before I joined, that they would all be reading Patrick O’Brian and Conrad and nautical fiction. In fact, they’re not a popular element of the library at all — seafarers have got very wide-ranging interests. ‘The whole point of what we do is to give them some recreation, escapism, but also to expand their minds and imaginations. ‘I didn’t think that something like gardening would be very popular onboard ships’ he adds, ‘but gardening books are very popular.’ p With a new initiative, launched this month, the Marine Society hopes to discover even more about seafarers’ reading habits. It has picked out a mega-popular title — Bill Bryson’s latest, At Home: A History of Private Life — several copies of which will be supplied to each ship’s library. These copies will be tracked as they travel the globe, and the Society will seek readers’ feedback. Once the initiative is underway the Society plans to monitor seafarers’ reading habits and will nominate their best loved book of the year, with a view to asking seafarers to nominate their choice for future awards. ‘This might give us a bit of a photofit of what our average readers are like,’ notes Mark. ‘If indeed we have average readers. We might find this wonderful diversity.’ “ There’s still nothing like a book... ” CHRISTMAS CARD APPEAL Every year the Shipwrecked Mariners’ Society pays over £1m in grants to the dependants of those lost at sea, as well as sick, disabled and retired seafarers struggling to make ends meet. Please help us to continue this important work. • Quality Christmas Cards • Correspondence Cards • Heroism at Sea E-Book • Nautical Heritage Calendar • Birthday Cards • Gift Items To receive a copy of our new 2010 brochure and order form please contact: Shipwrecked Mariners’ Society, Dept NI, 1 North Pallant, Chichester PO19 1TL. Tel: 01243 789329 Fax: 01243 530853 e-mail: general@shipwreckedmariners.org.uk website: www.shipwreckedmariners.org.uk Reg Charity No 212034 Inst. 1839 Shipwrecked Mariners’ Society Supporting the seafaring community for over 170 years
28 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | October 2010 SEAFARER WELFARE 29 years of vessel visits Ship visitor Buddy Hincke has clocked up almost three decades of work for seafarers in the US port of Coos Bay. But as he now approaches his 83rd birthday, he says his legs are getting tired, and he will start his second retirement next year. Here, he looks back on an eventful life closely intertwined with the sea… MN rating wanting to move ahead Collect up to £15,500 to help your studies Are you a Merchant Navy rating considering career progression The JW Slater Fund, administered by Nautilus International, offers awards of up to £15,500 to help ratings study for a first certificate of competency. And there is a discretionary bonus of £1,000 on obtaining an approved OOW Certificate. More than 1,100 Slater Fund awards have been made by the Union since the scheme was launched in 1997. Named in honour of former MNAOA general secretary John Slater, the awards are made to selected UK-resident ratings aged 20 or over. The money can be used towards the costs of any necessary full- or part-time education, and to provide some financial support during college phases for those off pay. Nautilus International is now inviting applications for the 2010 awards. If you want to make the next move, don’t leave things to chance — fill in the form on the right, or apply via www.nautilusint.org The Marine Society provides education and careers advice for applicants. Scenes from a fascinating ng life: Buddy Hincke with seafarers onboard ship and in his home; in the forces (including a meeting with Bob Hope); and with his collection of international bank notes, above COMPLETE THIS FORM AND SEND IT TO: The Marine Society 202 Lambeth Road London SE1 7JW. I am over 20 years of age and a rating normally resident in the United Kingdom. Please send me details of the John Slater Award. Name: _______________________________________ __________________________________________________ Address: ____________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ Email: ________________________________________ __________________________________________________ Details are also available online at: www.nautilusint.org or email your name, address and request for Slater Fund details to: careers@ms-sc.org 500 F During the last year of WWII I sailed as a messman on troop transports in the Atlantic: the USAT George Washington and the USAT Laconia Victory. We always travelled in convoys of 80 to 150 ships. On both of these ships we carried fresh soldiers and German prisoners back to Europe, landing at Le Havre and Antwerp. On the return trips to the USA we brought back soldiers who had enough points to return to the States, as well as the wounded. When the war ended with Germany, I went to San Francisco and sailed throughout the Pacific until the war ended with Japan. I was sailing on a Standard Oil tanker and we sailed alone. This was a strange feeling for me after sailing in convoys. In later years I was a telegraph operator for several railroads, and served in the US Air Force for five years as a radio operator. I spent three years in the Japanese occupation and was also in the beginning of the Korean War, working our way by land from Pusan (now Busan) up to Wonson, North Korea. Later I was a prison officer and counsellor at a prison site in California for 18 years and retired from there. F After my retirement, my wife and I travelled throughout the US and Canada for two years with a travel trailer, and while gone, someone burned my house down — so through other circumstances we ended up in Coos Bay, Oregon. When we arrived here, I found that there was a seamen’s centre in town and dropped by one afternoon to see how I could get involved. The manager happened to be there, and I asked him about working there as a volunteer. He gruffly said, ‘We do not need anyone now, and besides, you have to belong to one of our member churches.’ I said OK and then left. I watched a certain dock where ships often came in to load lumber and did not see anyone visiting the ships. One day I grabbed some newspapers and magazines and went to the guard gate, telling the man I was from the seamen’s centre. This worked and I went aboard the ship and many ships after that. Then I stopped at the centre again, told the man that I was doing this and asked if he had any flyers to take onboard the ships. He did, and was now happy to give them to me. After a few years of ship visiting, the board declared me the official ‘ship greeter’ and a few years after that they asked me if I would consider becoming manager. I said yes and did that for 14 more years. All of this was as a volunteer only. No pay. F Like any normal seamen’s club, we would often take ship crews to town to go shopping or on sightseeing trips. The centre was originally at another site but when we had a chance to move to a place that had more foot traffic, we did so. I helped build phone booths, moved a giant wall, rebuilt a restroom and set up a maintenance shop. I also put in a request for a grant from NUMAST/ITF for a van, and received it. In all of the years with the centre, I cannot remember any seamen giving us any problems such as drunkenness or rowdiness. When the New Carissa ran aground here, I went to the Coast Guard station where the crew had been received by airlift, and took them to a nearby motel to make sure that they had rooms and their first meal. During these years, we would receive ships from all over the world as well as different nationality crews. Over this period, I do not remember many seamen who did not get a pass to come ashore — not like today when sometimes the whole crew cannot go ashore. F The Russian ships would come in and I made it known that I loved borscht. Later, when a Russian ship arrived, the cook or some crewman would tell me, ‘We have borscht’. This was my invitation to dinner. I also loved to eat Lumpia on the Filipino-manned ships. A Greek crew who had made several stops here once invited my wife and me to eat a Greek meal onboard. We had an eightcourse meal with Greek music playing on a cassette. It was times like that that really made the ship greeting job a real pleasure. A German ro-ro ship stopped here a few times and I made mention to the chief officer that I would sure enjoy making a trip on this ship. The captain agreed to take me on as a work-a-way passenger, and I soon set off for two months as an ordinary seaman and occasional radio operator. I was the oldest person and the only American on the ship. The officers and crew were German and Spanish. In the evenings, when off duty, we would often play cards or dominoes and would speak in three different languages. Lots of fun. F We had to close down the centre eventually because of lack of ships. A lot of the lumber and ore companies had closed down. When I first started there, we were getting over 300 ships per year. Now we are lucky to get 30 ships per year. I have continued visiting, but at the time of writing, my legs are starting to bother me from just walking or climbing up and down the various gangways. Most gangways are about four storeys up, and then you walk half the ship and another three storeys up to see the captain. I have been doing this since 1981... Note-worthy... fBuddy Hincke’s hobby, which started in WWII, is collecting international paper money. All donations of old or new currency would be very welcome. His website is http: //mysite/ verizon.net/reqzj7e, which can also be easily found by entering ‘Buddy Hincke’ into a search engine.
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