NAUTILUS P01 OCTOBER 2010.qxd - Nautilus International

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
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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: _______________________________________
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Address: ____________________________________
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Details are also available online
at: www.nautilusint.org
or email your name, address
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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.