Day 58
Days Remaining 176

23/1/2014

Around the Buoy!!!!

Back in the bad old days of the Navy, way before my time... When Nelson still had both eyes and the Dead Sea was still just sick on shore, new recruits to the service would find themselves learning the ropes, literally, at HMS Ganges on the Shotley Peninsula in Suffolk. Whether you were destined to become a mechanic in the Fleet Air Arm, or a stoker in a warship, a cook, a clerk or a deck hand, you went to Ganges and learned to march and clean your kit and do as you were told and grow up. Real fast.

Up until 1976 Ganges was the new entry facility for the RN... And in it's time boys as young as 14 could join there, though the average age of a baby sailor was 17.  As you can imagine, it was a tough life from Day 1. Bullying was rife, the food was poor, and having a quiet chat with your Divisional Officer to explain that your pillow was a bit on the firm side wouldn't have happened. The instructors were notoriously savage and beatings for poor drill, dirty kit and lateness were common not only from the staff, but from your mess mates who would also face extra drill and duties if one of the division made an error.

There were many things Ganges was famous for, and while lenience and tolerance were not two of those, manning the mainmast and rowing of whaling boats in the estuary certainly were.  The former involved 80 volunteer boys of the ships company manning the 143ft mast - and yes the Button Boy would shinny up the last 15ft of topmast, then climb around and onto the button and stand supported only by a lightning conductor at his back... And Salute!

The latter, shown briefly in the film, is the boat section. Boys were taught to sail and row in whalers in the estuary and out in Dovercourt Bay, come hell or high water. Literally every day of the year the sections (age groups) of boys would take it in turns to be out first light, rowing the mile and half each way to the Harwich Harbour buoy (in front of the original Trinity House) and back.... The last boat home would pay an awful price as the duty instructor would be standing waiting for them at the end of the pier and if he felt that they were last through lack of effort, would point back at the Harbour entrance and shout...  "AROUND THE BUOY!!!!" and they would have to do it all again...

The phrase became commonplace in the RN for instructing a subordinate to repeat a badly performed task... And this week I am afraid I have been Around the Buoy a few times on the working deck of the Blackbird... It is a simple piece of carbon on foam core, but the inserts for the cleats and fittings were wrong in the first and the second fitted, but not well enough.... Finally in cure as I type is the 3rd and hopefully final version....

Sometimes I gain inspiration from looking out of my back window where I can just see the top third of the mighty Ganges main mast... This week I certainly have.

D