What it means to be a Matelot

Roughers - a jackspeak term for Very Rough Ogwash (bumpy seas). All sailors have their own ditty (story) about what nearly saw their end, and Tangaroa coughs up some doozies from time to time.

This jack has seen some and there are those moments I reached into my own reserves, especially around the coast of Aotearoa. There was that momentus drop of roughers coming back from the Tasman on Canterbury and running into a cyclone off the east coast. I was an OD Seaman and we had to close up as Quarterdeck Lifebuoy Sentry on the seacat deck (normally AX) and lashed to the superstructure and yeah I got saturated but I did my watch. Two days was precarious. My first drop of the rough stuff and I hungered for more.

The other moment (also Canterbury) was when we escorted USS Truxton, we were supplying liberty boat crews in Wellington Harbour. We departed in moderate seas in the Cook Strait and flat seas around Marlborough Sounds and millpond in Golden Bay and Nelson. We loaded on 75 sea cadets, and sailed back towards Wellington, We raced into the Cook Strait at full revs the weather had deteriorated. I was Bosun Mate and wedged into my possie Port Side Aft on the bridge. We hit a series of humungous swells and the ship was groaning something chronic as she shuddered to a stop (still burning and turning). The damage was huge. Focsle guardrails smashed off, 3 window wipers gone, duckboards on Bridge wings gone and the biggest, a huuuuugggggeeeeeeeeeeeee dent on the front of the starboard Bridge wing. Seem to recall the Oerlikan on the bridge top was damaged too. The worst though was the smell coming from down below, all 75 sea cadets with natures curse – sea sickness. Not an empty head or bucket anywhere.

BUT there were two others. I'll let Rocky Morell do the Monowai one as he has a video so I'll relate my ISC moment.

We, Takapu and Tarapunga were, as usual, in company heading up the East Coast (Ngati Purou) and we had been playing it calm off the coast. There was some rough weather forecasted when we turned into the Bay (Plenty). As we neared East Cape the weather did turn for the worst but by the time we turned the weather just bombed us. We'd gone about 5nm and the CO decided to turn back but it had deteriorated so quickly it was deemed too dangerous, so plough on we did. Within a couple of hours the crew become struck with only 2 JR's doing the helm (LHA Paul Wattie Watson and myself.) and OOW down to Pete Fowles (CPOMEA) with the CO and Coxn laid low. Poor old Pete, did his whole watches on the bridge sitting on the back of bridge doors, he'd chunder out the back doors and the next wave washed it away. The three of us did an 18 hour stint (18hours for 12 miles, but we progressed.)  We were in company for the whole time and even though we had GPS and no radar and TK had Radar, and they were a few miles apart, we never saw each other.

How rough? ISC's are about 6m high. For 18 hours I was looking up at the breaking crests. And poor old Dave Tatana (RIP) was in his pit fwd and this freaking huge swell smashed down on the focsle and dislodged the forrid hatch and flooded the mess, and Dave wore it all (found later with a few others in the Dining Hall crashed). You came off watch and topped up the soup so the sickbay rangers got sustenance.

Transition - Sextant to HiFix6 and Lead line to Echosounders

In other words I joined the Navy in 1975 as a Seaman Gunner, served on Canterbury and changed to Survey in December 1976.  It's also poignant to say that the Navies Survey Ship (from 1949) HMNZS Lachlan decommissioned also in 1975.  The old girl was a hangover from Cook's times, bar checks flags, beacons all mostly handraulic and 2 RD (2 Range Decca). But Lachlan phased out leaving three ML's to survey inshore waters and harbours and bars.

My first survey vessel was HMNZS Tarapunga and with Takapu alongside we were tasked with the Firth of Thames survey.  Suffice to say that crew opened my eyes to everything Droggy (or as we surveyors were called back then - SR Bastards). From the CO's to the OD's, all were tasked with working long hours (and being open bridge no surveying if weather was kack).  And as mentioned, suntans were abounding.

While we were doing our bit in the sun, HMNZS Paea (seconded to Survey Fleet) was beavering away in Marlborough Sounds.

I was privileged to serve for 4 years on mainly Tarapunga with one short stint on Takapu.  I got to share in surveying practices dating back to Captain Cook  and I was soon to be thrown headlong into a new form of surveying - electronics.  That happened whilst the ML's were still operating, HMNZS Monowai was manned after a 2 year refurbishment. Monowai was then the most sophisticated survey vessel in the world (a mainframe computer driven by tickertape and stored in a dehumidified room the size of a Queen Bedroom.)

 Monowai was commissioned in October 1977 in Scotland.  How important this ship was for New Zealand, a port visit on the way back to NZ was at Monte Carlo, HQ for the International Hydrographic Organisation.  And a surprise visit from Jacques Cousteau (his well known ship Calypso moors at Monaco.) This delivery voyage gave us time to start bedding in the new gear.  And with three ML's fully manned, Monowai's  Droggy's (SR Bastards officially retired) were a bit on the thin size.  I think having had that journey many tasks were beneficial.  Once back in NZ Paea was returned back to Fisheries and spare Drogs attached to The Ghost (as Monowai would be lovingly become).  Monowai went straight into the Bay of Plenty survey and an extended recce of Stewart Island/Fovaeux Strait.  Between 1978 and 1980 the two ML's continued surveys of bar harbours (Manukau, Raglan and Kawhia) and finalised an eastern coast or Great Barrier Island.

This image to right is the last time both ML's were to be alongside The Ghost. In the months following this meeting, both ML's would be decommisioned after 30 years of survey service.  It also passed into history the bare chested sun baked ML sailor.  It also spelt the doom of old time salts, the ones that were lovingly called as Work Hard, Play Hard, Stay Hard.  And hardened sailors were slipping away as many of those salty Droggies decided the new way wasn't their cuppa tea,

We'd have to thank the SR Bastards that stayed on during the transition and lept headlong into writing and presenting of courses that were highly justified and very thorough.  A lot of new drogs flowed in and then filled places on Monowai and Takapu and Tarapunga (the new Inshore Survey Craft replacing the ML's) Many who took on the new survey vessels initially moaned about the long hours and all but there was a strong corp d'esprist build within the branch and also the strong admiration from fellow sailors on all vessels.

So what of it??  SR Bastards were lovingly derided. ML SR Bastards were lovingly derided, The Ghost Drogs and the ISC Drogs were all lovingly derided.  Despite the shift from sunlight surveying (sextants) to 24/7/10 surveying the privileged we all shared, be that Droggy or fellow crew.  Work Hard, Play Hard, Stay Hard.

And on that, Up Spirits!!