LIFE AT SEA

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23072, 24 June 1938, Page 8

LIFE AT SEA

CONDITIONS COMPARED TALES OF AN OLD SALT CHANGES IN SEAMEN'S HABITS 40 YEARS IN SAIL AND STEAM Life on the high seas, even after 40 years in sail and steam, still holds an irresistible appeal for Mr. William Younge, one of the old school of English sailors, who pays an occasional visit to Auckland as quarter-master of a Port Line vessel. A typical old salt, with a gold ring piercing each ear, he enjoys to recount his many experiences to an attentive listener, together with shrewd observations and comparisons regarding sailors and their conditions down the years. Born at Tynemouth 56 years ago, Mr. Younge came, not from sea-faring stock, but from a theatrical family. As a lad of 16 years he made his first voyage of two and a-half years to Australia and back in a full-rigged ship, the Boscowan. Within 14 years he visited practically every country in the world in' 10 different British sailing ships, rising to the rank of second mate. He then served for three and ahalf years with the British Army in the Great War, being for two years on the Western Front. Since the war he has been associated with the Port Line. ' Pleasure Replaces Misery "To speak of the good old days at sea is, a' mere fallacy, because they were anything but good," said Mr. Younge when interviewed during his latest visit to Auckland on the Port Jackson. "It was misery for the hardy men who worked their fingers to the bone for salt meat and meagre pay, cut off from the world for months at a time. Nowadays it is a pleasure to go to sea, and in comparison with the £3 a month we used to earn it is a shame to take the money they pay." Gone were the times, Mr. Younge continued, when* sailors lived on salt pork or beef, or were expected to gnaw a biscuit alive with weevils. The modern sailor enjoyed three hot meals a day, and the food was better than many a working man ashore could afford. Two men to a cabin replaced the appalling conditions of yesteryear, when one often found 35 men. huddled into forecastle quarters. The Modern Sailor : "The sailor of to-day is also a different type," said Mr. Younge. "He is refined and genteel, without the tattooing from head to foot and the inevitable mouthful of chewing tobacco that characterised the sailor of old. They now chew gum or chocolates, and seldom smoke other than cigarettes. In the true sense they are not sailors, but they are good enough for the job thej are required to do. The average officer is now a skilled navigator, but not versed in the arts and crafts of a tnw Bailor." The change of attire among sailors was also commented on by Mr. Younge. who said the able seaman going ashore was now often as well dressed as his master. The navy blue double-breasted Buitings that used to typify the seagoing man had disappeared. In the days of. sailing ships a man wearing a coilar when applying for a berth was told that no "barber's clerks" were wanted, added Mr. Younge, telling-of his own experience of hiding his collar on one occasion when he was looking for a ship.