ROBERT CAMMACK AND TRAINING SHIP CONWAY.

This article first appeared on a site dedicated to Conway and her cadet officers.

Some time ago, another Conway cadet, Michael Llewellyn reminded me about the hoisting the boats on the ship. To those of you who were at Conway after the loss of the ship there must be all sorts of things about which you have heard but have not been able to visualise.

Most of the boats were hoisted out of the water every night before we turned in. The was really tough work and of course we were all dead tired but as it was the last thing we did before getting into our hammocks there was something sort of comforting about the operation.

The boats were slung from wooden spars, which stuck out from the ships side at an angle of about 40 degrees with falls just the same as a ship's lifeboats. Then the falls lead inboard to two more sets of threefold purchases and finally via snatch blocks to two long hauling parts laid along the lower deck.

"Hands to the falls!"

The whole ships company would clap on to these and start pulling - tramping with the heavier boats - and literally running with the light ones. Urged on by the Cadet Captains and the officers we would go running aft until we got to where a couple of cadets were flaking down the rope. This manila was a real joy as it was never exposed to the weather and with constant use and our sweaty little paws it had become as supple as silk. The chaps who were flaking down would make the most beautiful patterns with the rope on the deck. Heaven help the poor chum who stood on it or kicked it out of shape!! As soon as you reached that spot you would let go the rope and hare back to the starting point and take hold again. You had to keep an eye open on the other line and keep level or one end of the boat would get higher than the other.

"'Vast heaving!"

It didn't take long for new chums to learn to heed this order. If not they would run slap into the back of the cadet ahead of them and end up with a clip on the ear.

"Marry the falls!"

Here the taller cadets would leave their place on the falls and grab the parts of the three fold purchases, which were right up at the deckhead, and hold them together while the stoppers were applied. Meanwhile we smaller ones felt as if the whole lot was about to carry away without the others to help us.

"Ease to the stoppers!"

We would back up gingerly until it was seen that the stoppers were holding and then everything was made fast.

Don't forget that these boats each weighed several tons and the whole evolution was done by hand.

Drawings supplied by Author.

Every once in a while we would be faced with the dreaded operation of 'hoisting the swivel'. You probably all remember the four enormous anchors that held our old wooden mother captive in the middle of the Straits. These were all connected by huge chain anchor cables to a giant swivel more or less under the forefoot of the ship. From there two more cables led up to the hawse pipes. Now, in a perfect world this would allow the old lady to swing lazily to and fro with every change of the tide. First with her head towards Menai bridge then towards PD but every once in a while the world would decide to be a blinking bastard and someone would realize that she'd got her knickers in a twist. At the next slack water, every cadet and the ship's cat would man all the boats with the hope of hauling the ship's stern round and getting the twist out of the anchor cable. Some hope! You can bet that as soon as the tide started setting the stern would gradually swing the wrong way and Eric would be 'Jacky' Mayne, 'Ernie' Moore and 'Taffy' Oliver would start organizing the laying out of the lifting tackles. Double Spanish Burtons, Triple Spanish Burtons - anything to get a better mechanical advantage, which would help us, lift the equivalent of a Cromwell Tank off the bottom of the straits. Finally, when all was set up, Brookie, his circular glasses glinting with concentration, would calculate the exact moment when the curtain should go up.

Hoisting boats was nothing like this. Even the 'juice barge' would have been child's play in comparison. Taffy red in the face. Jacky shouting "Make an evolution of it!!" while Ernie just clapped on to the rope and put his back into it. Little by little the filthy black monster would appear above the surface until the order; "Vast heaving!!" would allow us to catch our breath. Then stages would be rigged and Slack Party would be sent down to chip off all the barnacles and grunge and pump fish oil into the bearing. Iron pipes to act as tommy bars would then be stuck in to the upper and lower halves and the stronger cadets would sweatily heave back and forth till all was loosened up.

After that, Eric, the rest of the officers and probably a surveyor from Liverpool would climb into the Pinnace for the 'great inspection'. There was more gold braid down there than you could shake a stick at! The Heads under the fo'c'sle were out of bounds for the day. You can imagine if some chump pulled the chain at the wrong moment!!

When the OK was given, the whole operation would go into reverse and the monster would slide back into his lair for another year or two.

We Hoped!!!

Rob Cammack 51/53