Gulf Coast breeze. [volume] (Crawfordville, Fla.) 1897-19??, 1897-10-22
A SHIPKEEPER'S DUTIES.
THE CARETAkER OF A VESSEL
WHILE I'M PORT.

The shipkeeper is the caretaker of
the ship while she is in port. He is
likely to DO n man who has followed
the sea il may be in the employ of
the house whose vessels he now looks
after. He may have sailed before the
mast or he may have been u mate or
perhaps the master Of a ship. Every
firm of large shipowners or shipping
merchants has shipkeeper Of its
own, who may have been thus en-
ployed by the same house for years.
The shipkeeper goes aboard some
times when the ship arrives in the har-
Dor, but usually when she is first tied
up to the wharf. The crew is dis
charged the minute the ships lines
are made fast, and the captain goes
very soon, it is likely on the same day.
The ship may have come from China
voyage, or voyage to some other
distant seas, and have been gone for
months, and he starts for home "a
soon as he can - down East or
wherever it may be there to remain
until the ship is nearly ready for sea
again. Then the shipkeeper is left in
charge of the ship. He is sometimes
the sole occupant, but most owners
keep one other person, n man or
boy, aboard. II the additional person
is man, it is likely to be the ships
carpenter or one Of the crew employed
for that purpose. The shipkeeper
lives aboard Of the ship until she goes
to sea again. He may cook aud eat
all his meals aboard, or il there is a
restaurant close at hand ashore, he
may get his dinners there. He sleeps
aft He does not sleep in the captains
room, but he takes his choice of the
rooms OF the mate and the second
mate, this being the custom on the
beach.
The shipkeeper is the Waterman of
the ship. and he looks after her in
many ways and sees that no harm
comes to her. He sees that the steve
dore's men don't drop blocks on deck,
and that no injury of any kind is done
to her inboard, and he sees that no
harm befalls her from tugs and light
ers or otherscraft. And he keeps the
ship in order. He is more than likely
to be man who knows a ship allow
and aloft, and to take sailors pride
in her, and personal pride in the
ships of the house that employs him.
There are shipkeepers who are not
over-nice, shipkeepers are just like
other people in this respect ; but, as n
rule, they keep their ships in perfect
order.
Suppose you see in South street q
fine ship that takes your fancy, and
you walk down the wharf TO go aboard
of her. II you find the gangway lead
ing up to her side bright and clean,
not even any dust on it, the manrope
fresh, bright bit Of rope, brass man.
rope stanchion planted in the rail
handsomely polished, strips of canvas
laid upon the brass.covered treads of
the steps leading from the gangway
platform up to the rail Of the ship,
upon the brass-coyered rail itself, and
| upon the steps down TO the deck with
in, why, il really wouldn't be neces-
sary to look any further to know what
kind of shipkeeper was aboard here.
But il you look down from the quar-
ter-dcck into the waist of the ship, you
will see there broad expanse of deck
as clean as any floor. If you go for
ward aud look, say, into the hosting
engine-house, you find the engine and
the tank aud the room itself newly
, and tasteiully painted and everything
in perfect trim. Look into the gallery
! and you will find that just the same
IA clean kitchen as any you ever saw,
ailoat or ashore. 1t is inst the same
everywhere about the ship; the white
paint is white and the brasswork is
bright; and the cabin is in perfect or
der; and the veteran of the sea who
keeps the ship in this shape is proud
of her, IA he has perfect right to be.
She may have been tied up at three or
four wharves, at as many different
points around the harbor, towing here
and there and discharging or taking
on cargo, but she's kept rs trim and
handsome as though she were on ex-
hibition.
The ship is deep in the water when
the shipkeeper first steps over the
rail; he sees her rise as they take the
cargo out Of her, until she is light,
and stands, on high tides, with her
side high above the wharf. The ship
keeper stays aboard for weeks. There
may be days or longer periods when
there is nothing doing aboard Of her
except what he does himself, when the
ship is silent; but sooner or later they
begin to FIJI her up again, and from
that on there is more or less life
aboard OF her and alongside,
A week or ten days before the ships
sailing day, the captain comes to town.