In the Boiler of the Steamboat: It Drives, but Doesn’t Exit – Adventures of a Young Sailor 0 6

Barrel

This incredible story took place in the summer of 1982, right during the final exams period. On warm summer days, there was a particularly strong desire to quickly finish studying, successfully pass exams, and get a good assignment.

Everything was as usual: some were preparing for exams, while others, according to the regulations, were responsibly on guard duty. One of the important posts was at the yacht club "Mariner," where the vessels of the Latvian Maritime Shipping Company (LMSC) and the RMU were located – the beloved six-oared yawls and beautiful yachts.

Yuri Novitsky.

On the morning of that day, the sun shone particularly brightly, it was hot, and therefore the news from the duty officer about a "parked" abandoned barrel of beer(!) at the entrance to the yacht club was perceived as something natural and fair – here it was, our reward for all the hardships and adversities of cadet life!

Then the events unfolded rapidly. The beer was distributed through the upper hatch. All sorts of containers were used: teapots, small pots, buckets, glass pitchers, and flower vases…

All of them were emptied at the academy and sent back to the magical barrel. I can’t imagine where the duty officer was all this time – because this bacchanalia lasted all day and all night. Ah, the unforgettable night!.. Some continued diligently, while others were already feeling unwell…

And then, in the morning, the duty officer appeared. Everything happened silently, without shouting, with an understanding of the extraordinary situation. By this time, the duty officers of the company had almost restored order.

A formation of the academy cadets was announced in the large courtyard. And here was the head of the Organizational and Structural Department of the RMU, Captain of the Second Rank Eduard S., seasoning his speech with bright allegories and juicy phrases from "strong" language, but it didn’t sound vulgar; rather, it was very organic, clear, and convincing. And, as it should have been, horror, trepidation, and an immense sense of guilt and doom filled the ranks of the suddenly sober cadets.

But no one was expelled, as all participants were involved, and the organizers were not found, as the event was spontaneous.

An hour later – the exam on strength of materials. How I passed – I don’t remember. I remember that I passed.

In conclusion of the story, I want to say a big thank you for the pleasure and joyful memories to all participants of this charitable event: to the driver who lost the barrel, to the dispatchers who didn’t notice the loss, to the brewing technologist for the good beer, and, of course, to the commanders of the RMU who understood everything and forgave.

Happy

This story is also from the distant 80s. After graduating from the RMU, I was assigned to the LMSC, and my first workplace was the cargo ship "Urganch," where I served as a boiler engineer on watch at the boiler. The crew of the vessel was engaged in fulfilling the food program. We transported grain from European ports to the ports of Riga and Ventspils.

It so happened that during the stay for loading grain in the port of Rouen, an inspection and cleaning of the boiler's combustion chamber was planned. Two young, inexperienced specialists were sent to carry out this responsible task. My partner and I armed ourselves with special tools: brushes, scrapers, and a couple of dim portable lights. And so, having pushed the nozzle assembly aside, we prepared to dive into the furnace. I went first, relatively easily, probably out of bravado.

Inside, I felt the intense heat of the still-warm boiler, but I didn’t show it, reporting that everything was fine. I took the tools and lights, waiting for my partner.

And here appeared the head of my colleague. I assume that other sailors helped to pull the body through the narrowness, pushing his legs, while I pulled his arms. It was done quickly. And now, there was already a second body in the furnace.

We divided the work areas: you take the right side, I take the left. And off we went! I wanted to finish quickly and get out of this hell. But we moved forward slowly – it was just too hot.

After an hour, I suggested to my friend to take a break and get some fresh air. My colleague refused. He refused to come out during the second and third breaks as well. But finally, the end of our work came: we finished cleaning the water heating tubes and restored the lining of the brickwork.

I climbed out first, taking the tools, bags of soot, and lights from my colleague. And here appeared the hands and head of my partner. I pulled him, pulled him, but he got stuck!..

This is what anatomical features mean – a very wide pelvis. It probably expanded even more from the high temperature.

Help arrived, and now there were four of us trying to pull the stuck comrade out of the boiler. The second mechanic appeared and very seriously informed us that the ship was preparing to depart and the boiler needed to be urgently put into operation. He mentioned, by the way, that the loss of a low-value crew member would hardly be noticed.

— Fire up the boiler, — he addressed me, and left. Not everyone appreciated the commander’s humor.

On the blackened face of the unfortunate, a tear appeared. Someone decided to add fuel to the fire by suggesting we go for a smoke break. The upper part of the body sticking out of the furnace looked quite tragicomic.

After discussing all possible rescue options, we decided to push him back into the furnace. There, he needed to completely undress. To support the guy, I also climbed into the furnace and pushed his legs forward.

I never thought I suffered from claustrophobia, but it really became frightening, and the dangling legs of my colleague in complete darkness were eager to hit my face. Moreover, I couldn’t hear what those outside were saying and didn’t understand what they were doing. It seemed they were doing nothing.

However, my intuition suggested that there was no place for panic and everything would end well. And it seems to me that it was a series of precise kicks to the "buns," forgive me, my friend, that yielded results. Light appeared!

And now, a naked man with his pants down stands before the boiler, all in tears, with large bloody abrasions on his thighs, receiving congratulations from his comrades… Happy.

Yuri NOVITSKY.

About the Author

Yuri NOVITSKY graduated from the Riga Maritime School in 1982 with a degree in "Operation of Ship Automated Systems" (OSAS). By assignment, he ended up at the Latvian Maritime Shipping Company. He worked as an engineer on the bulk carriers "Urganch," "Vasya Stabrovsky," "Valya Kurakina," "Anton Gubarev," "Nadia Ribakovite."