Allan decided that it was time for him to move on from his present job. He had completed his apprenticeship at a heavy engineering company that was heavily involved in the Shipbuilding industry, but it was becoming clear that most new ships were being built in far eastern countries, rather than in Britain, and therefore the long-term future did not look too bright, unless he wanted to go abroad to work. He was now 23 years old, and, with a degree in engineering, his supervisor suggested to him that he could gain useful experience by joining the Navy as an engineer. The idea of serving in the Royal Navy did not appeal to him, so he decided to apply for a position in the Merchant Navy.
There was another very personal reason for him to get away from his home environment.
He lived with his aunt and uncle, and by mutual consent he had shared his aunt's bed for some years and fathered 2 children with her. At the age of 18 he had taken a holiday in France with his aunt, which is where their affair started, not to mention being introduced to naturism and various entertaining sexual experiences. (See Alan goes to France) The idea of moving into a new environment, both of work and personal life, was pleasing for him.
He had no problem getting a position. The Merchant Navy was short of engineers, and he was taken on by one of the major shipping companies. He was sent for a month on a preliminary training course. This was supervised by an engineer with many years experience at sea but who was now spending his last years before retirement imparting some of his knowledge to the new intake. All of the new engineers had experience in heavy industry, either in Shipbuilding or in the ancillary trades, as had Alan, but he was the only one who had a degree in engineering.
After a few days of classroom training, they were taken to the docks to get to know what an engine room was like. Although Alan was used to heavy machinery, her was still amazed by the sheer size of the twin ten cylinder Burmeister and Wein double acting, two stroke, turbocharged diesel engines delivering about 27,000 horse power, not to mention the four generators and all the ancillary equipment, of some of which he had had a part in the design. After this ship they were taken to another, this time a steam ship with their big turbines and boiler rooms. If he ever needed convincing that being a marine engineer would be interesting, the thought of being in charge of machinery like this did it.
Another few days were spent in learning technical details, their instructor also grounded them in the rules governing their behaviour, both official and, more importantly, unofficial. This was mainly to do with how they should relate to their fellow engineers and other crew.
"Remember, the greaser working for you on your watch can drop you deep in the shit if you get the wrong side of him - he'll probably know a damn sight more than you for a long time, so work with him and he'll help you. You may be an officer with the power to log him and get him a bad discharge, but it definitely pays not to unless he does something really dangerous - otherwise I wouldn't recommend drinking the tea he's made for you."
"As far as the deck officers are concerned, they think they're a superior race but you know that you are. Just tolerate them, you'll have to share a mess with them and some of them are nearly human."
"Passengers! The company attitude is that you are encouraged to mingle with the people who are helping to pay your wages. The management would like you to pay equal attention to all the passengers but, being randy young sods, I've no doubt you'll concentrate on the young totty, which will piss off some of the older people, so try to put yourselves about a bit. However, if you do get friendly with likely talent, remember that you are not allowed in passenger sleeping accommodation, and you will almost certainly get sacked if you are caught. On the other hand, if a woman is found in your cabin no one's going to take a lot of notice, on the simple basis that if she's been daft enough to come to your cabin, she's going to have a good idea what you have in mind. Mind you, just remember no means no, and that will stand you in good stead.
The end of this conversation took place in the pub, where the new engineers were treating their instructor to several pints. A lot of other wisdom came out during this session, amongst which was the sage advice that "Married women are always a good bet - at least if they come to your cabin they know what you are after and won't waste a lot of your time. Oh, another useful tip - the old ones and the ugly ones are grateful!"
Alan was to take note of this advice when later when he was posted to a passenger ship, but his first ship was a cargo vessel, and he spent several months on coastal journeys with a couple of trips to North European ports. This was when he was introduced to the Seamen's Missions, the excellent organisations that provided somewhere for seamen to go when they were in port and in need of innocent entertainment. In one mission he visited there was a dance organised, and he managed to get friendly with one of the young ladies who attended these events, but he never got further than a kiss and a cuddle at her front door when he walked her home.
These trips gave him the chance to get to know a lot more about his new job, exciting things like how to clean the valves on a faulty bilge pump, not a job for the squeamish, but he also got a chance to start the main engine, and putting some 10,000 horse power into action was quite an excitement for him, as he'd never started anything more powerful than his aunt's Triumph TR2 before. Quite soon he got a message to go to Southampton to join a 24,000 ton passenger/cargo liner, and his first deep sea trip began.
Once he had got used to the noise, smells and vibration of the two huge engines and the four diesel generators, Alan also had to acclimatise to the routine of watch-keeping. Although it was not unknown for engineers to convince gullible passengers that the engines were switched off at night and everyone went to bed, of course work continued and was arranged on a basis of four hours on and eight hours off, though these hours were varied when the ship was in port and only the engineers in charge of the generators continued watches while the rest did daywork on maintenance tasks.
The watches did make social life a little more complicated. Whichever watch was involved, it meant explaining to the young lady who was the object of his attention (lust) that ,if he was on the eight to twelve watch, he could only be available in the afternoon, not the evening, though, if things were going well, a late night visit to his cabin after midnight was a possibility. Same thing for the other watches at differing hours. It could also mean that, if things were going well, a distinct lack of sleep could occur - all in a good cause, of course.
Alan's early attempt at seduction was not noticeably successful on the outbound part of his first voyage. Although he got friendly with a couple of girls, he made no real progress, but things were going to look up soon. On the return voyage the ship was in port waiting, and then loading cargo for several days. (This was before container shipping made loading so quick). Some passengers stayed on board while others came aboard for the first time. The ship's staff tried to provide some entertainment, and a staple was to lay on a dance. The ship had its own four piece band to provide music, and one evening such a dance took place.
Now the dances were a favourite opportunity to chat up any prospective female talent, so Alan duly donned his white mess kit (much like a waiters' only with badges of rank to distinguish the officers) and went down to the dance floor and surveyed the possibilities. Not a lot, was his summary. There was no one who really caught his eye, which at that stage was searching for nubile young women. However, as he was there and he quite enjoyed dancing he went and asked a woman who was clearly on her own. She agreed, and they took to the floor. She was a small, nondescript sort of person, who wouldn't attract a lot of attention. However, when they moved off he soon found that she was an excellent dancer. Not only that, she danced very close to him, and when he tried some fancy moves she went with him and allowed his leg to slide between hers on the turns, and, although there wasn't a lot of body to hold, she felt very pleasant against him.
At the end of the number they sat together and she bought him a drink. Her name was Betty, and he noticed that she was wearing a wedding ring, but didn't comment. She told him that she was going back to Britain for a long awaited visit to her family, whom she had not seen for several years, but her husband couldn't get the time off so she was going alone. They chatted quite happily, then danced together several times, and, if anything, she danced even closer to him. He remembered his instructor's remark about married women knowing what was hoped for by anyone who invited them to his cabin. The officers were only allowed on the public decks until 10.30, and, as this time was fast approaching, he thought that he'd got nothing to lose by asking her up to his cabin, though he feared that, as she'd only said goodbye to her husband a few hours before, she could well refuse.
"Look Betty, I have to be off deck by 10.30, so I'll have to say goodnight. I've enjoyed our time together, and you dance beautifully, so perhaps I could see you tomorrow. I'm working all day, but we could meet for a drink about six o'clock."
"Oh Alan, that's a shame. Can't you stay a bit longer."
