Document g20xNK0OK78EbeayrpVRoR1Ne

PUBLISHED BY THE MARINE DIVISION OF HUMBLE OIL & REFINING COMPANY Vol. 3, No. 11 June 1, 1961 NORWAY 1st. U. S. CREWS 2nd and 3rd IN LIFEBOAT RACE, MAY 23 Once again oarsmen from the Norwegian America Line's Stavangerfjord carried off top honors in the International Lifeboat Race to re tain their title to the world championship. Also, once again, it was Cox'n Ansgar Johnasen's ap parently invincible magic in the stern sheets that piloted his crew to victory. While there was little doubt as to the winner of the race after it was fairly underway, the con test had its thrills, nonetheless. One was the way the Esso Baltimore crew leaned into those oars to overcome a bad start. In an awkward position when the gun went off. they w'ere last to get away. But under the urging of Cox'n Mike Sharik, they really dug in and before the first eighth-mile was covered, had pulled up to and passed the Icelandic entry, the Dettifoss. Surging dow'n the course now. with powerful, rhythmic strokes, they next cut down the Havfalk (Nor.) of the Meyer Line. Then came the most thrilling part of the race. The MSTS crew' from the General Geiger were determined to beat the Esso entry and as the Esso Baltimore boat drew' near, the troopers stepped up their stroke. But the Baltimore con tinued to gain and soon they w'ere neck and neck. Then there w'as a seesaw' battle -- first one then the other inching ahead. Around the %- mile marker, the Esso men got out in front and stayed there, but never by more than a length. Meanw'hile, the Norsemen from the Stavangerfjord were comfortably in the lead, rowing with their customary machine-like precision and snap. They covered the one nautical mile course up the Narrow's of New' York Harbor in 10 min., 47 sec.; 19 sec. (four boatlengths) ahead of the Baltimore. In the two qualifying races, the Stacangerfjord and Esso Baltimore scored easy victories. One boat was eliminated in each preliminary -- the Westerdam, of the Holland-America Line and the North German Lloyd Line's Berlin. Another ex pected entry, the Black Diamond Line's Black Heron, failed to make port in time for the races. There w'ere two other preliminaries to the championship race. In one. the New York State Maritime College was first. U. S. Merchant Ma rine Academy, second and the Maine Maritime Academy, third. In the other. Deck Department boys from New' York City's schoolship John W. Brown, triumphed over their Engine and Stew ard's Department classmates. (Continued) It was a hard fight for second place in the final race. The Esso Baltimore boat is a stroke away from the finish line (the Stavangerfjord has already crossed), closely pressed by the MSTS' General Geiger and the Meyer Line's Havfalk. COPIED FROM THE COLLECTIONS IN THE CENTER FOR AMERICAN HLSTOK THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS a t A u s t in X The Millard G. Gamble Trophy is presented to the vic torious Stavangerfjord crew. Mr. Gamble, who is Chairman of the International Lifeboat Race Com mittee, stands to the left of the trophy and Christian J. Mohn, President of the Norwegian America Line Agency, Inc., and a Committee member, is at right. Following the final event, prizes and trophies were awarded at the 69th Street Pier. Brooklyn. The Millard G. Gamble Trophy, new perpetual symbol of world championship in lifeboat racing, was presented to the Stavangerfjord crew. The Norsemen also retained the Joseph W. Powell Cup. gaining one leg of the three needed for per manent possession. Esso crew receives second place honors. Top row, I. to r. -- Sydney Wire, Assistant General Manager, Marine Division and J. D. Rogers, General Manager (holding trophy); Captain A. Larson, Manager, Port of New York Office and Coach of the crew, and Mr. Gamble. Second row -- Arnfinn Olsen, Asst. Coach; George W. Young; Leendert Don, Stroke; Michael Sharik III, Cox'n; Jimmy Ralph Dash; Linwood E. Davenport and Andrew Bozicevic. Front row -- Ernest M. Gonzales, Hans A. And- reasen, Columbus L. Swonger, Jr., Roberto D. Ribolla and Alexus M. Michelson. Mac Gmmiich Fhoios Cool Heads in a Hot Spot Quick response to the general alarm, efficient manning of emergency stations and cool heads in the presence of danger was the w'ay Captain J. P. Nagel, of the Esso Greenville, described his offi cers and crewr when they faced a threatening sit uation on April 26. The Greenville was just finishing loading at Baton Rouge at 0320 when Chief Mate Edmund F. Mahoney told the Skipper that a large tow had collided with the Baton Rouge Bridge above the docks. At least one oil barge had exploded. Almost the whole width of the river seemed to be covered with flames and debris, which was drifting down toward the vessel. Fog, rain and smoke made visibility poor but Captain Nagel could make out several barges adrift, increased river congestion due to tows turning around and the probability of several vessels at the grain elevator getting underway. A few minutes later it became apparant that wind and current were pushing the fire toward the west bank. With Pilot Sprada aboard and the tug Duke alongside, the Esso Greenville was ma neuvered slowly up-river, close to the east bank to get above the fire and avoid the congestion. She was anchored above the Ethyl Dock. At 0747, fog. smoke and traffic cleared and the vessel w-eighed anchor and proceeded down river. At no time was she in immediate danger. ^ 9 . . i ; , ' Lessons From Experience Recently one of our large vessels had the mis fortune of entangling the stern anchor chain around the propeller hub to such extent that the chain had to be burned free by a diver with underwater cutting equipment. The accident occurred when the stern anchor was dropped to avoid collision with another ves sel in a narrow' channel. The collision was averted but during the maneuvers our ship apparently backed far enough over the anchor chain for it to be picked up by the turning wheel. The en tanglement was discovered when the propeller shaft could not be turned following an order from the bridge. Extensive model tests were carried out prior to the installation of stern anchors on Company vessels. These tests indicated that regardless of which direction the chain was leading, it would not engage the propeller. However, the tests were carried out under comparatively deep water condi tions where the weight of the chain would keep ESSO FLEET NEWS is published for the seagoing em ployees of the Marine Division. Humble Oil & Refining Co.: J. D. Rogers. General Manager; James E. Stoveken. Assistant General Manager; Sydney Wire. Assistant Gen eral Manager. AV. E. Gardner. Editor. Contributions and suggestions are invited and should be addressed to The Editor. Esso Fleet News. Humble Oil & Refining Co.. P. 0. Box 1512, Houston 1. Texas. b. EXX-MOR-007466 CORin/J FROM THE CCLLErTIONS IN HE CENTER FOR AMERICANf THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT Au s t in it clear of the wheel under any but the most im probable conditions. The experience described above shows that in some circumstances (in this instance the vessel had only about two feet bottom clearance) it is possible to foul the propeller with the steim anchor chain. In tire light of experience gained by this mis hap, it is recommended that the bridge be kept informed of the direction in which the stem anchor chain is leading when coming to an anchor or heaving anchor in shallow' water. The Mate in charge of handling the anchor should wrarn the bridge in ample time to take avoiding action, should he believe such to be necessary. It is not intended nor desired that use of the stern anchor be restricted or curtailed in any way and Management urges that its use be con tinued whenever it would contribute to the safety of the vessel or expedite turnaround. How Marine Division Move to Houston Affects Seagoing Personnel The "second wave" in the Marine Division's move from New York to Houston will consist of Port of New York Office personnel and the trans fer will become effective on July 17. This will concern seagoing men in the following ways: 1. The handling of ships' mail at 156 Wil liam Street, New York, will be discontinued at the close of business on July 14. It is recom mended that all seagoing employees notify their correspondents and the magazines to which they subscribe not to forward mail to the New York address after July 7. Instead, mail should be addressed to the employee, care of Humble Oil & Refining Co. Marine Division P. O. Box 1512 Houston 1, Texas Ships' mail will be handled at the Marine Division offices in Houston on and after July 17. 2. The Seagoing Personnel, Ships' Payroll and Annuities & Benefits and Claims Sections will also cease operations in New York on July 14 and resume in Houston on the 17th. After July 7, mail for these sections should be sent to the Houston address mentioned above and not to New York. The sections will be located on the 8th floor of the Americana Building, 811 Dallas Avenue, Houston, if it should be neces sary to come in personally. 3. Port Captain F. L. Hooper and Port En gineer T. J. McTaggart will be located in the Americana Building. Houston, on July 17. 4. Men reporting back from paid leave to New' York on and after July 17 should contact Bayonne, N. J. and not 156 William St., New York. On that date the Port of New York Office will be located in the Marine Storehouse Build ing,- Foot of East 22nd St., Constable Hook, Bayonne, N. J. Arrangements are being made for day and night telephone service and the numbers will be announced shortly. Captain William Mello, right, receives an inscribed gold watch in recognition of 30 years with the Com pany from J. D. Rogers, General Manager of the Marine Division. Captain Mello has been Agent at Jacksonville for the past eight years. Mr. Rogers also presented a watch to Mrs. Orrie M. Connor, of the Jacksonville Office, who retired May 1 after 17 years' service. TAFFRA1L TALK The Esso Bermuda is the only ship in the fleet this year to qualify for a Jones F. Devlin Award. These awards are made by the American Mer chant Marine Institute to American flag vessels which operate for two years or more without a lost-time accident. * ** John R. Wood, recently Third Mate in the Esso Gettysburg, has raised his license from Sec ond Mate to Chief Mate. * ** On the evening of May 25, Captain A. Larson, Manager of the Port of New York Office, and Mrs. Larson became the parents of an 8 lb., 10 oz. baby girl. "All hands OK", the report said. * ** The first commercial shipment of a new hy draulic oil, made by a new' method developed at the Baytown Refinery, was discharged at Bay onne, May 1, by the Esso Bangor. The extremely critical, water-white oil was designed for hydrau- f?I i EXX-MOR-007467 COPIED FROM THE COLLECTIONS IN THE CENTER FOR AMERICAN HISTOK THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN lie systems in aircraft, rockets, and for brakes and automatic transmissions. It will remain fluid at minus 75 F. *** Eight Cubans in a disabled small boat were picked up by the Esso Lexington (Captain A. H. Lankford and Chief Engineer F. R. Zeller) on May 21, about 10 miles southeast of Carysfort Reef Light. The tanker, enroute from Baton Rouge to New York, transferred the refugees to a Coast Guard boat off Miami. 'Way Out" Service Emblem Presentations Paul S. Rainville, Third Assistant Engineer in the Esso Newark, with some of his well-known hunting knives in the making. A finished knife with a Lucite and alu minum ring handle is in the foreground. Strung out behind are knife blades, made out of old files. Paul grinds them down to various shapes, finish grinds and tempers the steel and then polishes the blades. Around the blades are some materials that Paul uses for handles. Clockwise from the foreground are: a piece of deer horn, two types of Micarta, Lucite in various colors, leather and an aluminum end piece. He has made and given away (never sells them) about 400 knives. Paul and his wife, Leona, have a home and 12 acres of land in Somersworth, N. H. They have one daughter, Pauline, and six sons, Robert, Donald, Rene, Leo, David and Philip, aged 18 to 8. They have vegetable and flower gardens and this spring sold about 700 baby ducks. Paul has 10 years' service in the Esso fleet and previously sailed for nine years in dry cargo ships and tankers. He started working as an apprentice electrician in the U. S. Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, N. H. From almost any New England port at which his ship docks, Paul can get home in a few hours. He and his brother own a two-seat monoplane and both have pilot licenses. When the Newark discharged at New Haven on May 4, Paul flew home and back -- made it from New Hampshire to New Haven in 1 hr., 40 min. Takes nearly that long to go from Bayway to Brooklyn. Radio Officer John Dziekan Chief Cook Julio P. Pereira is presented with his 20-Year Service Emblem by Captain Bernard Roberts (right) aboard the Esso Scranton at Guam, half way around the world. At left is Able Seaman Frederick F. Drake, who received a 10-Year Emblem. Guam Manager Farrell, of Standard-Vacuum Oil Company, is second from right. WORDS OF THE WISE "Think all you speak, but speak not all you think. Thoughts are your own, your words are so no more." Patrick Delany ---- "Although men are accused of not knowing their own weakness, yet perhaps few know their own strength. It is in men as in soils, where sometimes there is a vein of gold which the owner knows not of." Swift ---- "Facts that are not frankly faced have a habit of stabbing us in the back." Sir Harold Bowden RECENT RETIREMENTS Petty Officers' Messman Fitzherbert Davis. A 19-year career as an amateur and pro fessional boxer (1915-1934) preceded Mr. Davis' 26 years in the fleet. Known in the ring as Jack Fitz Davis, he appeared m'lL'kain nearly 200 bouts in all parts of the country. At one time he was New York State middleweight champion and runner-up in the 1924 Olympic middleweight try-outs. After his first assignments as Ordi nary Seaman in the E. M. Clark and Christy Payne, Mr. Davis sailed as a Messman, most re cently in the Esso Huntington. First in his retire ment plans is a leisurely visit to the British West Indies, where he has two sisters. EXX-MOR-007468