What I like about this vlog is Joe spends most of the video on scenery with voice-over narration. Many of the other travel vloggers spend their time narrating with their face in the camera obscuring most of what you really want to see. Keep it up, Joe.
I was blessed to had worked down on Ascension Island for several years at the airport, which truly was one of my favorite and best places that I had worked overseas. For those that don't know all that gravel was being used to totally rebuild the airfield runway which was in rough shape when I last worked down there. Ascension Island has a rich and very interesting history, awesome weather year round, and some of the best fishing that I have ever experienced. I hope that Joe and your crew got to spend some time on the island vs. being stuck on the ship. Great video and thanks for sharing.
@@karlodomic2890 and organised with typical non military precision led by some lord or son of a baron etc - someone well connected by family and useless as tits on bull
@@pileofstuff I can't find information but in my experience there usually is a good reason. One factor might be that this is for a runway replacement, the entire island is volcanic, igneous rocks tends to be brittle and full of holes, so not ideal to have a fully-laden C-17 Globemaster III landing on it.
@@gordon1545 I'm certainly not against Candian exports, but I'm surprised there isn't something suitable available a few less sea days closer. But what do I know, I'm no rock-ologist.
Midway through the vid I checked out Wikipedia on Asuncion Island. A blurb said they were working on the airport runway. They’re over 50% can complete and will complete it sometime in 2023. So that’s what all the rock is about. Nice spot you’re in. Ever think about dipping the fishing pole into that aquarium?
The pest control place I work at in Florida got paid to go to the Ascension Island to tent dozens of buildings at the military base for termites. Our crew guys loved working there. They got fed well at the base and got to fish after work. 👍
In 1985, I was on a ship that went to Ascension Island. I think most of the cargo we discharged was in containers, I think 20 footers. Operation was kind of similar, but I think the barges were self-propelled. The stevedores were all from St. Helena. We were there less than a week. I got ashore for a few hours one day, but mostly were worked cargo and fished off the stern at night. During the day, swarms of small black fish surrounded our hull. At night, they went away, and then we saw lots of flying fish, dolphins and Amberjacks. Interesting for a few days, but for the weeks you were there, it must be boring. But, I think the 4th Rule of Tankers applies: you are responsible for your own entertainment.
Back in 1984, en-route to the Falkland Islands, had to sit around on deck aboard the SS Uganda for a few days before sailing south. About the only entertainment we had was trying to catch those black fish (Trigger Fish). They'd bite anything, sort of like Piranhas, so we'd use bent pins on a length of string, baited with bread rolls, which usually worked. Never got to land on Ascension Island itself though.😢
That Tug Thomas is from the company I work for. I know that whole crew. I am on a 70’ 1,600 Hp tug called the Virginia. Really neat video combining my tow worlds. I too went to Piney Point, class 405 in the early 90’s. Ended up going the tug boat route being is it’s a little more forgiving if one wants a family. Great job.
Piney Point,LOL. I can remember at least 50 years ago the bus they used to transport new seamen down to Piney Point stopped at the 7-11 on the edge of our town,Waldorf,so guys could get their last bit of shit to take with them,it was still another 35-40 mile trip from there with NO PLACE to stop and get your last minute stuff.
@@moceri55 You wouldn't believe how much its grown between there and Piney Point now,its crazy. Always wondered what happened with those guys,now I know about at least one,LOL. I moved to Fl. over 30 years ago,too cold up there for me,hahaha
Interesting how even that tiny spec of land elevation makes so many clouds from the ocean air. Good way to spot land when it is still beneath the horizon.
Thank you for being calm and relaxed just presenting operations with procedures. Interesting and informative. I appreciate learning about a fascinating industry few get to see and experience. Shipping. Transportation. Routes. Ports. Countries. WAY TOO COOL
Taking the quality to a whole new level. Really straightforward presentation but still very interesting. I may never complain about the cost of backfill on project sites again.
I was at Ascension Island back in 1970. It was a voyage from New York outbound to South Africa but one of the crew got appendicitis. We altered course to put him off at Ascension and catch a plane to Recife Brazil. It was close run thing, but he made it through OK and met us at the dock in Brooklyn when we returned a couple of months later. Ascension is this amazing place in the middle of nowhere. 👍
Joe, I have learned so much watching your videos. I even get great pleasure watching them over and over. Get a load of this, at 76 yo I finally understand the job of a Merchant Marine. I always thought that was an arm of the army. Thank you for sharing in such interesting detail.
British island, with a runway owned by America. Stone will be getting used to repair the current runway which is below standard for passenger aircraft to land on. Ex air force here who did a tour here 6 years ago, beautiful place and where I met my partner!
Can’t wait to start my journey, wanted to be a sailor my whole life but didn’t think military was right for me but now at 26 I think I’ve found a calling and it’s been full steam ahead since I made the decision
Another great film. Thanks, Joe. Just amazed not to see the obligatory ship-at-anchor shots of the crew leaning over the rail fishing. I can't recall ever being at anchor anywhere in the world without half the crew trying to catch dinner, even in anchorages where the water looked a whole lot less wholesome that you seem to have!
Thanks for all these videos, Joe. They are amazing to me. I know it is hard work, but I worked physically hard for 43 years before i retired. In another life, I would like to have worked on the sea somehow.
Great vlog as always! Paradox: you take many small rocks to one big rock. Lol! Keep up the good work! Be safe! Yes, to empty the ship is like to empty a bucket with a tea spoon. It will take time. Who will pick up the tab? The UK dep of defence, or the UK tax payer if you will.
Yeah I'm curious what the price per tonne of gravel is after all this. Almost as expensive as just putting it on pallets and flying it over on military transport planes haha.
Hey Joe. Love all of the vids. It would be awesome if you did a rundown of what you bring with you when you board a ship. How much clothing, what types, shoes/boots, work clothes, work gear, personal stuff, entertainment, etc. It would be helpful for anyone who is looking to take on their first contract as an OS or AB.
Hi Joe, i am a merchant mariner too, and i am now in a supply boat, giving service of spot housing in a salvage job of a wellboat vessel wreckage.. so i understand you very well..😂😂.. I am from the south of chile.. Soon im gonna load up videos.. of my job..
I spent a few years working on offshore oil rigs as a mudlogger (think a 3rd party subcontractor who logged drilling parameters and looked at the material coming out of the hole, so I wasn’t one of the merchant marine crew that were needed on floating rigs). It was very much a ship-like atmosphere, but everything revolved around drilling hole. My trade was never on a rotation, we went out there when they were ready for us, and we stayed until they sent us in. So I can definitely relate to the depressing feeling of having no idea when things were going to finish up! The longest I ever spent offshore in one stretch was 26 days, but I had friends or acquaintances who were out for 3 months or more. Possibly (definitely) a few of those guys were hiding from arrest warrants, so it kinda worked for them! But the main reason I am commenting is after chatting with some of the marine crew is wondering what life was like on a classic merchant ship; was it better? Was it worse? What was a typical day like? Did “typical days” even exist? So with that in mind, here I am 20 some years later and you are really helping to answer those questions, so thanks!
A particularly interesting episode. The amount of critters swimming around the ship at night was amazing. I was surprised that there isn't a port there, but with ~800 people, I guess there isn't a great need.
Thanks for the video, really enjoyed it. Landed at Ascension, only there whilst aircraft was refilled etc, on my way to & from the Falkland Islands in 1999 for a 4 month Tour of Duty. Some guys I know went to Asi for R&R, great sea fishing and mountain biking apparently.
Thanks Joe. I was lead C/E on the Thomas for the 2+ years we were there. We appreciated working with the Severn, but I don’t recall running into you. Shame we didn’t meet up at the Saint’s club.
Looks like a great place to just hang out for a while. Here’s an interesting title you could have used. Getting stoned in Nova Scotia, then dropping a load in Ascension Island
Besides being an NMU seafarer for 14 years I spent 3 months on Ascension Island working on the Appollo moon project for Bendix Field Engineering. Easy duty, the killer was the cheap booze. Shots for 25cents and 10cents for a beer. That and getting into a beef with my supervisor had me off the island which i'm not sorry for. Plenty of guys put in 5 years or more on island because they could make lots of money and save on taxes. Many a man probably had a problem with booze. The weather was great the pace was easy. They even had a golf course with crushed volcanic rock as fairways and sand for greens. Fish would bite your toes when you walked off the beach. Lots of the housekeeping and maintenance staff were from Saint Helena Island. Ascension is still under British control and Accession had no native population. The first people to populate Accession and Saint Helena were shipwrecked seafarers, primarily Portuguese,
Hi Retiredunionworker7, I spent a year there working for BFEC (Bendix Field Engineering Corp) at the NASA tracking station. I was in the telemetry section, mostly recorders and occasionally RF and Decom. I worked on ALSEP, satellite tracking and almost all of the satellite launches during that time, including the Apollo-Soyuz project. I was there from fall of 74 to Oct 75 and then I transferred to the Bermuda tracking station and did the same thing for a while then returned to the States and went to school for my Engineering degree. You're correct about the cheap booze, making money and saving on Federal Taxes. It was a very interesting place to work, I'd like to go visit there.... but, that will never happen! Maybe that's a good thing!
We used to dive under big ships like you when you'd stop out there. There was a 4-meter tiger shark under one big vessel. Good thing there were lots of mahi so he wasn't hungry. :) If you can go ashore, make sure you do. See the top of Green Mountain, the old NASA site, stop by the Volcano Club at the US base ... enjoy some time exploring. This is a paradise you'll never see again unless you get back here.
I spent about 20 weeks on Ascension. Came back with a great tan. Did a lot of snorkelling so saw a lot of the sea life. Climbed to the top of Green Mountain a number of times, going from one side of the tunnel to the other was like going from the tropics on one side to a cool meadow on the other, a pleasant change from the usual warmth. I have an old passport with a dew pond stamp. My dad was a merchant seaman and every photo we have of him from that time he is painting something.
I stumbled across this at lunchtime today…. And have been binge watching since. Fascinating! I believe this is what I was meant to do and completely missed my chance 😞 Brilliant, mate. Keep them coming. New subscriber from Tasmania, Australia!
No shore leave when anchoring for so many days? I would get cabin fever for sure, so much time at sea arriving ar that beautiful island and then not able to get off the ship? I sailed many years on all types of ships but whenever we were at anchor, there was always water taxi service taking us to shore. Love your videos, they bring back special memories. Thanks!
!was there on a Mearsk Tanker on an MOD charter its a great place to go, and then on a dry cargo ship great wildlife loved the place . Seeing the film brought back great memoires
Nice one! The excavators and wheelloaders on the barges are operated by a Dutch company. According to their website everything they do there is confidential. Even the location 🙂
Confidential isn't necessarily anything spooky, if there's some small parts sort of secret, it's just as easy for a company to just not talk about the entire project.
Once again great content, the wildlife is indeed incredible as you've shown. How many days did you and the crew spend around there unloading the cargo? Looking forward to the next one!
@JoeFranta I found your channel while surfing itube. I could listen to you all day, great voice (easy on the eyes too). The videos are interesting, hearing about the different ports and crossing the seas. I chuckled when you mentioned the Evergreen getting stuck in the Suez Canal. Thank you for the videos. Safe travels. - just a city girl
I own a pair of Michigan loaders that were used years ago to clean up the holds of ore freighters in Cleveland. They were lowered into the hold with the awesome Hulett Ore Unloaders. There are several videos on RU-vid about the Hulett machines. They were one of a kind.
Thank you for another amazing vLog episode. It is only at moments like these that one finally starts thinking "Wait a minute! Why did a ship full of gravel need to sail from Nova Scotia to the middle of the Atlantic to a rocky island?" Questions for another day, obviously, and probably for some other venue...but your storytelling of the journey and the arrival has been great to watch. Please keep it up...
One possibility is that according to Wikipedia, the Ascension Island runway is undergoing repair. That could potentially absorb a lot of aggregate. Not saying it's true, but saying it's a possibility.
@@HiwasseeRiver The island is tiny (34 sq miles), volcanic (so a specific type of rock, which may or may not be suitable for whatever work they are doing) and has no permanent residents. For sure it has no quarry. So, bringing in aggregate from overseas might, in fact, be cheaper than starting a quarry, bringing in temporary quarry workers, temporary quarry equipment, etc. And that's even assuming that the local volcanic rock is suitable for whatever the stone is being used for.
I left my wife yrs ago on good terms, and I took my 15meter boat half cab and in and out of the water for over 12 months I swear it was the best time hey love the sea thanks mate
The cargo they offloaded unded up at the airfield construction site and went through a rock crusher there. There isn't really any suitable local rock and definitely no quarry if there was!
