The Highlights Of My Career At Sea - Chapter 2

 ### Charles Dickens and his links to the Ship and Lobster – details below [Image Source](http://bit.ly/shipandlobster) ## The Highlights Of My Career At Sea - Chapter 2 ### The Ship and Lobster ### Charles Dickens links to the Ship and Lobster – details below The day had arrived, the day my parents were to drop me off at Gravesend. I had said previously to my mum and dad I would be ok getting the train to Gravesend but my mum insisted they were going to drive me 4-hour and drop me off. We arrived after the long journey south we had arrived about 1 hour before I was to check in at the college reception so we parked up around the corner and walked along the banks of the river Thames, There were some old war bunkers and old key side bits for mooring ships up of the past, it was a nice 45 minutes that I spent there although nervous. We headed back to the car and unloaded my bags, my mum had tears in her eyes at this stage it was the first time I had really been away from her and I think she had realized this was the time I was flying the nest. I said my goodbyes checked in with the Master of Arms, kind of Funny Receptionist He was a big older man more like a bouncer on a night club door, a really nice older man though he kept us all in check for the next 3 months. We were all allocated our rooms in this 4 story building with hundreds of rooms, the building wrapped around a courtyard and within the courtyard, there was McGregor Hatches, Crane, a Derrick and various other ships equipment. Each room had 12 beds each in having one lockable wooden wardrobe next to each bed, across each landing was the next room with 12 people in, in the middle of the landing was the bathroom from what I recall they had about 8 sinks 8 showers 8 toilets in. I was on the 3rd floor and once unpacked everyone just chilled got chatting headed around the rooms to try and get to meet each other, and make the whole process better for everyone, it just happened like this wasn`t planned but everyone just followed everyone and it worked out perfect. 100 meters within the grounds of the college was a building called a Seaman’s Mission, in there was pool tables snack bar, video games, table tennis, television and some other bits where we could go each night, there were Football size fields around the college and then the Fire Fighting compound then the boundary gates which led onto the landing stage and access along the Thames River bank, which also led to what we later found to be great was, The Ship And Lobster Pub. Over the next 3 months we were to go through all exams - EDH, CPSC, Fire Fighting, etc... lots more I later realized why it was so important why if exams were not passed you would not go to sea, this was realized when taking the training and exam for the CPSC qualification apart of that involves launching a Lifeboat from a ships Davits and simulated that I am the only crew member still alive and I was on board a cruise ship with passengers waiting to board the Lifeboat and abandon the ship. There is no way on earth a none qualified member of the public can launch a lifeboat without being trained to do so, a Life raft yes, and that will not be easy, a fully Housed Lifeboat no chance. So I would give correct orders to passengers on what to do to assist me with the launch so we can abandon ship...lots more too all the training but you know to get the picture. On the first floor of the bedrooms all around the main courtyard was a shelter, the shelter was overhanging the ground floor walkway around the courtyard so to keep people dry on classroom days going from classroom to classroom etc... at the end of one side, was a gap so the shelter continued but the buildings were not attached this was at the end closest to the Thames.  [Image Source](http://bit.ly/shipandlobster) I am not sure if it was my idea or not but one of the lads in the same room as me come up with the idea if not me, what we do and we did this a couple of times per week for 3 months, is we would go down the stairs to the first floor after lights out called by the master of arms we would open the window climb out on to the shelter stay close to the building wall as there was a darkness when close no way you could be seen from the floodlit walkways we would go down to the opening gap closest to the Thames climb down onto a low loader HGV trailer that was permanently parked there this is the only reason we would be able to get back in, we would climb down and run towards the Thames along the river bank and reach The Ship and Lobster Pub - great nights it kept us sane, but we would have been in big trouble if we ever got caught, luckily we didn`t. Locals loved us Felt like old smugglers it was brilliant and there was always 10 plus of us that would go I was always one of them. All exams past 3 months had gone I was heading home for 2 days before joining my first ship for 4 months. ### End of Chapter 2 ### To be continued...... Charles Dickens and his links to The Ship and Lobster http://www.discovergravesham.co.uk/famous-people/charles-dickens.html Charles Dickens  Image source above  .png)