Cape Breton's Magazine

the channel • "The old man's eyes were red-rimmed with looking through his binocu? lars" • and all this sort.., • "and the radar was picking up a seagull on the water a.t 10 miles" • and there was a ship on the starboard bow and everyone on the ship stood still in a raoment of tension. Do you know what this is? It's a job. All right, you are carrying 250,000 tons • you don't think about it. You're just doing a job. It might as well be bananas. And this is where I say you could write a ranch more interesting article, instead of what's normally written • about us at sea on these supertankers who when in ballast, in dirty ballast, are wondering around with a live bomb on deck. And it is. If this thing went up once we finished discharging, Port Hawkesbury would be wiped off the map. (Andy Gibbs held up a bottle and said: *nVe'll say for instance that's crude oil and you had a match • you'd be pretty safe. But if you emptied that and you shook it up and put a match in quick, it would go.") All right. People are aware of it. But we're not sort of tremble, tremble. I mean, we've got articles, safety things on the bridge, stating that a drop of water in a tank when you're tank cleaning, just drop? ping from the deckhead • can cause an explosion. They call this a water slug, Waa.t happens is that it drops from the deck head, builds up a charge, passes a protruding bit of metal and sparks, arcs across • then boom. That's what they think happened to the supertankers off South Africa, There were 3 within a month, Well, all right. We're aware of this. We know what we're carrying • but can you imagine we'd be ner? vous wrecks if we worried about it, because we'll be tank cleaning on the way back. And when you're tank cleaning it's a tricky time. And you still go for your walk, look over the deck, see if there are any dolphins about. You know, you just carry on. They try to force the fact that you're living with danger. You're not. You're doing a job. Tug Captain Anstey: Vifhen we're taking the ship away it will be done in a different manner. We'll not be made fast alongside the ship • we'll' be on tow lines, one for? ward and one aft. The Vigour and the Spencer will be alongside. They'll push up a- C. & G. MacLEOD Ltd. CHRISTMAS GIFTS WITH A CAPE BRETON MOTIF; Novelty Calendar for 1974 .98 Cape Breton Scenic Calendar, 1974 1.49 Cape Breton Plate 1.98 Cape Breton Ash Tray .79 Double Deck Plastic Coated Cape Breton Playing Cards 3.95 Cape Breton Hasty Notes 1.00 Clans of Cape Breton Tea Towel 2.25 Clan Name Door Plaques 4.95 Ceramic Clan Tiles 4,50 The Girl from Loch Bras d'Or by Margaret MacPhail 3.95 Loch Bras d'Or, Margaret MacPhail 2.95 C & G. MacLEOD Ltd. 361 Charlotte Street - P. O. Box 658 SYDNEY, NOVA SCOTIA CANADA Our 75th Year in business - to celebrate we offer a 10% discount to all customers over 65 years of age. Cape Breton's Magazine/24 Best wishes to Cape Breton's Magazine SHAD'S SBRVICB STATIOK & GENERAL STORE Skir Dhu Charlotte Street, Sydney A B A D A K All the weather signs indicate a good old-fashioned winter, so while preparing for winter consider the economical com? fort of electric heat quickly and easily installed. For air that's too dry, causing sore throats and dry skin • control the mois? ture level in your home with a modernly styled humidifier. No installation; just plug it in. Freezing fingers? Frozen clothes? Indoor lines? Instead, enjoy the comfort and convenience of a Speed ('een clothes dry? er • the heavy-duty one with the good guarantee. Make your horae less work and more fun- enjoy a new color TV or stereo set. Shop Cashy Chargex or NSPC financing. Baddeck Hardware & Electrical Phone 295-2507