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NOV. DEC., Page 158 1971 had been started again and the well deck was awash. Everywhere...water; everywhere spurts of steam drifting disembodied through the brilliant rays of the arc lights; and every - where on that trip forward along the catwalk was an indescribable caco - phony of sounds...the hiss of steam, the rush of water, the roar of mach - inery. Still, I was not so far behind the captain to note that when he reached the bridge deck he turned to the starboard wing and descended a set of steep steel steps to the deck be- low. When I gained that deck he was holding open a stout door. Inside was a three room suite...compact and comfortable. One room, equipped with desk, filing cabinet and tilt chair was his office. From it opened a Spacious stateroom containing a full-width bunk, plenty of drawer space, and hangup wardrobe storage. Two portholes in this room faced the bow of the ship. Off this was a decently large bathroom complete with shower. This apartment was mine for the duration. How lucky can you get? Captain Leonard had perhaps ten minutes to indicate his shipboard collection of marine miscellania of books, magazines and boat pictures before a deferential knock on the door summoned him on deck. Interest- edly I took stock of my surroundings and unpacked what few items I had brought with me. Then I made a list of questions for which I would either observe the answers or ask them. It was getting late. But every now and then a horrendous clatter of machinery would start up just out- side my portholes. Since I didn't think I could sleep with that racket so close I stepped out on deck to glance around. A white-thatched, pleasant-faced man clad in T-shirt and dungarees was coming forward along the catwalk. He reached the bridge deck and descended the steps to where I was standing. "I'm Joe Kennedy, Chief Engineer. The Old Man a6 having trouble finding the right kind of sand so I thought I'd see if you'd like a snack before you turned in. While I'm up here would ybu like to see the pump engines?" We stepped down to the main deck, passed through a doorway in the bulkhead and descended a narrow steep stairway to a grating circling at half their height two huge orange Caterpillar diesel engines. Down an- other stairway into the bowels of the ship and we were on the level where the motors were solidly bedded. In that inferno of sound, flash- ing tehtts anc awhinnine belts , questions had to go unanswered...it was impossible to hear each other speak. Ascending to the upper atmosphere we made our way aft along the sus- pended catwalk. The scene was brill- iantly lighted and the second pass- age was not so awesome as the first. We stepped off the walk to the roof of the after house, passed inboard of the row of lifeboats to the gang- way leading to the taffrail, down a companionway, along the rail of the after deckhouse to the dining room. Two long tables, each capable of seating ten men, were already set for breakfast. A place mat for each diner, knives, forks, and spoons in position. The center of each table was one continuous selection of condiments, sauces, ketchup, mus- tards, pickles, jams, marmalade, and honey. We passed through the dining room to the galley ...a spotless fif- teen by thirty foot room. To the stern, off the galley, were two walk in freezers; along the inside bulk- head, a huge propane-fired cooking range. A serving bar spaced off a small lounge where half a dozen off- duty seamen were watching an episode of the Stanley Cup. On the serving bar the cook had left out a half dozen deep-dish pies, a platter of cold ham, a platter of corned beef, and a dish of peeled, hard-boiled eggs. The Chief, as Joe Kennedy is call- ed, put the kettle on and showed me where the tea bags were kept. "The galley is always open. Whenever you