Some Nautical Tales

About the Book

Some Nautical Tales covers the adventures and experiences of Captain Wilbur H. Vantine, as he worked his way up from Ordinary Seaman and sailed as Ship Master on tramo freighters in the United States Merchant Marine. Along the way he was able to “see the world” at a very interesting time in world affairs. During WWII, he served on two ships in the war zones of the southwest Pacific and on another in the North Atlantic to the United Kingdom. He obtained his first command in 1951 at age twenty-six. While sailing as Ship Master, he did difficult navigation among icebergs in the far north; had his ship breaking up and losing three of its four lifeboats in a “super” storm, was confined with his crew on a Liberty ship, in ballast, during a winter-time crossing of the North Atlantic, with a killer virus on board, sailed to Korea before, during and after the Korean War, took action to minimize damage from an un-avoidable collision and directed actions to separate the two ships which were connected by their anchor chains, made an ocean crossing with growing cracks in the main deck threatening to cause his ship to break-up, steamed transpacific with a cargo of coal undergoing spontaneous combustion, had his ship to boarded and crew attacked by a large and angry mob in Yugoslavia, had a shifting cargo of army tanks threatening to knock out the sides of his ship during a storm, and had unique interaction with both ship and shore personalities. This book was authored during Captain Vantine’s 79th and 80th years, referring to notes and records that were made at the time of the events. It is all based on actual experiences. The numerous photographs were taken by the author, except where noted otherwise.

About the Author

Captain Wilbur H. Vantine was born in Quanah, TX, on March 16, 1925. He grew up mostly in Missouri. In June 1943, when he was 18 years old, he joined the United States Merchant Marine and commenced training at the United States Maritime Service training facility at Sheepshead bay, Brooklyn, New York. Two months later he was accepted into the U.S Merchant Marine Cadet Corps and transferred to Their Basic School at PassChristian, M.S. While in training as a Deck Cadet Corps, he made two voyages, spanning eight months, on freighters carrying war cargoes to the South Pacific. He returned to the Academy to complete his training in July 1944. In April 1945, he graduated from the Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, NY, ranked first scholastically in his Section, and obtained his Coast Guard license as Third Mate in the U.S Merchant Marine and a Commission as Ensign in the U.S Navy Reserve. Five years later he obtained a license, which was issued by the United States Coast Guard, as Master of Steam and Motor Vessels of any Gross Tons upon Oceans. The following year, at age 26, he was given the first seven commands of tramp freighters engaged in worldwide trade. In 1957, he became a Panama Canal Pilot. He took early retirement from that position in 1983, after having completed more than 4,800 piloting assignments in the Panama Canal. He continued living in Panama until 1997, working as a self-employed Marine Consultant/Surveyor and (until 1995) as a part-time Docking Master for Petroterminal de Panama, the Company that operated a pipeline across Panama for Alaskan crude. He handled more than 300 piloting assignment of tankers on the Alaska Oil Lift, ranging up to 300,00 tons displacement (with a length of 1,100 feet, a beam of 185 feet, a draft of 70 feet and with a cargo capacity of 1,860,000 barrels). All of his piloting jobs were handled without any reportable damage to the ships or any injuries to personnel. Professional Associations – Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (Panel H-10, Ship Controllability); The Marine Society of the City of New York (Life Member); The Council of American Master Mariners; Navy League of the United States (served five terms as President of the Panama Council); Kings Point Alumni Association (Life Member, Past President of the Panama Chapter and 1945 Class Agent); International Organization of Masters, Mates and Pilots; and the Panama Canal Pilots Association (Past President).