A GREAT LAKES SAILOR
Gary Thompson, Part 7
by Janis Stein

Join in the conclusion as Gary Thompson recalls his sailing days during the onset of the 21st Century.

Changes continued and as the ship’s chairman and union representative, Gary took the crew’s concerns to the company. The company had taken a stand on how things were going to run. They complied with Coast Guard regulations and were not interested in hearing from a crew they felt should already be satisfied. While Gary loved the lifestyle this sailor’s life provided, he began to dislike the politics. Immensely.

The self-unloading Joe Block had an unloading tunnel manned by a gateman and a conveyor man. Working together, they unloaded the boat. With all the new changes, the company eliminated the gateman’s position, rotating the deck utility crew to fill the void. In doing so, the deck utility crew had to learn a new job, but Gary didn’t see anything new in his paycheck. He was all for doing his part, but appreciated a bit of give and take. So Gary asked the question no one bothered to ask. If a deck utility sailor worked enough hours in the engine room – it was an engine room position in the unloading hold – could that utility person write the test to earn his QMED (Qualified Member of the Engine Department) certificate? The company said they would have to look into his request.

A few weeks passed and with no answer, Gary assumed the company’s lack of response was an attempt to discourage him from stirring the waters. Gary was a patient man; he didn’t mind waiting for an answer. Gary didn’t mind the extra work either, but if he was going to do it, he felt it only fair to be offered the opportunity to earn additional certification.

The engineers had a fit. Departmental pride ran deep. To think a deck department crewmember would have the nerve to consider getting into the engine room. It was unheard of.

The company did respond; their answer to Gary’s question was yes. If a sailor logged enough hours in the tunnel, a sailor could earn his QMED. Gary accepted the challenge, and as soon as he met the requirements, he went back to Traverse City to the Maritime Academy. He wrote the test for his QMED and completed a two-week course for the conveyor man. Before he left Traverse City, Gary held a rating certificate for AB, a QMED certificate in the engine room and a conveyor man certificate.

Gary accomplished his goal and, at the realization of that goal, he became the talk of the fleet.

The QMED sailors were angry and insulted. (QMEDs had previously been called oilers, but on the diesels, they were known as QMEDs.) Gary had seniority over some of the QMEDs, and they thought Gary wanted their job. Gary, however, had only wanted one thing – to prove he could get the rating – and he did.

In 2003 and the year following, Gary returned to work aboard the Wilfred Sykes. The weeks went by, and near the end of the 2003 sailing season, Gary battled pneumonia. He slept in the chair at night, too stubborn to admit he should go home to recuperate. He had never missed laying up a ship since he began sailing in 1995; he didn’t intend to start.

In 2004, Gary returned to the lakes, but his season was short lived. The excitement of sailing seemed to have passed along with his father three years prior. Giving more than ample notice, by June, Gary decided to pursue a new segment in his life, and he left the lakes behind. With him, though, he took his memories – and plenty of them.

Gary had thoroughly enjoyed the camaraderie among what he considered to be his sailing brothers and sisters. He loved talking and listening to the stories shared by the old-time sailors. He cherished the memories of all the people he met, all the ports he visited.

Moments big and small stood out as the memories flooded in. Watching COPS on television in the rec room on Saturday night with his shipmates had been great entertainment and, while satellite television brought new entertainment, all the sailors hung out in their respective caves leaving the rec room all but deserted.

Female sailors, too, stood out in his memory in what had once been an industry with women only working as the wife of the cook. One female did work as the second cook, another a deckhand. Over the years, there had also been female officers. When Gary worked as a watchman, out of necessity, he shared his room with a female working in the same capacity. In that instance, Gary followed the advice of the old man: Be courteous and respectful. While Gary didn’t have any problems – after all they worked different shifts and the time they actually spent together in the room was minimal – he did take plenty of guff from his friends.

Upholding the sailing tradition, Gary, too, recalled drinking his fair share. Sailors needed to let off a little steam from time to time, though Gary found it interesting that no matter where the sailors ended up when they weren’t on duty, they always talked shop.

Gary also fondly recalled the times his parents and sister traveled to Port Huron. Gary would call home and tell his family when he’d be coming into Detroit. His family followed the boat all the way to Marine City with stops in between, his sister proudly hoisting up a big sign. Family meant everything and their support carried him through until the season’s end. Gary, too, reminisced about his parents staying with him in Escanaba and the opportunity he had to take them aboard the Joseph Block. All good memories.

Gary sailed on all the lakes except Ontario. Regrettably, he never had the opportunity to sail aboard the Edward L. Ryerson, the fourth boat in Inland Steel’s fleet. (The Ryerson had been idle.)

Gary took great pride in working for Inland Steel and left the lakes in good standing. A true sailor, Gary still follows the shipping industry and, in the state of the country’s economy, returning to the lakes is a viable option.

I would like to thank Gary Thompson for sharing his personal experiences during his 10 years of sailing the Great Lakes. The information presented in this article is based solely on his experiences and is as accurate as his memory allows.

© 2009 Stein Expressions, LLC