NO. 11 SUMMER 2021 Magazine for maritime industry and sea lovers
WHAT'S INSIDE...
4 Don’t do this at home 8 MAEM&Dynpap 10 Optimism 12 MAEM after hours 14 Product range 16 Faros 18 Harbour cities. Sea of attractions 22 Sailing across the pacific
DON’T DO THIS AT HOME Even the best cake from a pastry store will never be as good as a home-made one, and a tailor-made suit will always be better than one bought in the best chain store. There are certainly more examples of homemade products or products made in workshops which undoubtedly surpass those made in mass production. The case is completely different, when the precision and repetition of details has a direct impact not only on economic considerations, aesthetics, but mainly on health and human life. What makes two identical-looking elements, working in the same conditions, can have different periods of correct operation? Behind a seemingly uncomplicated element there are usually dozens of operations performed in the right sequence. Some of them can probably be omitted, making the final product look similar to the full-value one and it will be cheaper. The answer to the question is one of the key words for MAEM - durability. The stor y of durability and high quality of MAEM products is the story of a production process closely monito red at each of its stages. It is a story of hundreds of pages of documentation, instructions and procedures guaranteeing the correctness of processes. It is a story of production machines and measuring equipment which are inaccessible to most small manufactures. Above all, these are experienced specialists who, having access to described technical solutions, have developed unique technology, thanks to which we can be sure that products manufactured by MAEM meet the highest quality requirements. In this article, we will show you some of the more important operations from the manufacturing process of one of the essential parts of any separator.
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The first stage of production is cutting of raw material, which is a brass rod, into semi-finished products, disks of appropriate height. The process is fully automated, numerically controlled from a touch panel. Our new band saw is described in the Made in MAEM section of the 10th edition of our Magazine.
Next, the workpiece goes to the lathe, where the first turning operation takes place. At this stage, the workpiece is given an external shape. In addition, the central hole and the face groove are made.
The following operation is also performed using the lathe. During this operation we perform boring of the inner profile and this is the last operation performed on this type of machine.
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After two stages performed on lathes, our workpiece begins to resemble the final product. Now the carriers are milled on the bottom of the workpiece from the inside. The semi-finished product is clamped in soft jaws in a three-jaw chuck.
In a further step of production, special tooling is required to clamp the workpiece. The tooling was designed and made by MAEM's Production Depar tment employees. It is one of our original ideas. At this stage of production we make the rotor socket. The trochoidal milling method has been used to make the socket.
The last stage of production is external contour milling, in which we used an innovative milling method called plunge milling. By using this method, we have managed to significantly shorten the time of this operation in comparison with the previous version of the technology.
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Now, the distributors made by MAEM will be secured, they will go to the warehouse shelves and from there to the engine rooms of the ships of customers who pay attention to the quality of the spare parts they use.
To see more photos and videos of the detail production process at MAEM, visit our profile on Instagram @maemcompany. | pinned 'Production' section.
The f inal moment of the whole production process is the inspection of the detail by the MAEM Quality Control Department. Only after all the guidelines have been met can our product be put into the finished products warehouse. On the photo - dimensional control with the use of coordinate measuring machine.
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MAEM & DYNPAP
www.dynpap.pl
customers MAEM has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Dynpap Ltd. from Szczecin for professional servicing of marine equipment (and more). The port city of Szczecin, where Dynpap Ltd. is headquartered, provides instant assistance to ships in the port of Szczecin-Swinoujscie. Thanks to Dynpap's location, the main ports of Western Europe or Poland's largest port complex Gdansk-Gdynia are only a few hours away by car. One of the priorities and keywords in business relations with MAEM is partnership. Partnership providing safety and comfort of work for all those who have decided to trust the MAEM brand and entrust their machines to us. We devote a lot of attention and effort to make sure that the users of the parts we manufacture make the right choice. For the convenience of our customers, ordered MAEM parts are accompanied by detailed installation instructions, outline drawings and notes for easy 8 | Summer 2021 | Full ahead
installation and maintenance of the machine in top condition. We also provide our customers with 24-hour consultation with MAEM service engineers. A security solution for our partners is the possibility to meet directly and to discuss technical issues in the machine room. Providing after-sales technical support at the right level is key in MAEM's customer relationships. Our service technicians have repeatedly solved even unusual and difficult technical issues together with customer crews. In order to increase our service capabilities and to be even closer to our
Dynpap has been awarded the status of our company's authorized service partner following a positive audit by MAEM specialists. MAEM's cooperation with Dynpap means strengthening MAEM's ability to provide quick response and service assistance to ships visiting our part of the world. Dynpap has four mechanical workshops with a total area of just under 35 000 m², two of which have access to the shipyard docks of the Gryfia shipyard in Szczecin, as well as the quay and slipway at the head office.
Dynpap is present on many levels of operations . The company provides solutions for the energy, construction, oil and gas , shipbuilding and food industries. As far as the marine industry is concerned, Dynpap offers comprehensive services for ad hoc repairs as well as planned overhauls for most types of ships. In particular, these are: •
anchor and mooring winches;
•
electrical installations - offshore and onshore;
•
marine and dredging equipment;
•
large-size machining;
•
crankshaf t grinding and engine block alignment;
•
manufacture of hydraulic cylinders;
• •
mechanical and hydraulic services;
•
offshore steel structures;
repair crews of highly qualified, experienced and certified engineers, mechanics, electricians, welders, etc.
•
mobilization and demobilization of ships;
•
production of equipment and parts (including non-standard parts and equipment on special order);
The cooperation with Dynpap is another step for MAEM towards providing our customers with even faster and more professional service. We believe that the recently launched co-operation will bring many benefits to both signatories to the agreement – M. Konarzewski, Business Development Manager at MAEM.
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OPTIMISM
In our next article on the values that guide MAEM, we'll take a slightly more in-depth look at optimism. Have you ever asked yourself what type of person you are? You can attempt to verify your disposition using the glass of water test. A glass of the same amount of water is seen in dramatically different ways. Some people will reflexively conclude that it is half empty, while for others the same glass is half full. An optimist will focus on what he has, a pessimist on what he lacks. The optimist thinks positively about the situation - he has as much as half a glass of water. A pessimist thinks negatively - he has only half the contents. What influence does optimism h ave o n b u s i n e s s d eve l o p m e nt ? Enormously. What a pessimist would call 'spending money', an optimist will define as an investment, believing and seeing its future effects. Organizations run by people with a positive attitude to life develop much faster and more effectively than companies of pessimists, who see investing only through the prism of expenses and risks. D oes disposition have an impac t on our jobs? Optimists themselves are looking for new solutions,
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improvement s , they do not close themselves in the usual stereotypes and often imperfectly repeated schemes. An optimist is a committed employee who sets new standards and influences the development of the whole organization. Is MAEM a place where optimist s work? Yes, definitely! The continuous development of the company, starting from individual workplaces and constantly improved work procedures and ending with new strategic directions of the company, does not result from apathy or lack of involvement. It is due to the positive employees who make up MAEM that our company continues to introduce new products to its portfolio for the marine market and beyond. It is optimism supported by market knowledge that has made MAEM a brand in the aviation spare parts environment in the near future. I will summarize the next series of ar ticle s on the charac teris tic s of MAEM with a quote: 'Relax. Take it easy.' Which is something we would like to wish for ourselves and for all of you.
QUALIT Y IS A WAY OF THINKING
M A E M . S PA R E F O R
PA R T S
M A N U FA C T U R E R
D E M A N D I N G
C U S T O M E R S
W W W . M A E M . C O M
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MAEM AFTER HOURS A simple calculation shows that a person between the ages of 20 and 65, working forty hours a week on work duties, is just spending more than 10 years of his life on work during that time. One third of the day of the working week is spent performing work duties. Where do we get the strength and motivation to derive, above all, satisfaction and contentment from work? Let's focus on the well-known saying: 'Man does not live by work alone'. We invite you to a series of articles in which selected MAEM employees will show us their passions and unique interests. In the upcoming issues of M Magazine we will present MAEM employees, who will talk about their
work and share their hobbies. Our first character is Dawid - one of the 23 employees of the Production Department. For over two years Dawid has been working at MAEM as a welder. The work he does requires patience and surgical precision. Welding details manufactured by MAEM is an extremely responsible task. The quality of Dawid's work depends not only on aesthetics, but first and foremost on the quality of elements delivered to customers. The correctness of his work is verified by thorough quality control employees and then by MAEM partners, to whom the parts produced by us are delivered. During an eight-hour shift, depending on the complexity of the detail, around 100 elements may pass through Dawid's hands.
Where does patience come from and how do you recharge your batteries to continue doing this responsible job? Dawid agreed to talk about his passion and show us what he does in his free time. Welcome to my workshop. This is where I spend my free time after work. My passion is welding, or rather fabricating various constructions based on metal elements made by me How did you get started with your welding adventure? I discovered my passion for welding about three years ago. I got into it thanks to a colleague of mine at work, a welder with 20 years of experience, who seemed to see the potential in me and offered to share his knowledge with me. I saw this as a unique learning opportunity that I would be sorry to miss. Under his watchful eye I took my first steps in the trade. At some point I discovered that welding was more than just a job. Welding, as one of the techniques of joining metals, gives a creative person unlimited possibilities for creation. Does my passion help me at work? Of course it does. With a welder it is like with an athlete. The more meticulously he practices, the better the results. I think that the saying 'practice makes perfect' is 100% true in this profession. Thanks to my interest I belong to the group of people for whom the work is also a passion. I transfer the knowledge and experience gained in my studio to MAEM. Of course, it works both ways - at MAEM I learned many new skills, which I use in my workshop.
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Is a creative activity a break from the repetitiveness at work? Yes, in my workshop I do unit production, usually custom. There is never a mass production. I interweave furniture with balustrades or other welded elements. I certainly cannot complain about monotony or routine. Even if I make similar elements from time to time, I always try to look for modifications and improvements. It seems to me that the pursuit of continuous development coincides exactly with the philosophy of MAEM, so I feel good there. Do you have any success stories related to your passion? The first results of my passion were given free of charge to my family and friends. Thanks to their recommendations, more and more people started asking for my products. I was very positively surprised how the effects of my new passion were received. This motivated me to continue working, I decided to invest in machinery and renovate the place to which I invited you. Over time, the referral system made me get more and more orders. I founded a business and today my passion is an additional source of income for me.
What would your life be like without passion? If I treated welding only as a source of income, probably getting out of bed in the morning would not bring me so much joy. As I mentioned earlier, I am one of those lucky people for whom working is also a passion. I am glad that MAEM products that I weld can be found in engine rooms of MAEM customers' ships, probably on all seas and oceans. The satisfaction of my customers with the products made in my
free time also inspires me to continue. Are MAEM customers who read about you in M Magazine eligible for discounts on furniture? I'm sure we'll come to an agreement. Thanking David for the invitation and his willingness to share his passion, we invite you to the next M Magazine, where we will write about another positive member of the MAEM family.
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PRODUCT RANGE
NEW SOLUTIONS Alternative spare parts for Kral pumps (K) Alternative spare parts for Desmi pumps (NSL, MODULAR S) Alternative spare parts for Alfa Laval pumps (ALP – sizes 15-85)
At MAEM, we strive to provide our customers with the highest quality marine solutions. We have built our whole business on this concept and since the beginning we have continued to seek ways to improve every product that we manufacture. In order to achieve this goal, we have developed our unique reverse engineering method which relies on duplicating in 1:1 ratio the more durable machine component that works identically to the original. Nowadays, our production plant, which employs around 120 people, provides about 10,000 different, totally interchangeable, alternative spare parts and complete marine solutions which are shipped worldwide. We are confident about the quality and functionality of them, but for our customers’ convenience, each of them is covered by warranty. Choosing MAEM solutions, you will definitely get The Smart Value.
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STANDARD SOLUTIONS Alternative spare parts for Alfa Laval & Westfalia separators Plug and play separators
Alternative spare parts for Nirex fresh water generators including plates and gaskets
Reconditioned separator bowls
Alternative spare parts for IMO pumps (ACD, ACE, ACP, ACG, LPD, LPE, ACF) and Allweiler pumps (BAS, SPF, SPZ, TRD, TRF, TRE, ZAS, ZASV)
Alternative spare parts for Jowa bilge water separators
Complete brazed plate heat exchangers
Electronic control systems (reconditioned and brand new)
Alternative spare parts for Aquafine water sterilizers
Replaceable gaskets for plate heat exchangers
Alternative spare parts for Moatti back flushing filters
Scrubber nozzles for pollution control
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FAROS Guide dog
Faros is one of eleven dogs currently being cared for by the 'Guide Dog' Foundation - a group of animal lovers who train dogs to act as guides for people who are blind or visually impaired. Faros, like other dogs trained and raised by the foundation, will one day be given free of charge to one of the people in need. Guide dogs, thanks to their work, give security and confidence to people who, without help, are very often condemned to stay at home. In addition to the role of a guide, like any dog, they give their friend a sincere, selfless love, adding color to the dullness of everyday life. Thanks to the involvement of our colleagues responsible for CSR in MAEM, we became a virtual guardian of a cute puppy, which was sent to the 'Guide Dog' Foundation. We also had the privilege to give our puppy a name. As a result of internal voting fell on Faros. Why such a name? Well, 'faros' in Greek means a lighthouse. As Kamil - the originator of the name - explains, the role of a guide dog, just like a lighthouse, is to ensure safety in the dark by helping people find their way.
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fot. Elżbieta Kocięda
Let us introduce you to Faros, a four-month-old Labrador retriever who, after undergoing two years of training, will become a faithful friend and guide for the visually impaired.
In Poland we have about two million people with visual impairments. They have only about 150 qualified dogs at their disposal. Thanks to its mission, the 'Guide Dog' Foundation strives to ensure that owning a four-legged friend is not an almost unattainable privilege. The training of one guide dog takes almost 2 years. During this time the Foundation makes sure that raised funds are sufficient not only for training and feeding the dog. Veterinary visits or dog illnesses are a considerable burden. One should also remember about retired dogs or dogs withdrawn from training due to health and behavioral reasons. The Foundation also provides training for people who use guide dogs, as well as educational classes. All this to make the world more accessible for everyone.
fot. Elżbieta Kocięda
At MAEM, like the 'Guide Dog' Foundation, we believe that each of us can change the world for the better. We also understand that making a difference starts in your own backyard and neighborhood. As an organization we are involved in a number of initiatives on a local, national and global level. Ever yone can contribute to impro ving the situation of visually impaired people by supporting, among others, the 'Guide Dog' Foundation. On behalf of the people who form the association, we invite you to visit the organization's
website www.piesprzewodnik.org.pl and social media channels. You will find there many interesting news and information on how you can support Faros and other Foundation's charges.
fot. Elżbieta Kocięda
On behalf of the Foundation 'Guide Dog' and their own thank you!
fundacja_pies_przewodnik
FundacjaPiesPrzewodnik
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HARBOUR CITIES SEA OF ATTRACTIONS
This time on a journey through major port cities, we invite you to St. Petersburg, a metropolis located at the gateway of the port of the same name. The por t of St . Petersburg, also called the gateway to Russia, is Russia's leading port and the largest container port in the Baltic area. It is from here that Russia's main trade with Europe and the rest of the world takes place. The port occupies 164.6 km² of water area, the so-called aquatorium. The
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length of the mooring lines is 31 km and the greatest depths available are about 11-11.5 m. However, the deepest places available for 4 ships in the harbour anchorages are between 23.5 m and 25 m deep. In 2019, the port handled a total of more than 59.9 million tons of cargo, which was 0.1% more than a year earlier. However, let's leave the port behind and focus on leisure opportunities in this monumental city. According to a UNESCO report, St. Petersburg is the
eighth most attractive tourist city in the world. How about a bit of history? The establishment of the city is the fulfillment of many years of efforts and efforts to gain access to the Baltic Sea by the rulers of the Romanov dynasty. Thanks to the Northern War, which Peter I fought agains t the Swedes from 1701 to 1721 and the victory in the battle of Poltava in 1709, as well as the favorable peace treaty of Nystad (fin.
Uusikaupunki), he could start developing the coastal areas. Construction work, in which the most prominent architects of Europe at the time participated, began as early as 1703 on Hare Island, located in Ingria at the mouth of the Neva River, which had been captured from Sweden a year earlier. It was a marshy and sparsely populated area, so the drainage of this land was the primary challenge for the builders. The first structure located in the area of the Hare Island was the Petropavlovsk
Fortress, which began construction by order of the Tsar on May 16 (May 27 according to the Gregorian calendar) 1703. This day is considered to be the date of the founding of the city. The following years saw the dynamic development of the city. St. Petersburg was the capital of Russia from 1712 to 1918.
buildings designed to emphasize the imperial status of the country. You would need at least a week to thoroughly explore all the attractions of St. Petersburg. We have prepared top 7 attractions that you must see while having even 2 days in the city.
St. Petersburg is the largest economic, cultural and scientific center of Russia after Moscow. The city is full of impressive palaces, theaters and monumental
The Hermitage
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Hermitage, the State Hermitage Museum Russian state museum in St. Petersburg. It is housed in five palaces on the banks of the Neva River. The museum is named after one of Peter I's winter palaces. Empress Catherine II transformed the palace into an art gallery. The main building of the Hermitage is the Baroque Winter Palace, built for Empress Elizabeth between 1754 and 1762, designed by Bartolomeo Rastrelli. In 1766, Tsarina Catherine II asked the French philosopher Denis Diderot to buy paintings from French collections on her behalf. Thus, canvases by Poussin, Watteau, Rembrandt, Rubens, Raphael, Titian and many other great painters came to St. Petersburg. On February 5/ February 17, 1852, Nicholas I opened the collections to the public and for this purpose built the last palace of the complex, called the New Hermitage, which was designed by Leo von Klenze.
St. Isaac's Cathedral
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St. Isaac the Dalmatian Cathedral - the largest Orthodox church in St. Petersburg and the second largest in Russia, built by order of Tsar Alexander I. It measures 97.6 m in width, 111.2 m in length, and 101.5 m in height; it is crowned with gilded domes, the largest of which has a radius of about 11 m. It can accommodate 14,000 worshippers.
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Church of the Savior on the Blood
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The Resurrection Cathedral, Church on the Blood - a cathedral built in St. Petersburg on the Griboyedov Canal. The building was placed on the site where Tsar Alexander II was mortally wounded in an assassination attempt in 1881, hence the popular name of the church - on the Blood. Work began in 1883 by Alexander III in memory of his father and lasted until 1907. The Cathedral was built according to the design of Alfred Parland and Ignatiy Malyshev. In 1930 the church was closed and planned to be demolished, 26 years later it received the status of a monument. It reopened in 1997 after nearly 30 years of restoration work. Today, it is one of the main tourist attractions of St. Petersburg. The total area of the temple is 1 642 m², the height - 81 m. The Cathedral was built in the traditional Russian style, prevailing in the church construction in the XVIth and XVIIth centuries and is richly decorated.
Peterhof
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Peterhof is a vast palace and garden complex located in the city of the same name, situated on the Gulf of Finland, less than 30 km west of St. Petersburg. It was founded in the first half of the XVIIIth century by Tsar Peter I as one of the Tsars' summer residences. Today, the entire complex covers more than 1,000 hectares. It consists of 20 different buildings, 7 gardens and the famous Grand Cascade. The main building is the Grand Palace designed by Jean Baptiste Leblond (and later rebuilt by Bartolomeo Rastrelli). The most impressive element of the palace-garden complex is the so-called Great Cascade. It was created in 1724 as a tribute to the triumph of Russia over its enemies. It consists of about 200 different fountains and streams and nearly 40 beautiful golden statues. The largest fountain spouts vertically up a huge 20-meter column of water.
Winter Palace
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Winter Palace - located on the banks of the Neva River, a Baroque palace built in St. Petersburg between 1754 and 1762, designed by Bartolomeo Rastrelli for Elizabeth. Construction was completed after her death. It was the first to be inhabited by Empress Catherine. The Winter Palace is one of the largest palace complexes in the world. Here is what the numbers say: length - about 200 m, width - 160 m, the length of the cornice surrounding the entire building - 2 km, height 22 m. The palace has 1,057 rooms with a total area of 46,516 m², 117 staircases, 1,886 doors and 1,945 windows. The interiors are finished with polished marble, azurite, malachite, porphyry, jasper and semi-precious stones. Bronze, crystal, gilding, rare woods and decorative wall fabrics were also used generously.
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Tsarskoye Selo
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The power ful complex was founded by Catherine I on uneven and marshy land near St. Petersburg, which she received from her future husband, Tsar Peter I, in 1708. The monarch later ordered a small park to be built on the land, in 18th century fashion, with a small orangery. On the site where the Grand Palace stands today, the Empress had a small wooden church dedicated to St. Catherine built. In 1722 a small palace was built for Catherine, based on designs by Braunstein, and in 1725 the entire estate was officially named Tsarskoye Selo.
Petropavlovsk Fortress
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Built by order of Peter the Great between 1706 and 1740, the Petropavlovsk Fortress is a citadel of St. Petersburg, built on an island along the Neva River. It is a defensive fortress, built according to the design of architect Domenico Trezzini. The main purpose of the building was defense but the fort never fulfilled its military purpose. In the XVIIIth century, part of the fortress became a prison and continued this function after the Bolshevik Revolution. Today, the Fortress is one of St. Petersburg's most famous tourist sights and houses the State Museum of Political History of Russia. At the center of the complex rises the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul with its 122-meter bell tower, which is the burial place of all Russian tsars from Peter I to Alexander III, except Peter II and Ivan VI. The island is also home to the St. Petersburg Mint, which is still in operation today.
Drawbridges
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This is another attraction of St. Petersburg. Neva, which is the main river flowing through the city is navigable. To allow boat traffic, the bridges on the river open at 11:00 pm every day. Remember to be on the ‘correct’ side of the river when the bridges open. Otherwise, you may get stuck until the bridges are closed again, which will take place the following morning.
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SAILING ACROSS THE PACIFIC MEMORIES FROM THE HIGH MARITIME UNIVERSITY 1969-1973
We invite you to read a series of articles that will take us back to the harsh reality of the 70's and 80's, known to most of us only from stories told by our parents or grandparents. Their author is Mr. Andrzej Buszke, a graduate of the Naval Academy in Gdynia, a sailor who worked 28 years of his life at sea. The stories are accounts and descriptions of subjective feelings of the author. The stories describe the reality of communist Poland, as well as the world, which no longer exists, seen through the eyes of an adept and then ETO (Electro-technical Officer).
We received such passes on Fridays. They allowed us to go outside the campus on Saturday and Sunday weekends. But that was only after we had completed our candidature and had been sworn in at Kosciuszko Square in 1969. Before that we were only 'candidates' for WSM students. I know that year 1971 is confusing, probably there were other passes before that, I don't remember...
usually enjoyed a higher standard of living than the average family. T he WSM w as cut to size and the teaching staff was supplemented in subsequent years by borrowings e.g. from the WSMW. The only professor
(of mathematics) at that time was the first rector, Bohdan Kowalczyk, Ph. They didn't know how to treat us whether as students or listeners. We were treated in the same way as before: in the barracks, having our hair cut, being issued clothes, i.e. working dreadlocks, khaki
Well, slowly, step by step. After graduation from the State Technical School (Public Television) in Bydgoszcz in 1969 I faced a dilemma: 3-year military service or further studies. I found out that PSM in Gdynia had b e en tr an s form e d into WS M w ith five faculties (Navigation, Mechanical, Electrical and Electronic - later changed to Radiocommunication at Sea - and Administrative). For me, the choice was obvious. It must be remembered that during the communist era, work at sea enjoyed a high reputation. The Sailing Pass was a passport covering a wide area of the world and seafarer families 22 | Summer 2021 | Lifestyle
Passes, like the one shown, were given to us on Friday. They authorized us to go outside the campus.
uniforms and old, thick-shod shoes. 'Candidature' plus, introduced af ter 1967 along the lines of China's Cultural Revolution, a month's work experience was mandatory for all college applicants (even future violinists, pianists, etc.). The day would begin with a 5 a.m. w ake -up call, break f as t , and then march out of the newly built dormitories by the sea - the famous ‘triangles’ on Sedzickiego Street - to the Paris Commune Shipyard, later Gdynia Shipyard, about 3 kilometers away. The road along the tracks was paved with cobblestones. It was our most modern shipyard at the time, with, among other things, a new dry dock adapted to the construction of 50,000-ton ships. It was liquidated in 2009 and broken up into separate business entities. The rest of the day went routinely: on our return, roll call and change of duty, drill on the pier and long political and didactic talks, from which I remembered ‘that we are the lucky chosen ones of fate and future owners of villas and cars’. I recall with fondness my later two-week stay on the instrumental school ship ‘Horyzont’ (‘Horizon’): good food (very important!), jumping in lifebelts from the lifeboat deck on the Bay and that short cruise in a 6-ft Bf... Out of 25 candidates I was among five who felt well. The school ships ‘Horyzont’ (‘Horizon’), ‘Zenit’ (‘Zenith’) and their counterparts in Szczecin – ‘Azymut’ (‘Azimuth’), ‘Navigator’ - were built on the hulls of ‘birds’ - lugrotrawlers withdrawn from service after a series of tragic disasters. Those instrumental ships, ballasted with 30 tons of ballast cubes, were called ‘pukers’ by the students. The academic year 1969 began along with the move to Czerwonych Kosynierow Street, where the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Electrical Engineering were located. After passing by the duty station, at the side entrance in the hall, we were greeted by a three-meter-high plaster statue of Lenin. He always had a cigarette stuck in his mouth. Stubbornly removed, it appeared again. The bedrooms were 12-person dormitories with bunk beds and personal padlocked lockers. Evening assemblies led by 'maritime education instructors' - combined with reading out the punished. Additional work was punished 'in the regions' mostly for having civilian clothes in the lockers.
Polishing the ship's bell on the training ship "Horyzont".
More serious offences were punished with the so-called 'BW', i.e. withholding of Saturday-Sunday passes. The obligatory canteen (we will return to the subject of the canteen), Saturday collective shower in the basement of the right wing, for 150 men, with HOT water running once a week. Morning classes at the pool with broken glass in the windows, especially pleasant in winter... The pool water was rarely, if ever, changed, and heavily chlorinated. After class we had eyes as red as rabbits. 'And now we are jumping into the water and doing two bashes with a clap and a squeeze,' said the leader of the class, L. The activities in the pool were also more varied. Diving after objects, playing water ball. We studied on our own in the lecture halls of the main building, separated from the living quarters by a lattice that closed at 10 p.m.
In the main building, in his duty station, there was the school janitor, Nowak, who was an institution in himself. The appointed minister of the Ministry of Navigation, Szopa, a former graduate visiting the school, used to greet him first. Sometimes, he would help 'friendly' students pass their exams. I remember how he once told me, surrounded by a garland of listening cleaning ladies: 'It was at midnight. I was sitting and looking out into the hall and I heard footsteps. He was coming down the stairs. He was wearing an SS man's uniform. He came down slowly and I said to him: 'What are you looking for here, Hitler? Go back where you came from. He looked at me with empty eyes and left...'. A legend circulated among us that after the liberation of Gdynia, an SS man was found hanged in the attic. No wonder that under the influence of this and other stories ladies were afraid
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to clean in the evenings on the upper floors. Now, a little bit more about the servants and duty. There were three men on duty: the older one from the last year of the PSM, the two younger - from the WSM. All of them, according to the regulations of the ser vices and duties, watched over safety and order. They woke us up for morning classes. ‘Maritime education instructors’ - that is a separate topic. They were with us non-stop 24 hours a day on their duty, they had their own rooms. Now, years later, I think that their job was not only to watch over discipline and order, but also to observe behavior and political surveillance. The seaman's pass was a passport covering all the countries of the world, and an ordinary eater of Polish bread could only dream of going abroad to the countries of 'rotten capitalism'. There were escapes from ships, too. The educators, later called instructors, kept journals containing personal files on each of us. Some journal entries were bizarre and circulated as humorous stories. For example, 'Student X in the toilet in my presence provocatively growled with his anus' or: 'Student X steals shoes' (this referred to the case when someone from the educator's room 'picked up' his/her exit shoes, requisitioned to prevent going to town while serving the 'BW' punishment).
The canteen was compulsory. The daily food rate was low, but this was not the only reason for its miserliness. The manager of the canteen was the daughter-in-law of the director of housekeeping, Mr. H. It is known that young people usually have a voracious appetite. The basic menu was soup, potatoes with gravy and bread. More refined additions were served in microscopic quantities. Tea, coffee, cereal of course, in jugs. There was a rumor among us that bromine was added to tea to lower libido. The most desired supper dish was black pudding with onion. My colleague Tadek's unholy deed sticks in my memory. After eating pasta in which I found three pieces of ham, I left myself one piece for dessert. My colleague distracted me by asking: 'What did Mary come here for?' ('Bloody Mary' was our nurse in the Infirmary). I looked toward the door, Mary was gone. Nor was that piece of ham on my plate. I couldn't forgive him for that for a long time. One day, an item called 'roast duck' appeared on a menu prepared well in advance. Duck! I waited impatiently for this day. Finally, walking down the aisle to the cafeteria, I could sense the unpleasant smell intensif ying. No! At the door, I turned around and walked back.
We also made unkind jokes to the aforementioned educators, which I do not want to write about here. For the first, as I remember, 1,5 years the areas were cleaned by students. The corridors, toilets. Toilet paper, that sort of thing... For the first few months, a team was assigned to peel potatoes. As usual among young people, we were playing jokes on each other. Sometimes they were stupid... For instance, Jacek, a football fan, was going to the washroom in his pyjamas, with a towel over his shoulder and there was a cardboard box lying in the corridor! His eyes sparked, he took the momentum and kicked! And there was a big stone hidden in the box. And for two weeks Jacek had his foot in a plaster cast. Once a week, dressed in working uniforms, we had classes in the school workshops. I remember the machine tools department, the forge. The instructor would show us how to harden s te el; the master blacksmith's signature trick was to lick a red-hot rod. He encouraged us to repeat his stunt but there were no takers.
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You can always find a place to read the newspaper.
Supposedly, the canteen food supplies were replenished with food taken off the ships, which was left in refrigerators after long voyages. We sp ontane ously forme d a ‘canteen committee’. The first action was a search of bags of ladies working in the kitchen on their way home. The stuffed bags contained cubes of butter, margarine, and meat. The initially noisy affair was hushed up without further consequences. Another story involved weighing a portion of yellow cheese served for breakfast. It was a spontaneous, one-of f action that caused a great deal of concern among the kitchen staff. The weight of each portion was recorded. The portions prepared earlier were significantly different in weight from the later portions, which increased with each successive plate, so that the final total agreed with the weight of the product dispensed from the store. It ended with this one action. Many, from the Tri-City area, were fed at home. The rest, often from distant regions of Poland, were saved by parcels from home. Families sent cakes, lard, and sausages. Michael, whose mother traded at the Rozycki Market in Prague, received the largest parcels.
The hatch covered with short wideners.
There was solidarity, the parcels were divided among all the inhabitants of the dormitory In the middle of winter 1969/1970 we did our training on s/s 'Jan Turlejski'. It was the biggest ship of the Maritime School at that time, a steam (mazout-fired boilers) supertrawler.
bunk beds, poorly isolated from the steel sides, was heated by steam pipes. During the night we were woken up by the ‘shooting’ of steam pipes and in a few moments the terrifying cold turned into hellish heat.
In the next MAEM Magazine, we continue our maritime education at WSM with our character. We invite you to join us!
The captain was the legendary Wiktor Gorzadek. Candidate training, seamanship, fishing, navigation and machineries were carried out on board at various times. 'Jan Turlejski' made a number of pioneer voyages for our f isher y. We unfortunately stopped 2 weeks at Kosciuszko Square. There was a wonderful cook on ‘Turlej’. I remember the first dinner after boarding, which after the poor school canteen seemed like a great feast. There was a delicious oxtail soup with floating pieces of oxtail, a pork chop for the whole plate. We spent the time between watches, repair work and housekeeping on excursions to the city. I remember, as it was a snowy winter, we put a huge snowman (over 4 meters high) on the quay. We slept in a cubby under the tank. It was a cold winter, the room with
"Jan Turlejski" with the WSM emblem on the chimney.
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