Frances (X)

This is not the freighter of the same name sunk during the Second World War. John Brodie (Email to Nauticapedia 28/06/2024) stated "The Frances Salman, a Norwegian ship which carried pulp and paper from Powell River and Port Alberni to the southern CA ports of San Francisco, Long Beach and San Diego. I made several trips during the summer of 1960 when I was 15 years old as a “Deck Boy”. It was an interesting experience considering the crew, which was of mixed nationalities. My introduction to Swedish Akvavit was memorable NOT! When we were in Long Beach, I met up with my cousins who lived there on the Navy Base, as my Uncle was a Captain in the US Navy. My duties on the Frances Salman were general deck work (painting and scraping), cleaning cabins of crew members, and taking watch from (as I recall) midnight to 6am; this entailed standing at the bow of the ship, watching for lights of small craft that had eluded the radar, and relaying anything I saw to the bridge. When in port as the pulp or paper was loaded, I also had the job of keeping count as the rolls or bundles were placed into the hold."