Drunken British sailors are invading Florida and beating each other up, because why not? Great town and site of "The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party" Florida–Georgia football rivalry - Wikipedia
Being stuck on an aircraft carrier without any planes to play with is bound to make you mad... ...and it sounds like the urinals on HMS Queen Elizabeth may have been out of action, judging by the number of sailors who had to relieve themsevles in the street as soon as the ship docked! Still, being tazered is just as much fun as 12 pints of Bud, and a lot cheaper.
“These guys come in town periodically,” Smith said. “They beat the mess out of each other and fight each other more than anything, but once they pick up their teeth off the ground they are best friends.”
Remember dont lock them in your bathroom (toilet) Naked British Army captain destroys toilet in harrowing bathroom escape
Urban Dictionary: head A toilet; esp. on a ship. [but not necessarily so] Called that because in the days of sailing ships, the toilet was simply a hole in the deck near the ship's bow (the front or head of a ship). Hold on there Sarge! I need to go to the head [Sarge is generally an Army term so usually on land except of course if they were Royal Marines] #toilet#toliet#tiolet#bathroom#boat#ship#navy#marines TD - or call me Tatiana Desparado if you wish
It's falling out of usage here. We used to say "I'm going to hit the head' on the way out to lunch in the eighties and nineties but I don't think Gen Xers and millennials use it any more.
Near the ships bow? What twisted mind thought of that....should surely have been at the ships Stern....I nearly said Rear.
The captains cabin was at the stern of the old sailing ships , he wouldnt want the crewing shitting in view of his window. Have them on the bow & the sea would help to wash their arses.
Speaking of British sailors and shore leave. I can't find the exact quote but a late nineteenth century admiral in Egypt said something like, "These men will put their ------s where I wouldn't put the toe of my boot." Wish I could find the guys name again. He could turn a phrase. It might have been in either Castles of Steel or Dreadnought.
This news filled me with national pride. It is so reassuring that the Matelot is still fighting his way across the world, while at the same time leaving permanent additions to local gene pools. It takes 300 years to build a tradition. Moderation in shore leave is imbecility, etc. etc. (There was a local law enforcement chap tweeting out how entertaining the brawling sailors were. Can't find it now, but he definitely 'got' it. When the big Septic carriers visited Pompey it was always a hilarious evening out. Six arrested is disturbingly low...)
I remember when the aircraft carrier USS Iwo Jima was in Liverpool circa 1980 and the City Centre was crowded with sailors. US Navy landed with their own shore patrol vehicles (can’t remember the make but they were very large - would it be too early for Hummer?). They patrolled with a local officer on board as a “navigator” and responded to calls related to US naval personnel. Most - if not all - of the navy “offenders” were returned to the ship by the Shore Patrol. Presume British Navy won’t “liaise ” with local law enforcement to that extent? Steve
Lots of ex-sailors at work over the years , they fondly remember fighting the Yanks in various ports.
You used to see combined shore patrols in Pompey when the carriers came. Provosts, Redcaps & Septics. No idea if official, but they certainly liased. The arrival of several large gents with white batons sometimes quite reassuring when things got a little hairy. Once watched them accidentally drop a bloke from the back of their moving van several times down Southsea front. Told of his misdemeanor, he probably deserved it... Young blokes from dry ships hitting Pompey.... a mess was always inevitable. Always lots of fighting when Italian boats were in. Never quite sure what that was all about. I suppose Taranto or Matapan was as likely a trigger as any. Or maybe just their penchant for leather trousers.