My Husband

George is a Ship Chandler by profession, which I guess one could describe as one of the oldest professions in South Africa.

In 1652 Jan van Riebeeck advocated for the establishment of a refreshment station in the Cape of Good Hope, with the view to replenish supplies to seafaring vessels. I guess one could say this is where ship chandelling in South Africa began.

However, I am getting ahead of myself here…

George was born and brought up in Hillbrow, Johannesburg now known as Gauteng. After the death of his mother the family relocated to Port Elizabeth. George matriculated from Pearson High and completed a BSC degree majoring in Biochemistry and Zoology at what was then known as the University of Port Elizabeth. He also owned a video shop and assisted various business in the managing of their supermarkets.

Quite by default, or as George puts it (lost in translation), he started working as a Ship Chandler. George’s uncle, Philip, owned a chandelling company in Port Elizabeth. One particular day there was vessel in port with only Greek speaking crew, and as Philip resided in East London, a translator was urgently needed to assist the staff and to understand the needs and wants of the crew members. Philip contacted George and asked him to act as a translator. Many times thereafter George acted as a translator for crew members and the like, for without the assistance of a Greek speaking translator, business could not be conducted. Philip then offered George a full time position as a ship chandler.

What or earth is that and what do they do?

A Ship Chandler is a company or person taking care of the needs of a ship and her crew, providing them with everything the crew and vessel needs to survive and operate effectively and efficiently. For instance – crew members need food, medicine toiletries, clothing and entertainment like puzzles, books and games; and the vessel needs engineering tools, steel and various mechanical parts, paint brushes, brooms, cleaning materials and the like.

In order to be successful at being a chandler one has to have a vast knowledge of a wide variety of subjects and different foodstuffs to meet the palate and taste of people from all over the world like Japan, China, Russia, South America, Greece, Pakistan, India and many more. It always pays to have some knowledge of engineering and technical matters and parts, so a wide general knowledge about a lot of things is definitely an advantage. I think one learns very quickly to listen very carefully and patiently to the client. What makes this job so exciting and at times a tad stressful is the short turn around time in which to supply provisions efficiently and correctly.  There is absolutely no time for mistakes or error of any description – so, in other words, it is a huge adrenalin rush!

The satisfaction of this job is receiving an email from a Captain of a particular vessel expressing his gratitude for a job well done and praising the service and quality of produce supplied. Even more satisfaction is experienced when this email is received and read by a wide group of relevant role players! I guess one could say that’s the lovely cherry on top.

In the past thirty years or so ship chandelling has bourn witness to amazing changes and advances especially in the method of communication.

Thirty odd years ago the sole method of communication between vessels, agents and ship chandlers was via satellite, (at R30,00 per minute I might add!), international call, and then came the telex machine. Gosh, using a telex sure brings back memories. The laborious task of typing a message that punched holes into a strip of paper tape (heaven forbid if you make a mistake as you would have to start all over again). Then the tape was fed back into the machine to be relayed (typed onto special paper) to the receiving telex machine anywhere in the world.  Interestingly enough this method of communication could take anything from one to four hours – time consuming and laborious to say the least. With the advent of the fax machine and the subsequent introduction of computers and the internet, methods of communication are infinitely more efficient and less time consuming.

Over the years the design and shape of vessels has also changed in that they are leaner, cleaner and faster and require less crew members to operate, making life a lot more efficient and cost effective. 

Amazing isn’t it? We see ships in the bay and the harbour – all sizes, shapes and forms and we cannot even begin to imagine that people operate them and that they require food, clothing medicine, dust pans, pots, pans, tools and all kinds of equipment. They sail in and out of lives, here today and gone tomorrow.

This is an amazing industry made up of incredible men and women, who go about their business ensuring that vessels visiting our port are serviced effectively, skilfully and efficiently and always supplied with only the finest and best produce, fruit and vegetables as well as any other requirements the vessel may need to journey to their next port of call. Remember, they can’t just hop off to pay a visit to their local Spar…There is only the ocean and miles of nothing between them and their next stop.

Over the years I have learned that George is honourable, honest, and ethical and operates with integrity. He is also deeply loyal, kind and generous to a fault, even to those who have betrayed and hurt him. George’s charm, warmth and wonderful sense of humour are a delight. Old and young are drawn to George. And most importantly, cats love him dearly! In fact, he is known as the cat whisperer.

George is also one of the kindest people I know.  He goes out of his way to help people, and an endearing quality is that he goes about it quietly without any fanfare or seeking praise.

This, in a nut shell, is a brief summary of the life of a Ship Chandler and an introduction to my wonderful husband, George.

Take care, remember to be kind to yourself and to others and to laugh often!