0:00:19 > 0:00:23This is the story of Emily and her grandad, Jim.
0:00:29 > 0:00:32It's a tiny tale about Jim's life
0:00:32 > 0:00:36and the things he used to do when he was younger.
0:00:41 > 0:00:44Now it's time for Jim to share his memories
0:00:44 > 0:00:47and take Emily on a journey of discovery.
0:00:54 > 0:00:58Where will they go and what will they do? Let's find out.
0:01:05 > 0:01:09- What's the sea like today, captain? - Nice and calm!- Very calm, is it?
0:01:09 > 0:01:13- Can you see any pirates? - I can't see that far!
0:01:13 > 0:01:16- Try looking through these, then. - What are these?
0:01:16 > 0:01:20These are binoculars, they help you see further.
0:01:23 > 0:01:24What can you see now?
0:01:24 > 0:01:29- One, two, three, four, five boats! - Five boats, can you?
0:01:29 > 0:01:34I used to use those a lot when I was a sailor in the Merchant Navy,
0:01:34 > 0:01:38travelling the world on big ships, delivering all sorts of things.
0:01:38 > 0:01:40- What did you deliver? - What did we deliver?
0:01:40 > 0:01:44Timber, big logs, cars, even cocoa beans.
0:01:44 > 0:01:47I spent a lot of time on oil tankers,
0:01:47 > 0:01:49delivering oil that keeps cars running.
0:01:49 > 0:01:52What an interesting job!
0:01:52 > 0:01:55They went for a walk to talk some more and find out
0:01:55 > 0:01:56what it was like back then.
0:01:58 > 0:02:01- What's that? Is that the ship coming by?- I think so.
0:02:01 > 0:02:03Yes, that's right.
0:02:04 > 0:02:07- Shall we give it a wave? - If you like, yes.
0:02:07 > 0:02:13- Let's give it a wave, shall we? - Hi!- Bye-bye!- Bye!
0:02:19 > 0:02:24Grandad Jim was only 16 when he joined the Merchant Navy.
0:02:24 > 0:02:28Look, here he is when he first went to sea!
0:02:28 > 0:02:33I was always interested in ships at school.
0:02:33 > 0:02:37When it came time to get a job,
0:02:37 > 0:02:40I decided that going to sea
0:02:40 > 0:02:43in the Merchant Navy would be quite a good idea.
0:02:43 > 0:02:46So, at 16, I got employed as a cadet.
0:02:46 > 0:02:50So, Grandad Jim became a cadet in the Merchant Navy,
0:02:50 > 0:02:55where he learned how to be a sailor, just like these cadets here.
0:02:55 > 0:02:58As a cadet, we had to learn everything.
0:02:58 > 0:03:02We had to learn how to chip rust off, sometimes put paint on,
0:03:02 > 0:03:04wash paintwork, scrub the decks,
0:03:04 > 0:03:07do all the general maintenance around the ship.
0:03:07 > 0:03:11If you were going to be an officer you had to learn every job
0:03:11 > 0:03:14so you could tell somebody else how to do it properly.
0:03:14 > 0:03:17It took four years' training to become an officer.
0:03:17 > 0:03:20Now that's a long time!
0:03:29 > 0:03:33But Emily only has a day to learn how to be a sailor.
0:03:33 > 0:03:37So Grandad Jim is taking her to sea school for a quick lesson.
0:03:37 > 0:03:39- Do you know what this place is?- No.
0:03:39 > 0:03:43This is where they control the ships coming in and out of the harbour.
0:03:43 > 0:03:48All the ships on the outside there, and if they need a pilot...
0:03:50 > 0:03:53So, Emily, what do you think of this?
0:03:53 > 0:03:56Very complicated! What does all this mean?
0:03:56 > 0:03:59This is a chart and it tells us how to get from one place to another.
0:03:59 > 0:04:03You see these little crosses here? Those are rocks.
0:04:03 > 0:04:09The problem is you can't see them because they're underwater.
0:04:09 > 0:04:12We had to know where they were so we could steer a course
0:04:12 > 0:04:15so there was no danger of the ship getting stuck.
0:04:15 > 0:04:19- So, what do you think of that?- You had a very important job, Grandad.
0:04:19 > 0:04:22It was important to stay off the rocks!
0:04:27 > 0:04:31These sea charts have been used for hundreds of years
0:04:31 > 0:04:34to help ships sail around the world.
0:04:34 > 0:04:38Way long ago, before trains, planes and lorries,
0:04:38 > 0:04:41tall ships like these would cross huge oceans,
0:04:41 > 0:04:43to bring us things we needed and wanted.
0:04:49 > 0:04:52Their crews would leave port for years at a time
0:04:52 > 0:04:56and bring home tea from India and coffee from Colombia.
0:04:56 > 0:04:59Even animals were brought across the world on ships.
0:04:59 > 0:05:02As the years went by, other things were traded.
0:05:02 > 0:05:05Coal and steel were taken from Britain,
0:05:05 > 0:05:07while big cargo ships brought cotton from North America
0:05:07 > 0:05:11and cocoa beans from Central America to make chocolate.
0:05:23 > 0:05:29Nowadays, sailors learn how to steer a ship using a special computer.
0:05:29 > 0:05:33Now you're at a place where you can try steering a big ship.
0:05:33 > 0:05:38- Really, Grandad?- Yes. Are you ready? - Not quite.- Not quite?
0:05:41 > 0:05:44- Now I am.- Now you're ready? OK.
0:05:44 > 0:05:48Emily is looking at a pretend ship going into harbour.
0:05:48 > 0:05:53Her job is to steer it to the side without bumping into anything.
0:05:53 > 0:05:55Can she do it?
0:05:55 > 0:05:58Pull it back and the engine stops.
0:05:58 > 0:06:04Then use this one, which steers it, and push that round a little bit.
0:06:04 > 0:06:09- Which way?- Left. Not too much.- There.
0:06:09 > 0:06:13And then we'll go in to where the oil tanks are.
0:06:13 > 0:06:17- Can you see us coming closer?- Yes.
0:06:17 > 0:06:21- Can we go full speed ahead? - No, Emily!
0:06:21 > 0:06:25If we went full speed ahead, we'd go right into the shore!
0:06:25 > 0:06:26So we can't do that.
0:06:26 > 0:06:29We're nearly here now. You did a very good job.
0:06:29 > 0:06:33- Well done! And you know what?- What?
0:06:33 > 0:06:37- You can be my shipmate any time. - Well done, Emily!
0:06:40 > 0:06:44Now Grandad Jim is taking Emily to see a real ship.
0:06:48 > 0:06:50It's a cargo ship!
0:06:50 > 0:06:55It brings all sorts of things across the world for people to buy.
0:06:55 > 0:07:00- So, what do you think of this ship? - Very big!- It is, isn't it?
0:07:00 > 0:07:05- It has to be big to carry cargo. Do you know what cargo is?- No.
0:07:05 > 0:07:09It's all sorts of things we need,
0:07:09 > 0:07:12anything from food to spare parts, bits of machinery.
0:07:12 > 0:07:16There's even bigger ships that this carrying cargo round the world.
0:07:16 > 0:07:20There is another reason they're big. Can you guess what that might be?
0:07:20 > 0:07:23- The weather?- That's right.
0:07:23 > 0:07:27Once you get to the ocean, the waves are very big.
0:07:27 > 0:07:31- If the ships weren't big enough, they couldn't get over them.- No.
0:07:31 > 0:07:36Look at these cargo ships here. They are enormous!
0:07:39 > 0:07:43They travel all over the world,
0:07:43 > 0:07:46bringing things to us that we need.
0:07:46 > 0:07:51In the olden days, lots of the cargo was new and exciting food and spices
0:07:51 > 0:07:53that we couldn't get in this country.
0:07:53 > 0:07:57When I first went away, it was to Africa.
0:07:57 > 0:08:01We took cars and came back with wood, cocoa and peanuts.
0:08:01 > 0:08:04Then we started going much further afield.
0:08:04 > 0:08:08We went across the Atlantic, all the way through the Mediterranean
0:08:08 > 0:08:12to India, and all the way to Japan and back again.
0:08:12 > 0:08:16Wow, what an amazing way to see the world.
0:08:27 > 0:08:30When we were at sea, we had to be smart all the time,
0:08:30 > 0:08:33even when we'd been at sea for days.
0:08:33 > 0:08:35You wore a uniform, like you wear for school.
0:08:37 > 0:08:41Look at Grandad Jim, all dressed up.
0:08:41 > 0:08:45- Do you think you'd like to go and smarten up a bit?- Yes!- Right.
0:08:52 > 0:08:54Wow - looking good, Emily!
0:08:54 > 0:08:58Hello, Emily. You look really smart.
0:08:58 > 0:09:01I've got something for you.
0:09:02 > 0:09:04What about this?
0:09:04 > 0:09:08This was a captain's uniform. I'll take your hat.
0:09:08 > 0:09:13- It's big.- Let me help you.
0:09:13 > 0:09:18It's a bit big for you, yes.
0:09:18 > 0:09:21Hat on, too!
0:09:21 > 0:09:25Right. Don't you think that's lovely?
0:09:25 > 0:09:27- Can you put your arms up? - It's heavy.
0:09:27 > 0:09:29You'll have to grow!
0:09:29 > 0:09:31All ready for life on the ocean waves.
0:09:31 > 0:09:33Aye-aye, Captain!
0:09:33 > 0:09:36- Now what?- Can we sing our sailor song?- How does it go?
0:09:36 > 0:09:40# A sailor went to sea, sea, sea
0:09:40 > 0:09:44# To see what he could see, see, see
0:09:44 > 0:09:47# But all that he could see, see, see
0:09:47 > 0:09:52# Was the bottom of the deep blue sea, sea, sea. #
0:09:58 > 0:10:03Lots of things have changed since Grandad Jim's days at sea.
0:10:03 > 0:10:08When he was a sailor, many months at sea meant many meals at sea.
0:10:08 > 0:10:13When I was at sea, there wasn't as much fresh food as there is now.
0:10:13 > 0:10:16We would get fresh fruit and vegetables in port.
0:10:16 > 0:10:21But when you'd been at sea for weeks they would run out.
0:10:21 > 0:10:24There was lots of tinned fruit and vegetables.
0:10:24 > 0:10:26The bread was made on board ship, too.
0:10:26 > 0:10:30The thing that was different is we never had fresh milk.
0:10:30 > 0:10:33Fresh milk to drink was most unusual at that time.
0:10:33 > 0:10:37The longest I was away from home was just over a year,
0:10:37 > 0:10:39just after I got married.
0:10:41 > 0:10:44That's a long time away from home.
0:10:44 > 0:10:50Oh, look. Here's Grandad Jim with Gran, Cynthia, and Mummy, Karen.
0:10:50 > 0:10:53They must have missed each other so much.
0:11:09 > 0:11:13Now it's time for Emily to take her place on the captain's seat.
0:11:16 > 0:11:20Right, Emily, you're sitting at the seat where the captain sits
0:11:20 > 0:11:23when he watches everything.
0:11:23 > 0:11:26It was different when I went to sea. We didn't have comfortable chairs!
0:11:26 > 0:11:29We had to stand up and watch out the windows.
0:11:29 > 0:11:31What did the captain do?
0:11:31 > 0:11:35He's in charge of everything on board, of all the people,
0:11:35 > 0:11:39making sure the ship goes in the right place
0:11:39 > 0:11:41and that things get done properly.
0:11:41 > 0:11:45From here, we've got the controls which control where the ship goes.
0:11:45 > 0:11:49- What do those do?- Those actually make the ship go sideways.
0:11:49 > 0:11:52There's a propeller at the front and back.
0:11:52 > 0:11:56There's one special button I'll get you to press.
0:11:56 > 0:11:59Press that button.
0:11:59 > 0:12:01HORN BLARES
0:12:01 > 0:12:05That horn tells other ships to get out the way.
0:12:05 > 0:12:08What an adventure for Emily!
0:12:08 > 0:12:11She found out about Grandad Jim's life at sea
0:12:11 > 0:12:15with the Merchant Navy and why he has special binoculars.
0:12:15 > 0:12:18She discovered what cargo ships are for
0:12:18 > 0:12:22and why Grandad Jim travelled all over the world.
0:12:22 > 0:12:26She learned to read a very complicated sea chart
0:12:26 > 0:12:28and she became captain for a day.
0:12:28 > 0:12:31Oh, and she used her new sailing skills
0:12:31 > 0:12:33to avoid crashing her pretend ship
0:12:33 > 0:12:37while taking pride of place on the captain's seat.
0:12:40 > 0:12:44Right, let's see. Turn this one over.
0:12:44 > 0:12:48Hooray! Not bad for a grandad.
0:12:48 > 0:12:51- Anyway, have you had fun?- Yeah!
0:12:51 > 0:12:55- Have you enjoyed learning a bit more about my story?- Yes.
0:12:55 > 0:13:00- And what have you enjoyed the most? - Honking the horn on the big ship!
0:13:00 > 0:13:02Honking the horn on the big ship?
0:13:02 > 0:13:04HORN BLARES
0:13:04 > 0:13:09Well, I've really enjoyed doing it with you, Emily. Give me a big hug.
0:13:16 > 0:13:19What a fabulous heap of fun.
0:13:19 > 0:13:22That was Emily and her Grandad Jim's tiny tale
0:13:22 > 0:13:25about the things he used to do and places he visited
0:13:25 > 0:13:27when he was a sailor.
0:13:27 > 0:13:30Now that Grandad has shared his story with Emily,
0:13:30 > 0:13:34it's time for Emily to start her own story.
0:13:34 > 0:13:36Do you know someone who has a story to share?
0:13:36 > 0:13:39Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd