cruise ship hits bridge

[Ivan Cloherty]

i can appreciate and understand company traditions, IE American Naval terms, right full rudder, flank speed , ect, but but Blue Funnel signals for turning to Port or Stbd mystify me. i thought they were international by law, ? rooms and columns, no problem, americans say smokestack, RN gives speed in revolutions, americans say back i/3 rd, but to change signal blasts to opposite the norm is downright dangerous. surely giving one blast gives wrong signal to a ship approaching?

It is and was dangerous that's why BLUE Flue ships were built with three rows of rivets where other ships had two rows, BF had four rows of rivets where others had three etc etc and also Blue Flue carried their own insurance because no other company would insure them because they had their own rules of the road and contrary signals, the other insurers knew that collisions were inevitable, as did BF that is why their ships were built stronger.

You will no doubt be given another reason, but the above is nearer the truth

P.S. keep a weather eye open for low flying Exocet Missiles

[Red Lead Ted]

That looks more like the clinic most of us would visit in Paradise st after a run down the West Coast.................. Terry.

[j.sabourn]

Jim the early ships I was on the Master had the whole of one bridge deck. Some masters insisted you use the outside ladders on going onto the navigation bridge. Cheers John Sabourn.

[Capt Bill Davies]

i can appreciate and understand company traditions, IE American Naval terms, right full rudder, flank speed , ect, but but Blue Funnel signals for turning to Port or Stbd mystify me. i thought they were international by law, ? rooms and columns, no problem, americans say smokestack, RN gives speed in revolutions, americans say back i/3 rd, but to change signal blasts to opposite the norm is downright dangerous. surely giving one blast gives wrong signal to a ship approaching?

It is and was dangerous that's why BLUE Flue ships were built with three rows of rivets where other ships had two rows, BF had four rows of rivets where others had three etc etc and also Blue Flue carried their own insurance because no other company would insure them because they had their own rules of the road and contrary signals, the other insurers knew that collisions were inevitable, as did BF that is why their ships were built stronger.

You will no doubt be given another reason, but the above is nearer the truth

Tony,

You really should read the posts more clearly as this BF anomaly is detailed in several previous posts relates to the look out man on the foc'sle head reporting his sightings to the officer on the Bridge. Nothing to do with what I have underlined in the quote. Your misunderstanding has thrown poor Ivan into a tizz with talk of triple rows of rivets, self insurance and god knows what else all of which is so far from the truth it cannot be taken seriously.

Ivan,
You missed your vocation. Thats the best I've heard in a long time.

Brgds

Bill

[Tony Wilding]

Good evening Bill, please accept my apologies, i assumed, wrongly, it referred to all signals, not just from the lookouts bell signals, thanks for clarifying my mistaken line of thought, feel a right plonker now, ! regards, Tony W.

[Ivan Cloherty]

It is and was dangerous that's why BLUE Flue ships were built with three rows of rivets where other ships had two rows, BF had four rows of rivets where others had three etc etc and also Blue Flue carried their own insurance because no other company would insure them because they had their own rules of the road and contrary signals, the other insurers knew that collisions were inevitable, as did BF that is why their ships were built stronger.

You will no doubt be given another reason, but the above is nearer the truth

Tony,

You really should read the posts more clearly as this BF anomaly is detailed in several previous posts relates to the look out man on the foc'sle head reporting his sightings to the officer on the Bridge. Nothing to do with what I have underlined in the quote. Your misunderstanding has thrown poor Ivan into a tizz with talk of triple rows of rivets, self insurance and god knows what else all of which is so far from the truth it cannot be taken seriously.

Ivan,
You missed your vocation. Thats the best I've heard in a long time.

Brgds

Bill

Ah Bill, you are so serious you cannot see when the Blue Flue is being taken out of you, it was written to invite your exocet and it worked

[Captain Kong]

Saiing Vessel
Bill, before I retired and home on leave one time, I volunteered to go as crew on the Leeuwin a sailing vessel registered here in Fremantle. We had 50 or so youngsters on board and were only out for the day. The only 3 paid crew were the skipper the engineer and the cook. The skipper was a retired deep sea master and knew I was at sea, so told me to take her out doing the steering, and whilst out in the roads to show the youngsters how to steer. These 2 particular kids 1 boy and 1 girl hung around me all the time. The boy was an arrogant little S.O.B. and if he had been my son would have received a good hiding. However after a couple of hours outside and doing some of the steering with the sails up his total demeanour changed. The girl and him were fighting to do the steering coming back into port and had to chase them both off the wheel. They must have been under 15 as werent allowed to go aloft. However on reberthing the boy came up to me and apologised for his previous behaviour and said he only wished his father had been there to see him. He said it had been the best day of his life, he obviously came from a priviliged background. It made the whole exercise worthwhile. Such training for youngsters does bring out some of the better things in some youngsters. Cheers John Sabourn.[/I].
.
.

. Hi John,
I sailed on the LEEUWIN in 2007 on a trip out of Fremantle. My Avatar is me at 72 leaping aloft the foremast.
There was a Scotsman Shantyman there at the time.
An excellent day trip.
I had a look at her a few weeks ago when I was in Freo, it was a Sunday and no one was on board.
Cheers
Brian.
MY PICTURES 2.jpgHOLIDAYS 1121.jpg[I] Up the foremast and hoisting the mainsail. on the LEEUWIN.

[Capt Bill Davies]

John/Brian,

You two must be far fitter than me. Last year I had a bad accident falling off a MF tractor which left me very much an observer these days.
All the power to your arm if you can still do it. I would not be able to do anything like that.

Brgds

Bill

[John Arton]

The captain of that cruise ship that hit the bridge should have gone full speed approaching it, then squat just may have given him enough clearance.
There was a film on telly recently about a very large brand new cruise ship that had to pass under the bridge linking Denmark and Sweden and they had calculated that they had inches clearance so to give them a bigger margin of safety they went full tilt at it and the ship squat gave them an extra foot if I recall correctly.
Regarding Blue Flue and there whistle signals am I correct in thinking that on USA Rivers once above a certain point, whistle signals are reversed. Shure I read that somewhere as it caused a nasty collision back in the 60/70's, or is my memory getting worse?
rgds
Capt. John Arton (ret'd)

[Capt Bill Davies]

The captain of that cruise ship that hit the bridge should have gone full speed approaching it, then squat just may have given him enough clearance.
There was a film on telly recently about a very large brand new cruise ship that had to pass under the bridge linking Denmark and Sweden and they had calculated that they had inches clearance so to give them a bigger margin of safety they went full tilt at it and the ship squat gave them an extra foot if I recall correctly.
Regarding Blue Flue and there whistle signals am I correct in thinking that on USA Rivers once above a certain point, whistle signals are reversed. Shure I read that somewhere as it caused a nasty collision back in the 60/70's, or is my memory getting worse?
rgds
Capt. John Arton (ret'd)

John,

I cannot comment on any whistle signals peculiar to BF and or what happens in certain US rivers.
The BF anomaly I have mentioned relates to the ' Lookout man on the foc'sle' ringing the bell'

Brgds

Bill