Safety of life at sea; lifeboat capacity.

[Des Taff Jenkins]

HI Dave .
Welcome to the site and hope you enjoy your stay with us. I was at sea from 49 to the 60s and sailed on all kinds of ships with different lifeboats; some with oars, some with push me pull you propeller, the best was on an RFA tanker where there were steel lids that slid across the top of the boat to prevent flames or seas coming aboard.
I haven't sailed on one of the modern cruise liners, I am waiting for that fateful day when one of them will have to abandon ship, and not alongside like that Italian, I fear most people wouldn't know where their lifebelts would be kept, when we had lifeboat drill while emigrating to NZ on the Southern Cross in 57 80% of the passengers arrived at their boat station without them.
Start posting some of your memories.
Cheers Des
redc.gif

[happy daze john in oz]

#5... As long as it wasn't a lisp and something else in his mouth. JS

Which can be difficult on a UCL ship.

[happy daze john in oz]

#5 the fag wasn't the officers steward was he ?

Oh you are awful, but we still like you. But then the officers steward in charge was known to be a fan of such 'smokes'.

[j.sabourn]

#11.. Des that would have been the old type of kapok jacket as well. No where near as bulky as the modern jacket, believe at the time when the rules regarding such were changed there was a bit of scandal as one of the MPs in Parliament had shares in the firm supplying the new jackets. Everywhere you go they seem to have their fingers in the pie. When Lou was talking about the old lifeboats, the biggest discussion after the war was the advantages and disadvantages of flush or clinker built boats. With 15 man crews they will soon be able to supply everyone with a fasten on the back miniature helicopter. Cheers John S.

[robpage]

I remember putting one in the Water off the King Arthur , every plank leaked , the Mate had them all in soak off one side for a couple of days , made mental note if this ferking ship sinks go to a starboard boat , the Port ones leak

[j.sabourn]

#15 That's a clinker built one Rob. JS

[robpage]

Yes they were Clinker , with bloody great gaps between each plank

[Keith Tindell]

I can remember not many years ago anti fouling a boat i owned of carvel construction, and as i applied the anti foul, i could see through the gaps of the planks, and my wife who was cleaning inside. When we launched the boat i slept on board for the night, but incredibly she had taken up in a matter of hours. Only needed to pump her out of a small ammount of water every few days. Quite normal in wooden boats, especially ships lifeboats, in the tropics cooking well, KT

[robpage]

After the mate realised the gaps were huge they flooded the boats on the port side with the Bungs in , and they took up with in two days , the starboard boats after an overnight soak all took up , but I was not used to the High Tech facilities of King Line Tramp ships . I think they were a unique experience , Fortunately I joined one in Mombasa , homeward bound after fourteen months out there was much unhappiness amongst the crew . Water was rationed , pumps on between 06:00 and 07:00 each day , salt water showers , A Highland Chief engineer who was bordering on being lunatic , a Srl Lankan second Engineer , a Deck cargo of elephant and Water Buffalo , Animal crap everywhere . It was like being on a floating Zoo , So if the Lifeboats leaked that was a minor problem , The Mate was on his third or fourth bout of some stomach bug that meant 12:00 noon sandwich in 12:05 Sandwich out , he had dysentery , but it kept coming back . Not my best trip , but King Line had that affect on quite a few people

[Ivan Cloherty]

Perhaps Mr Bridgen's S O S was real, we've answered his questions, but he seems to have sunk without trace, perhaps he could fire a rocket if he is still with us