Assisting ships in distress

[j.sabourn]

Cappy what ship were you on. Were you on the buoy with the anchor hung off? Was there in that area about that time if memory serves right. Must have been one of the times you got the proverbial water in your seaboot. Cheers John Sabourn.

[John Albert Evans]

I was galley boy on the San Fernando en route from Curacao to BA and somewhere off the Brazillian coast, this woiuld be around 1957/8. I was on the flying, bridge going from aft to midships when I saw what appeared to be a lifeboat way away on the port side, it kept dissapearing in the swell, i watched for a while then went to the bridge and told the Officer of the watch what I had seen, he looked and eventually saw it and called the Captain. We did a U turn and went to the boat. It was in fact a small fishing boat with men on board who did not need help but they thanked the Captain for his assistance. I thought I was in for a telling off from the Captain but he thanked me and said its always better to be safe then sorry.
John Albert EVans.

[Red Lead Ted]

Following the Costa Concordia episode, The crew are desperate for assistance now lads. There are that many empty rooms they will go under if they dock in the uk, Bedroom Tax. Terry.

[j.sabourn]

As in latter years I had to work with people offshore who thought they were seamen, I grew I suppose to think like them, sometimes in an unseamanlike manner. When they used to talk about wave height, in the earlier years I used to say what do you mean, as to me the swell height used to be expressed first and then the height of the sea on top of the swell. In the finish I assumed they wanted the total height. I used to give them my estimated height of such i.e. The total height. Perhaps someone with an interest in such could clarify as even myself now get confused on the proper way of reporting. John Sabourn

[Ivan Cloherty]

John, always thought it was from the bottom of the trough to the breaking spume Rgds Ivan

[j.sabourn]

Thats the info. more or less required by some of the oil companys. However thinking back to doing weather reports if a reporting ship, before the advent of spy in the skys technology, swell period direction and height , also wave direction period and height. One of many incidents I remember was a rig I was attending reported 100 foot waves going through his legs. As I was blown 28 miles to the south and couldnt hold station, I had my doubts about this.However our never wrong media reported it as such. I would have reported as a 40 foot swell and maybe a 6o foot wave action on top. Maybe in this case the waves and swell were running with a similar direction and period. Cheers John Sabourn

[Ivan Cloherty]

John, the question was niggling away at me, so dusted off my Admiralty Manual of Seamanship Volume II 1909, anticipating a definitive answer..............woe is me............there were seven pages of information and calculations working out heights and motions of waves based on the 'trochoid curve' system of measurement. I have neither the will or time to regale all with replicating the pages but as far as I can ascertain, when I woke up from reading it, it boils down to 'from the bottom of the trough to the breaking spume' depending whether or not you are deep sea or in coastal waters where different criteria are used.

There are other methods of measuring wave height mentioned such as, when steaming alongside another vessel which are best observed from the top of a mast when it is possible to measure the wave height against the known measurements of the vessel which is steaming alongside when it is at the bottom of a trough, these measurements should not be ascertaind from the ship's bridge as a full picture will not be observed which is why they should be observed from the top of a mast.
Rgds

[j.sabourn]

Ivan you must be a hoarder keeping books so long 1909 ( just joking) The only book I still have is Nories Nautical Tables. I did keep my shipmasters business for a couple of years but gave to someone more appreciative. All went otherwise in 1963 think I had a bonfire in the back garden. As regards seamanship books like to think I learnt from the seamen of the day, all the fancy knots, bell ropes etc. could never follow a diagraqm in a book. Anyhow never had any money to purchase and think the only book I had was Reeds Seamanship, cant imagine any of todays seafarers taken the time either to read this as goes back to the years you mention. I keep Nories as being a bit old fashioned I still use converion tables etc. that it has. Cheers John Sabourn

[Ivan Cloherty]

John, can't help myself, if I see an old nautical book in a shop, the wallet usually comes out and the book is mine. Initially wasn't going to buy this 1909 tome as its mostly RN, but what a godsend it has been at times. Being a Naval book it is aimed at specialists in the service, (unlike ours where-in we have to be a 'Jack of all Trades') and goes into things in much more detail than Nicholl's Seamanship, The Bosun's Manual, etc etc though it can be very conusing to an old brain at times.

Like you knots were best learnt from your elders on board, but having been asked to make a knot board for my local watering hole some moons ago and thinking bluddy hell how many can I remember, and although it was quite a few, not enough to make a good board, then low and behold whilst browsing in a second hand book shop came across 'This is the colour book of Knots' by Floris Hin in mint condition (ISBN 0-7136-3391-3) Last reprint 1995 I think. What a benefit that was to my ailing memory and easy to follow as the seperate strands were coloured in the illustrations, so I just coloured the ends of my strands (which were going to be cut off anyway) and knotting was easy.

[Red Lead Ted]

John, can't help myself, if I see an old nautical book in a shop, the wallet usually comes out and the book is mine. Initially wasn't going to buy this 1909 tome as its mostly RN, but what a godsend it has been at times. Being a Naval book it is aimed at specialists in the service, (unlike ours where-in we have to be a 'Jack of all Trades') and goes into things in much more detail than Nicholl's Seamanship, The Bosun's Manual, etc etc though it can be very conusing to an old brain at times.

Like you knots were best learnt from your elders on board, but having been asked to make a knot board for my local watering hole some moons ago and thinking bluddy hell how many can I remember, and although it was quite a few, not enough to make a good board, then low and behold whilst browsing in a second hand book shop came across 'This is the colour book of Knots' by Floris Hin in mint condition (ISBN 0-7136-3391-3) Last reprint 1995 I think. What a benefit that was to my ailing memory and easy to follow as the seperate strands were coloured in the illustrations, so I just coloured the ends of my strands (which were going to be cut off anyway) and knotting was easy.

Its like riding a bike mate, You never forget when it comes to Bends and Hitches, I was having the same conversation regarding boxing the compass, Knots etc.... One of the lads actually knocked up a painting stage out of a plank of scaffold with the cross trees either end, out of 4 of us we all passed with flying colours, Even to remember one end outside turns the other inside, Its second nature I suppose, If you were at the helm steering by points not giro, And were given an order to alter course I imagine it would be the same. Try and do a back splice in a length of Hemp you can pick up n a beach it all comes natural. Regards all Terry.