Falling astern?

[E.Martin]

Remember reading many years ago that a trawler in bad weather fell down a big steep wave backwards.
Has any one out there have knowingly experienced any thing similar?

[cappy]

no thank you......regards cappy

[Ivan Cloherty]

Don't know about going backwards, but when trawling at 3 to 4 knots and that extra large sea came along, you know the one which the mathematical profilers' said couldn't possibly exist***, you seemed to stand still and it seemed as if there was no control over the vessel, never thought about it as going backwards, probably too sh*t scared to think about anything properly.

*** they of course since been proved wrong since the advent of the satelite observations

[j.sabourn]

Have certainly been blown backwards, so must have at some time during that time did as you describe. I was on about 7 old type sidewinders apart from the stern trawlers. Although not fishing, and all the fishing gear taken off, still maintained all the characteristics of same. One incident I can remember and there must have been others, was during gale and near storm conditions we finished well over 50 miles off station and finished up being blown south in the North Sea. It was the same time as the Rig/platform reported a 100 foot sea going through its legs, that must have given him a thrill. The trawlers all seemed to have different sailing qualities than the average other ship, they lay across the sea quite comfortably and in other vessels would have been quite worried. Talking to people off the rigs they used to say the trawlers used to disappear in the huge swells and used to think they had been swamped, this was really not happening as what I saw of them they had the driest decks of any other type of vessel I sailed on in the offshore industry. However when fishing with gear over the side I wouldnt know as this would certainly restrict their righting levers. If talking to a layman and asked to describe the different sailing qualities would describe the trawler as like a cork, as used to ride a sea rather than plough through it. Cheers JS

[Ivan Cloherty]

John, trawlers took to rolling better than any other vessel I sailed on, designed to be seaworthy beam on as it helped when pulling in the nets and bobbins, as you heaved them in with the roll, but they could rattle your teeth when steaming home in a gale, very rarely took water over the bow, but a lot at the waist, think I've mentioned before the trawlermen's cure for first trippers feeling seasick, tie them to the foc'le rails facing for'd, you soon forget about being sick as she plunges up and down and you see those bloody great waves coming towards you which then rolled away under the bow, but at 13 years old you were not aware that they would roll under you, never was seasick in my time at sea, imagine 'elf n safeti' today with that cure

[Peter F Chard]

About my second trip to sea as Junior Engineer on the " SOMALI " - a 10000 GRT freighter with two 6 cylinder Doxfords and southbound in The Bay of Biscay. The weather was so bad that we actually did lose ground during a 72 hour period. The engines were down to 30 RPM but the ship was rolling so much that first one propeller would come out of the water and overspeed so much that the engine governor would trip and shut the fuel off and then the ship would roll the other way and the other engine would overspeed and trip the governor. We had engineers stationed by each governor having to manually re-set the governors each time they tripped -- this was not easy and there was a chance your arm would get caught in the linkages and be ripped off !! We also shipped a wave that swamped the bridge and totally wrecked our starboard lifeboat. All very exciting but scary when thinking about it later, Regards Peter in NZ

[j.sabourn]

The only time I have been worried about a ship re weather was on a 35,000 ton Deadweight geared bulk carrier. If hadn't been a new ship and had good weather on passage Esperance to Durban am sure the ship would of broke up.. The ship was not loaded correctly and I kicked up about it, but on the insistence of the master via the owners was loaded the way they wanted. Am sure under different weather and conditions she would have broken in two. I felt so bad about it that on return to UK was called into the office in London and told how lucrative the past 13 months of the ship had been and I was going to be offered a masters job in the company. I brought up the extremely unsafe practice that had been carried out, their excuse was that they had misread the stability and strength criterion that myself and the Ch. Eng. had worked out and sent via the master. I told them to stick their ships up their backside preferably sideways and walked out of the office. One of the pinstriped jerks ran down the street after me trying to placate me on my way to the tube station. One always got a sense of a ship and its capabilities, and as long as you had proper seamen with you who also realized the proper way to secure a ship was OK. It was when you were landed with some of these crews including the officers who lacked a lot of experience that one got worried. JS

[Des Taff Jenkins]

Hi All.
when the film the Perfect Storm came out about the loss off the sword fishing boat Andrea Gail
it showed the boat sliding backwards down a giant wave, no imagination needed to see what could have happened as I have been in seas up to 100 feet high. The loss of the passenger ship [Wharata ?]of the east coast of South Africa was put down to her falling into a huge hole caused by massive waves, been many instances recorded where ships have survived such drops.
Cheers Des

redc.gif

[Captain Kong]

I was taking a ship through the Downs from the Thames to Newhaven to get a bit of a lee off the land.

It was the night of the Hurricane when Sevenoaks in Kent became Oneoak. over 100 knots.
As I neared the corner of Dover the we got the full force of the hurricane, we started to go astern even tho` the engines were Full Ahead, The Goodwin Sands were getting closer, could see the sea breaking over so I went hard a starboard brought her round and went to an anchorage off Deal Pier,
I then get a phone call from the Ship Manager who lives in the New Forest in Hampshire. "Are you in Newhaven yet. ?" I said `No` he says "Why Not" I said `I am anchored off Deal` he went berserk Get your ar5e into Newhaven NOW. "I said it is blowin over 100 knots, ` he says "There is no wind here, get down here. " I just hung up the phone and didn't answer any more.
So in the newspapers next day big headlines about the hurricane, so he was very quiet after that.
Brian

[Shaun Gander]

I was taking a ship through the Downs from the Thames to Newhaven to get a bit of a lee off the land.

It was the night of the Hurricane when Sevenoaks in Kent became Oneoak. over 100 knots.
As I neared the corner of Dover the we got the full force of the hurricane, we started to go astern even tho` the engines were Full Ahead, The Goodwin Sands were getting closer, could see the sea breaking over so I went hard a starboard brought her round and went to an anchorage off Deal Pier,
I then get a phone call from the Ship Manager who lives in the New Forest in Hampshire. "Are you in Newhaven yet. ?" I said `No` he says "Why Not" I said `I am anchored off Deal` he went berserk Get your ar5e into Newhaven NOW. "I said it is blowin over 100 knots, ` he says "There is no wind here, get down here. " I just hung up the phone and didn't answer any more.
So in the newspapers next day big headlines about the hurricane, so he was very quiet after that.
Brian

I was the Skipper of a small trawler at the time of that hurricane, based in Newhaven.

From what I remember you'd have a little trouble getting in there that night. I recall the telephone call to the (very) helpful and friendly guys in the lookout on the western side of the narrows...I asked how windy it was and his reply was I'm not sure the gauge broke at 117kts.

A large part of the marina broke free and ended up by the ferry ramp. Another funny moment was listening on the port channel when one of the sand boats (IIRC) called up the port control asking for the telephone number of one of the quayside companies. When asked why he needed it his reply was that he wanted them to come and collect theie shed which was now sitting on his deck.

SDG