Query/Gibraltar/ Lloyds

[j.sabourn]

Seem to remember the occasional call on the lamp from Landsend in the earlier years Des.. vHF radio made a lazier lifestyle. Think the vHF was first made compulsory on running to Montreal otherwise the pilot had to bring his own and the shipowner . was charged for it. That was when Runcimans first got VHF ., must have been in the early60s or late 50s There was always money involved on any improvement made on merchant ships. JS ..
Flags and visual communications today seem to get a back place in the scheme of things , even watchkeeping when I retired , at times used to shudder when I saw the reliance they put on radar , that’s the way they seem to think today ,instead of putting more reliance on their own feelings for any untoward developing situation. Anyway the balls in their court and the. Best of luck to them, they may need it sometime. JS ..

[happy daze john in oz]

As I recall from my time as officers steward they were called 'sparkies' and could drink almost as much as the 'ginger beers'.
Though it did at times take some doing but they could hold their own.
Not like the deckies on the upper deck, G&T most likely for them.
Cared for by the officers steward in charge.

[Des Taff Jenkins]

Hi John.
I heard that Runciman's only put those VHF's on their ships so they could wake up the Galley boys like Cappy to get the galley stoves lit.
Des

[j.sabourn]

Think when Cappy came home DBS he was on the 12/4 and doing his normal 4 hrs a day. On the wheel , the lack of a Lecky probably meant the B type gyro compass would of been wandering and he would of had to be steering by standard compass so the ship probably took twice as long to get home. A 5 degree snake used to lose 10 miles in every 100 so can imagine what a 50 degree snake did . JS
Some of those steering certificates were very expensive, and propellor slip covered a multitude of sins , and many arguments with the the chiefs log book figures., and mysterious currents appearing out of nowhere ? JS

[happy daze john in oz]

But no matter how good the system it can always fail.
On the Paparoa outside of the Red Sea we had engine troubles, adrift for about two days.
Captain North asked the chief officer where we were
His reply, no sun cannot see where we are just now!!!!!!

[cappy]

0n the avonmoor ....she was so old nothing worked.......but for a compass we had a little tin fish hanging from the deckead.......which always swung to north .....we just did our best to keep iether side of it coming up from oz.. ...the prob was if anyone came into the bridge from the weather side the breeze hit the little fish spun it around .....and before you knew it you had completed a bleedin circle...........HONEST........R683532

[Denis O'Shea]

#25, should have got Sparks to get a couple of DF bearings with you. Den

[j.sabourn]

D/F bearings were always a. Last resort Denis. At the best finished up with a big cocked hat. The correction for half convergency was only the one correction I can remember which is sewn into the brain and was half dlong times cosine latitude .and the figure you used were only DR. The biggest error however was operators error. As for Johns Sun position if he got a sight would only give him a position line and would have to wait till noon to get a latitude to tell Captain North if they were north or south of his goodselve . Cheers JS
The error for half convergency was to convert a radio bearing to a mercatorial bearing and thus suitable for putting on a mercator chart... JS

[happy daze john in oz]

What you need is an Aborigeny and tell him to find the VB stores.
He wil find the way there no worries mate.
Better than a fish can.

[j.sabourn]

He would just walk along the position line until he came to it John. Believe they are good hunters so would be sniffing the air as he went. JS