Bay of Biscay

[Doc Vernon]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKRVkdXxVaU

Oh boy this reminds me so much of a Trip through that notorious Bay at times .it was on the Stirling Castle 1958 and we hit really rough Seas inn the Bay.it was for me a new experience and although a bit wary of this new experience it was really so exciting too,and I never really had a thought of real danger,although it I suppose was there and could have been far worse!
But then I suppose there are many here who have been through both this Bay in bad Weather and far worse in other Areas of the Seas and Oceans of this World!

Of course also in this Video it is of a much Larger Liner,so in fact the old Winchester without Stabilizers would have been far worse,and lower in the Water too.

But its one trip that will always stay with me!
Funny thing in life there is always something that happens that you will never forget!

PS If you just let the Video keep running it brings up more good ones as well!
Cheers

Cheers

[j.sabourn]

Apart from weather Vernon the Bay brings back other memories of what was considered the height of modern and scientific navigational equipment right up well into the eighties, and that was the Decca navigator for those who don't know it consisted of three clocks which gave a reading of Red Green and Purple. One had special Decca charts with these coloured lines on and one applied whatever correction to, and where the lines bisected each other, gave you a position. This coverage was for UK waters and extended approx. to about the halfway mark in the Bay. So after that was back to the trusty old sextant, assuming no one had dropped it during the period not in use. The Bay has received the acclaim of bad weather as other parts of the world, but have made many passages across when it was near enough flat calm. Cheers JWS

[Doc Vernon]

Thank you JS very interesting
Yes indeed I too saw other Trips through the Bay when calm as ever,recall once that it was like a sheet of Glass not a ripple ,strange Mother nature.
What was the name of that called when the Sea is so flat and no movement!
I just cannot remember now!
We had a Thread on it (think it was mine too ??)
Cheers

[j.sabourn]

Flat as a Mill pond??? When doing weather reports and remarking on height of sea was done in numbers zero was flat calm. It is nearly always a bone of contention among people doing such reports as to whether it is the height of the sea or the height of the swell when you see weather people on TV given out such info for small boats. It would be better in most cases if they reported the total height together, so if you had a 4 metre swell and a 6 metre sea running on top of it to report it as a total sea and swell height of 10 metres. A seaman would know what they mean when reporting each height separately but the general public don't. The same as Joe Bloggs ashore repeats the announcers report of a front coming in, they should realize this is a forecast for rain and an increase in wind velocity. A painted ship upon a painted ocean, those were the days. It was not unusual for the sea and swell to run in different directions also. Cheers JWS

[Doc Vernon]

Just came to me JS
Doldrums at Sea! Calm as a sheet of Glass!
Cheers


Found the initial post on it!
http://www.merchant-navy.net/forum/m...light=Doldrums

[j.sabourn]

The Doldrums are an area in equatorial latitudes of light variable winds. It was an area where the old sailing ship masters were quite happy to be clear of, and are records of them towing their ships with the ships boats in an endeavour to clear the area. Anyone for overtime ?? Cheers JWS

[Doc Vernon]

Yep at least knew that JS
Cheers

[Des Taff Jenkins]

Hi Vernon.
Good video, there would have been more green ones coming over the bow on some of the Little ones I was on. I think the Bay held trepidation as it would have been the first day at sea for passengers leaving Southampton at night. I'd say the on the many trips I did through there it would have been fifty fifty as to calm or storm. Would love to have been on that ship in that though, I used to get a thrill in a good storm sometimes, especially acting like a submarine on a fully loaded tanker.
Cheers Des

[Richard Quartermaine]

In October 1947 I was leaning on rail of the old coal fired Raranga as we were crossing The Bay at 8 knots en route to London on a moonlit night. A semi submerged submarine went by in the opposite direction probably about 30 yards away. It wasn't until the next morning that I heard all the fuss about it.

Crossing The Bay from S'hampton in September 1951 outward bound on the Ex Monarch of Bermuda, the immigrant ship New Australia, it was as nasty as I had seen it. Up in the main entry area there were a bunch of larrikins from the Belfast Pool with buckets and mops skidding around and as a poor intending New Aussie cried out "EUROPE" there would be a hail of cheers.

The coal fire Morinda out of Sydney for Lord Howe and Norfolk Islands, New Hebrides and Solomon Islands was a great thrill when we got in high seas and had the title of the only coal buirning submarine operating out of Sydney.
Richard

[happy daze john in oz]

Bay of Biscay, Great Australian Bight two of the roiughest waters I have ever sailed in.

Interesting to not the ship in this video is one of the modern cruise ships, appears to hold up well considering the air depth of her and the overall shape.