martyboy2 of Britain
A Sailors Misfortune.
When l was a young sailor and sailing the Worlds oceans l discovered that it was inevitable that at some stage of the voyage l would encounter one of these bad storms. At sea storms would not take long to materialize and would often stay with you for a few days. First of all you would notice the wind picking up and waves getting larger.
ln a bad storm not only does the ship keel side to side to nearly 30 degrees but the ships bow would go into such a deep trough that your stern would raise out of the water revealing a spinning propeller which would make the whole ship vibrate.
As your bow hit the wave sea water would cover the whole deck and its spray would cover the wheelhouse and ships funnel. Needless to say that all watertight doors were battened down to prevent seawater from entering the interior of the ship.
l also learnt that steering a ship through a bad storm was also one of the most hardest tasks that could be expected of you. Modern ships these days are mainly computerised including the course a ship steers to its destination. ln days long ago the steering of a ship was manual.
lf you are on helmsman duty in the ships wheelhouse you have both hands on the ships wheel. Just above the wheel is a rudder angle indicator which shows you how your rudder is facing. Above that is the ships compass. On the bulkhead opposite in large figures is the course that you are instructed to steer. As you are in a bad storm your bow is not steering the straight desired course. You have to compensate using the angle of the rudder whether it is to Port or Starboard. You did an hour on the ships wheel until you were relieved of duty for an hour. You would then make your way to the mess room. lt would be impossible to have a meal. The constant roaring of waves hitting the ship was a bit off putting. There was no getting away from what was going on outside no where to go. My memories are still very vivid
A Sailors Misfortune.
When l was a young sailor and sailing the Worlds oceans l discovered that it was inevitable that at some stage of the voyage l would encounter one of these bad storms. At sea storms would not take long to materialize and would often stay with you for a few days. First of all you would notice the wind picking up and waves getting larger.
ln a bad storm not only does the ship keel side to side to nearly 30 degrees but the ships bow would go into such a deep trough that your stern would raise out of the water revealing a spinning propeller which would make the whole ship vibrate.
As your bow hit the wave sea water would cover the whole deck and its spray would cover the wheelhouse and ships funnel. Needless to say that all watertight doors were battened down to prevent seawater from entering the interior of the ship.
l also learnt that steering a ship through a bad storm was also one of the most hardest tasks that could be expected of you. Modern ships these days are mainly computerised including the course a ship steers to its destination. ln days long ago the steering of a ship was manual.
lf you are on helmsman duty in the ships wheelhouse you have both hands on the ships wheel. Just above the wheel is a rudder angle indicator which shows you how your rudder is facing. Above that is the ships compass. On the bulkhead opposite in large figures is the course that you are instructed to steer. As you are in a bad storm your bow is not steering the straight desired course. You have to compensate using the angle of the rudder whether it is to Port or Starboard. You did an hour on the ships wheel until you were relieved of duty for an hour. You would then make your way to the mess room. lt would be impossible to have a meal. The constant roaring of waves hitting the ship was a bit off putting. There was no getting away from what was going on outside no where to go. My memories are still very vivid