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I prefer the air myself.
Things can still get rough but you can usually fly above, below or out of it.

If I were on seas that rough, I know I'd be struggling with slippery footing.
It wouldn't be water I was slipping on!
:big:

Rick
 
LOL Rick! I know what you mean. We had a couple guys that had trouble keeping their lunch.

At the time I was sailing I also drank rather heavily. My land-based friends wondered how I could sit in a bar all day and still walk in a straight line at closing time.
Try walking while drunk on a rocking rolling ship. Practice makes perfect :)

Of course I can't do that today. That was more than 30 years ago.
 
The build up to losing your lunch is far worse than the event itself. When it's behind you it's time to find a block of chocolate. The things that really pissed me off in heavy weather are.

Every door/drawer fights you to open it but manages to close itself before you hands/feet have completed their journey through/out of said door/drawer.

There is no hot food because it's too dangerous for the cooks to make any.

The only way into and out of the engine/boiler room in some ships is via the upper deck. When it's bad the trip is hazardous both ways. When it's very bad you're stuck there. My record was 48 hours looking for a missing submarine. When I went on watch above the engine room entrance was a 32ft Motor Cutter in the davits. 2 days later it had gone. Just another one of the unexplained bangs and crashes we endured.

PS I hate black coffee.............. ran out of milk in the 1st 12 hours.
 
Wow!! @ 2:06 in that video :bow: :bow:

The memories of being at sea...
 
Watching that destroyer/destroyer escort drop out of site was pretty impressive!

That looks like your earning your wage for sure!

Dave
 
Great pictures. I just retired after spending 25 years on seismic ships.
 
Crackers. I always loaded up on saltine crackers, expecially before a midwatch in heavy seas. Seemed to help.

Rudy
 
And to think I used to ENJOY when we ran into weather like this at sea



Ya know Kevin, I usually don't mind at all when it's rough...but I've never been in that before...or even close to that!

But I'd do it! ONCE! You'd have to ask me afterwoulds if I'd do it again though! :big:

 
I agree with Bob except that I take my coffee black only.

On a merchant ship if you get caught in something like that it will be a few days running before there is any real sleep. I have had chairs break free and try to get in the rack with me. Doors try to kill you tools fly off the racks, things tied down seam to break free.

With no or little sleep for a few days and being on a ship with variable gravity it is really no fun.

Dan
 
steamer said:
You'd have to ask me afterwoulds if I'd do it again though! :big:

Consider yourself lucky to be in a position where you have a choice. ;D

Best Regards
Bob
 
I do Bob....every day....I give thanks to those who stand to do violence so that I may sleep soundly in my bed.

:bow:
 
Do it, Dave! You'll never regret it. Or forget it!

Dan Rowe said:
On a merchant ship if you get caught in something like that it will be a few days running before there is any real sleep. I have had chairs break free and try to get in the rack with me. Doors try to kill you tools fly off the racks, things tied down seam to break free.

With no or little sleep for a few days and being on a ship with variable gravity it is really no fun.

Dan

Yep, have to agree for the most part. That's why you always hook the doors open, except on open deck. Then it's dog em down tight!
Cabinets and lockers never seemed to stay closed, they always found a way to open and empty themselves. Usually if something hit the deck it stayed there till things calmed down. Tie it up to keep from moving, but don't put back up on the shelf or bin. Woke up many times with a chair in bed with me.

I didn't really care for losing sleep, but I did enjoy the excitement of rough weather most of the time.

I sailed a T2 class oil tanker. You can read about them here http://www.t2tanker.org/
 
Dan Rowe said:
I agree with Bob except that I take my coffee black only.

On a merchant ship if you get caught in something like that it will be a few days running before there is any real sleep. I have had chairs break free and try to get in the rack with me. Doors try to kill you tools fly off the racks, things tied down seam to break free.

With no or little sleep for a few days and being on a ship with variable gravity it is really no fun.

Dan


I have no doubt Dan! Maybe I'm just coming to grips with my own mortality and mis spent youth.

Lot's of things go pear shaped on flat water! :big:

Dave
 
ksouers said:
I sailed a T2 class oil tanker.

Kevin,
Most of the T-2 tankers were cut up for scrap by the time I stated working as a marine engineer. I will admit rough weather was exciting but it comes in the form of an old Chinese curse "May your life be exciting."

The SS Marine Electric was a T-2 that was lost with only 3 crew members saved. This and the and the loss of the SS Poet with only one man saved are the reason that all US merchant ships now have survival suits in every crew members cabin.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Marine_Electric

I have lost friends and classmates to the sea.
I was lucky and had the same number of departures as arrivals.

Dan
 
Memories...... The Demise of Jack Tar
The traditional male sailor was not defined by his looks. He was defined by his attitude; his name was Jack Tar. He was a happy go lucky sort of a bloke; he took the good times with the bad. He didn't cry victimisation, discrimination or for his mum when things didn't go his way. He took responsibility for his own, sometimes, self-destructive actions. He loved a laugh at anything or anybody. Rank, gender, race, creed or behaviour, it didn't matter to Jack, he would take the piss out of anyone, including himself. If someone took it out of him he didn't get offended; it was a natural part of life. If he offended someone else, so be it. Free from many of the rules of polite society, Jack's manners were somewhat rough. His ability to swear was legendary. He would stand up for his mates. Jack was extravagant with his support to those he thought needed it. He may have been right or wrong, but that didn't matter. Jack's mate was one of the luckiest people alive. Jack loved women. He loved to chase them to the ends of the earth and sometimes he even caught one. (Less often than he would have you believe though) His tales of the chase and its conclusion win or lose, is the stuff of legends. Jack's favourite drink was beer, and he could drink it like a fish. His actions when inebriated would, on occasion, land him in trouble. But, he took it on the chin, did his punishment and then went and did it all again. Jack loved his job. He took an immense pride in what he did. His radar was always the best in the fleet. His engines always worked better than anyone else's. His eyes could spot a contact before anyone else's and shoot at it first. It was a matter of personal pride. Jack was the consummate professional when he was at work and sober. He was a bit like a mischievous child. He had a gleam in his eye and a larger than life outlook. He was as rough as guts. You had to be pig headed and thick skinned to survive. He worked hard and played hard. His masters tut-tutted at some of his more exuberant expressions of joie de vivre, and the occasional bout of number 9's or stoppage let him know where his limits were.
The late 20th Century and on, has seen the demise of Jack. The workplace no longer echoes with ribald comment and bawdy tales. Someone is sure to take offence. Where as, those stories of daring do and ingenuity in the face of adversity, usually whilst pissed, lack the audacity of the past. A wicked sense of humour is now a liability, rather than a necessity. Jack has been socially engineered out of existence. What was once normal is now offensive. Denting someone else's over inflated opinion of their own self worth is now a crime. And so a culture dies...
 
Maryak said:
A wicked sense of humour is now a liability, rather than a necessity. Jack has been socially engineered out of existence. What was once normal is now offensive. Denting someone else's over inflated opinion of their his own self worth is now a crime. And so a culture dies...

How did you know what I was thinking? Remember, it ain't libel if it's true.
 

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