Marine Engineers

[chinatyke]

Some ports were too unionised and refused to move with the times when containers came along. Good riddance to those bad old days of manual handling, you were lucky to get a load that was intact and undamaged. And the dockers...enough said.

[Stanley]

I have told many stories about that. I once saw them steal three Massey Ferguson tractors going for export.....

[Wendyf]

Thought you might like to see this video clip of the MV Hamnavoe leaving Hoy Sound yesterday. I found it when I went to check my friend's facebook page to see if she had survived the winds on Orkney.
link

[Thomo]

Having seen several clips of this vessel in poor weather, there is little doubt that she is a good "sea keeper" and responds well to a head sea without developing any roll. In order to keep the contents of a passengers stomach within however, I would not recommend drinking milky coffee. I notice that throughout the "porpoising" action that she never takes a "green ride", this due to the careful consideration of her design. She was originally to have been built by Fergusons on the Clyde, but due to some dispute she was built in Finland instead. I would quite happily go to sea on such a ship. Thank you Wendy.

[Tizer]

There are some photos of the Scillonian III leaving Penzance on this web site. One of the holiday cottages we visit in Cornwall has a similar view and it's not uncommon to see her ploughing her way out looking like this. I've got a book on the history of Penzance and it has an old B&W photo of one of the earlier Scillonians trying to dock at Penzance in heavy seas. It was in shouting distance of the quayside but leaning at about 45 degrees!
http://aroundperranuthnoe.blogspot.co.u ... n-iii.html

[Stanley]

I seem to have lost a post I put up earlier. I was remarking that the pictures reminded me of being on the Loch Mor in heavy seas, always felt safe but when the seas slammed into the bow and shook the whole ship I couldn't help hoping that the welders at Ailsa Shipbuilders had been fully certified!

[Tizer]

Large container ship runs aground near Ardnamurchan...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-h ... s-31515061

US pays Philippines over USS Guardian reef damage....
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-31514221

[Invernahaille]

Good posting Tizer.
Looking at the pictures the ships stern seems to be in deep water. So it will still be able to use its own power in assisting recovery

[Stanley]

I'll be interested to find out how they managed to do it! Ardnamurchan sticks out far enough!

[Stanley]

See THIS for news of the re-floating of the 7,000ton cargo ship that ran aground off Ardnamurchan point. It looks as though they have got away with only minor damage and no serious pollution. A lucky escape! We have still no news of what caused the grounding in the first place in a well marked seaway....

[Invernahaille]

Star Gazers? Lol

[Thomo]

Or "I Phone, I Pad" etc!!!

[Invernahaille]

Lysblink Seaways update.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q= ... zGOHxw5r5Q

[Stanley]

Thanks for that Robert. Still no cause for the original grounding. Loss of propulsion or steering? I'm a nosey bugger, I like to know why!

[Tizer]

Captain's girlfriend on the bridge? It seems to have happened on the Carnival cruise liner off Italy...or is it only Italians who go in for that?

[Tripps]

I keep thinking of Captain Bertorelli from 'Allo 'allo, when I see that news story.

[Stanley]

My mind goes back to a mate of mine who was a Lt Commander in the Wavy Navy. It was his turn to play with a mine sweeper in Portsmouth Harbour and when he ordered hard astarboard the steering jammed and they were an object of great interest as they circled slowly. It turned out that during recent repairs the fitters had omitted the stop on the end of the quadrant on the rudder post so the gear ran off the end.... It took him a long time to live that one down!

[Invernahaille]

I had a Birthday recently and I unexpectedly got a present from an old shipmate. A bottle of Pussurs Rum. Not the regular Navy Rum, but the syrup kind you have to water down. Standard Navy issue. I havnt seen this around for years. Still goes down well.

[Stanley]

Many happy returns Robert. Is your rum the same breed as this? Doc gave it to me.... Another old Navy man!

[Invernahaille]

Stanley.
No this is not what I received. It was almost a reddy Black colour and really thick 180 Proof. You have to dilute it.

[Stanley]

You must have the proper unleaded version!

[Tizer]

It should be sold in those ribbed `poison' bottles and with a locked cap to prevent unauthorised persons accessing it!

[Stanley]

I can't match 140 proof but I'd recommend either of these.....

[Tizer]

When I was in the food industry we used to get people asking why couldn't we make powdered alcoholic drinks, `just add water'. At first we had to explain that alcohol was a liquid too, so you'd have to add alcohol as well as water. Then microencapsulation arrived and it became possible to make a powdered alcoholic drink. Now, that might sound useful for G&T at a picnic but can you imagine what some unscrupulous manufacturers might do with the idea? Think kids and alcopops!
http://news.utoronto.ca/powdered-alcoho ... rink-today

[Invernahaille]

Eight Bells.
Time for cocktails!!