Large Scale Central

Costa Concordia

General Discussion
#1

This has absolutely nothing to do with trains , but given the general engineering slant of site members , I am sure you will find it interesting .

The Cruise Ship Costa Concordia , you may recall , did a rather fast drive by of a small Italian port and unfortunately caught its bottom . Badly . Two years ago .

It is being moved , having been refloated , tomorrow for a four day tow to the breakers .

If you try http://www.kielmonitor.de/ ,

and scroll down to the third line of webcams , you will see it forlornly sat just outside the port and still very near to the rock it picked an argument with . Note the number of Tugs restraining it . They have been there for 18 months , some of them . At a couple of gazillion dollars a day . And you think LGB is expensive ?

#2

#3

And I was sworn to secrecy about his new job .

Ah well .

Mike

#4

I don’t think I’ll ride that Cruise Line! And I don’t think the Captain or the person who had the watch at that time will work for any Shipping Line EVER! Last cruise we were on I got a tour of the bridge, only two people there! The officer of the watch and the helmsman! There was one other person, the Whale Lookout! And all the wonderful electronics!

Paul

#5

Paul the last cruise I was on whoever was on the bridge had to perform an emergency turn at speed to avoid a pod of whales directly in front of the boat, the whole boat reeled over to almost 20 degrees, people slipping water pouring out of the pool bottle of liquor flying and breaking… Thought it was something out of the Poseidon Adventure !!!

#6

Once, while transiting the Sea of Japan aboard USS Vincennes (CG 49) at twenty knots on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, the kind of day that they talk about in the recruiting brochures, I noticed a length of inch and a half rope (yes, rope, at some point, it is no longer line, and becomes rope, I think at about the inch in diameter size) held up by buoys, obviously from someone’s fishing net, directly in front of us, about 100 yards off the bow. The last thing I wanted was to run over that and foul the screws at 20 kts. I ordered “Right Full Rudder,” which started the bow pointing to the right. We held that for long enough to move the rope/buoys about 45 degrees relative, then told the helmsman to “Shift Your Rudder,” or move his rudder Left Full, which would swing the stern and screws away from the rope/buoys.

What this did to the ship you can well imagine, two full rudder orders at twenty knots can cause havoc as the ship heels over, first to port, then to starboard, especially to the galley crew and to people in the shower. The galley crew was preparing Sunday dinner, and… the Skipper was in the shower.

While congratulating myself on avoiding fouling the screws, I started fielding calls from the galley and the Skipper, both wondering Whiskey, Tango, Foxtrot!

The Skipper, at least, was understanding… the galley crew… not so much.

#7

Apart from puking in the tail end of a typhoon in the South China Sea (the typhoon carried it over China and I larfd ) my worst incident was the classic holding the quay with one hand and the boat with my foot , and my idiot mate who I was teaching to row let go at his end and I stretched to my full 5 ft with belly clear of the water and my mate panicked and I fell in , still clutching the quay . This resulted in me getting wet and my mate going barmy because he was now stuck in the boat , unable to row .

And I larfed again .

His work at the oars was remeniscent of a paddle steamer . He had to be towed in .

Mike

#8

Mike Morgan said:

Apart from puking in the tail end of a typhoon in the South China Sea (the typhoon carried it over China and I larfd ) my worst incident was the classic holding the quay with one hand and the boat with my foot , and my idiot mate who I was teaching to row let go at his end and I stretched to my full 5 ft with belly clear of the water and my mate panicked and I fell in , still clutching the quay . This resulted in me getting wet and my mate going barmy because he was now stuck in the boat , unable to row .

And I larfed again .

His work at the oars was remeniscent of a paddle steamer . He had to be towed in .

Mike

Revenge is a dish best served cold, right, Mike?

#9

Well , the revenge that hit China was certainly cold , yes .

Every time my mate and I went rowing after this , I got the boat house people to hold the boat , but the humourless nerks wouldn’t let him fall in .

No sense of humour , some people .

Mike

#10

Steve Featherkile said:

Once, while transiting the Sea of Japan aboard USS Vincennes (CG 49) at twenty knots on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, the kind of day that they talk about in the recruiting brochures, I noticed a length of inch and a half rope (yes, rope, at some point, it is no longer line, and becomes rope, I think at about the inch in diameter size) held up by buoys, obviously from someone’s fishing net, directly in front of us, about 100 yards off the bow. The last thing I wanted was to run over that and foul the screws at 20 kts. I ordered “Right Full Rudder,” which started the bow pointing to the right. We held that for long enough to move the rope/buoys about 45 degrees relative, then told the helmsman to “Shift Your Rudder,” or move his rudder Left Full, which would swing the stern and screws away from the rope/buoys.

What this did to the ship you can well imagine, two full rudder orders at twenty knots can cause havoc as the ship heels over, first to port, then to starboard, especially to the galley crew and to people in the shower. The galley crew was preparing Sunday dinner, and… the Skipper was in the shower.

While congratulating myself on avoiding fouling the screws, I started fielding calls from the galley and the Skipper, both wondering Whiskey, Tango, Foxtrot!

The Skipper, at least, was understanding… the galley crew… not so much.

Sounds like standard routine in our outfit. Normal day, something like this comes over 1MC about 1200: “Hand to Dinner. Do you hear there, officer of the watch manouvres commence in 5 minutes time, the ship may take on large angles of heel”.

#11

In the navy, Yes, you can sail the seven seas

In the navy, Yes, you can put your mind at ease

In the navy, In the navy

#12

Big anti-aircraft guns ?

Mike

#13

Mike Morgan said:

Big anti-aircraft guns ?

Mike

Light Cruiser USS Santa Fe, 6 inch naval rifles, for ship to ship action. Some of these rather smaller ships had 8 inch rifles. According to vets, when they fired anyone who wasn’t holding on to something would be knocked off their feet by the shock thru the ship.

#14

Vic , that was a pun commenting on the roll angle .

I make models ships as well .

Mike

#15

Mike Morgan said:

Big anti-aircraft guns ?

Mike

You crack me up, Mike! : )

#16

Vic Smith said:

In the navy, Yes, you can sail the seven seas

In the navy, Yes, you can put your mind at ease

In the navy, In the navy

That first phot is a “Banana Boat” carrier by the look of the superstructure/smokestack.

#17

No flying today then

Unless , that is , the ship is level and the sea is sloping .

Mike

#18

Mike Morgan said:

No flying today then

Unless , that is , the ship is level and the sea is sloping .

Mike

#19

Ross Mansell said:

Mike Morgan said:

No flying today then

Unless , that is , the ship is level and the sea is sloping .

Mike

Two lots of flying tomorrow!!

(Actually, some of these small carriers on the Artic convoy escort duty actually flew when the sea was causing them to rise and fall some 15 feet bow and then stern!)…The old “Stringbag” was the ideal plane for them!

The carrier EAGLE that I was on in the 50’s has a classic photo taken of it from a destroye,r of the bow some 30 feet out of the water on a 36 foot draught with a Wyvern aircraft coming off the cat.

The CONCORDIA is halfway up towards Genoa and the scrapyard…with 10 vessels surrounding her–
(tugs and rescue vessels and coastguards)…

#20

oops! sorry