I like Ships too

[JohnnySavage]

I don't know what the names of the skimmers are. They all look like targets to me

 

[thør]

The 4th one has "154" on it. How do you know what letters go in front of those?

HMAS Toowoomba (FFH 156)

 

[thør]

HMCS Regina (FFH 334) is second from the top. The white one.

 

[oggbashan]

Yesterday I bought a box of Bric and Brac (mainly old photographic equipment) at a local auction.

In it was a cigarette case in moulded celluloid with the picture and name of SS Montcalm.

 

[thør]

At the top is ROKS Dokdo (LPH 6111)

 

[trysail]

U.K. Pioneers Radio-Wave ‘Lighthouses’ to Aid Ships if GPS Fails
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U.K. Pioneers Radio-Wave ‘Lighthouses’ to Aid Ships if GPS Fails

By Chris Jasper
October 30, 2014


Britain has opened the world’s first array of ground-based radio stations designed to help ships determine their positions and prevent collisions in the event of a failure of the GPS satellite system.

The seven stations, overlooking waters from Aberdeen in Scotland to the world’s busiest sea-lane at Dover, will beam low-frequency pulses allowing vessels to continue through breaks in global positioning system transmissions caused by solar storms or jamming, according the General Lighthouse Authorities of the U.K. and Ireland, which will run the network.

As well as safeguarding ships, the system -- which updates Long Range Navigation technology used by trans-Atlantic convoys during World War II -- could also protect electricity grids, mobile phone networks, trading systems and the Internet in the event of outages. Other countries are consulting on the use of Loran, among them South Korea, which suffered a 16-day jamming attack by North Korea in 2012, the GLAs said in a statement.

“Signals are vulnerable to interference and both deliberate and accidental jamming, which is causing increasing concern because of the wide availability of GPS jammers online,” the group said, adding that gear costing 30 pounds ($48) can cause complete outages across all models of receiver.

‘Insurance Policy’

The ground stations going live today are on Britain’s North Sea coast and at the eastern end of the English Channel, where waters are busiest, with the system to be extended to the west coast and Ireland by 2020. Transmitters are located mainly in ports to maximize positional accuracy at the most critical part of the voyage, and will provide a signal that’s a million times stronger than from a satellite 12,500 miles high.

“With this network we’ll be able to guarantee the seamless operating of shipping even if GPS goes down, and there are much wider applications too,” said George Shaw, principal development engineer at the GLAs. “It’s an insurance policy.”

An 800 billion-euro ($1 trillion) chunk of the European economy -- equal to 7 percent of the total -- currently relies directly or indirectly on satellite navigation applications, the statement said, citing European Union figures.

Enhanced Loran technology, which unlike GPS can reach inside buildings, underground and through water, was tested on Dover-Calais English Channel crossings by Dubai World (DPW)’s P&O Ferries, whose vessels have “occasionally experienced loss of satellite signal,” according to safety chief Grant Laversuch. ​

​

 

[JohnnySavage]

A step up from their Loran-C

 

[JohnnySavage]

A brand-new boat

 

[JohnnySavage]

 

[JohnnySavage]

 

[trysail]

That brings back memories and a very helpful mnemonic.
There were times that "bringing the sun down to the horizon" was not an easy proposition at sea aboard a small sailboat.

Noon sights
First Point of Aries
Hc
AP
Ha
Universal Plotting Sheets
Sight Reduction Tables for Air Navigation (HO 249)
​

Remember:
"Computed Greater Away" (Coast Guard Academy)



​

 

[JohnnySavage]

 

[JohnnySavage]

 

[mustang200]

This is my ship. I have served on many others, but this one is mine. I put her into Commission on 10 December 1983. She will be Decommissioned on 9 January 2015, and struck from the list on 14 January when she will be sold to the Mexican Navy.

Suddenly I feel old.

 

[oggbashan]

This is my ship. I have served on many others, but this one is mine. I put her into Commission on 10 December 1983. She will be Decommissioned on 9 January 2015, and struck from the list on 14 January when she will be sold to the Mexican Navy.

Suddenly I feel old.

You have my sympathy.

The first navy ships I visited have been scrapped long ago, except HMS Belfast.

I remember Royal Navy battleships, cruisers, and monitors - all big gun platforms. I was shown the loading drill for 15 inch guns and observed practice shoots from inside the armoured conning tower. I submerged in a WW2 era submarine, climbed into the cockpit of an operational Swordfish biplane, and fired quad Bofors AA guns. Modern Health and Safety concerns wouldn't let today's children do any of that.

 

[JohnnySavage]

This is my ship. I have served on many others, but this one is mine. I put her into Commission on 10 December 1983. She will be Decommissioned on 9 January 2015, and struck from the list on 14 January when she will be sold to the Mexican Navy.

Suddenly I feel old.

I rode an FFG for a couple of weeks.

 

[CNYCarol]

I still prefer the smaller, more personal ride.

http://marlow-hunter.com/large-keelboats-40-50-feet/the-40-a-new-level-of-design-performance-and-luxury/

A month in the BVI on this is heavenly.

 

[thør]

On the way to Brownsville, TX to be broken up.

 

[JohnnySavage]

The mighty AS-18

Before

After

 

[JohnnySavage]

 

[JohnnySavage]

 

[JohnnySavage]

 

[JohnnySavage]

 

[JohnnySavage]

 

[JohnnySavage]