I like Ships too




French frigate Hermione, a newly constructed replica of the vessel that returned Lafayette to the United States in 1780 after his success in securing large French assistance for the struggling Revolutionaries, is visiting various East Coast ports this summer.


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Hermione's website:
http://www.hermione.com/en/home/

Wikipedia page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_frigate_Hermione_(2014)


French Naval ensign (1780):

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Once upon a time, I built a ship model (not this one).

I think I ended up putting around 600-odd man hours into the damn thing. By the time I finished, I was
so sick of the thing, I ended up paying somebody else to build the glass case in which she now resides.


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Once upon a time, I built a ship model (not this one).

When young, I was jealous of friends who had large, detailed sailing yachts and steam-powered motor boats on our local pond. The pond was about two feet deep, 50 yards diameter, and the edges were vertical concrete.

My friends had to catch their boats before they hit the concrete edge to avoid damage to the bowsprit or bow of the power boat. But the pond was awkward for sailing. The vertical sides cut off the wind, or made it eddy. A sailing yacht might not actually reach the edge of the pond unless sailing fast.

I decided to make my own boat just for that pond. As usual with my youthful products, it was over-engineered for the purpose. The hull was solid reclaimed floorboards glued and screwed together. The masts and bowsprit were steel rods. It was square-rigged. The yards were 1/4 inch dowel. The main mast was four feet high - to catch the wind above the concrete edging. The keel was tinplate with a heavy lead weight along the lower edge.

It was a caricature of a square rigged ship with no pretensions to being a model. It was designed just for that pond and nowhere else.

When in the water it was so heavy that the main deck was awash. Only the focsle and quarterdeck showed above the water.

But it went, fast, and didn't jib at the fluky winds at the edge. Its mass and momentum, together with the high-rigged sails, meant that it hit the pond edge at full speed.

After a few weeks, I and my square-rigged ship were banned by the Park Keepers. Why?

The main reason was that I was sinking other people's boats. If my vessel hit a pond yacht or model motor boat when moving fast the high bowsprit usually forced the other boat under water. If the other boat was high sided, the bowsprit holed the upperworks.

But the Park Keepers' main reason was that the bowsprit was chipping pieces off the concrete edges. One hundred pounds weight of ship impacting on a 1/4 inch point, made a hole. :rolleyes:
 
When young, I was jealous of friends who had large, detailed sailing yachts and steam-powered motor boats on our local pond. The pond was about two feet deep, 50 yards diameter, and the edges were vertical concrete.

My friends had to catch their boats before they hit the concrete edge to avoid damage to the bowsprit or bow of the power boat. But the pond was awkward for sailing. The vertical sides cut off the wind, or made it eddy. A sailing yacht might not actually reach the edge of the pond unless sailing fast.

I decided to make my own boat just for that pond. As usual with my youthful products, it was over-engineered for the purpose. The hull was solid reclaimed floorboards glued and screwed together. The masts and bowsprit were steel rods. It was square-rigged. The yards were 1/4 inch dowel. The main mast was four feet high - to catch the wind above the concrete edging. The keel was tinplate with a heavy lead weight along the lower edge.

It was a caricature of a square rigged ship with no pretensions to being a model. It was designed just for that pond and nowhere else.

When in the water it was so heavy that the main deck was awash. Only the focsle and quarterdeck showed above the water.

But it went, fast, and didn't jib at the fluky winds at the edge. Its mass and momentum, together with the high-rigged sails, meant that it hit the pond edge at full speed.

After a few weeks, I and my square-rigged ship were banned by the Park Keepers. Why?

The main reason was that I was sinking other people's boats. If my vessel hit a pond yacht or model motor boat when moving fast the high bowsprit usually forced the other boat under water. If the other boat was high sided, the bowsprit holed the upperworks.

But the Park Keepers' main reason was that the bowsprit was chipping pieces off the concrete edges. One hundred pounds weight of ship impacting on a 1/4 inch point, made a hole. :rolleyes:


Og-
Very clearly, you were the Larry Ellison or Alan Bond/Ben Lexcen of that particular pond.

Presumably, you were not able to control her and were thus limited to sailing her straight across the pond's 50 yard diameter.


 

Og-
Very clearly, you were the Larry Ellison or Alan Bond/Ben Lexcen of that particular pond.

Presumably, you were not able to control her and were thus limited to sailing her straight across the pond's 50 yard diameter.



More like a Captain Morgan with a pirate flag.

I could set the mainsails to tack some points into the wind, but not as much as a Bermuda rig. But like all of us at that time, we didn't have any remote controls.

We could set the sails and tiller, but once the vessel had left the edge, its course was unalterable, even for the steam motor boats. If the tiller/rudder slipped on a motor boat it might end up going in circles until the steam ran out.

Most of us ended up wading in the pond to retrieve our pride and joy.
 

I like it.


Might I suggest "Hanging fruitcakes?"

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Anybody got a knife or a pair of scissors?



Let 'em swing. The CG will take them down when they become a menace to navigation. Otherwise, they will have great stories to tell the kids when they show off the harness blisters.
 
July 18, 1945 (Patience Bay, Off the coast of Karafuto, Japan)
It was after 4 A.M. and Commander Fluckey rubbed his eyes as he peered over the map spread before him. It was the twelfth war patrol of the Barb, the fifth under Commander Fluckey. He should have turned command over to another skipper after four patrols, but had managed to strike a deal with Admiral Lockwood to make one more trip with the men he cared for like a father, should his fourth patrol be successful. Of course, no one suspected when he had struck that deal prior to his fourth and what should have been his final war patrol on the Barb, that Commander Fluckey's success would be so great he would be awarded the Medal of Honor.

Commander Fluckey smiled as he remembered that patrol. "Lucky" Fluckey they called him. On January 8th the Barb had emerged victorious from a running two-hour night battle after sinking a large enemy ammunition ship. Two weeks later in Mamkwan Harbor he found the "mother-lode"...more than 30 enemy ships. In only 5 fathoms (30 feet) of water his crew had unleashed the sub's forward torpedoes, then turned and fired four from the stern. As he pushed the Barb to the full limit of its speed through the dangerous waters in a daring withdrawal to the open sea, he recorded eight direct hits on six enemy ships. Then, on the return home he added yet another Japanese freighter to the tally for the Barb's eleventh patrol, a score that exceeded even the number of that patrol.

What could possibly be left for the Commander to accomplish who, just three months earlier had been in Washington, DC to receive the Medal of Honor? He smiled to himself as he looked again at the map showing the rail line that ran along the enemy coast line. This final patrol had been promised as the Barb's "graduation patrol" and he and his crew had cooked up an unusual finale. Since the 8th of June they had harassed the enemy, destroying the enemy supplies and coastal fortifications with the first submarine launched rocket attacks. Now his crew was buzzing excitedly about bagging a train.

The rail line itself wouldn't be a problem. A shore patrol could go ashore under cover of darkness to plant the explosives...one of the sub's 55-pound scuttling charges. But this early morning Lucky Fluckey and his officers were puzzling over how they could blow not only the rails, but one of the frequent trains that shuttled supplies to equip the Japanese war machine. Such a daring feat could handicap the enemy's war effort for several days, a week, perhaps even longer. It was a crazy idea, just the kind of operation "Lucky" Fluckey had become famous...or infamous...for. But no matter how crazy the idea might have sounded, the Barb's skipper would not risk the lives of his men. Thus the problem... how to detonate the charge at the moment the train passed, without endangering the life of a shore party. PROBLEM? Not on Commander Fluckey's ship. His philosophy had always been "We don't have problems, only solutions".

11:27 AM
"Battle Stations!" No more time to seek solutions or to ponder blowing up a train. The approach of a Japanese freighter with a frigate escort demands traditional submarine warfare. By noon the frigate is laying on the ocean floor in pieces and the Barb is in danger of becoming the hunted.

6:07 PM
Solutions! If you don't look for them, you'll never find them. And even then, sometimes they arrive in the most unusual fashion. Cruising slowly beneath the surface to evade the enemy plane now circling overhead, the monotony is broken with an exciting new idea. Instead of having a crewman on shore to trigger explosives to blow both rail and a passing train, why not let the train BLOW ITSELF up. Billy Hatfield was excitedly explaining how he had cracked nuts on the railroad tracks as a kid, placing the nuts between two ties so the sagging of the rail under the weight of a train would break them open. "Just like cracking walnuts," he explained. "To complete the circuit (detonating the 55-pound charge) we hook in a microswitch ...between two ties. We don't set it off, the TRAIN does." Not only did Hatfield have the plan, he wanted to be part of the volunteer shore party.


The solution found, there was no shortage of volunteers, all that was needed was the proper weather...a little cloud cover to darken the moon for the mission ashore. Lucky Fluckey established his own criteria for the volunteer party:
...No married men would be included, except for Hatfield,
...The party would include members from each department,
...The opportunity would be split between regular Navy and Navy Reserve sailors,
...At least half of the men had to have been Boy Scouts, experienced in how to handle themselves in medical emergencies and in the woods.
FINALLY, "Lucky" Fluckey would lead the saboteurs himself.

When the names of the 8 selected sailors was announced it was greeted with a mixture of excitement and disappointment. Among the disappointed was Commander Fluckey who surrendered his opportunity at the insistence of his officers that "as commander he belonged with the Barb," coupled with the threat from one that "I swear I'll send a message to ComSubPac if you attempt this (joining the shore party himself)." Even a Japanese POW being held on the Barb wanted to go, promising not to try to escape.

In the meantime, there would be no more harassment of Japanese shipping or shore operations by the Barb until the train mission had been accomplished. The crew would "lay low", prepare their equipment, train, and wait for the weather.

July 22, 1945 (Patience Bay, Off the coast of Karafuto, Japan)
Patience Bay was wearing thin the patience of Commander Fluckey and his innovative crew. Everything was ready. In the four days the saboteurs had anxiously watched the skies for cloud cover, the inventive crew of the Barb had built their microswitch. When the need was posed for a pick and shovel to bury the explosive charge and batteries, the Barb's engineers had cut up steel plates in the lower flats of an engine room, then bent and welded them to create the needed tools. The only things beyond their control was the weather....and time. Only five days remained in the Barb's patrol.

Anxiously watching the skies, Commander Fluckey noticed plumes of cirrus clouds, then white stratus capping the mountain peaks ashore. A cloud cover was building to hide the three-quarters moon. This would be the night.

MIDNIGHT, July 23, 1945
The Barb had crept within 950 yards of the shoreline. If it was somehow seen from the shore it would probably be mistaken for a schooner or Japanese patrol boat. No one would suspect an American submarine so close to shore or in such shallow water. Slowly the small boats were lowered to the water and the 8 saboteurs began paddling toward the enemy beach. Twenty-five minutes later they pulled the boats ashore and walked on the surface of the Japanese homeland. Having lost their points of navigation, the saboteurs landed near the backyard of a house. Fortunately the residents had no dogs, though the sight of human AND dog's tracks in the sand along the beach alerted the brave sailors to the potential for unexpected danger.

Stumbling through noisy waist-high grasses, crossing a highway and then stumbling into a 4-foot drainage ditch, the saboteurs made their way to the railroad tracks. Three men were posted as guards, Markuson assigned to examine a nearby water tower. The Barb's auxiliary man climbed the ladder, then stopped in shock as he realized it was an enemy lookout tower....an OCCUPIED tower. Fortunately the Japanese sentry was peacefully sleeping and Markuson was able to quietly withdraw and warn his raiding party.

The news from Markuson caused the men digging the placement for the explosive charge to continue their work more slowly and quietly. Suddenly, from less than 80 yards away, an express train was bearing down on them. The appearance was a surprise, it hadn't occured to the crew during the planning for the mission that there might be a night train. When at last it passed, the brave but nervous sailors extracated themselves from the brush into which they had lept, to continue their task. Twenty minutes later the holes had been dug and the explosives and batteries hidden beneath fresh soil.

During planning for the mission the saboteurs had been told that, with the explosives in place, all would retreat a safe distance while Hatfield made the final connection. If the sailor who had once cracked walnuts on the railroad tracks slipped during this final, dangerous proceedure, his would be the only life lost. On this night it was the only order the saboteurs refused to obey, all of them peering anxiously over Hatfield's shoulder to make sure he did it right. The men had come too far to be disappointed by a switch failure.

1:32 A.M.
Watching from the deck of the Barb, Commander Fluckey allowed himself a sigh of relief as he noticed the flashlight signal from the beach announcing the departure of the shore party. He had skillfully, and daringly, guided the Barb within 600 yards of the enemy beach. There was less than 6 feet of water beneath the sub's keel, but Fluckey wanted to be close in case trouble arose and a daring rescue of his saboteurs became necessary.

1:45 A.M.
The two boats carring his saboteurs were only halfway back to the Barb when the sub's machinegunner yelled, "CAPTAIN! Another train coming up the tracks!" The Commander grabbed a megaphone and yelled through the night, "Paddle like the devil!", knowing full well that they wouldn't reach the Barb before the train hit the microswitch.

1:47 A.M.
The darkness was shattered by brilliant light and the roar of the explosion. The boilers of the locomotive blew, shattered pieces of the engine blowing 200 feet into the air. Behind it the cars began to accordian into each other, bursting into flame and adding to the magnificent fireworks display. Five minutes later the saboteurs we lifted to the deck by their exuberant comrades as the Barb turned to slip back to safer waters. Moving at only two knots, it would be a while before the Barb was into waters deep enough to allow it to submerge. It was a moment to savor, the culmination of teamwork, ingenuity and daring by the Commander and all his crew. "Lucky" Fluckey's voice came over the intercom. "All hands below deck not absolutely needed to maneuver the ship have permission to come topside." He didn't have to repeat the invitation. Hatches sprang open as the proud sailors of the Barb gathered on her decks to proudly watch the distant fireworks display. The Barb had "sunk" a Japanese TRAIN!
 
[FONT="Georgia]...$5,000 an hour on Friday, $7,500 an hour on Saturday, and $10,000 an hour on Sunday...




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Fennica Sails [URL="http://www.opb.org/news/article/us-coast-guard-escorts-fennica-out-on-columbia-river/"]north[/URL].
 
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