Stories of ships and huge storms

[daiquiri]

I have stumbled across this page, which describes a U.S. Fast Carrier Task Force caught by a Pacific typhoon, in December 1944:

http://mighty90.com/Typhoon_COBRA.html

There are some really impressive photos of ships engaging the heavy seas and weather. Three destroyers and hundreds of hands have been lost and the rest of the fleet had suffered a considerable damage.

If you have more similar interesting stories and links to share, you could post them here if you wish... Cheers!

No story, but impressive footage, taken by mobile phone camera from a Norwegian oil rig.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYRE9zN6Mgc

This is "only" force ten in the southern North Sea.
And, yes, they delivered the pump to the rig!

Regards
Richard

[yipster]

in the movie however impressive that wave was
the crest can only grow to 120 degree before it falls apart
but seen pics of ships surf down those waves too
think it was from that same december '44 storm
i saw pics of carriers with topsides ripped off

[JLIMA]

Having served all my time on submarines I've only had one experience with heavy weather. We were heading for our patrol waters when we were forced to surface in a sea state 4 because of an engineering casualty. Subs are trulely miserable boats on the surface in great weather, but for whatever reason it was decided that the bridge should be rigged and lookouts stationed which worked out fine for about 3 minutes until a larger than normal wave put us into a dynamic dive with the bridge hatches still open!! The boat got pushed down to 123' before we were able to get her back to the surface fortunately by some miracle both watch standers were not washed overboard but the deluge did ruin most of the electronics in the control room and put about 4' of water in the torpedo room bilge. Needless to say we cut the cables going up to the bridge equipment and secured the hatch. If i ever experience 50 deg rolls again it will be too soon. That was one helluva ride.

[daiquiri]

Jlima, you guys must have been born again the moment you managed to get her back to the surface.
That's a scary story. I presume the watch standers were secured by a life line? I also presume many people must have suffered a barotrauma after a quick dive to 123'?

[hoytedow]

Weather wrecks plans of Spanish Armada: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Armada

[hoytedow]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Edmund_Fitzgerald

[JLIMA]

Actually there was very little pressure increase because of the minimal displacement of air in relation to the size of the boat (although enough water was shipped to effect the trim) but the control party had mire that a few puckered a$$ holes. And the 2 poor guys who went up only one had properly hooked in before we got sent down the other guy was washed under the cowling for the #2 periscope.

[troy2000]

I remember being in the Sea of Japan on the USS O'Callahan, a DE (Destroyer Escort; later relabeled Frigates) in 1970, in company with two WWII era DD's. There was some foofaraw going on with the North Koreans, as usual, and we were ordered to maintain course and speed on our patrol regardless of conditions. To show them we meant business, I guess....like they cared....

Anyway, we quartered into the waves and corkscrewed for hours. We repeatedly took 47 degree rolls; our bow would lift clear of the water, then come slamming down on the sonar dome. Talk about a miserable night and day.... an ice machine and coke machine broke loose in the galley, and raised billy hell before they were secured by a couple of agile bosun's mates with more guts than good sense.

I remember watching the DD on our port side, come daylight and clear weather. Its bow would rise up until I could see the horizon and a strip of blue morning sky under it, then come crashing down and bury itself. The foredeck would completely submerge, and a wave of water would slap clear up over the bridge.

Then the ship would kind of shudder in place and the bow would start rising slowly up, shaking all the way with green water cascading off the deck, as it surfaced and went airborne again. You talk about feeling sorry for a crew, and worried about them....that old WWII DD was smaller than we were, and a lot narrower.

But I guess it was a stout old warrior; it and its sister ship came through with less damage than we took. I wish I could remember their names.

[LyndonJ]

This one is tragic.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swdyn...eature=related

[JLIMA]

My farther used to scallop in the until till the late 70s on an old 3 parts rotted out eastern rig, If memory serves she was built just before ww2. I remember stories about that boat in weather low wet and miserable. Shes derelict now near the old barge docks sunk up the pilot house windows along with a bunch of other similar old boats.

[Angélique]

Originally Posted by daiquiri

....
If you have more similar interesting stories and links to share, you could post them here if you wish... Cheers!

'Heavy’ weather tactics in Drascombes - The waves dictate the rig - by Hans Vandersmissen (RIP)

http://www.drascombe.nl/heavy.htm#heavy01 (= link to 2nd story on that page)

Good Luck!
Angel

[Get-a-Life]

1964 on HMAS Vendetta (Destroyer)South China Sea running before a typhoon, all hands to stay in bunks unless on duty, all outer decks out of bounds, surfing down waves.
1965 HMAS Vendetta crossing the Great Australian Bight, hit a series of waves head on, stripped 4.5" gun turrent gears and turned guns side ways, smashed 1.5" ammunition lockers to pulp.
1971 HMAS Sydney (ex Aircraft carrier) South China Sea coming home from Vietnam, washed all the troops trucks and equipment off the flight deck.
Got to wonder about my mental state in that I took up yachting?

Cheers

KenM

[daiquiri]

Originally Posted by Get-a-Life

Got to wonder about my mental state in that I took up yachting?

It must be some kind of masochism...

[LyndonJ]

Sometimes yachts are immune while ships suffer bad.

Sailing from Hobart North I saw a bulk carrier off Tasman island burying its bow in massive green swells which swept the fore part of the ship. In our little 12 ton sailboat we hardly noticed the same swell except that things kept disappearing and re-appearing over the local horizon.