Whilst not strictly aviation related, the following letter successfully argues the case for good cockpit management, albeit in retrospect. Lengthy it may be, but it should strike a chord with Mr D and Davaar

A Letter to the Owner...

Sailors in particular, but anyone having the slightest interest in things nautical will appreciate the following letter to the Owner by the Master of a Merchant Vessel. Contributed by Captain Neil St C Norton, former Queen's Harbour Master, Esquimau and now Master of CSS Baffin, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Halifax, NS.

"Dear Sir,
It is with regret and haste that I write this letter to you; regret that such a small misunderstanding could lead to the following circumstances, and haste in order that you will get this report before you form your own preconceived opinions from reports in the World Press, for I am sure that they will tend to overdramatise the affair.

We had just picked up the Pilot, and the apprentice had returned from changing the "G" flag for the "H" and being his first trip was having difficultly in rolling the "G" flag up. I therefore proceeded to show him how, coming to the last part I told him to "let go". The lad, although willing, is not too bright, necessitating my having to repeat the order in a sharper tone.

At this moment the Chief Officer appeared from the Chart Room having been plotting the vessel's progress, and thinking that it was the anchors that were being referred to, repeated the "let go" to the Third Officer on the forecastle. The port anchor, having been cleared away but not walked out, was promptly let go. The effect of letting the anchor drop from the "pipe" while the vessel was proceeding at full harbour speed proved too much for the windlass brake, and the entire length of the port cable was pulled out "by the roots". I fear that the damage to the chain locker may be extensive. The braking effect of the port anchor naturally caused the vessel to sheer in that direction, towards the swing bridge that spans a tributary to the river up which we were proceeding.

The swing bridge operator showed great presence of mind by opening the bridge for my vessel. Unfortunately he did not think to stop the vehicular traffic, the result being that the bridge partly opened and deposited a Volkswagen, two cyclists and a cattle truck on the foredeck. My Ship's Company are at present rounding up the contents of the latter, which from the noise I would say were pigs. In his efforts to stop the progress of the vessel the Third Officer dropped the starboard anchor, too late to be of practical use for it fell on the swing bridge operator's control cabin.

After the port anchor was let go and the vessel started to sheer, I gave a double ring Full Astern on the Engine Room Telegraph, and personally rang the Engine Room to order maximum astern revolutions. I was informed that the temperature was 53 degrees, and was asked if there was a film tonight. My reply would not add constructively to this report.

Up to now I have confined my report to the activities at the forward end of my vessel. Down aft they were having their own problems. At the moment the port anchor was let go, the Second Officer was supervising the making fast of the after tug, and was lowering the ship's towing spring down into the tug.
The sudden braking effect on the port anchor caused the tug to "run in under" my stern to my vessel, just at the moment when the propeller was answering my double ring Full Astern. The prompt action of the Second Officer in securing the inboard end of the towing spring delayed the sinking of the rug by some minutes thereby allowing the safe abandoning of that vessel.
It is strange, but at the very same moment of letting go the port anchor there was a power cut ashore; the fact that we were passing over a "cable area" at the time may suggest that we may have touched something on the river bed. It is perhaps lucky that the high tension cables brought down by the foremast were not alive, possibly being replaced by the underwater cable, but owing to the shore blackout it is impossible to say where the pylon fell.

It never fails to amaze me the actions and behaviour of foreigners during moments of minor crisis. The pilot, for instance, is at this moment huddled in the corner of my day cabin, alternately crooning to himself and crying after having consumed a bottle of gin in a time that is worthy of inclusion in the Guinness Book of Records. The tug Captain on the other hand reacted violently and had to forcibly be restrained by the Steward, who has him handcuffed in the ship's hospital where he is telling me to do impossible things with my ship and my person.

I enclose the names and addresses of the drivers and Insurance Companies of the vehicles on my foredeck. which the Third Officer collected after his somewhat hurried evacuation of the forecastle. These particulars will enable you to claim for the damage that they did to the railings of No. 1 Hold.

I am enclosing this preliminary Report for I am finding it difficult to concentrate with the sound of Police sirens and their flashing lights.

It is sad to think that had the apprentice realised that there is no need to fly pilot flags after dark, none of this would have happened."

Wondeful!!!!!!!!! :D :D :D

In view of the sensitivities of readers here and the sharp reproof I received recently for lack of community spirit, I had resolved to remain forever silent, and may still do so.

In view also, however, of the direct address by Mr johnfairr, I must disclose that my own files contain a copy of the reply to said Master Mariner. It reads thus:
_____________________________________

My dear Captain XXXXXXXXXXXX,

I write on behalf of the board. You must not reproach yourself. The consensus is, the solicitor mumbling caveats, but then he would, that the Line will be adequately and in fact well served if you have the bo’s’n reason with the apprentice in the lee of the for’ard hatch and fetch him a smart clip across the earhole. Serve him right too.

The incident does however underline the need for early training in the needs and vocabulary of the sea.

The chairman, in that very context, is reminded, as he so often is, from his own now distant though, Alas, clearly and all too frequently recalled, days at sea of a like experience that may bring you consolation.

He asks me to let you know that he served in an aircraft carrier. A matelot on board an escorting destroyer was taken with extreme constipation. The traditional naval remedies (verbal abuse by superior officers, senior ratings, cook, and SBA, coupled with alcohol and strong aperients) having failed, it was resolved to transfer the patient for holistic treatment in the hospital facilities of the carrier.

The breeches buoy was rigged, the patient brought to the deck, and the working party assembled on the flight deck. The tempestuous North Atlantic, between ships, may to the eye of a superstitious mariner have seemed as a roaring lion, walking about, seeking whom he might devour. Such indeed, were the inner thoughts of the patient at the time, as elicited in later questioning by his Divisional Officer, although he limited his then audible comments, as the testimony of witnesses confirmed, to bleeding whining and sucking his teeth, Sir.

On the carrier deck all was ready. The working party, junior seamen under training, took the cable, and under the eye of a petty officer made their way steadily along the deck, drawing the patient over the void. At this stage the petty officer made what the court of inquiry ruled was an institutional comment for which none, despite its effects, not the petty officer and certainly not the captain, or indeed captain of either ship, could be blamed.

In tones trained to be heard o’er tempest and billow, the petty officer remarked: “Roight laads! ‘aul away, ‘aandsomely!”.

The vocal emphasis impressed the party more than the detail of the, to them as yet unfamiliar, naval idiom, and, ever willing but contrary to the expectation of the petty officer, they picked up the pace to a fast walk, as best they could balance on the heaving deck.

“’aaaaaaaaaaandsomely!!! Oi sad!” repeated the petty officer, with increasing firmness, to the concern of the O.D.s who accelerated to a smart trot, and then, under repeated exhortation, to a fast run.

Meanwhile, above the bosom of the deep, the patient was carried, helpless in the hands of powers greater than he, occasionally immersed. The motions of cable and ocean had at first created vertical oscillation.

Now, he realised, his consciousness recovering from the dulled effects of his medical condition to a hypercritical acuity, that the element of uncertainty applied to him in azimuth as well as in the vertical, and that he was approaching a solid wall of 30,000 tons of lunging steel at ever-increasing speed.

He did however arrive safely. At the intended delivery point, he was greeted by medical staff. To their astonishment, a miracle had been wrought. The problem that had baffled medicine and naval discipline had been fully cured by a few minutes’ fresh air!

The surgeon lieutenant commander confessed himself at a loss to understand, as he prepared the re-transfer documentation. The RC padre collected votive offerings to Our Lady of the Oceans. The C of E padre held a service of thanksgiving, preaching from: “They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters; These see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep”. The ship’s company sang: “Oh hear us when we cry to Thee, for those in peril on the sea”.

The patient complained. The First Lieutenant said: “If you can’t take a joke, you shouldn’t have joined”. He then wrote to his Mum to buy him out (the patient, not the First Lieutenant, although the idea did cross the mind of the First Lieutenant too).

It was just another day at sea.

Yours very truly,

YYYY

(Company Secretary)
__________________________________

Wonderful stuff ... I have copied both to share with a friend of mine who is into sailing.



I had resolved to remain forever silent, and may still do so.
Don't even consider it, Davaar.

Seems like the navigationg officer on the destroyer made a bad choice of course for the transfer. But, worse things happen at sea! It reminds me of a time.... Reminises of a golden age before women were allowed to sea in Her Majesty's Ships.