Ship Name: RCMP vessel St Roch (pronounced “Saint Rock”)
Vital Statistics (1944 configuration):
Length: 31.8 m (104’3”) Beam: 7.5 m (24’7”) Draft: 3.25 m (10’8”) Tonnage: 196.5 t
Hull: Douglas fir with Australian gumwood outer hull; rounded hull to allow ice to slide underneath; steel plate covering bow
Power source: 150 hp Union diesel, 6 cylinder; schooner rigged
Built: Burrard Drydock Shipyard, North Vancouver, 1928 (Charles Druguid design with modifications by Thomas Halliday)
St Roch was built specifically for the RCMP to patrol the Arctic. The ship was named after the Quebec east riding of Ernest Lapointe, then Federal Minister of Justice responsible for the RCMP. Launched on May 7, 1928, she began a long and successful career that ended in 1950 when officially retired from duty in Halifax. St Roch sailed through the Panama Canal in 1954 to return to Vancouver.
What was the significance of St Roch?
- First vessel to sail the Northwest Passage from west to east (1940 – 1942)
- First vessel to complete the Northwest Passage in one season (1944), also making it the first to use the more northerly, deeper route and to complete the Passage in both directions
- First vessel to circumnavigate North America
- Survived 12 winters stuck in the ice for 10 months at a time
- King George VI awarded the prestigious Polar Medal to Henry Larsen and the crew who sailed during the 1944 voyage
- Declared a National Historic Site (1962)
What was the RCMP’s role in the Arctic? [Continue Reading →]
Tags: · canada, History, Icebreaker, northwest passage
Tattoos have been part of sailing lore since James Cook rounded Cape Horn, across the Pacific, and arrived in Tahiti in 1769. One of the most symbolic sailor tattoo is the nautical star. The nautical start refers to the North Star that shines in the Northern hemisphere. When this tattoo originated the stars served as the only form of navigation to sailors in the dead of night. Sailors relied on these stars to guide them home safely. In this way a nautical star tattoo is seen to provide protection, guidance and a safe return home.
Here are some more interesting facts on nautical tattoos WikiAnswers.com
- A sparrow for every 5000 thousand nautical miles traveled,.
- A sailor would get a swallow tattoo for every 5000 miles he had sailed.
- A swallow because it will always find its way home.
- A rooster and pig on the ankles are to prevent a sailor from drowning.
- The pig and the rooster are tattooed on either the calves or the top of the feet, to prevent a sailor from drowning,. These animals were originally carried on most ships in wooden crates. When a ship goes down these crates would float and then catch currents and wash ashore with the other debris from the ship, making the pigs and roosters often the only souls to survive a shipwreck.
- A tattoo of a pig on the left knee and a rooster (cock) on the right foot signified “Pig on the knee, safety at sea. A cock on the right, never lose a fight.”
- Tattoos of pigs and chickens were to make sure they always had their ham and eggs so that they never go hungry.
- A turtle standing on its back legs (shellback) for crossing the equator and being initiated into King Neptune�s Court.
- A tattoo of King Neptune if you crossed the Equator.
- Crossed anchors on the web between the thumb and index finger for a bosn�s mate.
- Royal Navy tattoos of palm trees for the Mediterranean cruises in WWII.
- Many US sailors have a palm tree or hula girl from Hawaii.
- The words HOLD and FAST were tattooed on the knuckles to help hold line.
- Hold Fast across the knuckles to keep them from falling overboard or dropping a line.
- Anchor tattoo for sailing the Atlantic.
- Full rigged ship for sailing around Cape Horn.
- Dragon for crossing the international date line or serving in China.
- Rope around the wrist for being a dockhand.
- Two stars to ensure always knowing the way.
- The anchor usually noted that the sailor was in the merchant marine.
- Guns or crossed cannon for military naval service.
- Harpoons for the fishing fleet.
- Crosses on the soles of one’s feet to ward off hungry sharks.
- A nautical star, or compass rose was to always find your way home.
- A dagger through a rose signified a willingness to fight and kill even something as fragile as a rose.
- Many sailors also got pornographic images so that they would always have them with them.
LINKS
The Navy wants you, but not with that tattoo
A brief history of tattoos
Sailor Tattoos
Tags: · History, tattoos
Tomorrow is the 20th anniversary of the worst offshore oil disaster.
The Piper Alpha was a North Sea oil production platform operated by Occidental Petroleum (Caledonia) Ltd. It accounted for around ten per cent of the oil and gas production from the North Sea at the time. The platform began production in 1976 first as an oil platform and then later converted to gas production. An explosion and resulting fire destroyed it on July 6, 1988, killing 167 men. Total insured loss was $ 3.4 billion. To date it is the world’s worst offshore oil disaster.
The Amazing site Oil Rig Disasters writes about the Piper Alpha. they tell us:
On 06 July 1988, work began on one of two condensate-injection pumps, designated A and B, which were used to compress gas on the platform prior to transport of the gas to Flotta. A pressure safety valve was removed from compressor A for recalibration and re-certification and two blind flanges were fitted onto the open pipework. The dayshift crew then finished for the day.
During the evening of 06 July, pump B tripped and the nightshift crew decided that pump A should be brought back into service. Once the pump was operational, gas condensate leaked from the two blind flanges and, at around 2200 hours, the gas ignited and exploded, causing fires and damage to other areas with the further release of gas and oil. Some twenty minutes later, the Tartan gas riser failed and a second major explosion occurred followed by widespread fire. Fifty minutes later, at around 2250 hours, the MCP-01 gas riser failed resulting in a third major explosion. Further explosions then ensued, followed by the eventual structural collapse of a significant proportion of the installation.
BBC Report:
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Photos:
The Piper Alpha, as seen from a crew change helicopter, before the fire started.
All that remains of the oil platform after the devastating fire burns out.
The fire in full blaze. Imagine the heat that was generated.
A simulation of the survivability of the Piper Alpha’s Lifeboats.
The Blaze lit the night sky for miles in every direction.
Video Links:
Links:
Tags: · disasters, History, incident photos, Incidents, Offshore, Piper Alpha, Video
The General Slocum was a steamship that set sail in 1891. She caught fire wile traveling down New York’s East River on June 15, 1904. The Captain of the General Slocum, Captain Van Schaick, made a number of critical mistakes that led to the tragic loss of more than 1,000 lives. Up until the events of September 11, 2001 it was the deadliest disaster in New York City’s history.
The events that led to this tragedy were avoidable and fall directly on the worst Captains in Maritime history. The blunders of this (add expletive here) Captain stand as test a guideline of what not to do as a ship Captain.
Failure to address a History of Incidents
The General Slocum had been involved in seven different incidents leading up to the tragic fire of June 15, 1094.
Failure to Prepare
Captain Van Schiack did not respond to the fire until more then ten minutes after the fire had been discovered despite being warned.
Failure to adequately train crew and maintain safety gear
Failure to prepare ship for Fire Emergency
The crew of The Slocum had never had a fire drill. In addition,
Captain Van Schaick he did not demand that hoses and faulty lifejackets be replaced.
Failure to Respond Decision-making
Captain Van Schaick badly mishandled the situation. He decided to continue his course rather than run the ship aground or stop at a nearby landing. By going into headwinds and failing to immediately ground the vessel, he actually fanned the fire.
To make matters worse, when Schaick finally beached the boat at North Brother Island he found he couldn’t get in as close as he wanted. “He caught a rock and people on the stern were actually in water that was substantially over their head,” says O’Donnell. For people who didn’t know how to swim the water might as well have been a thousand feet deep. www.failuremag.com
*Captain Van Schaick was found guilty of criminal negligence, failing to maintain proper fire drills and fire extinguishers. He was sentenced to ten years imprisonment.
Links
www.failuremag.com
Captain William Van Schaick Trial: 1906 — law.jrank.org
1904 Paddleboat Fire: www.ezl.com
Death of Captain Van Schaickhttp: www.time.com
Tags: · captain, History, nyc
Shipwreck World tells us:
The HMS Ontario, a British warship built in1780 has been discovered in deep water off the southern shore of Lake Ontario. Shipwreck enthusiasts Jim Kennard and Dan Scoville located the ship utilizing sophisticated side scanning sonar and an underwater remote operated vehicle. The HMS Ontario is the oldest confirmed shipwreck and the only fully intact British warship to have ever been found in the Great Lakes. more ›
Tags: · british navy, History, hms ontario
Model by Wood Wings
50 Years ago today the most infamous vessel of the Great Lakes was launched. Farlane writes:
It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon on June 7th, 1958, as more than 10,000 people lined the banks of the Detroit River. They had come to witness the launching of Hull 301 at the Great Lakes Engineering Works of River Rouge, Michigan. Mrs. Edmund Fitzgerald, wife of the president of the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company for which the ship was named, christened the brand new ship and at 12:34 p.m. the 729 ft. “Edmund Fitzgerald” slid gracefully into the basin amid cheers, salutes, and well wishers.
Professional Mariner gives us a bit more insight:
In 1958, when it was launched, the 13,632-ton, 729-foot-long ship was the largest carrier on the Great Lakes and remained so until 1971. In 1964 it became the first ship on the Great Lakes to carry more than one million tons of ore through the Soo Locks.
Nov. 9, 1975 started as a crisp, calm, sunny day along the U.S.-Canadian border. On that day Edmund Fitzgerald, one of the largest freighters on the Great Lakes, left Superior, Wis., to deliver iron ore pellets to Zug Island in Detroit. It carried a crew of 29 men. Luck was not with the ship or the crew. They would soon be lying at the bottom of Lake Superior.
Shortly after leaving Superior on what would be its last voyage, Fitzgerald made contact with Arthur M. Anderson, bound on a similar route for Gary, Ind. The two freighter captains discussed a storm that had brewed the night before in the Plains and proceeded northward toward the Great Lakes. According to the National Weather Service, it appeared to be a “typical November storm.”
At 1900 the Weather Service issued a gale warning for Lake Superior. The Weather Service predicted east to northeasterly winds during the night, shifting to northwest to north by the next afternoon. At approximately 2240, the Weather Service revised its forecast for eastern Lake Superior to easterly winds becoming southeasterly the morning of Nov. 10. At about 0200 on the 10th, the Weather Service upgraded the gale warning to a storm warning.
Continue Reading…
NOAA has a website dedicated to the weather side of this memorable story which can be found HERE.
If you are in Detroit tomorrow June 7th be sure to attend one of the memorial events listed HERE and for event listings throughout the Great Lakes click HERE. Otherwise you can watch the live webcast HERE.
Theories
Edmund Fitzgerald Online has the Top Ten theories about the sinking:
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Bottoming out/grounding. This could have very well happened near Six Fathom Shoal.
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Faulty hatch covers
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Another theory, which is very disliked by many Fitz enthusiasts, is that the men may not have properly fastened the series of clamps that were used to hold down all of the the hatches, and therefore water seeped in.
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Previous structural damage may have caused the sinking.
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Huge waves swamped the ship and it sank. Many people call these huge waves (so big they are detected by radar) the Three Sisters.
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Lack of proper repair from previous damage may have played a role
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A huge wave rode up between two swells and the ship snapped in half.
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Human error
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A wave engulfed the ship, pushing the front of the ship underwater. The ship then hit ground, and broke in two…this may be why the two portions of the ship are so close.
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Waves lifted both ends of the ship (bow and stern), but the center of the ship containing the cargo was not held by a wave, so the overload forced the center downward, sinking and/or breaking the ship in two.
For more official (and research?) theories be sure to read the offical NTSB investigation report.
Commemorative Print
(Purchase Info)
Launching the Edmund Fitzgerald
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Video Dedication
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Related Links
Tags: · Edmund Fitzgerald, History, shipwreck
Today marks the 75th annual National Maritime Day. In 1933 the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America officially declared May 22 as National Maritime Day. May 22 was chosen in tribute to one of Americas many great feats. The first transoceanic voyage by a steam-powered vessel. The ship was The Savannah. She departed from Savannah, Georgia on May 22, 1819 and in less then a month she arrived in Liverpool, England. This voyage marked the beginning of a new age in shipping as well as the start of the great migration of immigrants to The United States.
In celebration of this historic and important holiday we are asked as American citizens to display the United States flag in our community’s. It is also request that all ships sailing under the American flag dress ship on that day in honor of all Mariners.
National Maritime Day, 2008
Tags: · History, holiday
On April 27, 1865 the Mississippi River paddlewheeler, Sultana, was utterly destroyed when a boiler explosion ripped through the ship. The legal capacity of the ship was 376 persons but on this faithful night the ship was loaded with an estimated 2,400 passengers. The vast majority of passengers on board the Sultana were newly released Union prisoners of war on their way back home from a long and bloody war.
All told an estimated 1,800 people die that night. The tragedy resulted in a greater number of casualties then even the notorious sinking of the Titanic in 1912. So why haven’t more Americans heard of this great maritime disaster? Well the answer is simple. 1865 marked the end of the American civil war. President Lincoln had just been assassinated and the nation was facing countless tragedies on both a personal and national level. The turbulence of the time meant that the greatest disaster in American maritime history when largely unreported and has truly become a forgotten disaster.
For more information on the Sultana check out these links below.
Wikipedia: Sultana (steamboat)
National Geographic: Remembering Sultana
Tags: · History, ship fire
The Old Royal Naval College was designed by artist Sir Christopher Wren and built between 1696 and 1751. It started life as the Greenwich Hospital for Seamen, which provided a home for retired and injured sailors.
It became the Royal Naval College in 1873, until the departure of the Royal Navy in 1998, and the hall was regularly used as a dining room. Artist Sir James Thornhill was commissioned by the hospital to paint the hall in 1708, and he completed it in phases up to 1727. Lord Nelson was laid in State here in 1805.
Java Script 360 pic, here.
More information at the News Shopper, here.
Lots more info in Google, here.
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This post was written by Richard Rodriguez, Rescue Tug Captain, and US Coast Guard approved instructor for License Training. You can read more of his articles at the BitterEnd of the net.
Tags: · greenwich, History, maritime history
Apparently it’s scurvy awareness day. Limestrong, the “official” website of the event tells us a little about this once common affliction:
Scurvy is a condition caused by a lack of vitamin C
(ascorbic acid) in the diet. Signs of scurvy include tiredness, muscle
weakness, joint and muscle aches, a rash on the legs, and bleeding gums.
In the past, scurvy was common among sailors and other people deprived
of fresh fruits and vegetables for long periods of time.
Read the full story HERE.
Tags: · History
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