They that go down to sea in ships

YOUTUBE ^ | Jan 09,2012 | swampsniper

[SWAMPSNIPER]

They that go down to sea in ships, that do business in great waters: These see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep.

107th Psalm

[dog breath]

My father was the helmsman on a destroyer escort in WW11 in the Pacific, he saw lots of action but steering through a really bad typhoon seemed to of ranked right up there with the near miss from the submarine's torpedo, the beach landing and the cliff guns opening up on the ship behind them. I thought he was exaggerating the size of the waves which he said were like mountains when I was a little kid. I saw that typhoon he talked about on the history channel once, it looked pretty extreme and I realized he was not telling tales. Actually it might of been that story that had made me want to go talk to the Army recruiters rather then the Navy guys, I get seasick at mere choppy, he was a better man then I.

[Clara Lou]

I was behind the door when God gave out the guts required to face conditions like those.

[Uncle Lonny]

“That storm ripped the depth-charge racks off the fantail, tore the steam torpedo mount off the 02 deck, ripped off all lifeboats, and tore the ‘breakwater’ fairing off both sides of the ship - literally tore half-inch steel plate as if it were paper. We lost one screw, a radar antenna, and several smaller radio antenna. Many thought there was no way we could survive - but we did.”

Yep, that video was no hurricane. Judging from the white caps just a strong gale.

I was on the EDGE of a typhoon in 69 on a C-3 freighter in the South China Sea in seas like that. All we could do is stay in place and keep the bow headed into the seas for over 12 hours. Kinda scary.

Everyone was mad at the captain for choosing to try to beat the storm by routing us in the most direct line to Yokohama.

We left Da Nang before the ship has been secured for sea and were trying to drop the booms into the cradles on a rolling deck outside of the harbor. Good thing the Bosun knew his stuff!

Hit some really rough seas later returning to CONUS on the Great Circle Route in the North Pacific too. The third mate made us stand bow watch on the flying bridge. Bout froze my azz off.

What a long strange trip that was.

Ah memories, memories!

The older I gets, the better I wuz

[SWAMPSNIPER]

Visibility was so bad I had to haul myself out on deck and lash myself to the sampson post, the skipper couldn't see much from the pilot house.

If I didn't keep my lips tight my cheeks would inflate like balloons.

There were times when I was completely submerged.

You can't let fear lock you up, that is the surest way to die.

[Silentgypsy]

As a child, I swam in the ocean (usually not past waist depth.) As it was, I got tossed around like a piece of styrofoam. I can’t imagine going through a hurricane. Undertow alone induces a deep respect for nature.

[Vinnie]

Thanks
I was caught out in my 25’ sailboat. Pretty heavy summer storms. No fun but nothing like these.

[central_va]

I was always good until she starts a shuttering, then the bad feelings start.