On (17 Apr 96) Roy McNeill wrote to Robert Jones...



[...chop...]



 RM> love to pitch. There was a bit of a sea, and the wheelhouse of this

 RM> boat was going six feet straight up and down while I was trying to

 RM> fix a radio. In five minutes flat the crew was taking bets about

 RM> whether the white in my face was moving down faster than the green

 RM> was moving up.



The Navys' patrol boats were famous for their action in any sort of sea.

I've seen a Chief Petty Officer that had been in the Navy more than 40 years

(he'd even served under sail) carried off a patrolly after 45 minutes and

that was still tied up along side the wharf!. The patrol boats built here in

Aus. were originally designed to be 15' longer but because of crew limits,

they cut 15' out of the middle. This altered their sea handling characteristics

so drastically that they were almost dangerous. It also meant that at any 

speed over 28 knots, they'd vibrate so much that bits would fall off.

To over-come this, the boats were governed to a maximum of 25 knots. Patrol 

boats were used to catch illegal fishing boats but some of the bigger

trawlers could do 30 knots. Not much fun chasing a fishing boat that could do

5 knots faster than the boat chasing it! (this has happened a few times).

My problem with Mal-de-mer was due to engine fumes. If I could stay on the

upper deck in fresh air, I was OK. It could get as rough as guts and I enjoyed

it, but get me below decks and a whiff of diesel fumes and watch out! I think

that the fact that non-forced ventilation meant that the air had probably

been breathed at least twice by someone else had something to do with it too!

TTFN. Bob.



... Monday is a hard way to spend one seventh of your life!



--- PPoint 1.92