Innocent on the run. Part 16.

As they got further South, the weather started to improve, and as they passed the Azores, they were able to strip off to shorts when working on deck.The sea was a glassy calm now, and in their leisure time the crew came out to sunbathe. Doc was still producing huge roast dinners and heavy puddings. He said the weather didn't make a bit of difference, a man still had to have a full belly! Ricky was taught to steer the ship and keep it on course. It was difficult at first, as you wound the wheel in one direction to bring the ship's head on to the correct course, then immediately wound the wheel in the opposite direction, to take off the amount of wheel that you'd put on. It was confusing, trying to get the ship to move in the direction you wanted it to go, using the compass, and many times Ricky turned the wheel in the wrong direction, then had to furiously spin the wheel the other way while the Mate laughed aloud at his efforts. It took a long time before Ricky managed to keep the ship on a straight course. The Mate showed him how they plotted the ship's position every hour, and drew it on the chart. They were using a system of navigation which consisted of three patterns of Radio Waves, transmitted from coast stations located in countries adjacent to the course they were steering. The company that owned the system covered the globe with a network of radio waves, and any ship which hired its equipment could navigate by it. Whichever part of the world the ship was in, there was a chain of staions that she could use. The Llanerin was using the North Atlantic Chain, and the stations were called the Red, the Green and the Purple stations, with the Red station in North America, the Green station in Southern Ireland, and the Purple station on the West Coast of Africa. The patterns were sent out on different frequencies, and the Receiver on board the ship would convert the three radio signals, electronically, into three separate numerical displays. The charts that they used were criss crossed with the radio patterns, interpreted as coloured lines, of red, green and purple, starting from the parent station and extending outwards to cover the whole of the North Atlantic. The red, green and purple displays on the receiver were read off and then transferred to the chart, and plotted as a cross where the three intersected. Every day at noon a sun sight was taken with the sextant, and their position plotted, as a visual check to confirm the Navigation system's position. Ricky was also shown the Radar, and how to interpret the images which showed up on the luminous screen. There were four ranges on the radar, of four, eight, twelve and twenty miles, with range rings at two mile intervals on the screen. The source of the beam at the centre of the screen, represented the ship. There was a black rubber, conical hood over the screen, with an oval eyepiece, for the observer to rest his face on, when keeping radar watch in poor visibility. The shield also prevented strong light from shining on the display and distorting the images. He learned how to give an accurate range and bearing to another ship on the screen, by using the range rings and the graduated 360 degree circle running around the outside edge of the display. The Radio Room was situated behind the bridge and the Radio Officer kept watches throughout the day, and was available on a twenty four hour basis in case of emergencies. He showed Ricky the Main transmitter and Receiver and the stand - by sets which he kept warmed up in case the main ones broke down. All his equipment was run from batteries, constantly charged from the ship's mains. If there was a breakdown of power on the ship, the batteries would take over until the power was restored. There was also an emergency transceiver, which the radio man could take with him, in event of them taking to the lifeboats. This portable set was worked by a built in generator, which had to be cranked by a handle to generate the power. He could send and receive messages on it, and there was also an automatic distress transmission facility. In the Radio Room, there was also an emergency receiver to detect any vessel in trouble. If the stricken vessel sent out an alarm signal when the Radio Man was not in his shack, then the Auto Alarm was activated, and he came running to the shack to listen for the alarm, followed by the distress signal, and message. The Radio Officer told Ricky that he could send a telegram home to his parents at any time, as he was constantly in touch with Coast Stations and sent all of his messages in Morse Code. All the instructions sent by the owners to the Captain, as well as private telegrams came through the Radio Man. He was bound by the Official Secrets Act never to reveal the contents of any message, so everything was in the strictest confidence. Telegrams were expensive though, and there was a cheaper type called a Ship Letter Telegram that could be sent. It went to the Coast Station in the usual way, but from there it was posted as an ordinary letter. Ricky enjoyed learning about the different jobs on the ship and always looked forward to his turn at the wheel. The Bosun taught him how to splice ropes to prevent the ends from fraying, and to make loops in them with an eye splice. He learned how to tie knots, and spent many hours practising them. He was shown how to operate the windlass on the Fo'c'sle, to raise and lower the anchor, and how to count the amount of chain that was used, by paint marks on the shackles. Elementary Seamanship was drummed into him. A Red light at night is the Port side light of another vessel, a green light, the Starboard side. One white light is the stern of a vessel moving away from you. Red and Green with a white light above them, is a vessel moving towards you, but all of these were confusing when there were a lot of lights blazing out from the accommodation of a vessel. You took avoiding action according to the basic rules of the sea :- Green to green or Red to red, perfect safety, go ahead. If to your Starboard Red appear, it is your duty to keep clear. The Mate showed him a set of Tide Tables which gave the depth of water to expect in rivers and harbours, at high and low water. There were books full of these tables for every country in the world, and it was essential to know the draught of your ship, or how much was under the water, and the expected depth at your position. If you didn't know this, the ship could go aground. This was explained to him just for his own information, he wouldn't be expected to put this specialist knowledge into practice for many years, but it was interesting to know how the ship was handled, and what rules were to be obeyed. Copyright Deric Barry 2005.