General Discussions
This is the place to discuss general issues related to the U-boat war or the war at sea in WWII.
A bit of Humor, It\'s Healthy!
Posted by:
Fin Bonset
()
Date: June 01, 2001 01:29PM
<HTML>Hi friends,
Just once in a while I think it is a good thing to have a little humor in our daily lives. I know for some of us, this website is part of our everyday, so here is a neat story that is related to drinking and navy fighting men. This just proves a point that drinking is a tradition among the Navies and Merchant Marines around the world. And thus, it somewhat relates to u-boat men and rewards of a drink of some sort.
To the flamers, go right ahead with the flak, I really don\'t care. But I\'m telling you, a little humor and fun in your lives doesn\'t hurt either.
Here it is:
Sea Duty
The following is from the history of the oldest commissioned warship in the world, the USS Constitution. It comes by way of the National Park Service, as printed in \"Oceanographic Ships, Fore and Aft\", a periodical from the oceanographer of the US Navy.
23 August 1779,
The USS Constitution set sail from Boston, loaded with 475 officers and men, 48,600 gallons of water, 74,000 cannon shot, 11,500 pounds of Black powder and 79,400 gallons of rum. Her mission: to destroy and harass English shipping.
On 6 October, she made Jamaica, took on 826 pounds of flour and 68,300 gallons of rum. Three weeks later, Constitution reached the Azores, where she provisioned with 550 pounds of beef and 2,300 gallons of Portuguese wine.
On 18 November, she set sail for England where her crew captured and scuttled 12 English merchant vessels and took aboard their rum. By this time, Constitution had run out of shot. Nevertheless, she made her way unarmed up the Firth of Clyde for a night raid. Here, her Marines and landing party captured a whiskey distillery, transferred 13,000 gallons aboard and headed for home port.
On 20 February 1780, the Constitution arrived in Boston with no cannon shot, no food, no powder, no rum and no whiskey. She did, however, still carry her crew of 475 officers and men and 18,600 gallons of water.
The math is quite enlightening: Length of cruise: 181 days Booze
consumption: 1.26 gallons per man per day (this does NOT include the unknown quantify of rum captured from the 12 English merchant vessels in November). Naval historians say that the re-enlistment rate from this cruise was 92%!
A friend sent this to me from via a friend of his who is a Naval Historian.
Thought you all would get a kick out of this.
Best wishes,
Fin
</HTML>
Just once in a while I think it is a good thing to have a little humor in our daily lives. I know for some of us, this website is part of our everyday, so here is a neat story that is related to drinking and navy fighting men. This just proves a point that drinking is a tradition among the Navies and Merchant Marines around the world. And thus, it somewhat relates to u-boat men and rewards of a drink of some sort.
To the flamers, go right ahead with the flak, I really don\'t care. But I\'m telling you, a little humor and fun in your lives doesn\'t hurt either.
Here it is:
Sea Duty
The following is from the history of the oldest commissioned warship in the world, the USS Constitution. It comes by way of the National Park Service, as printed in \"Oceanographic Ships, Fore and Aft\", a periodical from the oceanographer of the US Navy.
23 August 1779,
The USS Constitution set sail from Boston, loaded with 475 officers and men, 48,600 gallons of water, 74,000 cannon shot, 11,500 pounds of Black powder and 79,400 gallons of rum. Her mission: to destroy and harass English shipping.
On 6 October, she made Jamaica, took on 826 pounds of flour and 68,300 gallons of rum. Three weeks later, Constitution reached the Azores, where she provisioned with 550 pounds of beef and 2,300 gallons of Portuguese wine.
On 18 November, she set sail for England where her crew captured and scuttled 12 English merchant vessels and took aboard their rum. By this time, Constitution had run out of shot. Nevertheless, she made her way unarmed up the Firth of Clyde for a night raid. Here, her Marines and landing party captured a whiskey distillery, transferred 13,000 gallons aboard and headed for home port.
On 20 February 1780, the Constitution arrived in Boston with no cannon shot, no food, no powder, no rum and no whiskey. She did, however, still carry her crew of 475 officers and men and 18,600 gallons of water.
The math is quite enlightening: Length of cruise: 181 days Booze
consumption: 1.26 gallons per man per day (this does NOT include the unknown quantify of rum captured from the 12 English merchant vessels in November). Naval historians say that the re-enlistment rate from this cruise was 92%!
A friend sent this to me from via a friend of his who is a Naval Historian.
Thought you all would get a kick out of this.
Best wishes,
Fin
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