General Discussions  
This is the place to discuss general issues related to the U-boat war or the war at sea in WWII. 
help for a landlubber
Posted by: Tom Iwanski ()
Date: August 16, 2001 08:21PM

<HTML>Hi all,

I\'d like to know what the term \"heave-to\" means. In the context I\'m speaking of, a destroyer captain is speaking to his Exec after being told to expect gale force ten winds. He says \". . . in a force ten we should heave-to, but we can\'t. Not enough fuel.\"

I assume he means head into the wind to avoid large waves from behind swamping the boat?

Later in the chapter, the captain stated that so long as the wind and the sea stayed on the beam things would be OK, but if the helmsman relaxed and allowed the ship\'s head to veer to starboard, the sea would be on the ship\'s quarter and it would lose control, swing stern to sea and get pooped.

Once again, I am assuming that the the wind and sea is on the ship\'s port, parallel to the centerline, or beam, of the destroyer. I interpret the captain\'s statement as any turn toward starboard would put the ship\'s stern port quarter toward the waves and cause a loss of control, correct? If that is correct, could someone explain some of the dynamics of how a ship and its steering gear behave in a heavy sea? Also, wouldn\'t heavy seas on your beam increase risk of capsizing?

Many thanks,

Tom </HTML>

Options: ReplyQuote


Subject Written By Posted
help for a landlubber Tom Iwanski 08/16/2001 08:21PM
RE: help for a landlubber walter M 08/16/2001 09:17PM
RE: help for a landlubber Will 08/16/2001 10:01PM
RE: help for a landlubber Malcolm Cowie 08/17/2001 04:50AM
RE: help for a landlubber Hank 08/17/2001 01:34PM
RE: help for a landlubber parade 08/17/2001 02:34PM
RE: help for a landlubber Rainer Bruns 08/17/2001 04:35PM
RE: help for a landlubber J.T. McDaniel 08/17/2001 10:56PM
RE: help for a landlubber Hank 08/19/2001 04:22PM
RE: help for a landlubber John Griffiths 08/17/2001 02:27PM
RE: help for a landlubber Rainer Bruns 08/17/2001 04:27PM
RE: help for a landlubber John Griffiths 08/17/2001 08:09PM
RE: help for a landlubber Tom Iwanski 08/17/2001 06:00PM
RE: help for a landlubber Antonio Veiga 08/17/2001 05:56PM
RE: help for a landlubber Takeo 08/18/2001 03:42PM


Your Name: 
Your Email: 
Subject: 
Spam prevention:
Please, enter the code that you see below in the input field. This is for blocking bots that try to post this form automatically.
 **      **  **     **  ********        **  ********  
 **  **  **  **     **  **    **        **  **     ** 
 **  **  **  **     **      **          **  **     ** 
 **  **  **  **     **     **           **  **     ** 
 **  **  **   **   **     **      **    **  **     ** 
 **  **  **    ** **      **      **    **  **     ** 
  ***  ***      ***       **       ******   ********