A Bit on Ship's Motion
I should digress here and describe what it is like on a ship when winds exceed 40-40 knots and the sea state increase beyond force 7-8. Depending on the direction of the wind and the waves, the ship will pitch or roll unexpectedly and violently. At times it will pitch and roll at the same time.
For those not familiar with these terms, pitching is the word used to describe the up and down motion of the bow and stern of the ship. When waves are moving parallel to the direction as the ship, either following it or slamming into the bow, the vessel will pitch . . . the bow and stern will move up and down. In heavy seas, the bow will often be completely submerged for several seconds and then quickly rise upward as the ship encounters the peaks and troughs of the waves. This is not as dangerous as it might sound. All the doors and portholes, etc. are watertight. Any portion of the ship that is awash is not likely to leak. This being said, it can be is very uncomfortable and it makes handling the ship difficult.
Rolling occurs when the waves are hitting the ship broadside (or in nautical terms, across the beam.) As the vessel is carried over the crest and trough of a wave, it will roll to port and starboard. Ships are designed for this, with a low center of gravity due to extra ballast at the bottom. While they can and do roll heavily, they always straighten up again. Pitching or rolling would be predictable in an ideal sea, where the waves and wind always came from the same direction. However, as storms come and go, the wind changes direction. Waves from storms that have gone past still linger and mix with newer ones generated by approaching storms. The wind may be coming from any direction and change fairly quickly. The physics of the interaction between winds and seas is a complicated topic, and many oceanographers and sailors devote a great deal of their time studying it. I am not an expert in this area and will not go any farther, other than to say that when the seas are mixed up by successive storms, that is why the ship can both pitch and roll at the same time. And, the waves that do this cannot always be predicted or avoided.
Given this, think of a ship is these conditions as a sealed container that is being shaken and rolled around in what at times appears to be a random manner. We often took rolls of 45 degrees or more. Think about that. At 45 degrees, there is no difference between the deck (floor) and the bulkhead (wall.) One moment you are standing upright and the next the ship rolls over to port or starboard as far as 50 degrees. Unless you had a tight hold on something, you will end up on the bulkhead . . . and for several seconds as the ship hangs there, it might seem like trying to stand on it would be the best thing to do. Then the ship comes back and rolls the other way, usually not as far because of the mixed up seas. One soon learns to hold on to things, never let your guard down and expect a sudden movement at any time. This is very uncomfortable and, to some, it causes severe seasickness. On most cruises, storms pass and the pitching and rolling settles down to a point where it is not really noticed. Not on this cruise! We went for days and days in conditions like this.
Everything we tried to do was a battle. Eating was very difficult because things would spill off your plate. The chairs, chained to the deck, slid the several feet in either direction in keeping with the ship's motion. When it got really bad, all you could do was try to get a sandwich and a container of juice down. Sleeping was almost impossible. You had to brace yourself in the bunk, often putting a lifejacket under the outside edge of the mattress so you were wedged up against the bulkhead. Everything had to be tied down, or stuck to something secure with duct tape. We were always tired due to lack of sleep and fighting the motion of the ship. We only had one injury that was somewhat serious . . .one of the scientific staff was literally thrown out of his bunk during a bad roll and he hit a desk. This cracked a rib and although extremely uncomfortable, it was not life threatening. I can attest to the fact that he is fully recovered, for I still see him almost daily!
It was during this time, between Iceland and Canada, when we hit what was the most memorable storm of the trip. It was a force 12 hurricane, and although we had seen this kind of weather before, this one took its toll. On the morning of 8 March, we realized how bad it had been. We had all become accustomed to pitching and rolling, but this was the first time we had sustained any serious damage to the ship. As a result of heavy wind, the mast had fallen toward the port side of the ship. This presented a real danger. Aside from some damage to the antennas and radar, there was the possibility of it breaking loose and falling down to one of the lower decks. There was only one thing that could be done. When the weather let up a bit, members of the ship's crew climbed outside and tied the broken mast securely in place. It remained this way for the rest of the cruise. We were survivors. We took whatever measures necessary to get home safely. We had originally intended to depart from the ship in St. John's, Newfoundland, where it would be taken back out by another team of research scientists. Now that we had serious damage to the mast, the decision was made to return directly to our home port at BIO in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.
Last updated on Thursday, 12 April 2007