Showing posts with label an. Show all posts
Showing posts with label an. Show all posts
Monday, November 28, 2016
Bob and Carol visit the Gulf of Mexico oil slick an unfortunate series of events occur
Bob and Carol were watching their favorite news channel, and listening to stories that were saying the oil slick wasn't that bad, and drilling for oil was "Good for America". We remember this insensitive, and not so bright couple, Bob, and Carol from the story about buying their new boat. So Bob, in a very rare display of initiative, tells Carol, "lets load up the boat, and go out and see what this oil slick business is all about". Bob, Carol, and the kids make sure they have all of their important marine gear. The kids grab Ipods, and video games, Carol makes sure there are plenty of chips, and dip on board, Bob gets a back up case of beer, and off they go on their Magnifico 50' yacht. It doesn't take long for Bob and Carol to see the first signs of the slick from the bridge. Bob says "this isn't that bad", and Carol says, "look at the pretty colors, but it does smell a little funny".
Bob and Carol, comforted by the fact that things don't seem that bad at all, carry on. Bob wants to see where the oil leak is, because he saw on TV cool pictures of things burning there, just like it was the Fourth of July. After a while, the kids emerge from the dark cool cabin complaining that it was getting a little warm. Bob says "well stay out here in the fresh air, it will do you some good". The kids wrinkle their nose at the odor, and disappear back below. Bob yells out after them, "just turn the thermostat down". Bob thinks about this for a few milliseconds, and decides the strainers haven't been cleaned for a while, and he will have his boat maintenance guy check it when they get back.
Bob is watching his favorite TV news show, on his chartplotter thingy, and isn't paying attention to the engine gauges. The temperature gauges, on both engines have started to climb slowly up. Bob asks Carol to get him another beer. Just as Carol hands him a new cold one, Bob feels a thump, and the generator shuts down. Seconds later the port engine shuts down, and alarms start squealing on the bridge. A moment later the other engine shuts down, in conjunction with a very loud clanking noise. Carol says "Stop all that high pitched noise, I'm trying to read my Cosmo". Bob turns off the engine ignition switches, and all of the alarms stop, except one. Bob frantically scans all of the gadgets on the bridge, and sees an outline of his boat, with lots of little red lights on it. The one that is lit, is marked "High Water Alarm". The kids come running up to the bridge screaming, "the floor is wet in our cabin". Bob runs down, looks into the companion way, and sees two inches of water over the carpet in the forward cabin. He also smells some exhaust fumes in the cabin.
Bob now has an inkling there may be a real problem now, and he should get some help. For the first time on the trip, he turns on the VHF radio, and starts to yell "Mayday, Mayday". The Coast Guard answers, and starts to ask questions. One of the questions is, "where are you?". It takes Bob some time to figure how to get the TV off of the chartplotter thingy, and get it on a chart page with his position. He tells them the position, and seconds later, all power on the boat disappears. Bob thinks maybe they need those orange floating jacket things, but he doesn't know where they are, and besides, Carol wouldn't get into that black greasy water anyway. One of the kids suggests that the raft in a fiberglass box behind them would be useful. They all rush to the back of the bridge and stare at it. A cord is spotted, and one of the kids jerks it, and it explodes open just in time. The water is now at the bridge, and they all pile into the orange raft, just as the vessel gracefully sinks away underneath them through the thick black goo.
Bob now has an inkling there may be a real problem now, and he should get some help. For the first time on the trip, he turns on the VHF radio, and starts to yell "Mayday, Mayday". The Coast Guard answers, and starts to ask questions. One of the questions is, "where are you?". It takes Bob some time to figure how to get the TV off of the chartplotter thingy, and get it on a chart page with his position. He tells them the position, and seconds later, all power on the boat disappears. Bob thinks maybe they need those orange floating jacket things, but he doesn't know where they are, and besides, Carol wouldn't get into that black greasy water anyway. One of the kids suggests that the raft in a fiberglass box behind them would be useful. They all rush to the back of the bridge and stare at it. A cord is spotted, and one of the kids jerks it, and it explodes open just in time. The water is now at the bridge, and they all pile into the orange raft, just as the vessel gracefully sinks away underneath them through the thick black goo.
A helicopter shows up, and Bob, Carol, and the kids, are saved, but the Magnifico 50' yacht has now been added to Bob's "Museum of Shattered Dreams" vast collection.
This scenario is possible, although most likely not as Bob and Carol experienced it. I'm not going to turn this into a science fair project, but I will layout in general terms what is in the oil slick, and what impact it could have on your boat, should you encounter it. I will also add some links for further discovery, if you are so inclined.
The goop in the water can be generically described as "Sweet Louisiana Crude" A crude oil is described as "Sweet", if it has less than .05% sulfur content. Crude oil is a hydrocarbon soup, that is processed into fuels (gasoline), solvents, and many other products. In its raw form, there are many materials naturally present such as Butane, Methane, Ethane, and many more "ane's" are on this list. All of these hydrocarbons can attack, and damage materials that are not designed to withstand contact with them.
So what does this have to do with with your boat. The chemicals present in the oil slick can attack gasket materials, and hoses that are not specifically designed to resist these hydrocarbons. Go to West Marine, and check out the cost differential between 10 feet of fuel line hose, and 10 feet of water line hose. There is a huge difference in price (400%), because materials designed to withstand degradation from hydrocarbons are much more costly to manufacture.
In Bob and Carol's case, I blamed the air conditioning system for sinking the boat, although I can certainly add many additional contributing causes. As the AC cooling water was pulled into the boat, the oil in it started to stick to the strainer basket, slowing the water flow, and hence the less cooling. The oil caused the raw water pump impeller to soften, and the hoses attached to the pump softened as well, and started to swell. With enough time, and pressure, the softened hose from the AC pump burst open, and the system starts to pump oily raw water into the bilge. This would run for a while, until the AC systems start to shut down, due to slow water flow, and the relays automatically turn off the pump. But by now the damaged impeller allows water to bypass it, and water still flows, but at a slower pace.
The generator suffered from a similar scenario, but in this case, the strainer just got plugged up with oil, and it did a high temperature shut down. It survives this time, but the entire cooling system will have to be flushed out, and the impeller replaced, at the minimum. This could be lot worse, depending on the type of cooling system it had.
I didn't talk about the head system, but if salt water was used for flushing, the oil can eat , or damage gaskets such as the joker valve, and hoses.You should also hope that manual heads had a vented loop above the water line, or this could have sunk the boat just as easily.
Now for the engines. In almost all cases, oil in the cooling water can go from just plugging things up, causing shutdowns, to destroying the engines. This goes for gas, diesel, and don't forget outboards. There are a myriad of scenarios here. In Bob's case, remember he smelled exhaust gas in the cabin? It could have come from a failed rubber exhaust elbow, that oil laden cooling water was passing through. It's tough enough job to keep cooling water away from the insides of engines, and transmissions with out worrying about all the gaskets that do that job, failing because of hydrocarbon degradation.
Can it get worse? Sure it can. How about coating your zincs with a nice thick film of oil, rendering them useless. Your ground plate for the single side band radio will also suffer the same fate. The pretty vinyl boot stripe won't like the oil, the hull can stain, and how about the water lubricated dripless stuffing boxes. I'm not sure, but I suspect cutlass bearings most likely won't like the oil either. The list here is almost endless. It's hard enough to keep a boat operating in a highly corrosive salt water environment. Add this nasty hydrocarbon goo to the mix, and you will really shorten your vessels life, and spend a lot of extra money. Did I mention the potential for a fire? A burst hose, or failed gasket spraying crude oil laden water inside a hot engine compartment, does not bode well if an ignition source was available.
The birds, and marine life aren't surviving it, and your pleasure boat won't either!
If you go down into the oil today
You're sure of a big surprise.
If you go down in the oil today
Your boat better be in disguise.
For ev'ry skimmer that ever there was
Will gather there for certain, because
Today's the day the BP Oil has their picnic
.
The goop in the water can be generically described as "Sweet Louisiana Crude" A crude oil is described as "Sweet", if it has less than .05% sulfur content. Crude oil is a hydrocarbon soup, that is processed into fuels (gasoline), solvents, and many other products. In its raw form, there are many materials naturally present such as Butane, Methane, Ethane, and many more "ane's" are on this list. All of these hydrocarbons can attack, and damage materials that are not designed to withstand contact with them.
So what does this have to do with with your boat. The chemicals present in the oil slick can attack gasket materials, and hoses that are not specifically designed to resist these hydrocarbons. Go to West Marine, and check out the cost differential between 10 feet of fuel line hose, and 10 feet of water line hose. There is a huge difference in price (400%), because materials designed to withstand degradation from hydrocarbons are much more costly to manufacture.
In Bob and Carol's case, I blamed the air conditioning system for sinking the boat, although I can certainly add many additional contributing causes. As the AC cooling water was pulled into the boat, the oil in it started to stick to the strainer basket, slowing the water flow, and hence the less cooling. The oil caused the raw water pump impeller to soften, and the hoses attached to the pump softened as well, and started to swell. With enough time, and pressure, the softened hose from the AC pump burst open, and the system starts to pump oily raw water into the bilge. This would run for a while, until the AC systems start to shut down, due to slow water flow, and the relays automatically turn off the pump. But by now the damaged impeller allows water to bypass it, and water still flows, but at a slower pace.
The generator suffered from a similar scenario, but in this case, the strainer just got plugged up with oil, and it did a high temperature shut down. It survives this time, but the entire cooling system will have to be flushed out, and the impeller replaced, at the minimum. This could be lot worse, depending on the type of cooling system it had.
I didn't talk about the head system, but if salt water was used for flushing, the oil can eat , or damage gaskets such as the joker valve, and hoses.You should also hope that manual heads had a vented loop above the water line, or this could have sunk the boat just as easily.
Now for the engines. In almost all cases, oil in the cooling water can go from just plugging things up, causing shutdowns, to destroying the engines. This goes for gas, diesel, and don't forget outboards. There are a myriad of scenarios here. In Bob's case, remember he smelled exhaust gas in the cabin? It could have come from a failed rubber exhaust elbow, that oil laden cooling water was passing through. It's tough enough job to keep cooling water away from the insides of engines, and transmissions with out worrying about all the gaskets that do that job, failing because of hydrocarbon degradation.
Can it get worse? Sure it can. How about coating your zincs with a nice thick film of oil, rendering them useless. Your ground plate for the single side band radio will also suffer the same fate. The pretty vinyl boot stripe won't like the oil, the hull can stain, and how about the water lubricated dripless stuffing boxes. I'm not sure, but I suspect cutlass bearings most likely won't like the oil either. The list here is almost endless. It's hard enough to keep a boat operating in a highly corrosive salt water environment. Add this nasty hydrocarbon goo to the mix, and you will really shorten your vessels life, and spend a lot of extra money. Did I mention the potential for a fire? A burst hose, or failed gasket spraying crude oil laden water inside a hot engine compartment, does not bode well if an ignition source was available.
The birds, and marine life aren't surviving it, and your pleasure boat won't either!
If you go down into the oil today
You're sure of a big surprise.
If you go down in the oil today
Your boat better be in disguise.
For ev'ry skimmer that ever there was
Will gather there for certain, because
Today's the day the BP Oil has their picnic
.
(With apologies to Mr. Hall for stepping on "The Teddy's Bear's Picnic)
Want to help? Here are some sources
What is crude oil, and what's in it.
Want to help? Here are some sources
What is crude oil, and what's in it.
Bill Bishop
A small postscript about the story.
I received a flurry of comments today after I posted this. They range from they liked the beginning, but not the technical end, they hated the beginning, but liked the technical end, they liked it, and they hated it, it was too political, it will discourage boating, and it just made some people uncomfortable. I have fooled around with this story on and off today. It is what it is, and it will now stay this way.
This is a simple story. Bob and Carol, are the foils. They are the Eddie Haskell's of the world, and provide the set up for a general discussion of how the oil slick could affect a vessel. If the subject matter makes people uncomfortable, I'm ok with this, it should. I live In Sarasota Florida, a place with world renowned beaches, and a community whose primary income depends on these pristine beaches, boating, and fishing. It is also a community in denial. No task forces are looking into what to do if the oil gets to us. No planning is going on. We are advertising the fact that we don't have a problem, come visit, but no one is looking forward into the future, and we should be.
Tens of millions gallons have already spilled into the Gulf, and if you accept the the more conservative number of 35,000 barrels a day now being released into the Gulf. Thats 42 gallons in a barrel * 35,000 barrels = 1,470,000 gallons per day (NOAA estimate). Now lets just assume that the relief wells won't cap this problem until mid August, lets say 60 more days. The total gallons of crude oil released just over the next 60 days would be 88,600,000 gallons, or around ten times the Exxon Valdez spill. We can argue about the numbers, but they are staggering at any level. Now if you don't think this problem is going to impact Sarasota, and communities in the down stream flow of the Gulf Stream, including the eastern US coasts, you must have your head in the sand. Just ask someone from the coastal areas of Louisiana, what life is like now. Was it a bit political, yes. Did I try to make it a bit pointed, yes. Did it make you a little uncomfortable, I hope so. "
"We have met the enemy, and it is us". Walt Kelly.
Bill
A small postscript about the story.
I received a flurry of comments today after I posted this. They range from they liked the beginning, but not the technical end, they hated the beginning, but liked the technical end, they liked it, and they hated it, it was too political, it will discourage boating, and it just made some people uncomfortable. I have fooled around with this story on and off today. It is what it is, and it will now stay this way.
This is a simple story. Bob and Carol, are the foils. They are the Eddie Haskell's of the world, and provide the set up for a general discussion of how the oil slick could affect a vessel. If the subject matter makes people uncomfortable, I'm ok with this, it should. I live In Sarasota Florida, a place with world renowned beaches, and a community whose primary income depends on these pristine beaches, boating, and fishing. It is also a community in denial. No task forces are looking into what to do if the oil gets to us. No planning is going on. We are advertising the fact that we don't have a problem, come visit, but no one is looking forward into the future, and we should be.
Tens of millions gallons have already spilled into the Gulf, and if you accept the the more conservative number of 35,000 barrels a day now being released into the Gulf. Thats 42 gallons in a barrel * 35,000 barrels = 1,470,000 gallons per day (NOAA estimate). Now lets just assume that the relief wells won't cap this problem until mid August, lets say 60 more days. The total gallons of crude oil released just over the next 60 days would be 88,600,000 gallons, or around ten times the Exxon Valdez spill. We can argue about the numbers, but they are staggering at any level. Now if you don't think this problem is going to impact Sarasota, and communities in the down stream flow of the Gulf Stream, including the eastern US coasts, you must have your head in the sand. Just ask someone from the coastal areas of Louisiana, what life is like now. Was it a bit political, yes. Did I try to make it a bit pointed, yes. Did it make you a little uncomfortable, I hope so. "
"We have met the enemy, and it is us". Walt Kelly.
Bill
Wednesday, November 23, 2016
Fixing an old failure scarfing a grip onto a sassafras northwoods Part 1
Here's an update on an old paddle failure. Back in 2012, I was working on my first sassafras paddle made from a thick 8/4 board, the only size I could source at the time. The inspiration for the paddle was a specimen in the Hudson Museum in Maine featuring a graceful, segmented grip
Hudson Museum Paddles
(Photo Credit: Bob Holtzman)
http://indigenousboats.blogspot.com
http://indigenousboats.blogspot.com
I was quite disappointed at this point and didn't want the paddle remnants to go to waste, so in the end both pieces were kept in the hopes of re-purposing them somehow. The grip was stored inside since it felt quite comfortable and I wanted to keep it as a future template. After mulling around for ideas to re-use the blade, it was, in the end, just relegated to a garden ornament...a kind of paddle tombstone for a failed project.
Anyway, the paddle blade was yanked out of the garden where it has weathered into a antique grey patina but came out without any sign of rot. The grip was pulled out of indoor storage and the two setup on the garden shed to represent what could've been...
With a scrap piece of sassafras cut from more recent projects, a plan was hatched to try a scarf repair like David's.
Using a mitre saw, I cut the steepest angle I could manage. Here is a shot of the scarf joint clamped up...
The glue-up went well and it seems to be very strong. A new grip will be sketched out and reshaped soon.
DECEMBER 2016 Update: New grip has been shaped out. See post # 2 in series HERE.
Thursday, November 10, 2016
How to mount an electric motor on a canoe
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illustration How to mount an electric motor on a canoe
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Saturday, October 15, 2016
Book Release Dorade The History of an Ocean Racing Yacht
Yesterday I was very pleased to have received a copy of Doug Adkins fine book entitled Dorade, The History of an Ocean Racing Yacht. The book has recently been released in a limited edition run of 250. I have never seen a book so well done. The book comes in a fabric bound box and includes a set of drawings including the sail plan, accommodations and construction plans, a high quality image of the cover shot and a leather book mark that is a copy of the famous lapel ribbon worn during the ticker tape parade back in 1931.
I received the following thoughtful note from the author.
The book is the most complete history about the boat that can possibly be imagined and includes all kinds of information about Olin, Sparkman & Stephens and related matter. Granted it's expensive at $250 but based on this publishers previous effort: Lines by Olin J. Stephens II, it should appreciate rather quickly. When the Lines book was released it was done so in two formats: a limited edition run of 250 with fabric covered slipcover and a standard run in plainer binding. The limited edition version cost $250 as well. The limited edition copies are now trading for as much as $2,300.
Click here to access the Dorade book website and learn how to order the limited edition version. A "standard" trade edition of the Dorade book is also available for $65. It is a hardbound copy with dust jacket. Click here for ordering instructions.
Thanks Doug for sending us a copy and congratulations on a monumental achievement.
Wednesday, October 12, 2016
Anchored in Townsville under an awesome Air Show
12-16 October 2016
We dropped the mooring in Pioneer Bay soon after first light and motored south in almost windless conditions along the western shores of Orpheus Island towards Townsville where we planned to spend a few days before continuing our trek south.
We lived in this North Queensland city in the 1980’s. It was where we bought our first house and all our children were born. Although not having been back for quite a while, we still had a number of friends here we were hoping to catch up with. We also discovered we had arrived just in time for the coming weekend’s T150 Celebrations to mark the City’s 150th Birthday. This included a massive Australian Defence Force Airshow followed by an enormous fireworks display. Best of all it was all going to happen over the water off the beaches where Our Dreamtime at anchor would have the best seats in town. Talk about perfect timing.
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| Motoring on glassy seas through the Palm Group of Islands. |
The run through the Palm group of island was quite pleasant as we cruised past many attractive small islets. Much of this area is a designated Air Force live firing range centred on Rattle Snake Island but it was inoperative at this time so we could take the shortcut right through the middle of it.
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| Rattle Snake Island is a RAAF practice range for fast jets. |
It took quite a while before the wind strengthened enough to sail but when it did we had a very nice square reach in through the West Channel between Cape Pallarenda and Magnetic Island .
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| It was fantastic when the wind picked up enough to turn the engine off and enjoy the sailing. |
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| Our Dreamtime loves the wind square on the beam making good speed in light conditions. |
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| The light and shadows combined to produce a very grumpy emojo face on Townsville's Castle Hill as we approached. |
The water here is quite shallow so we kept a close eye on the depth gauge as we made our way towards our planned anchorage in an area known locally as ‘The Duck Pond’between breakwaters at the shipping harbour’s entrance. This area beside the Breakwater Casino is earmarked for future reclamation but in the meantime offers a good, free and reasonably well sheltered anchorage.
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| Orpheus Island to Townsville - 45.0 Nautical Miles - 8 Hours 02 Minutes Average Speed 5.6 Knots - Max Speed 7.8 Knots |
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| Townsville's Duck Pond can provide a shallow but free anchorage adjacent to the centre of the city. |
However it is very shallow with only the quarter of the area further most from the Casino offering depths of more than of 1 to 1.5 metres at low tide. The sea bed is very soft, fine mud which is very forgiving if you do touch, or in our case, sit in, the bottom. We draw 1.5 metres and on a couple of low tides during our stay our keel was buried about 30cm in the mud without any problems. The soft bottom does require putting out more anchor chain than you’d normally use in such shallow depths. Many people have been caught out here with boats dragging in moderate winds. Access to the shore is available via a dinghy dock next to the fuel dock in the marina for a $10 a day charge.
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| Sunset from Townsville's Duck Pond anchorage. |
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| A stark reminder that we were in Crocodile country was this trap complete with pig's head bait in Townsville's Duck Pond. |
Beside the marina the Tobrook Memorial Baths which were originally built back in 1950 have been expanded once again while preserving its heritage. Because of Townsville’s warmer climate, the Tobruk Pool was used as a training venue for the Australian swimming squad for the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games and 1960 Rome Olympic Games. Team members included Australian swimming legends Dawn Fraser, Murray Rose and Lorraine Crapp. Six world records and 13 Australian records were set there in one night in 1956, with the footage featured on the first day of television broadcast in Melbourne.
Continuing west, The Strand is now full of new public amenities including a water park, excellent children’s playgrounds, exercise equipment, outdoor stage area, public art, cafes and the excellent rock pool swimming facility at the western end. On the headland at Kissing Point the old Army Reserve Barracks has also been redeveloped with a military museum, parkland walks, art gallery and lookouts. We enjoyed the best part of a day exploring Townsville foreshore including an excellent lunch at a Greek Café.
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| We were very impressed with Townsville's redeveloped Strand. |
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| The public facilities such as this BBQ area are first class. |
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| No need for a gym membership when there is such good outdoor exercise equipment in the park. |
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| Not all is at it first seems. |
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| A fun piece of public art. |
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| No shortage of fun for the kids here. |
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| Townsville's Strand provides plenty of options for a dip. |
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| The rock pool is excellent. |
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| A couple of the Townsville locals we came across. |
Great Townsville friends Peter and Mariane joined us on board Our Dreamtime on Saturday morning to get set for the big airshow. As we enjoyed a great lunch of fresh seafood on the stern, we were provided with plenty of entertainment as vessels both great and small filled the duck pond jockeying for the best view. With all the action happening overhead we really didn’t think it mattered that a number of boats anchored in front of us. Sure enough ALL the huge range of aircraft taking part across the five hour show flew low directly over our boat at different points of their demonstrations.
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| Fresh prawns, Moreton Bay bugs and bubbles waiting for the air show to start. |
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| An hour earlier there was not one boat anchored behind us. |
Heritage warbirds such as a P51 Mustang, Catalina Flying Boat, Lockheed Hudson and Neptune Maritime Surveillance aircraft were joined by the RAAF’s latest and greatest including FA18 Super Hornet, C17, Wedgetail and of course the Roulettes aerobatic team. A great bonus were two unbelievable demonstrations by a Major Richard ‘Punch’ Smeeding from Misawa Air Force Base in Japan in the cockpit of a USAF F16 Fighting Falcon. The fast jets were certainly the stars of the show. We’ve only included a few shots of the planes here but if you’re a aircraft nut and would like to see more you can have a look at almost 80 shots Rob took in our T150 Air Show Facebook Album.
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| We could not have asked for a better view of the T150 Air Show. |
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| The sound of the V12 Merlin engine in this P51 Mustang in RAAF colours was glorious. |
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| The very LOUD RAAF F/A-18F Super Hornet put on a brilliant display |
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| Vapour pours off the USAF F16 Fighting Falcon in a loop over our boat. |
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| The RAAF Roulettes in tight formation flying the PC-9/A |
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| Flares fired off by a C130 Hercules and PC3 Orion were the perfect way to launch very long and spectacular fireworks. |
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| The reflections over the water added a great dimension to the fireworks. |
On Sunday morning we were able to catch up with our old neighbours Phil and Anne over brunch and drinks at the Townsville Yacht Club. Although we hadn’t seen each other for 16 years we had kept in touch over recent times via Facebook. The fantastic thing was we found ourselves sitting and chatting as comfortably as if it had only been days since our last conversation rather than a decade and a half. If they hadn’t had another previous commitment we probably would have been there late into the night.
After our goodbyes we strolled to the nearby Maritime Museum on the banks of the Ross Creek and were very pleasantly surprised about how good a job this volunteer organisation has done in presenting the marine history of the region. There is a very good area dedicated to World War Two Townsville and the pivotal Battle of the Coral Sea that occurred uncomfortably close to these shores.
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| Townsville's Maritime Museum was well worth the visit. |
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| The WW2 exhibit was very informative. |
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| This model of HMS Pandora that sank on the Great Barrier Reef after arresting Bounty mutineers was one of many. |
An excellent display details the loss in 1911 of the luxury passenger vessel SS Yongala in a cyclone south of Townsville. One hundred and twenty two people had been on board, and none of them survived. It was not until 1958 that divers discovered the wreck site.
The Yongala steamed from Mackay for Townsville in the afternoon of March 23 carrying 49 passengers and 73 crew. She was still in sight of land when the signal station at Flat Top (Mackay) received a telegram warning of a cyclone in the area between Townsville and Mackay. Although the shore-based wireless station was capable of wireless communication few ships carried wireless in 1911. Ironically, a wireless destined for installation on the Yongala had recently been dispatched from the Marconi company in England but was yet to reach Australia. Five hours later, the lighthouse keeper on Dent Island in the Whitsunday Passage watched Yongala steam past into the worsening weather. It was the last sighting.
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| Karen with a model of the SS Yongala which foundered south of Townsville in a cyclone. |
In 1943, a Royal Australian Navy minesweeper corvette, on a passage from Townsville to Brisbane clearing the shipping lanes off the Queensland coast mined at the beginning of the Second World War, fouled on an obstruction believed to be a shoal, but which was not investigated at this time.
In 1947, the Royal Australian Navy hydrographic vessel HMAS Lachlan examined the obstruction using anti-submarine equipment and an echo sounder. The obstruction was thought to be a sunken ship, and presumed to be that of SS Yongala. No further action was taken, leaving Yongala in peace for another eleven years. It wasn’t until 1958 that Townsville divers rediscovered the wrecks location and the Yongala was positively identified.
The museum’s display includes a very good video presentation and many artefacts from the wreck including the ships bell. The Yongala is now fully protected as an historic wreck under federal law and has become a world famous site .
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| We did like the sense of humour of museum's volunteer staff. |
All too soon our time in Townsville came to end. There were many other people we would have loved to have spent time with. It also would have been great to take a look at what has become of our first home but the south easterlies were giving way to some predicted north easterlies opening a weather window for us to continue south. The wind dictates how long we stay somewhere and when we move on .
We would spend one day reacquainting ourselves with the delights of Magnetic Island then we would be underway again.
We love to receive comments on our blog from readers. If you do leave a comment and you also have a blog, please leave a link as well. We'd like to click over for a visit and leave you a comment too.
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| Good afternoon from Townsville. |
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We love to receive comments on our blog from readers. If you do leave a comment and you also have a blog, please leave a link as well. We'd like to click over for a visit and leave you a comment too.
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