That would be my guess - it would be nice to warn folks that they're going to swing
around. Since the vessel was not strictly underway, I'm not sure its strictly required.

Maybe they were using a little reverse to straighten/reset the chain when the tide
changed. Is one actually "at anchor" at this point?

For leaving a berth: One prolonged blast (US Inland)
For a blind turn: One prolonged blast
For turn to starboard: One short blast (The meaning is slightly different in Intl and
Inland)
For "operating astern propulsion": three short blasts

I assume there was good visibility, so these weren't actually anchor signals.

"Donal" wrote in message
...
Yesterday, as we approached a large, anchored, oil tanker, it gave one
short blast. About a minute later it gave three short blasts.


Does anybody know what this meant?

At the time, there were few other boats in the vicinity. The tide was
about to turn. In fact the ship changed its attitude by 90 degrees over the
following 15-20 minutes. I noticed some smoke from the funnel for a couple
of minutes.

Do these ships "drive around" when at anchor? Would they indicate a
starboard turn, and then an astern signal?

I tried calling them up on the radio, but there was no reply.



Regards


Donal
--

I've never heard that before. Out here, the only thing I can
think of would be that they're warning you off, but that doesn't
seem to be the right sound. You could call the CG and ask.
Maybe they know something about the situation.

"Donal" wrote in message
...
Yesterday, as we approached a large, anchored, oil tanker, it gave one
short blast. About a minute later it gave three short blasts.


Does anybody know what this meant?

At the time, there were few other boats in the vicinity. The tide was
about to turn. In fact the ship changed its attitude by 90 degrees over
the
following 15-20 minutes. I noticed some smoke from the funnel for a
couple
of minutes.

Do these ships "drive around" when at anchor? Would they indicate a
starboard turn, and then an astern signal?

I tried calling them up on the radio, but there was no reply.



Regards


Donal
--

"Jonathan Ganz" wrote in message
...
I've never heard that before. Out here, the only thing I can
think of would be that they're warning you off, but that doesn't
seem to be the right sound.

That was my thought at the time. However, on reflection, that wouldn't make
sense. Sound signals are common in the Solent (esp. 5 toots), and I've
never seen a ship get them wrong.

Regards


Donal
--

"Donal" wrote in message ...
Yesterday, as we approached a large, anchored, oil tanker, it gave one
short blast. About a minute later it gave three short blasts.


One prolonged followed by 3 short usually means they are backing out
of a slip or dock

Does anybody know what this meant?

Perhaps it was a at anchor fog signal, followed a minute later by
astern propulsion signal to dig in an anchor.




At the time, there were few other boats in the vicinity. The tide was
about to turn. In fact the ship changed its attitude by 90 degrees over the
following 15-20 minutes. I noticed some smoke from the funnel for a couple
of minutes.

Do these ships "drive around" when at anchor?

Not usually donel, Its easier if they take the anchor up to drive
around. They might be setting an anchor.

Would they indicate a
starboard turn, and then an astern signal? Perhaps if the are anchor handling.

I tried calling them up on the radio, but there was no reply.

Try shooting a flare at them, then they might reply!


Capt. American



Regards


Donal
--

"Capt.American" wrote in message
om...
"Donal" wrote in message
...
Yesterday, as we approached a large, anchored, oil tanker, it gave one
short blast. About a minute later it gave three short blasts.


One prolonged followed by 3 short usually means they are backing out
of a slip or dock

Does anybody know what this meant?

Perhaps it was a at anchor fog signal, followed a minute later by
astern propulsion signal to dig in an anchor.

This makes most sense, so far. He could very well have been digging his
anchor in -- but would he really have sounded "astern" when there weren't
any boats behind him??
I don't think that it was a fog signal. I'm fairly sure that it was a short
blast. He did swing clockwise around his anchor - so a starboard turn is
just possible. Also, the two other ships at anchor didn't start to swing
around for another 10-15 minutes. They *should* have started to swing 5-10
minutes *before* the big tanker, because of the way that the tide works in
the Solent.



Do these ships "drive around" when at anchor?

Not usually donel, Its easier if they take the anchor up to drive
around. They might be setting an anchor.

I was wondering if they used their engines to control the direction that
they pointed in. I can't see why they would do this, but he did change his
attitude before the other two ships. It could have been the tide, because
tides don't always behave as the book says.



Would they indicate a
starboard turn, and then an astern signal? Perhaps if the are anchor
handling.

I tried calling them up on the radio, but there was no reply.

Try shooting a flare at them, then they might reply!

Heh, heh. I bet. With a name like "Petrokempt", I think that they would
just jump if they saw a flare coming!


Regards

Donal
--

"Donal" wrote in
:


"Jonathan Ganz" wrote in message
...
I've never heard that before. Out here, the only thing I can
think of would be that they're warning you off, but that doesn't
seem to be the right sound.

That was my thought at the time. However, on reflection, that
wouldn't make sense. Sound signals are common in the Solent (esp. 5
toots), and I've never seen a ship get them wrong.

You OTOH


Bertie

ubject: Sound signals at anchor
From: "Donal"
Date: 08/11/2003 07:31 Pacific Standard Time
Message-id:

Yesterday, as we approached a large, anchored, oil tanker, it gave one
short blast. About a minute later it gave three short blasts.


Does anybody know what this meant?

Probably testing the whistle.

At the time, there were few other boats in the vicinity. The tide was
about to turn. In fact the ship changed its attitude by 90 degrees over the
following 15-20 minutes. I noticed some smoke from the funnel for a couple
of minutes.

Do these ships "drive around" when at anchor?

Not normally, and in fact, the engine may well, not be ready for immediate use.
However, there could be a chance in a crowded or tight anchorage, where
conditions would warrant using the engine, to keep from over-riding the anchor,
etc..

Would they indicate a
starboard turn, and then an astern signal?

doubtful, but possible on the astern bell.

I tried calling them up on the radio, but there was no reply.

Probably back to sleep, by then

Shen

"Jeff Morris" jeffmo@NoSpam-sv-lokiDOTcom wrote in message
...


I assume there was good visibility, so these weren't actually anchor
signals.

Visibility was 2 miles. There were three ships anchored in the area, and
there were no other signals for at least an hour before and after.

They were quite clearly a starboard signal, closely followed by an astern
signal. I expected the 3 toots to carry on to 5, although I couldn't see
any obvious reason.


I wondered if these ships actually manoeuvre while at anchor, and if the
horn was automatically controlled.

I also wondered if a child might have been on the bridge??????


Regards


Donal
--

I wondered if these ships actually manoeuvre while at anchor, and if the
horn was automatically controlled.

not normally - no

I also wondered if a child might have been on the bridge??????

Quite possibly

Shen

Take some good advice. Don't worry too much about
weird things happening on and around any motor vessel
large or small. Try to keep in mind that most of the
people who operate these vessels don't know their
ass from a hole in the ground.

They go around doing just about what they damned
well please for a couple of reasons. One is they
think the bigger they are the more they can get away
with. Another is the merchant marine is a magnet
for every undesirable misfit and loser in the world.

If they cannot hold a job ashore they end up on ships
where they have no excuse for not showing up for their
shift. Unless they jump overboard they can always be
roused or kicked out of their fart sacks.

Shen44 and otnmbrd are two such examples of
misfits who found their way aboard ships and run them
about as poorly as they have run their useless lives.

S.Simon


"Donal" wrote in message ...
Yesterday, as we approached a large, anchored, oil tanker, it gave one
short blast. About a minute later it gave three short blasts.


Does anybody know what this meant?

At the time, there were few other boats in the vicinity. The tide was
about to turn. In fact the ship changed its attitude by 90 degrees over the
following 15-20 minutes. I noticed some smoke from the funnel for a couple
of minutes.

Do these ships "drive around" when at anchor? Would they indicate a
starboard turn, and then an astern signal?

I tried calling them up on the radio, but there was no reply.



Regards


Donal
--