Ships at sea
 

I found this pic on the 'net. Large ship in the foreground (D-30) is a
Navy "oiler" from which other ships refuel at sea.

The little ship behind it with it's bow sticking up in the air
is the USS Van Voorhis (DE-1028), taking on fuel. The Van Voorhis the
first ship I was assigned to in the Navy and spent a little over a year
on board.

Yup. Just another day at the office Harry.

https://tinyurl.com/y982x86m

Ships at sea
 

On Sun, 4 Feb 2018 16:17:18 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:


I found this pic on the 'net. Large ship in the foreground (D-30) is a
Navy "oiler" from which other ships refuel at sea.

The little ship behind it with it's bow sticking up in the air
is the USS Van Voorhis (DE-1028), taking on fuel. The Van Voorhis the
first ship I was assigned to in the Navy and spent a little over a year
on board.

Yup. Just another day at the office Harry.

https://tinyurl.com/y982x86m


===

Looks like the Van Voorhis was only in commission for about 15 years.
Is that typical for a destroyer escort?

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Ships at sea
 

On 2/4/2018 4:50 PM, wrote:
On Sun, 4 Feb 2018 16:17:18 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:


I found this pic on the 'net. Large ship in the foreground (D-30) is a
Navy "oiler" from which other ships refuel at sea.

The little ship behind it with it's bow sticking up in the air
is the USS Van Voorhis (DE-1028), taking on fuel. The Van Voorhis the
first ship I was assigned to in the Navy and spent a little over a year
on board.

Yup. Just another day at the office Harry.

https://tinyurl.com/y982x86m


===

Looks like the Van Voorhis was only in commission for about 15 years.
Is that typical for a destroyer escort?


That was the normal lifetime for that class DE (Dealey class). They
were designed to be cheap to build and "expendable" if called upon in an
attack on a convoy or battle group.

DE's were primarily convoy escort destroyers designed for anti-submarine
operations. The two I was on were modified late in their lives to test
a new passive sonar system. The "DE" classification was changed to "FF"
(for "Frigate") in later classes.

The Dealey class DE's earned a reputation for being tough, sea going
ships for their size but weren't the most crew friendly. They were
slightly larger than early classes from WWII.

Ships at sea
 

On 2/4/2018 5:23 PM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 2/4/2018 4:50 PM, wrote:
On Sun, 4 Feb 2018 16:17:18 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:


I found this pic on the 'net.Â* Large ship in the foreground (D-30) is a
Navy "oiler" from which other ships refuel at sea.

The little ship behind it with it's bow sticking up in the air
is the USS Van Voorhis (DE-1028), taking on fuel.Â* The Van Voorhis the
first ship I was assigned to in the Navy and spent a little over a year
on board.

Yup.Â* Just another day at the office Harry.

https://tinyurl.com/y982x86m


===

Looks like the Van Voorhis was only in commission for about 15 years.
Is that typical for a destroyer escort?


That was the normal lifetime for that class DE (Dealey class).Â* They
were designed to be cheap to build and "expendable" if called upon in an
attack on a convoy or battle group.

DE's were primarily convoy escort destroyers designed for anti-submarine
operations.Â* The two I was on were modified late in their lives to test
a new passive sonar system.Â* The "DE" classification was changed to "FF"
(for "Frigate") in later classes.

The Dealey class DE's earned a reputation for being tough, sea going
ships for their size but weren't the most crew friendly.Â* They were
slightly larger than early classes from WWII.


BTW ... hidden from view in that picture is me ... on the fantail
talking to the fish. :-)

Ships at sea
 

On Sun, 4 Feb 2018 17:24:44 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 2/4/2018 5:23 PM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 2/4/2018 4:50 PM, wrote:
On Sun, 4 Feb 2018 16:17:18 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:


I found this pic on the 'net.* Large ship in the foreground (D-30) is a
Navy "oiler" from which other ships refuel at sea.

The little ship behind it with it's bow sticking up in the air
is the USS Van Voorhis (DE-1028), taking on fuel.* The Van Voorhis the
first ship I was assigned to in the Navy and spent a little over a year
on board.

Yup.* Just another day at the office Harry.

https://tinyurl.com/y982x86m


===

Looks like the Van Voorhis was only in commission for about 15 years.
Is that typical for a destroyer escort?


That was the normal lifetime for that class DE (Dealey class).* They
were designed to be cheap to build and "expendable" if called upon in an
attack on a convoy or battle group.

DE's were primarily convoy escort destroyers designed for anti-submarine
operations.* The two I was on were modified late in their lives to test
a new passive sonar system.* The "DE" classification was changed to "FF"
(for "Frigate") in later classes.

The Dealey class DE's earned a reputation for being tough, sea going
ships for their size but weren't the most crew friendly.* They were
slightly larger than early classes from WWII.


BTW ... hidden from view in that picture is me ... on the fantail
talking to the fish. :-)


===

No shame in that, looks like a very rough day. I was thinking to
myself how difficult it must be to get any serious work done in
conditions like that.

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Ships at sea
 

On 2/4/2018 5:57 PM, wrote:
On Sun, 4 Feb 2018 17:24:44 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 2/4/2018 5:23 PM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 2/4/2018 4:50 PM, wrote:
On Sun, 4 Feb 2018 16:17:18 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:


I found this pic on the 'net.Â* Large ship in the foreground (D-30) is a
Navy "oiler" from which other ships refuel at sea.

The little ship behind it with it's bow sticking up in the air
is the USS Van Voorhis (DE-1028), taking on fuel.Â* The Van Voorhis the
first ship I was assigned to in the Navy and spent a little over a year
on board.

Yup.Â* Just another day at the office Harry.

https://tinyurl.com/y982x86m


===

Looks like the Van Voorhis was only in commission for about 15 years.
Is that typical for a destroyer escort?


That was the normal lifetime for that class DE (Dealey class).Â* They
were designed to be cheap to build and "expendable" if called upon in an
attack on a convoy or battle group.

DE's were primarily convoy escort destroyers designed for anti-submarine
operations.Â* The two I was on were modified late in their lives to test
a new passive sonar system.Â* The "DE" classification was changed to "FF"
(for "Frigate") in later classes.

The Dealey class DE's earned a reputation for being tough, sea going
ships for their size but weren't the most crew friendly.Â* They were
slightly larger than early classes from WWII.


BTW ... hidden from view in that picture is me ... on the fantail
talking to the fish. :-)


===

No shame in that, looks like a very rough day. I was thinking to
myself how difficult it must be to get any serious work done in
conditions like that.


You learn how to walk on walls.

Ships at sea
 

On Sun, 4 Feb 2018 18:07:11 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

No shame in that, looks like a very rough day. I was thinking to
myself how difficult it must be to get any serious work done in
conditions like that.


You learn how to walk on walls.


And not spill your coffee ;-)

Ships at sea
 

On 2/5/2018 1:05 PM, wrote:
On Sun, 4 Feb 2018 18:07:11 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

No shame in that, looks like a very rough day. I was thinking to
myself how difficult it must be to get any serious work done in
conditions like that.


You learn how to walk on walls.


And not spill your coffee ;-)



A useful skill for life. My wife cracks up because I can walk, trot,
trip ... whatever ... and never spill a drop. Your hand becomes a gyro
of sorts and the coffee cup sorta "floats" over the bumps. :-)

I never drank coffee before the Navy but learned quickly that strong,
black coffee was your lifeblood. Still drink it like that today, 40
years later.

Ships at sea
 

On Mon, 5 Feb 2018 13:15:28 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 2/5/2018 1:05 PM, wrote:
On Sun, 4 Feb 2018 18:07:11 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

No shame in that, looks like a very rough day. I was thinking to
myself how difficult it must be to get any serious work done in
conditions like that.


You learn how to walk on walls.


And not spill your coffee ;-)



A useful skill for life. My wife cracks up because I can walk, trot,
trip ... whatever ... and never spill a drop. Your hand becomes a gyro
of sorts and the coffee cup sorta "floats" over the bumps. :-)

I never drank coffee before the Navy but learned quickly that strong,
black coffee was your lifeblood. Still drink it like that today, 40
years later.

I still have that skill too and if you look at the coffee instead of
looking around the ship, you won't get seasick. Your eyes are seeing
what your inner ear is feeling. Part of that same thing is being able
to hold your head still and let your legs do all of the pitching and
rolling. Again it absorbs most of the sloshing that would be going on
in your ears. Guys used to just show off at how well they could just
stand there drinking their coffee while the ship was going nuts.
Tricks small ship sailors learn I suppose.

Ships at sea
 

On Mon, 05 Feb 2018 16:59:08 -0500, wrote:

Guys used to just show off at how well they could just
stand there drinking their coffee while the ship was going nuts.
Tricks small ship sailors learn I suppose.

===

Not so much in my experience. The motion tends to be much quicker on
a smaller boat and it takes a great deal of effort just to move around
without getting tossed into something. I've been on several sailboats
where people got broken ribs from because they lost their grip and
were thrown across the cabin to the leeward side. It's not quite that
bad on a stabilized motor yacht but there is still a great deal of
quick motion. I usually try to brace myself into a corner and keep an
eye on the horizon. Anything that requires intense, near in
concentration, like navigation or replacing fuel filters, can be a
real stomach churner.

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