Miscellaneous Batten Down the Hatches

[Targa]

Gah! 80 m.p.h. winds! A mere breeze...

We get often that and more here in Cornwall between the Autumnal and Vernal equinoxes. Mean wind force in excess of 100 m.p.h is nothing unusual.

I was sitting in my local, The Watering Hole http://www.the-wateringhole.co.uk/ yesterday evening with my ex-wife -to -be and my ex- brother- in- law- to- be looking at the storm developing. At the time, according to our smartphones, one of the met buoys near the Seven Stones was recording wave heights of 30ft., which is rather choppy.

I remember riding out the 1979 Fastnet gale with force 10-11 winds at anchor in St Mawes harbour with fifteeen fathoms of 3/8" chain cable, a 120lbs fisherman anchor and 150lbs of iron pigs slid down the cable on a on a collar. Our stem was level with the troughs as we pitched and as we rose the bowsprit of my 12 ton gaff cutter was throwing solid spray over our topmast 45ft above deck.

I hadn't sent the topmast down, figuring that the gear would stand it and it would give us an easier roll. It did. But even so on the ebb tide, when we rolled athwart the tide, rolling gun'll to gun'll, my girl friend and I had to lay athwart our bunk to get any sort of rest. Barnaby, the ship's cat, only turned out of his bunk to eat and use his sand box...

The next day it had moderated but was still blowing a good breeze (force 8 or so) and we put three reefs in the main and a full jib and poked our nose out past the Manacles and saw three of the Fastnet competitors running past with a free wind.

It wasn't until the day after that when we risked going ashore in the dinghy for supplies and some beers in the 'Victory'.

A friend had chanced his arm in the race as crew on Gringo, a tupperware balsa sandwich yacht. She capsized a few times, lost her mast and filled to the bunk tops - which improved the motion no end, he said. Every so often a few ton of green stuff landed on the coachroof, which gradually buckled... before they ran out of headroom a helicopter winched them off, one with broken ribs which must have been a bit trying... the yacht was never seen again.

A year or two later I surveyed for him a Percy Mitchell yacht - 36 ft on deck, pitch pine on oak, on the lines of a Loch Fyne skiff - in which he sailed to the West Indies and back without problem.

So, yeah, we get weather here. Any trees we have are pretty well anchored.

Most of the more land-locked members reading that this morning have probably just lost their breakfasts.

 

[ProfJames]

Kernwegor - I had the same problem understanding you as JBT had understanding me!!! 😀

 

[aldevis]

Gah! 80 m.p.h. winds! A mere breeze...

We get often that and more here in Cornwall between the Autumnal and Vernal equinoxes. Mean wind force in excess of 100 m.p.h is nothing unusual.

It is not surprising that philosophy developed in the Mediterranean.
BTW I come from a town famous for the wind (not Chicago) and 80mph if fairly common. We did not develop philosophy, though.

 

[Jeanette]

Can anyone translate this into American English?

Don't take this the wrong way but it always amazes me how we can understand our cousins across the water but they don't understand us.

I remember visiting English friends living in Virginia and we were out for a meal, our son wasn't given any cutlery, the term didn't mean anything to the waiter and we were still not understood calling them knives and forks, our friends stepped in, apparantly they are eating irons! Now I would have known what was meant by that despite it not being a term I use;}

Jx

 

[Lodger]

I once had a very windy day on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal near Skipton in my narrowboat - the waves were sending spray over the bow.

Sorry, that's the best I can manage.

 

[MandyH]

Don't take this the wrong way but it always amazes me how we can understand our cousins across the water but they don't understand us.

I remember visiting English friends living in Virginia and we were out for a meal, our son wasn't given any cutlery, the term didn't mean anything to the waiter and we were still not understood calling them knives and forks, our friends stepped in, apparantly they are eating irons! Now I would have known what was meant by that despite it not being a term I use;}

Jx

In our house they were always "bunsties"
I asked my dad why, once. Apparently one of us used the term as a toddler and it had stuck ever since. So we still "put the bunsties out" when the table needs setting.

And the storm has delayed my trip to see Stephen Howard with my Tenor sax - we had planned for Monday, but agreed that I will now go on Friday, as I didn't fancy the 5 hour return drive in unpredictable whether, as it wasn't really necessary.

 

[aldevis]

And the storm has delayed my trip to see Stephen Howard with my Tenor sax - we had planned for Monday, but agreed that I will now go on Friday, as I didn't fancy the 5 hour return drive in unpredictable whether, as it wasn't really necessary.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbONcxpLgwY

I wore my tilbud, to stay warm.

 

[jbtsax]

Don't take this the wrong way but it always amazes me how we can understand our cousins across the water but they don't understand us.

I remember visiting English friends living in Virginia and we were out for a meal, our son wasn't given any cutlery, the term didn't mean anything to the waiter and we were still not understood calling them knives and forks, our friends stepped in, apparantly they are eating irons! Now I would have known what was meant by that despite it not being a term I use;}

Jx

There are several term and expressions that are the same in both languages, but have an entirely different meaning. For example. "I knocked up my old girlfriend when I was in her neighborhood". 🙂

 

[ProfJames]

Good grief JBT!!!!!!

 

[Colin the Bear]

You think that's bad? They used to have a "knocker upper" man in the mill towns round here, with a big long stick.

 

[jonf]

And in London, where you'd also find a knocker upper's knocker upper.

 

[Colin the Bear]

And the famous Sagger makers bottom knocker in between

 

[Targa]

Now politically incorrect in any sense in either country - to bum a fag.

 

[jbtsax]

Boy this thread has gone down the loo in a hurry. However, I shall never again be confused by the Brit-speak on this forum. This list of translations will be my salvation.

 

[sushidushi]

This might also be useful.

 

[sushidushi]

Log in or register to view this reply.

 

[aldevis]

Log in or register to view this reply.

 

[sushidushi]

Log in or register to view this reply.

 

[sushidushi]

Log in or register to view this reply.

 

[old git]

Log in or register to view this reply.