Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with ships

Shipwrecked!

AngerBoy — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 19:39:29 -0800

Is there any way of determining what percentage of ships arrived safely at their destinations - or did not - during a given period in history? I'm struck by how prevalent the imagery of shipwrecks has been in literature throughout history. I'm talking about shipwrecks as plot points in stories and plays, as a metaphor in poetry, and so on.

And I'd guess that, depending on when the author or poet was writing, their work might be more or less likely to feature shipwrecks depending on how common such accidents were at the time.

But, so far, I haven't found any way of finding out precisely how likely it was that any given trip at sea would have been to end in disaster during any given time in history. Do we think that 80% of journeys ended successfully? 60%? 40%? Did the numbers change appreciably between, say, the 13th century and the 17th?

I'm not sure if there's any verifiable way of getting these answers, but the more examples I came across, the more I realized that I had absolutely NO idea how frightening and/or grimly realistic the idea of shipwrecks would have been for Shakespeare's audience, or Homer's, or Wordsworth's.

Any knowledge of the subject (even anecdotal) or suggestions about books or websites to read would be great!

When it comes to those lost at sea I'm...well I'm lost at sea myself

rileyray3000 — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 20:01:05 -0800

Is there a book or museum or resource that specifically lists the stories of people who survived in Lifeboats? I need a LOT of personal stories of people who had to live in lifeboats and I'm having trouble finding them. I've tried one or two maritime museums, a lot web searching and one call to the coast guard where I think THEY thought I was pranking them. Because they hung up.

I don't need books, or even long stories. What I need is "1938, SS Coleman went down in the atlantic. Nine people survived in a wooden lifeboat for sixteen days. They had a candle, some cans, matches and a blanket. They were picked up by a swedish trawler."

And some rough biographical info on the people would be great too.

Frankly I thought this would be some statistical database somewhere but, if it is, I can't find it.

Unidentified Dutch ships in a pen-and-wash drawing

RedReplicant — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 10:43:08 -0800

Unidentified Dutch pen-and-ink drawing: anyone familiar with this type of ship? Here is a link to the drawing in question.

I think those are 17th century ships. Previous guess is 1630. It's in iron gall ink and wash with some wonderful details; from the arrangement of the sails I thought they might be Bootschips or East Indiamen. Any thoughts would be appreciated as I'm not an expert on marine paintings!

Marine adventures

Lemon of Byzantium — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 10:43:23 -0800

For all you adventurous travelers: is transatlantic passenger travel via boat (NOT cruise ship) still an option these days? I hate flying, although I'm not deathly afraid of it. I plan on traveling soon, and I'm wondering if there are alternatives. I'm assuming that things aren't the way they were during the salad days of the White Star and Cunard lines. I ran into someone who mentioned that commercial ships like freighters can sometimes take a handful of passengers with them. Does anyone know anything about this, or any other means of passenger travel via boat? If so, is it a good idea, and how much does it cost? (If it's cheaper than flying, that would be great.)

Thanks.

How to cross an ocean

Galen — Sat, 17 May 2008 05:25:43 -0800

I want to travel from Wroclaw, Poland to my family in Seattle, with less than 1000USD, without flying, within five weeks. I'm studying in Wroclaw, Poland, almost half way around the world from my home (I remember as a kid looking at the globe and Ukraine is exactly on the other side of the northern Hemisphere from Seattle).

I'm finished June 23. I intended to stay away from the US for as long as possible, but that whole human heart and loving friends thing urges me to return. That being, I didn't buy a return plane ticket.

My only obligation after June 23 is to see my cousin and uncle in Brighton for a week or so. After that it's time to go.

Perhaps the first question is, "Which direction: East or West?"

The criteria for this choice, in order to provide some constraints are:
1. I have less than 1000USD so the cheaper the better.
2. The five week time frame: the point is to return to my loved ones, so I don't want to be on the road for a year.
3. I've flown probably 200 times in my life and I'm over the airports, the turbulence and the rapid descents at the end. So we've ships, trains, autos, horses, bikes and my feet to work with.

And that's where all the questions I browsed on metafilter haven't answered my question, and why I'm asking you now:

I know how to buy a plane ticket, and I'm accustomed to train travel and I've hitchhiked a few hundred miles before (so the continental portion of travel doesn't bother me) but how do I cross the oceans?

I've researched tramp steamers a bit but the interactive map doesn't show any available ships!

Does anyone have experience hitching rides on ships? Are there other ways to cross oceans (crew on a yacht, tall ship or canoe?)

Is the Bering straight potentially crossable? I'm aware the north pole is melting so that's not really transgressable.

What's the least expensive way to [not fly across] an ocean? And which ocean should I cross?

Why are there still lighthouses?

beagle — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 08:40:48 -0800

In this day and age of ubiquitous GPS, why are lighhouses and foghorns still operating? It's cheap, easy, and good operating procedure to carry a GPS device even on a cabin cruiser or sailboat. Larger ships have radar, as well, as a navigational aid. Clearly lighthouses and fog horns are today just backup systems to the electronic tools, and they're rather limited in their effectiveness. Does anyone have an insight into whether lighthouses and foghorns are still considered essential systems? Is any consideration being given to phasing them out completely?

Check it out: Windjammer bank checks

GaelFC — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 13:37:06 -0800

Random question about some 1980s bank checks, probably called the Windjammer series. My husband and his best friend worked at a bank in the 1980s, and they were discussing the most popular check pattern they saw...big ships. They believe the check series was called the Windjammer series. The checks came in a series of four with different ships on each one. They remember three: The Moshulu, Red Jacket, and Old Ironsides. Can anyone soothe their minds by naming the fourth? They are wondering if the fourth was ALSO Old Ironsides but if it went by Old Ironsides on one check, and USS Constitution on the other. I've checked Deluxe Check and other main check-pattern sales sites, but the Windjammer series seems to have disappeared.

This is completely unimportant in the great scheme of things, but it's biting at the inside of their memories like a pesky gnat. Thanks!

Four flowers on a ship

Nugget — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 05:21:03 -0800

There are, apparently, four flowers on a ship. One is the compass rose. Any ideas on what the other three could be?

Yarr! I be needin' the plans fer pirate ships!

Rubber Soul — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 21:55:11 -0800

Where can I get deck plans for pirate ships? Websites are welcome, a good book or two of many different ship plans would be ideal. I'm planning to run a roleplaying game which will be all about PIRATES! And what good is a pirate game without lots of pirate ships? And for these ships, I need -maps-; layouts of all the decks, what rooms are used for, and so forth.

I've Googled and turned up a ship or two here and there, but most of them are for modern-refitted ships which have big cozy passenger cabins and places for engines; Bah!

And some of the sites have the top deck plan view, but that's not enough; I need the underdecks as well, so we can fight, 5-foot-step by 5-foot-step, up and down gangways and in and out of holds.

The RPG supplements I have seen usually only have the top deck, or are hopelessly weird (magic ships with big wings?!) or too ancient in design (triremes, etc).

I just want plain ol' PIRATE SHIPS, and I want all the decks of them, from the crow's nest to the bilges. Yaaar! Any links to such plans are welcome, but if someone knows of a good single book or two with lots of different ships and their layouts, that would be great!

Thanks in advance!

What's it like being a Naval Architect?

rongorongo — Thu, 07 Dec 2006 06:11:45 -0800

What's it like being a Naval Architect? I am considering a career change to become a Naval Architect and wondered if anybody out there who is/was/is training to be one could shed a little like on the pros and cons of the job. For example
1. Where are the best places to study?
2. Where do you work now?
3. What is a typical career progression?
4. What is day to day work like for you?
5. What skills to you most need to draw upon? (how might that mixture differ from building architecture in terms of mixing technical, managerial, political and artistic influences for example).
I am in the UK and married to an American so impressions related to work/study in either of these countries would be particularly welcome.

Name this old horror movie about strange proceedings at sea!

scamper — Tue, 01 Aug 2006 22:37:00 -0800

FlickFilter: This scary movie, perhaps from the early 60s, finds our cast stranded on a ship which has become mired in some kind of dense seaweed. They see another galleon nearby and debark to explore it. Each member of the crew dons individual helium (/hydrogen?) balloons--harnessed to their backs like water-wings--and snowshoe-like shoes, and walk across the water to the other boat. This definitive scene is very eerie, and is the clearest in my memory. The rest I've pieced together from scraps, but may help anyway: At some point I think our crew learns that the captain of the other ship periodically feeds his crew members to a giant sucking mouth on the other side of a trapdoor in the floor of the ship. Teeth are involved. Weird things ensue.

All I need is enough information to hunt the title down online. I've seen all the horror/sci fi movies from my childhood, but this one has eluded me. (A friend recommended "Mysterious Island" but I don't think that's it, judging by synopses I've read.)

Print/poster of Edward Wadsworth's Dazzle-ships in Drydock at Liverpool?

junesix — Wed, 02 Nov 2005 10:50:09 -0800

This morning I saw the Boing-Boing post on WWI "Razzle-Dazzle" ship camo and became completely enamored by Edward Wadsworth's mesmerizing 1919 Dazzle-ships in Drydock at Liverpool oil on canvas painting. I'd love to have a large print or poster of it. So far my cursory Google searches have turned up nothing besides info on razzle camo and the painting's influence on OMD's Dazzle Ships CD title and cover 1,2. Where can I find a nice reproduction to put in a frame?

The origin of "Pillar of Autumn"?

jimfl — Sun, 26 Dec 2004 18:58:45 -0800

I have always considered the name of the Marine ship in Halo, Pillar of Autumn, to be terribly poetic. Is this phrase original to the talented game designers at Bungie, or does it come from the Western Canon somwhere?