[Troppo2]

Remember how you were supposed to send your logs in at the change of articles?

Did anyone "forget" and keep some?

I was very annoyed to find out that (in Australia, at least) radio log books were kept for a short while by the Dept of Transport and then burned...

I have blank Part 1 and 2 logs (souvenired when my ship converted to GMDSS), but it would have been great to keep one or two completed ones as a momentos....

[Harry Nicholson]

Originally Posted by Troppo2

Remember how you were supposed to send your logs in at the change of articles?

Did anyone "forget" and keep some?

I was very annoyed to find out that (in Australia, at least) radio log books were kept for a short while by the Dept of Transport and then burned...

I have blank Part 1 and 2 logs (souvenired when my ship converted to GMDSS), but it would have been great to keep one or two completed ones as a momentos....

Alas, no. I'd be thrilled to see some of the old logs; particularly the pages I completed creatively when I was frantically attempting to calibrate the DF as we steamed round the Bristol Channel lightship -- we had to go round twice.

[Troppo2]

Yes....

I remember in the very late 80s the traffic on 5 ton really dropped off...so much, that it was hard to find a signal to fill in the space between the SPs...!

In the end, I gave up and wrote "no sigs"

[Ron Stringer]

Originally Posted by Harry Nicholson

... frantically attempting to calibrate the DF as we steamed round the Bristol Channel lightship ...

If you steamed around the beacon, wouldn't that have resulted in a constant bearing? The normal way was to steam in circles within visual range of the beacon but not around it?

Aren't you impressed Harry that I am so alert (and pedantic) so early on this sunny, Sunday morning?

[Harry Nicholson]

[QUOTE=Ron Stringer;2916049]If you steamed around the beacon, wouldn't that have resulted in a constant bearing? The normal way was to steam in circles within visual range of the beacon but not around it?

Aren't you impressed Harry that I am so alert (and pedantic) so early on this sunny, Sunday morning? [/QUOTE


Excellent, Ron - full marks for alertness this mad hot day. In future, should the occasion arise, I must remember to calibrate both side of the vessel. I'm now nicely subdued and making an effort to not leap to conclusions in future, particularly across such a wide chasm in time.

[Dave McGouldrick]

Didn't retain any logbooks, but I do remember on Greek flag ships, there was the official logbook ( Impressive brown hardbacked full A4 sized - quality paper - no carbons) and the proces verbal for whatever the radio company was -usually SAIT.

[R651400]

...and if I remember correctly taken ashore at regular intervals for signature and official stamp by whatever Greek Consul in wherever port.

[sparks69]

My question is WHY should any one want to keep their log books. ?

[holland25]

I hope by now all mine would have been destroyed.

[Dave McGouldrick]

Originally Posted by R651400

...and if I remember correctly taken ashore at regular intervals for signature and official stamp by whatever Greek Consul in wherever port.

That's it ! For the life of me couldn't actually recall that. Guess the brain rot is setting in - thanks for the reminder

[Troppo2]

Originally Posted by sparks69

My question is WHY should any one want to keep their log books. ?

Because I enjoyed my time at sea, and it would be a nice momento.

[richardwakeley]

My logs from my first trips would make very boring reading, as we were instructed to log the entire traffic list from Portishead and other area scheme stations, every watch. Often over one page of callsigns. Not sure when I started just logging "Nil GMQD" etc.

[Troppo2]

My first Chief made me log all the G calls around our ships call, from memory....the whole list? Wow!

[richardwakeley]

Which brings up another faint memory. Didn't Portishead send a traffic list for British ships only, maybe on the even hour, and another list for foreign callsigns on the odd hour? Maybe my memory is playing tricks again. Certainly I remember the Chief on my first ship insisting on logging the whole traffic list, and it was nearly all Gs and Ms.

[R651400]

GMQD smacks of Aeneas..
You must have been in the era of post GTZB 1st RO's and operated singleton.

[R651400]

GMQD smacks of GTZB Aeneas..
If you got away QRU GMQD as a log entry on your first Bluey you must've had a very affable Chief..
My time freelance when the area scheme was still in full swing GKL foreign ship tfc lists were on the odd hour.

[R651400]

GMQD smacks of GTZB Aeneas..
If you got away QRU GMQD as a log entry for the 8 hour Area tfc list entry on your first Bluey you must've had a very affable Chief..
Freelance when the area scheme was still in full swing I recall GKL foreign ship tfc lists were on the odd hour.

[Ron Stringer]

Originally Posted by R651400

... when the area scheme was still in full swing I recall GKL foreign ship tfc lists were on the odd hour.

That is how I remember it too.

[Mai Pen Rai]

Someone mentioned DF calibration (I hope this not annoyingly off main topic of logbooks). I had to do one as we sailed from Liverpool. This was about 1980. The pilot was still onboard as I took the bearings. They sailed round the beacon .. I think it was on a lightvessel. I vividly remember it was a useless excercise as of course we stayed on roughly the same bearing. In fact they sailed round it twice. Unbeliveably the master and pilot thought I was wrong saying we need to do a circle but not round the beacon. They lost patience and set course for Lynas. I just fiddled the calibration and logged it as succesfully done.

[J. Davies]

I didn't ever know what happened to the log books. The ships I sailed on seemed to have years and years of dusty logs stored away in a void space or somewhere else. I just left them on board. Mind you I was always foreign flag unless you count Hong Kong. One I would have liked to have kept, or at least made a record of, was the 500 KHz distress traffic when we rescued 16 souls off the New Concord in a storm south of Taiwan in 1986. On board SS Eriskay / ELCF9.
Just a footnote in Lloyds now.

[richardwakeley]

G'day R65. GMQD was Cyclops. It wasn't my first Bluey, I did four Birkenhead-Liverpool (via Japan) voyages 1972-73 and had a very affable Chief - myself!

[R651400]

Bjr RW.. Fully understood and knowing some of the jobsworth GTZB chiefs I sailed with you were lucky to find a good one in the end.
Was there actually any official regs on radio log-keeping?
From a fading memory GTZB '56/60 H8 was full Area Scheme tfc list... Twice hourly silence period observe.. All MF/HF own ship tfc working.. 500 kc/s emergency receiver coverage when tfc wkg away from 5 ton .. A 10 (or was it 5) minute log entry of other stn tfc when keeping a normal 500 kc/s listening watch.
A/B battery log daily voltages monthly specific gravities of all cells..

[Mai Pen Rai]

Correction to my earlier off topic post (sorry) re DF (Direction Finder) calibration. It was more like 1970 not 1980 I now realise. Yep ..Im that old. I vaguely recall I had to request the beacon be switched on in advance by sending a message. Cant remember to whom but possibly Trinity House. Normally it was only switched on when foggy. Probaly when the foghorn was going the DF beacon started too. If I recall correct ... the 3rd mate was taking visual observations and shouting the bearing out to me at the DF set on the bridge to compare with my reading. It would be 1 or 2 degrees out and you noted the difference. Each bearing .. the theory was it would have a permanent error. The funnel, masts, cranes and rigging causing it .. but it was a consistent error so if needed for real in fog and failed radar it was usefull. If the rigging changed the error changed thus mandatory calibration of errors every so often. 2 years I guess. But just going round and round the beacon strange ...I was a newbie and was not gonna arque with the captain and pilot. The 3rd mate much later agreed he saw my point but kept silent. It stayed roughly 090 I guess. As stated I logged it that it was done succesfully. The DF was never used ..... but a backup for radar failure in fog. I am so glad now I invented satnav later. I jest.

[Troppo2]

Originally Posted by R651400

Bjr RW.. Fully understood and knowing some of the jobsworth GTZB chiefs I sailed with you were lucky to find a good one in the end.
Was there actually any official regs on radio log-keeping?
From a fading memory GTZB '56/60 H8 was full Area Scheme tfc list... Twice hourly silence period observe.. All MF/HF own ship tfc working.. 500 kc/s emergency receiver coverage when tfc wkg away from 5 ton .. A 10 (or was it 5) minute log entry of other stn tfc when keeping a normal 500 kc/s listening watch.
A/B battery log daily voltages monthly specific gravities of all cells..

There were instructions inside the front cover on the Oz ones...I still remember this bit:

"A positive indication every half hour as to whether the station has observed the silence periods"

[Mai Pen Rai]

How good was life when on a month long passage ... the routine of 2 hours on 2 off ... all you had to do was log something every 10 minutes and note Silence Periods were observed. Errrr but pain in rear when given a message to clear soonest and you in middle of Pacific with only a 100 watt Oceanspan. But thats another story. I guess the logbooks we kept were never looked at by anyone ... Captains brief perusal apart ... but would be looked at no doubt only if we were ever near a distress. I remember once being keen to be on the nearby bridge not in the un airconditioned radio room on a hot tropical night. To keep a log my cunning plan was to fix up a long lead to headphones plugged into rx on 500 kcs out the window I mean port to the bridge. Pen and paper to hand to keep rough log and write up later. Only planned on 20 minutes or so at a time to break up 2 hour watch. All was good till the Captain came along on 3rd night and went ballistic. I guess he not approve of my cunning plan. Im ashamed.