www.ran-skilledhands.net

My glass is in my left hand and one third full!!!!! :?

I reckon Col Kelson's version sounds closer to the truth......

Hippy Chippy wrote:Can't understand how Tafmo could do anything to get in the sh*t with Rhonda...

I can't help it if they insisted on having their photo taken with me.....they're only human.....

Peter Weyling wrote:My glass is in my left hand and one third full!!!!! :?

...and the remainder on the back of your jeans? :D :D :D :D

Was telling some of the Navy boys at the RSL today about the run, and one of the Stokers reckons we should call the Sunday bar-b-q and harbour cruise the "Degaussing Run"" at the end of the Basin Trials and the actual "Run". I forward it as a suggestion, even though I feel that not to many Chippies would know what "degaussing" was all about!! :?

That sausage sanger I had on Sunday morning with lots of sauce, and Tafmos fried onion was just bloody great by the way. :)

Couldn't think of anything simpler, yet more appropriate for the morning after... it really hit the spot, didn't it...?

Two bags of chopped onions to one tin of crushed pineapple, grilled to perfection by Tafmo, the freshest of rolls,
custom baked at Baker's Delight with lashings of real butter from Sandy and Ellen, a packet of pork sausages,
a packet of beef sausages, a packet of lamb, garlic and rosemary sausages, expertly cooked up by Chef Neddley,
add a packet of grated cheese and all my favourite sauces, and... YUM...! :tonqe:

And we motor over the Rose Bay/ Shark Island degaussing range every time we take The MOBI Yacht 'Nirimba'
out on the harbour... We're the most demagnetised steel yacht in Sydney...!!!

Peter Weyling wrote:Was telling some of the Navy boys at the RSL today about the run, and one of the Stokers reckons we should call the Sunday bar-b-q and harbour cruise the "Degaussing Run"" at the end of the Basin Trials and the actual "Run". I forward it as a suggestion, even though I feel that not to many Chippies would know what "degaussing" was all about!! :?

That sausage sanger I had on Sunday morning with lots of sauce, and Tafmos fried onion was just bloody great by the way. :)

Should do Peter. In 1973 spent two weeks re-caulking the timber deck of the timber degaussing lighter (in dry dock). Ohh, and re-sheathing the immersed area of the timber hull with Zinculume sheet.

Since the mid 60's, the "degaussing" grid or loops on the harbour were mainly used for measuring the magnetic signature of a ship, rather than actually trying to de-gauss it. All of the older ships had degaussing loops built into the hull. The Sydney and Melbourne had three loops. In 67-68 it was the job of the nav-aids team to maintain these and try to get them to work. The ship would sail (or be towed) over the course with no coils on and the magnetic signature was read at the station at Watson. On the next pass, the coils would be energised and the readings taken again. Adjustments to the Ampere-turns ratio would be made and another pass made. This would continue until (in theory) the ship made no anomaly as it passed over the sensing loops. Never got that far. The cables on the Sydney that made up the loops were so deteriorated that we did not have enough good "turns" to make any appreciable difference to the ship's signature.
Meanwhile, we all spent a pleasant day puttering back and forward, much to the amusement of the locals and the anoyance of the fishermen and the yachties that had to avoid us.
We all knew that the degaussing didn't work, but I recall seeing a signal to Navy Office to the effect that the trials and adjustments were successful. Had a great laugh about that.
The point was that it was believed that the North Vietnamese (or Chinese) were sewing magnetic mines around Vung Tau and this would "protect"the ship against them. Kept the Army and DoD wallahs happy, but I always wondered if they really knew it was not working.

Stroppy Chippie mentioned the de-gaussing boat. She carried portable loops that were passed over smaller ships to "wipe" the magnetic signature. The giant crane was also used (a very long time ago) to hold up bigger loops that were passed over destroyers (or rather they passed through) Usually done by warping the cold ship to and fro down the wharf.
You know how dibbies love that sort of thing.
Used to be called "evolutions".

Latest technology at the time.
Pity it didn't work. (well, not work very well)

Degaussing... now how was that related to last Saturday's run again..?

Never mind... Hey I found I DID take a photo of the 'Survivour's Cruise' last
Sunday, this one of Gordon and Sandy, must have been because they fronted
for brunch and the cruise 'in uniform'...!

....so, what dates for the 2011 Xmas Rocks Run??
I am updating the 2011 Year Planner and realized this needs to be considered.