Breaking News: German Minesweeper Aground - Caption Contest

[Oyvind Snibsoer]

Seems a German minesweeper has just hit a rock near Florø, north of Bergen. No injuries and seemingly only minor damage to the hull.

http://www.bt.no/multimedia/archive/00316/newPic_73_jpg_316242c.jpg

Looking at the debris under the bow, it would seem like this rock acrually had a marker or perhaps even a lighthouse placed on it, and the minesweeper hit it dead on in broad daylight!

More pics here: http://www.bt.no/lokalt/sf/article342544.ece

[Andreas Jordahl Rhude]

I know where they can get some replacement glued laminated timber frames, etc...

Andreas

[Andreas Jordahl Rhude]

We finally get back at them for their WW II invasion and occupation.

The score is: Norwegian rock: 1 German Navy: 0

[martin schulz]

High & Dry

http://www.20min.ch/images/content/1/8/0/18017701/1/1.jpg

[Hwyl]

Did you notice she's carrying the correct signals for "aground" and has taken her "minsweeping balls" down.

The excuse "I can't navigate, but I know my signals"

[Pericles]

I'ssh pissed, occifer.

[Lucky Luke]

BIG bonfire coming soon!
...and no need trying to recover the various sonars: they obviously DON T work!!!:D

[Oyvind Snibsoer]

Ayup, it's confirmed that the debris under the bow used to be a five meters high stone marker. Hit it dead on :D A coast guard vessel and a rescue boat together have tried three times to pull the minesweeper off, with absolutely no other outcome than a snapped hawser.

[Andrew Craig-Bennett]

"Anything the Royal Navy can do, we can do better!"

(bearing in mind that the RN has managed to put a frigate slightly aground in Norway just a few years ago...)

[Michael s/v Sannyasin]

Rock smashes Scissors
Boat covers Rock

[carioca1232001]

Quoting Pericles:

"I'ssh pissed, occifer."

Will all that navigational gear on board, sonars etc......and in broad daylight....who knows, the remnants of a hefty hang-over ?

Tell you a quick story...the Portuguese Navy out East would have their tiny vessels, João de Lisboa, Alfonso de Albuquerque, Bartolomeu Dias etc. dry-dock at Karachi Shipyard in the late 50´s /early 60´s, as relations with India were strained at the time.

On one such occassion, the vessel went to sea in the late evening for trials before resuming journey for Goa at first light.

In the meantime, the men on the bridge were celebrating, the vessel went aground on Manora Island and Karachi Port Trust tugs had to tow them back to dry-dock !

[Les Schuldt]

I hope they don't find mines the same way they find rocks.

[Andrew Craig-Bennett]

"Never mind the navigation; look at the shipbuilding!"


(This is in the spirit of Sir John Parker, who was Chairman of Harland and Wolff when Ballard discovered the wreck of the Titanic, and said "But never mind that - look how well the paint job's held up!":D

[Foster Price]

Hey Andrew - What the Royal Navy can do - don't mind the frigates, one of your destroyers recently hit the putty (Lord Howe Is, now theres a bit of a funny thing too) between here and Aussie with fairly signifigant consquences - the reported repair bill was NZ$106m(except for the Captain, who on the face of it got off with a reprimand from the subsequent "courts martial")

However its always on, and let he who has not ever "bumped" cast the first pebble onto the cairn !! Sorry I can't do it.

And just for the record, a group of local commercial fishermen were recently returning from a trip when they experienced a fire in the engineroom. With 9 aboard you think someone might have stayed around to helm, but no, they stuck rocks and holed her while othewise occupied with the fire - don't get me started punning this one !!

Cheers - Foster

[Concordia...41]

Did you notice she's carrying the correct signals for "aground" and has taken her "minsweeping balls" down.

The excuse "I can't navigate, but I know my signals"

So for those of us that don't know our signals :o what exactly is the signal for "aground"? Not that I might need that, just in case I see it on another vessel... ;)

[paladin]

a big sign that sez HELP!

[BrianW]

So for those of us that don't know our signals :o what exactly is the signal for "aground"? Not that I might need that, just in case I see it on another vessel... ;)

Without looking it up, I seem to recall it's the three balls vertically displayed. When mine sweeping, there would be two balls horizontal, port and starboard, with one ball centered and above them.

[Hwyl]

Thanks Brian

[ishmael]

"Lookouts? We don't need no steenkin' lookouts."

[Katherine]

Ooops, my bad!:o

[Lew Barrett]

http://www.20min.ch/images/content/1/8/0/18017701/1/1.jpg
Rock a Bow Baby....

[hnsbrc]

http://www.shanklinsailingclub.btinternet.co.uk/ali/wpagepics/speedboat.jpg

http://www.20min.ch/images/content/1/8/0/18017701/1/1.jpg
"007---NOT"

[BrianW]

No ensign, we won't be needing the anchor.

[Don Kurylko]

But.....but....but, the GPS said I was on the right course!

[David Tabor (sailordave)]

I hope they don't find mines the same way they find rocks.

Any boat can be a minesweeper....:rolleyes:




Once.:D

[JimD]

http://www.imagesjournal.com/issue09/reviews/abyss/pic4.jpg

Not you guys again!

[py]

I think I can I think I can...

[The Bigfella]

I reckon that they had a Qantas stewardess on board

"Did the earth move for you darling"

I know a guy who bought a boat that had gone aground under those circumstances. The skipper was "below" with the co-owners wife and the autopilot set to circle. Bump - Oops. The truth came out. Boat sold.

[mmd]

"Evil Kneivel comes out of retirement, takes job with German navy..."

[Ron Joslin]

Duty section starboard - scrape the bottom before the tide rises.

[Sea Frog]

Desperately pointing at something coming on...

[Bill Perkins]

Whenever a charted aid to navigation ,as I assume the 16 ft. rock tower was , is nailed like this I've got to think the ship was on autopilot ; nobody looking out . At least the GPS proved to be highly accurate . Caption: "Waypoint!"

[John Turpin]

"Sexual Harrassment Awareness meeting at 0900 in the messroom. It's mandatory that all attend. Even lookouts."

[Dan McCosh]

Was the captain an ultralight pilot, looking for a tree?

[ingo]

We were just taking part in a local championship. The winner was

http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g6/ReneHaar/knmjo.jpg

[Lucky Luke]

Hilarious thread!!:D:D:D
This one also looks like it smashed *something* that ....was there: can see a few debris which do not look like belonging to this boat, including a long rusty pole right below its bow ...

Reminds me: quite a number of years ago, I was anchored in a beautiful little creek along the western coast of Corsica, together with a few other boats when one (rather big) motor boat came in, roaring and stinking, circled the creek at goog speed causing a hell of a mess aboard all the other boats, and...ran aground right besides me. While all were shouting at the skipper for his nuisance and stupidity, the owner of an other nearby boat, English, went into his dinghy and calmly said to the skipper, with a gesture indicating something like a horse jumping over an obstacle: *to go over, try to go faster, next time!*. We all went laughing our heads off !!!

[Pericles]

May I point out that on 23rd September 1923, this happened.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/83/Point_honda_NH-66722.jpg/400px-Point_honda_NH-66722.jpg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Point_honda_NH-66722.jpg) http://en.wikipedia.org/skins-1.5/common/images/magnify-clip.png (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Point_honda_NH-66722.jpg)
Aerial view of the southern part of the disaster area, showing five of the seven destroyers. Photographed from a plane assigned to USS Aroostook (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Aroostook_%28CM-3%29). The ships visible are Delphy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Delphy_%28DD-261%29), capsized in the small cove at left; Young (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Young_%28DD-312%29), capsized in left center; Chauncey (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Chauncey_%28DD-296%29), upright ahead of Young; 'Woodbury (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Woodbury_%28DD-309%29) on the rocks in the right center; and Fuller (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Fuller_%28DD-297%29) on the rocks at right.


The Honda Point Disaster was the largest peacetime loss of US ships.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_Point_Disaster

Here is another website.
http://www.worldwar1atsea.net/WW1z07Americas.htm

[carioca1232001]

Quoting Lucky Luke:

"Reminds me: quite a number of years ago, I was anchored in a beautiful little creek along the western coast of Corsica, together with a few other boats when one (rather big) motor boat came in, roaring and stinking, circled the creek at goog speed causing a hell of a mess aboard all the other boats, and...ran aground right besides me...."

Our friend George in Angra can tell you umpteen such stories......the bay has its fair share of sprawling 'lajes' (underwater rock formations) and the ensuing surprises nasty, for unsuspecting and/or first time mariners.

Several cases of loss of life and/or serious injuries per annum, particularly when these groundings happen at night, the throttles pulled back all the way and mariners full of booze.

[Kermit]

Lew wins! What an awful pun! I love it!