Flotsam and Jetsam

by Stu Pryke

Last year, in an effort to bring Hebe matters into the interest orbits of our younger members, we introduced a page of short narratives, anecdotes and crosswords. Sadly, Covid played its part and contributions for material dwindled to less than a trickle. So, in an attempt to revitalise what could now be described as a narrative based, literary podcast, brimming to the very top with all things nautical, I commend you to come up to this weighty smorgusboard, select your choice and digest in the comfort of a homely read. All comments, critique and otherwise will be warmly accepted and we encourage readers to support this page as a general point of interest so it can become part of the foundation and fidelity for our Club Magazine.

NEW PRODUCT Now, if you're anything like me, or at least the "cruising" me and either need to charge the boats smaller items, ( USB products, battery packs, Icom VHF and phones etc), with cranking up the generator, kick starting the Yanmar or relying on the inverter, there is a new kid on the block that is sold right here in Hong Kong. It's effectively a portable power station capable of storing an amazing amount of capacity with a 1260Wh punch. It has a raft of 4, three pin sockets, ( It is made in the UK), 6 USB outlets and a 13.6v car cigarette socket. Recharge of the station from zero takes less than 2 hours and all the power data is digitised in a sexy blue screen at one of the sides. Percentage power remaining ,stands in large font on the screen and in essence, THE ECO DELTA FLOW will support an ac powered average size TV for up to 16 hours...now thats a pretty impressive remit with a unit that is entirely portable at a mass of less than 14kg or 30 lbs in the old money... yes, its not a throw in the back pack unit but will stand portability around the boat with comparative ease. I have my recently purchased ECO close to the ship's inverter plug for re charge and tethered to a work top bulk head, in case of heeeling. All in all, a little mid product belter of a unit that can be recharged from virtually any source, including solar. Further details via the manufacturer:hampshiregenerators.co.uk and HK Purchasing at:shop.outletexpress.com.hk

Current price HKD 9850. If you like to be frugal with the diesel, now standing at nearly 20HKD a litre and more at the retail pumps, I feel this is a great way to top up the sundry electrics and save on some of the rotables in both engine and genset, leaving these larger power units to attend to the more robust electrical demands onboard.

去年，為了讓我們年輕的會員有興趣了解白沙灣事務，我 們推出了一個專頁，內含小故事、軼事和填字遊戲。可惜 由於肺炎疫情，為此投入的努力未有取得太大成效。所以 為了重新復興這個現在可被視為以航海相關內容為中心、 以故事為基礎的文學播客，我建議您看一下這個極具份量 的合集，挑選對您來說易於消化的讀物。我們歡迎任何評 論、批評以及等的其他內容，並鼓勵讀者支持這個作為共 同興趣的專頁，使它能成為本會雜誌的基礎和忠誠的一部 分。

新產品 現在，如果您和我（至少是出航中的我）一樣，需要在船隻 為小型裝置充電的話（USB 產品、尿袋、Icom VHF 和電話 等），除了啟動發電機，啟動洋馬或依賴變壓器，您在香港 可以買到一個新產品。它其實是一個便攜式發電站，能夠 以 1260Wh 儲存極大電量。它設有一排 4 個的三腳插座（ 英國製造）、6 個 USB 插座和一個 13.6v 汽車點煙器插座。 即使由零開始，要充滿這個充電器只需不到 2 小時，所有 電源數據都在其中一側的藍色螢幕上以數碼形式顯示。剩 餘電量百分比以大字體顯示在螢幕上，實際上 ECO DELTA FLOW 還可支援一部交流供電的一般尺寸電視播放長達 16 小時……現在同價更能買到有教人非常滿意、重量不到 14 公斤或 30 磅的便携機體……是的，它並不是能放在背 包內的東西，但可以相對上可以輕鬆用於船上。我將最近 購買的 ECO 放在靠近船舶的變壓器插頭以用來充電，並 將其綁在工作枱頂部的隔板以免傾斜。總括而言它是一個 可以從幾乎任何電源（包括太陽能）充電的中型裝置。 您可向生產商了解更多相關細節：hampshiregenerators. co.uk 本港銷售點：shop.outletexpress.com.hk

現售 HKD 9,850。如您想要使用柴油機來 省錢，現在它的零售價格升至每升至少 HKD20 ，我覺得 這會是一個為各種電子設備充電，並能省去發動機和發電 機組中的一些旋轉零件的好方法，讓這些更大的電力裝置 能應付船上更大的電力需求。

QUIZ TIME A chance to test the veritable grey matter that has hitherto lain vestigial in the bilges of that nautical brain, here you go... and just to make it easy, deriving from the header of this very article;

1. What is Flotsam and Jetsam? 2. With Boris Johnson threatening to return the UK to imperial weights and measures, (and can you recall, assuming you are of vintage age.. stones, yards, statute miles, dynes and foot pounds), what is a CABLE as a definition of distance? 3. If your ship is BENEAPED, what condition or status might it be in? 4. A simple one here, especially for the budding navigators or students of orbital science. MERIDIAN. 5. Following on from a meridian and theres the hint. what is a QUINTANT? 6. We often use the word FATHOM to describe a method of understanding. "I couldn't quite fathom that out". What is a FATHOM though and further, how was it established? 7. QUICKWORK. as applied to a boat? 8. Where and what is a PRAO? 9. The nautical term, RETARD, and the stress is on..Nautical please!! 10. And last but not least and probably quite apt since this is being authored on a Friday, what might a TOT be, and what size is it?

測試時間 現在有機會測試一下到目前為止在您的航海大腦中留下了甚麼 碎片……來吧……讓它簡單一點，來自這篇文章的標題；

1. 甚麼是 Flotsam 和 Jetsam？ 2. 鮑里斯約翰遜（Boris Johnson）威脅要讓英國恢復英制度 量衡，（您還記得嗎，假設您回到遠古年代，石頭、碼、法定 英里、達因和英尺磅……），電纜長度作為距離的定義是甚 麼？ 3. 如果您的船擱淺(BENEAPED)，它有可能處於怎樣的狀況？ 4. 簡單的一題，特別為新手航員或軌道科學的學生而設…… 子午線 (MERIDIAN) 是甚麼？ 5. 給您一個小貼士，這一題與子午線有關，甚麼是五分儀 (QUINTANT)？ 6. 我們經常用 FATHOM 這個詞來描述一種理解方式，「我無 法完全理解 (fathom)」。甚麼是 FATHOM，而它又是如何被 創造出來？ 7. 甚麼是應用於船的 QUICKWORK？ 8. 甚麼是 PRAO 以及它在哪裡可以找到？ 9. 航海用語 RETARD，請留意是航海用語！ 10. 最後一題，在星期五提出的這一題或許非常合適，TOT會是 甚麼，以及它的大小如何？

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SCUTTLEBUT By the time this gets to print, we shall be in the middle of what we all used to call, "Typhoon Season", that anxious sailing period falling twixt May and October. Sadly, with climate change this is now a fractious window that can see deep tropical depressions developing as early as April and then as late as December. The obvious weather impact for most of us is that of wind, its gusts and its average sustained speeds over long periods of time. Check out the Beaufort scale and pick yourself up when you note that so called Hurricane strength wind ( read Typhoon for us on the South China Sea), is a feisty 64 knots and more. Thats a shed load of pressure on moorings, hulls, bridge decks, sails and awnings. Marina berths, swing moorings and even boat racks all need extra attention with cordage, straps, fenders, warps and mooring lines. So, here are a couple of reminders and tips from the nautical locker:

• Ensure shackles are clean, swivel and doubled up as necessary. Wire lock the mooring line eye pieces to the shackle and double up the lines with appropriate cordage. Strength and integrity of your mooring system lies at both ends of your mooring protocol. Yes, that float has to be robust and well shackled but where does one attach the secondary and possibly tertiary lines to the structure of the boat? Primary winches after those stronger cleats are robust anchor points, together with mid ship cleats. On a power boat, you may have little choice other than to use cleats, backed up by the warping head or wildcat of the windlass. I have known smaller power boats to wear a bridle, onto which a secondary line or sacrificial line is attached. Vessels in marina berths need at least to double up dock cordage and fenders..on BOTH sides. • Awnings and sails should be removed and that includes furled sails. Insurers now do NOT accept claims on sails destroyed on foils in T8 and above. • Remove loose deck items such as emergency equipment and essential, valuable cabin items including personal items, ( sextant??!!, Hand held radios, EPIRB etc). Close sea cocks and ensure ALL hatches locked. • Lastly, take a photo of your vessel after its prepared for storm conditions and include the area surrounding it. Other boats may not be well prepared so pictorial evidence may be key in any claims and or contest.

But its not just the wind that factors into all this potential mayhem but ambient pressure as well. After all, if you look at the dynamics of a storm's creation, it is all about pressure..LOW pressure. The lowest to date, recorded pressure was 870 Hpa or millibars in the old language, that was October 1979 off the Japanese coast. Where the sea level datum is approximately 1013Hpa, thats some drop in pressure and with that drop, comes a massive rise in local sea levels..or surge. Very high tides that become amplified with wave action and swell. A mooring chain, from its block to float is a finite length and this length, a few years ago in Hebe Haven and Port Shelter, was seen to be way too short for storm purpose. Is you riser chain long enough? Don't leave it to fate so pop into the marine office and check both the integrity of your mooring, when the block and chain were last inspected and how suitable it is for your boat, its swing arc and predicted tidal surge heights..you may be suprised!

在準備印刷出版之時，我們應正在進行被稱為「 颱風盃」的賽事，該賽事的不穩出航時間一般於5 月至10月之間。可惜，隨著氣候轉變，我們可以看 到現時早於4月或最晚12月出現深層熱帶低氣壓， 帶來不穩狀態。對我們大部份人而言，較為明顯 的天氣影響是風，陣風及其平均持續速度將會維 持一段長時間。您可查看蒲福氏風級，當您留意 到颶風強度的風（在中南海被視為颱風）來到時 可要打起精神，因為其風速可高達 64 節或以上。 那將對繫泊處、船身、橋面、風帆和遮陽篷施加壓 力。碼頭泊位，單點繫泊處，甚至船架都需要特別 注意繩索，繫帶，擋泥板，經線和繫泊索。所以，以 下是一些針對航海儲物櫃的提醒和小貼示：

• 確保卸扣清潔並扭好，在需要時可多加一 個。以鋼絲將繫泊索眼片鎖到卸扣上，用合適 的繩索為繫泊索加倍防護。您的繫泊系統的 強度和完整性取決於繫泊點的兩端。是的， 浮子必須堅固且於卸扣上繫好，但是第 2 條 和第 3 條繫泊索應該連接到船身何處哪裏 呢？在那些更堅固的羊角纜栓後的主絞盤是 堅固的錨點，與船中羊角纜栓一起。如您在 快艇上，則可能沒有太多選擇，只能使用羊角 纜栓，並以經線頭或錨機的嵌鏈輪作支撐。 我知道有些較小型的快艇綁上繮繩，並繫於 副繩或祭繩之上。停泊在碼頭的船隻至少需 要把碼頭的繩索和擋泥板加倍，兩側都不例 外。 • 遮陽篷和船帆需要拆除，包括捲起的船帆。 保險公司現不接受 8 號風球或以上對船帆板 損壞作賠償。 • 將甲板上的零散物品拿走，例如應急設備和 重要昂貴的艙內物品，包括個人物品（六分 儀？？手提無線電機、EPIRB 等）。關好船閥， 確保鎖好所有艙門。 • 最後，請在為您的船做好迎接風暴的準備後 拍張照，並包含拍下它的四周環境。其他船隻 或未做好準備工作，所以照片將成為所有索 償與紛爭的關鍵證據。

但是潛在的破壞因素不只有風，還有環境壓力。如 果您看看風暴能產生的動力，那都是與壓力……低 氣壓有關。至今有記錄以來的最低氣壓是 870Hpa 或毫巴，即 1979 年 10 月在日本海岸外錄得的紀 錄。當海平面基準為大約 1013Hpa 時，氣壓下降， 隨之而來的是當地海平面將大幅上升或暴漲。非常 高的潮汐隨著波浪作會放大並膨脹。幾年前在白 沙灣及牛尾海的一條繫泊鏈由繫泊點到浮標的有 限長度，被認為對應付風暴來說實在太短。您的立 管鏈夠長嗎？不要聽天由命，快到海事辦公室確認 您的繫泊系統是否完好、上一次檢查船體和鏈條的 日期，以及對您的船隻和其擺動弧度以及預計的 潮汐浪高是否合適。您可能會嚇一跳！