Members and visitors must agree with the stated conditional use of this forum as shown at the bottom of this page.
Home
The Forum
Documents
Photo Gallery
_
Register
My Profile
Log-in
PT Boat Forum
Moderated by:
Dick
,
Jeff D
The PT Boat Forum
ª
PT Boats of WWII
ª
PT Boats - General
Post a reply to: Rough Seas
Message:
Please type your message in the box to the right.
Click Here to see: Message Tags
How to use colors, images and urls in your message.
Click On -
The "Upload Images" button to upload and include a photo from your computer.
[StartQuote] This spring weather reminds me of some of we had on PT 242. I am not sure when monsoon season is in the Solomons but I know July and August 1944 the seas there were sometimes pretty rough. At that time we were patrolling New Britain and New Ireland out of the base at Green Island. That is over 100 miles of open seas to get to and from the patrol area which got mighty rough. I recall being underway and so rough that the only people on duty were the skipper at the wheel and the poor motor mac that had to be in the engine room. The rest of us were standing behind the charthouse for protection against the waves coming over the bow and hanging on to the radar mast and braces with knees bent to take the shock. ( I have had one knee replaced and need the other replaced) They would try different speeds for the best ride. Near top speed seemed the best. The boat would come out on top of a wave and leave the water as it would enter the wave trough. The engines would rev up as the screws came out of the water. Several times during that time we would leave the lagoon to go on patrol and hit the open seas and the section leader would send us back in to the base.- just too rough. Those Higgins boats were one tough boat. Some boats had broken struts but 242 never did. At Green Island we tied up to buoys out in the lagoon. One night it was so windy that our buoy started dragging. There were no officers aboard so Bob Pratt ,Quartermaster, took charge, he was an excellent boat handler anyway. We wound up the engines and cut loose from the buoy and idled around in the dark lagoon for a while then finally tied up to the stern of a Ron 23 boat. Fortunately their buoy held the both of us. Such was life for a kid on a PT Boat. C. J. Willis[EndQuote]
Emotion Icons:
Choose an icon to be displayed next to your message or click on the icon to include it in your message:
None
Options:
Check the check boxes to the right for the options you would like to use.
Would you like to include your signature in this message?
Would you like to recieve notification via email when a reply is received to this message?
Would you like to preview this post before posting?
User Name:
Have you registered?
Password:
Have you lost your password?
Click 'Post' to post your message.
Who May Post?
Registered Users
Search
Links
Privacy
Cookies
Moderator