October 1979 mid-Atlantic storm

[John Drew]

Hello Ann

I remember the storm with regards to the anchor, the ship had a spare anchor tied on between the two main ones on the bow. This anchor had about 50ft of chain on it and was a spare in case we lost one from the front or stern. The spare anchor and it's chain came loose in the heavy seas and this was well known but it was too dangerous to go outside and try to secure it properly, consequently after jumping up and down for a while it broke free headed straight into the bulbous bow cutting a hole and leaving a big dent, this did not really cause any problems as inside of the bow was only a salt water ballets tank. A repair was made to the bow later but in the end they put a new one on. I should say that when the anchor was moving up and down it made one hell of a noise until it broke off. I was in the Petty Officer's Club when this was going on.

John

[intaligo]

Thanks for adding that bit of additional information, John.  I can only try to imagine the din it must have made, bashing and clanging against the bow!

Best,
Ann

[intaligo]

Alan was incredibly kind enough to work on my old photo of the huge wave breaking over the bow and the results are a big improvement in both color and contrast.  Am re-posting the photo showing his handiwork.  Thank you Alan!

Best,
Ann

[Peter Mugridge]

That is certainly a big wave; I guess you could call it a Mick Dundee wave?

[Danielle]

I was on this voyage with my family and was 15 at the time.  My father only traveled by ship or train and we have 32 transatlantic crossings under our belt with the QE2.  One thing we noticed was that the 5 day schedule was changed and a day before the usual Captain's Dinner there was an invitation to "meet" the Captain.  He made a vague announcement that there was "mixed weather ahead".  I don't think there was much concern from the tourist class passengers, which we were part of, as everyone appeared to be enjoying the free drinks.  After dinner, when we returned to our cabins, we found our bull eyes shut and covered.  My father was highly annoyed and got into a heated discussion with the steward about this.  He always brought a wrench and opened the bull eyes for fresh on all of the crossings.  In the end we were told that we were heading into a storm so he left them closed.  In the middle of the night the seas got very rough, so much so that the drawers next to my bed flew across the room.  My sister and mother got seasick but my father and I never got seasick.  The next few days were rough but being young I found it very exciting.  The waves appeared to be almost as tall as the ship when she dove into the troughs between the wave crests.  Throughout the storm no warm meals were served to those of us who still had a robust appetitive out of safety reasons.  There was a small area of the outside deck, where people would normally sit in their deck chairs to enjoy the sun, that was sectioned off and you could go outside.  I spent hours out there watching the storm.  Occasionally another passenger would come out and look at the storm.  I loved watching the storm from the deck, the waves were whipped white and covered in sea foam from the wind which howled around the side railings.  Back inside I came across a crew member who was trying his best to calm down a hysterical woman who was afraid that the metal of the ship' would give out and we would go down.  At the time I found the whole thing very exciting and it wasn't until we disembarked in New York  that we saw the damage to the front of her bow from the waves and that the paint was stripped off from the front of the ship from the force of the wind.  I wish I had taken some fotos.  It remains the strongest storm that my family and I have ever been through on the high seas.  Danielle.

[Isabelle Prondzynski]

Hello Danielle, and welcome to the Forum. And thank you for your memorable introduction, almost as memorable as the storm must have been for you!

You are blessed to have a strong constitution and not be prone to seasickness... even some of the crew are not immune.

But I too (despite a touch of seasickness) enjoyed the one real storm I experienced on board, feeling the power of nature and the seaworthiness of QE2. She was in her element!

Enjoy the Forum -- and I am sure you have many more stories to tell after 32 transatlantic crossings on QE2!

[Danielle]

Thank you.  My father just corrected me about the year and said the storm was in 1978 and not 1979.  My apologies.  Danielle.

[Trevor Harris]

I was on this voyage with my family and was 15 at the time.  My father only traveled by ship or train and we have 32 transatlantic crossings under our belt with the QE2.  One thing we noticed was that the 5 day schedule was changed and a day before the usual Captain's Dinner there was an invitation to "meet" the Captain.  He made a vague announcement that there was "mixed weather ahead".  I don't think there was much concern from the tourist class passengers, which we were part of, as everyone appeared to be enjoying the free drinks.  After dinner, when we returned to our cabins, we found our bull eyes shut and covered.  My father was highly annoyed and got into a heated discussion with the steward about this.  He always brought a wrench and opened the bull eyes for fresh on all of the crossings.  In the end we were told that we were heading into a storm so he left them closed.  In the middle of the night the seas got very rough, so much so that the drawers next to my bed flew across the room.  My sister and mother got seasick but my father and I never got seasick.  The next few days were rough but being young I found it very exciting.  The waves appeared to be almost as tall as the ship when she dove into the troughs between the wave crests.  Throughout the storm no warm meals were served to those of us who still had a robust appetitive out of safety reasons.  There was a small area of the outside deck, where people would normally sit in their deck chairs to enjoy the sun, that was sectioned off and you could go outside.  I spent hours out there watching the storm.  Occasionally another passenger would come out and look at the storm.  I loved watching the storm from the deck, the waves were whipped white and covered in sea foam from the wind which howled around the side railings.  Back inside I came across a crew member who was trying his best to calm down a hysterical woman who was afraid that the metal of the ship' would give out and we would go down.  At the time I found the whole thing very exciting and it wasn't until we disembarked in New York  that we saw the damage to the front of her bow from the waves and that the paint was stripped off from the front of the ship from the force of the wind.  I wish I had taken some fotos.  It remains the strongest storm that my family and I have ever been through on the high seas.  Danielle.

Welcome to the forum, Danielle! I loved your story so much! I would have been very seasick and probably would be miserable just being on, but that could be expected of me, I have a weak stomach! I could problably be found hunched in the bathroom.. Thanks for telling us your amazing story! As Isabelle said, Enjoy the forum!

[Brandon Sterkel]

Welcome to The QE2 Story, Danielle! Your story was very fascinating to read! I would have been on edge during that voyage!

[Lynda Bradford]

Wonderful to have a first hand account of being on the ship at the time of the storm.


Welcome to the forum Daniel looking forward to hearing more about your QE2 adventures.