1972 - 1984 | The Gale

NOTE: Some of this is identical to what is written on Wikipedia, as both were written by the author of this website, stardust5980 (aka celesteshipping5980). 

NOTE TWO: Huge thanks to Kenneth Kennedy and Kerry Kennedy for providing Kenneth's book 'ALL AT SEA' which provides almost all of the information on this page.

The Gale

- The sea was already big as they launched their dinghy from the lee side of Dunoon's old lido and made way for the ship. She was rolling heavily and at times swung broadside to the sea as the long chain went slack. Jack and Rusty were the first to board, narrowly missing a wave that ripped the ship away from the dinghy. Kenneth struggled to secure the bow hook to the dinghy as it plunged. As soon as it was fast Jack raised the bow, causing Kenneth to almost fall over the transom as it sank in a trough. On the crest of the next wave, Kenneth got the stern hook on. Now that Kenneth was aboard, he made for the engine room and had no trouble getting it started. Since they had gotten aboard, the sea had risen to produce six-foot high waves, her bow lifting clear each time a big crest rushed towards the shore due to the ship riding high with no ballast. They would have to get out of the bay before they were swept onto the rocks. Fortunately, slipping the mooring was easier as they had a stenhouse clip that could be released by a hammer blow.[1]

Jack retired to the engine room and Rusty to the bow, preparing to cast off the next time the bow fell off to the wind. The signal was given to free the ship from her mooring, and the telegraph was put into full ahead. She took time to gather speed, running broadside to the sea to clear the bay, rolling badly. The Rayburn stove, a relic from her houseboat days, broke from its mountings and fell against the steering wheel, preventing it from turning. Kenneth tried to force the wheel free as they continued towards the Gantocks. Rusty and Jack came to the wheelhouse at roughly the same time, and the three of them were able to free the stove and get the wheel turning. Kenneth put the ship hard to port and they were free of danger. Jack was not happy and wanted to throw the stove over the side, but Kenneth decided to keep it, seeing potential future use for it.

They soon entered the relative shelter of Loch Long, dropping anchor close to Gairletter Point. The wind was now more westerly and gusts off the hills howled through the rigging. Kenneth, Jack, and Rusty spent the night in the wheelhouse, getting very little sleep as they kept close to a small fire Kenneth had lit in the stove. Fortunately, the ship had stayed put and the wind had eased, enabling a return to Dunoon where they tied up at the coal pier. After the light had improved, they started the engine again, pulling up the anchor and setting off.[1]

The wind had caught up and pushed the ship wildly off course, taking them well offshore. Kenneth was forced to oversteer, making headway almost impossible. The lack of ballast was not helping the situation so Kenneth had Jack and Rusty pipe cooling water into the aft tank. Just as things were looking to improve, Jack informed Kenneth that the stern shaft coupling had become loose, and the bolts would soon come out. He ordered the engine to be stopped immediately, sending Rusty down with Jack to tighten the bolts. A pilot boat came alongside and asked if they required assistance, but Kenneth thanked them and said they'd be off shortly, merely making adjustments.[1]

A few minutes later they were underway again, but had decided they had had enough, and brought the ship to an overnight anchorage, leaving her and returning home. After a meal and a few hours of rest, Kenneth returned to the ship alone. He would lower the second anchor as a safety precaution. As the ship lay broadside a gust struck her amidships, the strain being too much. Both anchors failed to hold, and she was off across the loch at an increasing rate, the ship becoming more exposed to the wind as she lost the shelter of the hills around her. Kenneth waited for her to drift across the two-mile-wide loch, hoping that the anchors would find grip as she drifted closer to shore. In about fifteen minutes he was nearing the shore but he knew she would be washed ashore before the anchors gripped, so he started the engine, and he dashed to the wheelhouse to take the wheel. A squall was coming up towards the ship, visibility almost nil. All that could be done was steer into the wind and hope that no other vessel was near. The two anchors were still streaming out under the ship, slowing her down. As the rain eased Kenneth spotted the lights of three cottages, heading for them, running straight for the beach, hoping he could get the anchors embedded in shallow water.[1]

The bow came within a ship's length of the shore before the anchor chains tightened, bringing her to a stop. The engine was halted, and the ship remained in place for about half an hour before it was picked up by the wind once again and pushed over to Cove. By the time the ship was mid-loch, Kenneth decided to take drastic action. He would cut the anchor chains free from the ship with an oxyacetylene cutting torch, sending them and the anchors down to the bottom of the loch. With that, she would be drifting fast towards the beach. Kenneth hastily turned the engine back on and managed to ease the ship into deeper water and set course for Gairletter.[1]

He kept going until the gravel crunching beneath the bow told him he was well ashore, stopping the engine once he was sure. With a falling tide, the ship wouldn't be free until the next tide came up. Soon Mike, Terry's son, came up alongside De Wadden in a dinghy, having travelled from his lightship, expecting Kenneth to need some help. He would accept, getting him to assist with deploying the remaining anchor. Now that Kenneth knew the ship was safe, he decided to head home, expecting it to be another two weeks, when the spring tide came, until she would be free from the shore. In the meantime, Kenneth and Rusty had gone to the shipbreakers and bought another anchor, as well as sundry ropes, shackles, and portholes.[1]

References

1.  Kennedy, Kenneth M. (1985). All At Sea. Retrieved 2023-12-16.