WHEN A STORM BLOWS UP

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 22, 26 January 1924, Page 16

WHEN A STORM BLOWS UP

SEEKING TO MAKE THE TRAVELLEK SAFE.

The coming of a storm on the great oceans is the signal for the performance of a never^failing ritual on the part of the ship's company, declares X' Norma Hil] 3 on in the -"Daily Mail." At the first indication of its approach it is the duty of the staff-captain and the "mail" officer (i£ it be a big-liner) to make a thorough round of the main deck. All the storm doors are closed and the strictest instructions are issued, to crew and passengers alike, that all portholes in the danger area must be closed and screwed down. If the weather is exceptionally heavy the "dead-lighta" are fixed to the portholes so that the waves shall not batter down the glass and flood the outside cabinß.

After the two officers visiting the rounds have : made sure that all is 'fast" below and that the water-tight compartment doors arex working freely and easily, they proceed to make a tour of inspection of the decks on top-sides. Their first care now is for the personal and individual safety of the passengers. If the wind is blowing a gale and waves are breaking continuously over the ship, no passenger is allowed to walk on an open deck for the seemingly innocent pleasure of looking at the fascinating progress of the storm. In the. public rooms of the ship the stewards, reinforced by an army of men from the dining saloons and pantries, get to work^at once. They lash with heavy ropes all the huge flower and plant-stands and pieces of furniture which might break away with the motion of the ship. It is usual to form •barricades of chairs and tables and to bind them fast to pillars and ornamental supports, such as abound in the great , lounges of modern liners. The price a steamship company pays • for breakages alone as the result of a really bad gale sometimes runs into tens of thousands of pounds.' Chairs and tables are broken by~ the score and glasses and plates by ! the hundred. -When -a big ship rolls badly, the wise man*either hangs on to a fixed rail or stands stock-still with the best foothold he can find. An attempt to move with the roll means an immediate loss of equilibrium, and the unfortunate passenger is bowled over at breakneck speed to the lee side of the ship. In the space of a few *feet he gathers a tremendous impetus, and only a miracle can save him from serious injury when he strikes the bulkhead at the end of his short, swift journey. The wise man clings to his rail and escapes. -