Old Weather Forum

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On the weather page, please enter: date, locations, distances (nautical miles and tenths), courses, and all the weather data in the columns outlined in red in the spreadsheet.
It is not necessary to record State of the Sea.
However, ice mentioned in the weather grid should be transcribed using the magenta Sea column.

On the events page please enter: ice, location information, and sailing information.
Aurorae, volcanic, and seismic activity should be reported in the forum.
The names of US Navy and Coast Guard ships met should be noted. This gives the science team a chance to compare weather readings. You can include all ships mentioned in a single entry without a time or any additional data.
Other events are optional.

One person can do both weather and events (Stream 1), but the system also allows one person to do the weather page (Stream 1) and a second person to do the events page (Stream 3).
Unlike in OW3, where three transcriptions were required for each page, we are doing only one transcription per page.

Every transcriber needs to enter the date.
The date is used to organize the pages.

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See Shenandoah: general for some general background and discussion.
See Shenandoah: examples for a quick introduction to transcribing or a refresher.

See Transcribing Guide to learn how to transcribe the data.
Post in Ask Questions Here or this topic if you have questions.

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I'll reserve this year, Shenandoah's last.

at anchor, Coquimbo, Chili [sic] Tuesday, the 12th of January,

At 1040 sighted the U.S.F.S. "Hartford" standing in from the Nd.

Signals exchanged, and a 1220 a 13-gun salute.

In firing salute breech plug of No 2 saluting gun blew out, injuring seriously private Sirois, U.S. Marine, one of the saluting guns crew.

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at anchor, Coquimbo, Chili [sic] Wednesday, the 13th of January,

at 9.15 [PM] Private Arthur Sirois, U.S.M.C., died from injuries received on board in the line of duty.

RIP Arthur Sirois U.S.M.C

1886-01-18, Evening Watch, at sea a bit SE of Coquimbo, Chile (p. 86), running parallel to the coast about 5 miles offshore:

First hour sand flying from SxE, then cloudless

Is there anywhere this should be noted than on the Events page for this date?

If you want to, you could post it in Natural Phenomena.
However, transcribing it or posting it here or there is optional.

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I like reading about unusual events other transcribers have found in the logs

Our field of lemons was famous!
From the old forum:

AvastMH wrote:Wed Jul 04, 2012 9:37 pm

gastcra wrote:Thu Jun 28, 2012 8:59 pm Here's a sour note at 4:15 PM. It's amazing that lemons grow in the Ambrose Channel

http://s3.amazonaws.com/oldweather/ADM5 ... -008_1.jpg

Now - we all know it to be a small world,,,but the other night I regaled my neighbour with the story about the lemons. 'Ah!' she said 'just like our harbour of oranges'. She was in Spain one summer when a vicious storm went through the orange groves - many fell into the local river and were bourn away to the harbour...where my neighbour found them the next day.

I love it! "Passed through field of floating lemons"! That is not something you see every day.

(I've been in a three-day sandstorm at anchor in Baja, and in LA I sailed through a grim field of thousands of plastic Chinese takeout bags labeled "Thank You." But lemons! Amazing!)

Another classic is HMS Tarantula's barometer

Oh no! I found an ant nest in my cable modem*. Does this call into question the accuracy of my transcriptions? Will my barometric pressure data all be 0.26 ins. too low?

* No, really! And not just once, but twice! They were friendly-but-invasive Argentine ants, Linepithema humile and I will not reveal what I did to encourage them to leave.

If you have problems again, let me know and I will come and sing to them.
Of course, you may prefer the ants!

OK, stop with the antics and get back to work.

Aye, aye, sir!

Don't ant-agonize Gordon!

Shenandoah, at anchor in Valparaiso, Chile, 1886-02-01, p. 101.

Sold at auction the effects of the late Private Sirois, realizing $23.40

An inflation calculator suggests this would amount to about US$775 today...not much of a nest egg, poor fellow.

I'm not sure whether the flagship's 15-gun salute was on behalf of the late Private, but I'd like to think so.

Here's an "illuminating" tidbit (and yet another rabbit hole)...

Shenandoah 1886, at anchor in Valparaiso in February 1886, p. 106:

Tested electric wires and flood cocks.

This is the first I've heard about electricity aboard ship. According to the Naval History and Heritage Command,

The first installation of electric lights in a U.S. Navy warship took place during the summer of 1883. Earlier that spring, seven electric power companies were asked by the Bureau of Navigation to submit bids for installing lights in Trenton, then berthed at the New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn....Other than minor wiring problems, the initial trial during Trenton's service on the Asiatic Station was a success, and in 1884, the Bureau of Navigation decided to install lights in Atlanta, Boston and Omaha.

No mention of Shenandoah, but

In 1886, the Bureau of Navigation reported, “[t]his method of lighting ships of war, owing to the small amount of heat given off, the absence of disagreeable odors, and the more perfect illumination, adds much to the health and comfort of the officers and men, tends to make them contented and happy during their long absences from home and friends, promotes discipline and prevents crime.”

Shenandoah's log in 1886 is littered with desertions, drunkenness and sloppy behavior. Perhaps they were testing the wires because electric light wasn't having the stated effect?

and

Ditto!

Somebody decided that it would be a good idea on February 28, 1886 to list the offenses aboard the Shenandoah. So there's a special insert titled "List of Punishments Adjudged by Com'd'g Officer."



The list proceeds to identify 57 punishments among 46 different men, for 29 different offenses. There's plenty of absenteeism and some unspecified assault, insubordination and disobedience, but there are more specific charges as well:

• J. Kaser, 1c. Apprentice, was guilty not only of swearing, but of neglecting his brightwork
• H. Gallagher, Seaman, slung his hammock inside out
• J.F. Walsh, J.C. Keegan, and J. Rooney scrubbed their clothes out of hours
• A. Frank, B.M. was initially disrated for being under the influence of liquor; later, he was put on bread and water and deprived of three months' liberty for being dead drunk on duty
• W. Cavanaugh, Lds. kicked Bayman Brandt
• J. Rice, acting corporal, connived in smuggling liquor, possibly with G. Wilson, ordinary seaman, and J. Brady, W. Tdr., who didn't connive but were punished for smuggling liquor themselves
• Ordinary Seamen G. Nixon and T. Smith failed to pay in their mess money

James E. Valle's 1980 book, Rocks and Shoals: Order and Discipline in the Old Navy 1800-1861 discusses the topic at length, but even this tidbit gives us some insight into life in the 19th century Navy.