Understand that they set their automatic pilot to home in on our signal: if someone on watch on the other ship failed to change over to manual steering we would be goners. During foggy days it was necessary to run the “diaphones” not only to keep ships off of “Frying Pan” Shoals but also to keep merchant ships from plowing straight into us. They supply compressed air to the fog horns. There are 2 huge compressors in the aft section of the engine room. Also, if we had to run other auxiliary equipment such as the evaporator to make fresh water or the boiler during winter. If we had to lift the anchor to get back on station we would of course have to run one or more of our four main engines: GM 6-71 diesel electric units.
#Scuttlebutt antiques generator
Since I was assigned to the engine room I never even thought about the noise from the one diesel generator we had to run under normal circumstances. This trip was usually 2-4 days so in reality we were at sea 30 days or maybe 32 and off 10 or 12 days. All others, this included me, spent 28 days on and 14 off except the 14 off was reduced by the logistics trip by the Sea-going tug Chilula.
The most senior people spent 2 weeks on and 2 weeks off. We had a crew of about 15 at any give time about 9-10 would be aboard.
But for now I’ll deal with life on board during my 2 year tour of 1960-1961. and names of current owners through 1993 when I was last aboard her in NYC. I can give you names and dates of newspaper articles, copies of pictures, etc. I don’t know how much detail you want but it has a long and very interesting history. The Frying Pan Lightship was built during the Great Depression 1929 & 1930 in Charleston (SC) Drydock Machine Shop. Marcia Excerpted from a letter from Captain David MelvinĮxcerpted from a letter from Captain David Melvin, former crewman aboard Frying Pan: If I can ever be of any assistance with stories about this ship, or of my time on board please let me know.įrank A. I now live in Tampa Fl., but I am from Brooklyn, NY. Now, that I know where she is, I will try my best to visit there someday. Mid watch standers got to sleep in each day, while everyone else had to turn to ships work. I loved to stand the radio room watch, and I always made sure I got the mid watch. We had good food, we got good movies to watch, and we would spend 14 days on board and 7 days off while we were at sea. We had a CWO as our commander, and life on board was very nice. This vessel was very nice inside, and I enjoyed my duty aboard her. I was sorry to see that frying pan had sunk. This lightship replaced another relief lightship, WALl 519, that I also served on. I have often wondered what ever became of this lightship. I am a former crew member of frying pan shoals lightship, and I served aboard her while she was the relief lightship stationed at Cape May, NJ.