Around England in a super tanker?

[Kapitan]

Around england in the worlds biggest super tanker sound mad ?

You know me i am mad :D and yes im going to try it see how this virtual sailor realy works, and also get to grips with ship handeling and control, as one day i do desire to take command of a ship (hope fully no of this scale).

My planned route will take me from liverpool down to cornwall then through the english channel and up the north sea to scotland, now the ship is too big to go through most of the shallow channels so i got to go around.

After i round scotland il come back to liverpool where the journey will end.

I start now at thursday 2nd February at 2230GMT and i hope to finnish on the 8th February so a week to do that entire trip think i can do it ?

Explination of madness! i have alot of free time over the next few weeks ao i got nothing else to do apart from well toil and bordem so i just though do something out of the ordinary.


The ship im controlling:

Builder Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Ltd., Oppama Shipyard
Propulsion Sumito Stal-Laval AP Turbine, 50.000 PS by 85 RPM
Length 458.45 meters
Beam 68.86 meters
Draft 24.61 meters
DWT: 564,763
Cubic: 658,362
Speed 13.00 knots

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y262/russian-navy01/jahre-viking-2.jpg

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y262/russian-navy01/jahre-viking-3.jpg

[CCIP]

Will there even be enough depth under keel for this thing? :o

[Kapitan]

yes lol i planned it in all of what 20 mins :D and yeah plenty just got to be careful in the dover straight thats going to be the trikeyst big especialy with ferries all over ;) :up:

[CCIP]

Now if only I could do a cruise on my U-boat on an intersecting course around that time :rotfl:

[Kapitan]

also going to post some screenshots of the trip i have three already here they are:

[Kapitan]

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y262/russian-navy01/odds%20and%20ends/aviewfromthebridge.jpg

A view from the bridge, this is the bridge im standing on in command of Jahre viking for this trip

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y262/russian-navy01/odds%20and%20ends/fromthebridgewing.jpg

Looking forward on the bridge wing of jahre viking steaming along at 15.5 knots.

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y262/russian-navy01/odds%20and%20ends/thehugebow.jpg

To give you some scop in what i am commanding this is it the Jahre vikings big bow from the water line, oh theres more underneath too !!!!

[kiwi_2005]

Whats the game called.

[Kapitan]

virtual sailor 7.0 www.hangsim.com/vs

[Kapitan]

Another view of the impressive ship some realy good detail has gone into this ship and the guy who made it must have spent a very long timecreating this wonderful ship.

Ok we have been at sea for almost two hours now and ive made two turns without auto pilot, so how did i find the ship?
Well she handels like a semi with flat tyres doing around 5mph with a turning circle the size of downtown manhattan, she isnt very fast infact the fastest ive gone so far is 15.5 knots.

The detail is excellent i love the deck features the aft features even the life boats weathering and name,

Issues?

Monovering is a big one this thing isnt exactly the harbour tug infact it takes me around 10 miles to do a 360 (tried it earlier) which means the most dangerous part of the voyage the english channel and dover straight i may need a tug.

What the overall view ?

I like this ship very much highly detailed and about accurate on speed and turning ect.
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y262/russian-navy01/odds%20and%20ends/lookingaft.jpg
Here is a view of the deck the 1,500 foot long deck! showing some excellent detail.

Will i change my mind on the ship?

No i dont think so but im unsure yet

[Spent]

well that demo didnt let me really do anything. I didnt even have time to look at all the buttons on top when winodw popped up saying that my demo time expired and the program would close in 20 or so seconds. Not to mention my anti-virus blocked several trojans from the site and had to delete an infected file right after i installed it.

In any case, I still would like to try out that sim ;) :lol:

[Kapitan]

The demo isnt very good i must admit it was only a post from mike hence i think that changed my mind, it is well worth the investment i assure you im playing it now as i speak.


Also depends in you taste of ship theres all kinds warships submarines merchant fishing recreational tugs and others including a bath i think

[Kalach]

yes lol i planned it in all of what 20 mins :D and yeah plenty just got to be careful in the dover straight thats going to be the trikeyst big especialy with ferries all over ;) :up:
I don't think the ferries are going to be much of a match for it :lost: ;) .

There's going to be hell to pay if you run into the coast in it though :) .

[Spent]

is there any way of "modding" the demo to not close? :D

[Oberon]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4675464.stm

Just don't head east. :huh:

http://www.uscgalaska.com/clients/c780/50412.jpg

http://www.uscgresponds.com/clients/1085/50408.jpg

[Kapitan]

lol oberon.

After almost eight hours of sailing im now off the middle cosat of wales heading due south for lands end cornwall, heading at top speed of 15.5 knots, already passed one bouy but i was asleep at the time.

[Letum]

:huh: I want to torpedo that so much :smug:

[Kapitan]

if you torpedo me then you will have the highest kill tonnage ever im worth more than erich top or what ever the top scorer is :D

[joea]

To you guys who want to torpedo Kaptain. I'm phoning Greenpeace. :up: Polluters. :-j

[Kapitan]

oh yeah forgot to mention IM FULLY LOADED :D

[Kapitan]

Day one:

Left liverpool and headed west, water depth started shallow but got deeper and deeper im worried about the english channel but should be ok.

Ships that i have passed include a bulk carrier a sailing ship and the USS Chaffee, which was intresting as she came a bit close for comfort.

Heading south now hope not to bump into any ferries but can happen as i cant exactly move in any great form.

[bradclark1]

Looks like you are switching boredom for boredom but I can relate, I like Microsoft's Train Simulator.
Just don't run over any little boats.

[Kapitan]

Just missed a P&O ferry about an hour ago flipping thing came way to close :nope: thankfully didnt hit it.

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y262/russian-navy01/odds%20and%20ends/9e75ff1a.jpg

Silly captain comes way to close to me almost colliding with me, even with the bad weather he shouldnt be able to miss me.

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y262/russian-navy01/odds%20and%20ends/ab662b3f.jpg
USS Chaffee passes my port bridge wing at a distance.

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y262/russian-navy01/odds%20and%20ends/everrenownpasses.jpg
A container ship passes my port side just after USS Chaffee.

[Oberon]

Looks like you are switching boredom for boredom but I can relate, I like Microsoft's Train Simulator.
Just don't run over any little boats.

Activity ended, train derailed.

:o

[Kapitan]

lol well played oberon

[Kapitan]

My view so far:

I like this tanker she is very nice not monoverable not fast sluggish but cool, ive rounded the cornwall coast next is the english channel and ive got to follow the coast as close as possible, also the Queen Mary 2 will be coming towards me soon possibly within the next 11 or 12 hours i hope to get a shot or two of her.

The autopilot is very helpful and so is the XO (my monkey) he stands the 0000 to the 1200 watch and i do the rest although i am mainly on the laptop talking to people and playing DW :D

[Kapitan]

Well i was wrong seems the QM2 was closer than i though and ive managed to get a screen shot of her.

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y262/russian-navy01/odds%20and%20ends/Queenmarysailspast.jpg

PUUUUUUUUUUUUUURDY aint she?

[Kapitan]

Now the enlgish channel is the busiest shipping lane in the world, and you cant trust it so ive found.

A silja line ferry almost collided with me this is the second such incident since i set out and its becoming annoying i mean are these guys effing blind or what.

The silja Finnjet just managed to turn before she scraped along my side but i expect that there is worse to come with the dover calais ferrys out there.

Whats more annoying is i dont think there is enough water under the keel to dock in harwich but im going to try anyway

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y262/russian-navy01/odds%20and%20ends/secondsfromdisaster.jpg

Finnjet just seconds before she would have collided with me.

They do like to get close

[bradclark1]

Well I bought it and I have to say I can't think of anything else that I have totally wasted my money on as this. This is a play an hour and never use it again. :damn:
Going back to my trains. :rock:

[TteFAboB]

Can you make a more detailed review? I was thinking about buying it, kapitains adventure sounds interesting, but I wonder what else you can do with this thing.

[Kapitan]

theres alsorts plenty of ships subs to download, its fairly realistic its nothing like DW ive had it for a while and i enjoy it.

if you expect a sim like DW your far wrong

[Etienne]

Aw, come on, Kap, you didn't know the channel's three F?

****ing Fast Ferries.

I don't know the game's anti collision AI, but in real life, you just have to have nerves of steel - They wait until the last minute to alter course, and since you're the stand on (I'm assuming you're in a TSS, otherwise you're just the stand on half the time), you can't move. Usually, they pass astern at the last minute...

(And yes, the ferry I worked on did the very same thing. It feels a lot safer when you're the one with the minuscule turning radius!)

Does the game model status lights? You're constrained by your draft! Free pass, baby!

Sort of...

[Kapitan]

i like the 3 F's :D also yeah they do tend to turn at the last minuet as for lights aint a clue havent taken much note yet, overall an old sim but if you like comercial ships its great also helps training in real life KINDA!

[Kapitan]

just had a look and yes they do model the lights

[bradclark1]

Can you make a more detailed review? I was thinking about buying it, kapitains adventure sounds interesting, but I wonder what else you can do with this thing.

If you got the demo, thats what you get.
If you use the small boats I guess you can cruise the coastlines and check out the veiw. The game has a number of different coastlines you can download. Their are a number of different vessels you can download of varying quality. The only one I liked was a Volvo racing sail boat. The cockpits/bridges are mostly of low quality graphics that look like the graphics from the early to mid-nineties. No textures. The ships I tried, it was difficult to look out the windows and vision was limited.
There is no feel of forward movement like other simulators.

If you use a mouse, movement is backwards which I can't get used too.
I think the best thing you could do is try the demo and decide for yourself.
If you are interested in sailing, Virtual Skipper is a much better program but it also cost more.
Some people might like it for designing their own scenery or making their own ships/boats.

Virtual Sailor cost $25.50 which while it didn't break, me it was a real disappointment.

[Kapitan]

it depends on the ships you download wether the people spent time on them or just rushed them.

also i did say dont expect anything like DW and its not exactly a modern sim by any standards just fun because its one of few sims that acctualy allow you to command civilian ships.

[diver]

also i did say dont expect anything like DW and its not exactly a modern sim by any standards just fun because its one of few sims that acctualy allow you to command civilian ships.

Is there anything similar to this but for free?

[Kapitan]

not that i know of

[Kapitan]

This afternoon at 1512 the Jahre viking ran aground in the english channel, it wasnt my fault was my XO's :D .

The ship hit the bottom and capsized rescue efforts continue.

[Kapitan]

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y262/russian-navy01/odds%20and%20ends/jahrevikingsinks.jpg

Jahre viking slight list to her port side but bow very low in the water she is sinking, the tug's lady mille and another tug aided in pulling the tanker off the bank and out into deeper water where at 1628 she sank.

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y262/russian-navy01/odds%20and%20ends/jahregoesdown.jpg

Jahre viking 10 minuets before she sinks listing to port severlyby this time the tugs had given up hope of pulling the tanker to sea and so they retreated.

How did it happen?

My XO was in command and i forgot to set the auto pilot which the ship instead of going to its way point went straight into the coast, the fully loaded tanker the took a list to port slightly and then i knew it was sinking.

Tugs came and tried to pull her into deep water only slightly managing it later on the jahre viking listed to port badly then sank.

cant effing believe that i managed to do that :damn: :damn: :damn: :nope:

[Oberon]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/340000/images/_344421_bbc_logo300.jpg

SUPERTANKER RUNS AGROUND IN ENGLISH CHANNEL.

http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/5517/viking7gs.jpg
The stricken tanker as viewed from the Dover lifeboat.

The supertanker Jahre Viking has run aground in the English Channel, prompting major fears of an environmental disaster on the scale never witnessed by mankind.
The fully laden Jahre Viking contains 4.1 million barrels worth of oil, and ordinarily is not allowed to work through the Channel, it is unknown what prompted her captain to disobey protocol and attempt to sail through. There are reports of several near-misses already on the Viking's trip and sources we cannot name tell us that the her captain used to serve in the Russian navy and was once involved in a collision with an aircraft carrier.
Although the Captain was apparently not on duty at the time, his XO's ability to command has also been brought into question, with one senior naval officer saying: 'He has the brains of a monkey'. Whether a court martial will be pending, only time can tell.
As only time can tell for the striken supertanker, efforts by both English and French authorities to free the tanker have so far met with little success. There are even talks of an attempt to drain the tanker of fuel to raise its keel depth to acceptable levels.
The Viking itself has had a checkered history, during the Iraq-Iran war when she sailed under the name Sea Wise Giant, she was hit by the Iraqis whilst transitting the straits of Hormuz and declared a total loss. It was only after the war, she was brought by a Norwegian company, refloated and towed to Singapore. In 1991 after major repairs she sailed again under the name of 'Happy Giant'.
Then later she was sold to Jorden Jahre for the sum of $39 million and it was at this stage she was renamed the 'Jahre Viking'.
Whether she'll sail again after this incident remains to be seen.

[Kapitan]

lol oberon i like it, but jahre viking there is no hope of salvage :'( :cry:

[JSLTIGER]

If you had actually sank that thing, you'd be in a world of hurt right now...probably in prison, not to mention Greenpeace's Number 1 Most Wanted.

[Kapitan]

that is true and you want to know a very sobering though?

in a few years time i might be able to command a ship similar to this :o

[Oberon]

If the Merchant Navy read these forums, the only boat they'll let you command will be one like this:
http://www.dryisland.co.uk/images/dry-island-rowing-boat.jpg

;)

[Kapitan]

HEY

im a good captain, most of the accidents happy because i am not there or the XO is in charge.

:smug:

[Ramius]

HEY

im a good captain, most of the accidents happy because i am not there or the XO is in charge.

:smug:

Doesnt matter if you are there or not.

The Captain is in charge - and there to take the blame :yep: :yep:

[Kapitan]

Igor pass me my gun YEESSSS MASSSSTER


*BANG*

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

[sonar732]

This afternoon at 1512 the Jahre viking ran aground in the english channel, it wasnt my fault was my XO's :D .



Ever heard of the saying...

The buck stops here!! :arrgh!: :roll: :damn:

[Type XXIII]

*nitpicking*

Jahre Viking was renamed Knock Nevis in 2004.

I don't believe it should be able to navigate the English Channel anyway. Too shallow.

[Kapitan]

its not the shallowness of the water its the tight space, also the jahre viking is not allowed in the english channel because of her size.

there is very few ports that can accomadate her most are asian but there is some european ones like rotterdam.

but i bit off more than i could chew with this one too big for me

[Oberon]

Don't worry Kap, I heard through the grapevine they're gonna let you take out a new ship, just out of the Irish dockyard. Replacing some guy called Edward Smith.... :hmm:

[JSLTIGER]

that is true and you want to know a very sobering though?

in a few years time i might be able to command a ship similar to this :o


:::hears song::: It's the end of the world as we know it...

:rotfl:

[diver]

Greenpeace are going to just love you :lol:
The worlds largest ship fully laden with oil sinking in the Egnlish channel, that would have to be the worst spill in history.

[Kapitan]

Yea but thankfully the tanker didnt break up and also didnt sink 100% and 6 tugs later pulled her back on track but still with a slight list no oil yet spilt *INSERT COVERUP STATEMENT*.

please stand by for a speech to green peace.

:D:D

[JSLTIGER]

Are you continuing your run with that kind of damage?

[Etienne]

And now, it's time for that tune beloved of cadets the world over :

"The chief's going to jail! The Captain's going to jail! Lalalalalala!"

[Kapitan]

Are you continuing your run with that kind of damage?

no the jahre viking is acctualy banned from the english channel because her turning circul is way to big even with bow and stern thrusters and full rudder she is a bugger to turn

[JSLTIGER]

Plus her stopping distance is undoubtedly measured in miles.

[Kapitan]

Plus her stopping distance is undoubtedly measured in miles.

No diffrent to any tanker in fact for jahre viking from full speed to stand still takes 28 miles and so ive read from the tankers owners it take 36 miles to do a full circul.

But the tanker my stepdad was on was not much diffrent, took 22 miles to stop and had a turning circul of around 29 miles.
and she was allowed into the english channel cause the route that tanker done took it directly through the channel.

M.V Stena Queen 358,000 tonnes 1,200feet long 170 feet wide (note approximate)

[diver]

... in fact for jahre viking from full speed to stand still takes 28 miles...

28 miles?

that is crazy :o

There must be some mega momentum in those things.

[Kapitan]

theres plenty of momentum in it did you know that the stopping distance is greater than the route dover to calasis is wide?

not to mention when she docks she uses to brake tugs (tugs which help her stop) at the rear 2 on each wide and 2 up front

[Kapitan]

M.V Stena Queen (Stepfathers ship)

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y262/russian-navy01/odds%20and%20ends/queen1.jpg

Nice front end view of the queen making her way fully loaded.

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y262/russian-navy01/odds%20and%20ends/queen2.jpg

Queen again this time not loaded and you can see the big diffrence in draft.

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y262/russian-navy01/odds%20and%20ends/queen3.jpg

A far shot but gives some idea of length of the queen

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y262/russian-navy01/odds%20and%20ends/queen4.jpg

After a collission in the mid east Stena Queen was sent in to take oil from her sister Stena King, and in this collision Stena line found out that the deck was seriously week on thier two ships both were later pulled in repaired and reinforced.


Specification of the Stena king and Queen.

Length: 1,240 Feet
Width: 223 Feet
Tonnage: 458,000 tonnes

[Godalmighty83]

oh for a couple of them and a handful of torps. um yummy.

[Kapitan]

A couple of torps and upon returning home a hide out :D

[Deathblow]

This program is pretty cool, virtual sailor. After reading all of Kapitains accounts I just had to give it a try and wow, well worth the 25 bucks. Love the addon's too. Right now I'm driving an akula around greece is a nice bit of scenary. :yep:

Hm.... if only DW had the sounds and graphics of VS :huh: :yep: :up:

[TteFAboB]

I've downloaded the Demo and must say I felt scammed when it expired in less than 5 minutes or so.

I could barely test the graphics, the physics and the tweakable effects, options and features, I don't know why there are 3 boats if you only have time to try out one.

So, after this bad impression I'm definitely not buying it now. Why not release a demo like the one for Mount & Blade where you can play for an unlimited amount of time, though severely limited to a little sandbox? I don't see why there's a need for a time-limit on a sailing simulator if there's only one scenario and 3 boats anyway, the Virtual Skipper demo lets you play a sandbox race for as many times as you want, after playing enough of it I decided to buy the full thing. I suspect: A) The sim is only fun for a few minutes then gets dull, boring or whatever, so they can't allow you to spend all those minutes on the demo because you'll get bored and won't buy the sim; B) The Sim has some sort of flaws or limitations they don't want you to see; C) Pure stupidity from the devs.

This is an interesting sim, but I want to get my hands on it before buying, if the demo won't allow me to do a test-drive I have only two options: A) Steal it; B) Play the full thing elsewhere.

I'll go with B, obviously. Kapitain, can I stop by your house tomorrow to play some of this? I'll bring trotskie, the red sheep for you.

http://img485.imageshack.us/img485/2973/trostkie3ry.jpg

[Kapitan]

aaaawwwwww cute sheep that would go nice with lennie the purple sheep.

If you can find it by all means just becareful of the dog, land mines, artilery shells, unexploded ordinance, missiles, and my dads cooking.

Heck ive only got a chiuaua and a yorkshire terrier :o

[Sixpack]

Somehow I never noticed this thread before.

Thanks Kaptain for the cool idea, story and pics.

I also tried many demos of VS through the years and decided it was too retro. The ships you shot look great tho.

I am hoping for a real simulator to come along in time, that lets you realisticly simulate rounding i.e Cape Horn in a supertanker, a windjammer and a small sailing yacht, say 33 feet, in ultra realistic weather and sea state.

Better yet, simulate circumnavigating the globe via various routes in realistic variable weather.

ETA ? 2019

[Kapitan]

I hope very soon too but if i get into the merchant navy this year i shall be playing with sim's :D :smug:

[STEED]

I remember years ago when I was a kid staying with my Grand dad in Southampton he took me to see this Oil Tanker in Dock. WOW it blew me away talk about big it was a great couple of hours out. :up:

[Kapitan]

You will probly find that that tanker was only VLCC (Very Large Crude Carrier).

The ship my step dad was on was classed as ULCC (Ultra Large Crude Carrier), and at 358,000 tonnes you see why!

Where i live the biggest ships that enter the thames are only around 48,000 tonnes they are going to have to dredge to get this new super container port done by 2009 so they say, im in favour it going to create major jobs and lots more ships to see.

The ship i worked on Dart 8 she was only 22,000 tonnes and no where near as big as VLCC's at only 580 feet or something like that she was considerd quite small.

[Mike 'Red Ocktober' Hense]

GOOD FOR YOU KAP'!!! Go FOR IT :up:

hey... did you notice my periscope off your port stern... about 300 yards off :cool:

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

--Mike

[Kapitan]

lol no kinda missed it but remind me next time so i can run ya flat:D

[Oberon]

This is the second time you've made the front page of Subsim Kap! :up:

[bradclark1]

I'll sell mine with serial numbers, updates, added maps, and the best ships for $12.00 postage paid to anyone in the U.S.

[Kapitan]

oppps oh boy ive done that again well perhapse i should try again.

[Oberon]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/4795670.stm

Kapitain denies responsibility, blames it on his XO. :know:

[Kapitan]

How dumb do you get

[Hans Schultz]

what sim is this from the screen shots?!

[Kapitan]

Virtual sailor

www.hangsim.com/vs

[Mike 'Red Ocktober' Hense]

I've downloaded the Demo and must say I felt scammed when it expired in less than 5 minutes or so.
the demo could've been a lil longer... but Virtual Sailor certainly is no scam... it's a great sim for surface sailors as well as submariners...

http://home.att.net/~subbase2/VS725_UpClose1.jpg

http://home.att.net/~subbase2/VS725_UpClose2.jpg


http://home.att.net/~subbase2/VS725_UpClose3.jpg


http://home.att.net/~subbase2/VS725_UpClose4.jpg

http://home.att.net/~subbase2/VS725_UpClose5.jpg

a lil playin around last night with the latest release... one of the subs i did, the other one is TLAM's guppy... and you can go inside these as well...

--Mike

[Hans Schultz]

very cool, were can one download 3rd party ships and subs? :rock:

[TLAM Strike]

very cool, were can one download 3rd party ships and subs? :rock:

http://www.virtual-sailor.net