Saturday, March 13, 2010

Signals instead of words of command

1. The necessity to avoid verbal words of command sets a problem of organisation and drill which does not arise elsewhere in the Royal Navy. The standard signs below are to be used in addition to those illustrated in the Admiralty Manual of Seamanship, Volume II, page 246.
2. It should be noted that the same signal is used whether it be in handling a berthing wire, a boat’s fall or the whip of a derrick:
   
   

   ‘Heave In’, ‘Haul Away’ or ‘Hoist’	(finger)
   ‘Veer’, ‘Lower’ or ‘Check away’	(hand)
   ‘Avast veering or heaving’, or ‘Hold it or stop’	(hand)
   ‘Slip’	(hand)

   
   At night the above signals are to be made with a torch in accordance with the Admiralty Manual of Seamanship, Vol 11.
3. Evolutions, such as dress ship, lowering boats and ladders etc when entering harbour are controlled by the ‘G’ flag used from the wings of the Bridge and after end of Royal Deck:
   1. Flag held horizontal (30 seconds to go)
   2. Flag held vertical (5 seconds to go)
   3. Flag brought down to the side – Executive order
      
4. Telephone System Full use must be made of the Automatic Telephone Exchange for the location of personnel and the passing of orders or information. In cases where this is unsuccessful a messenger should be used.
5. Bleeper System To ensure that contact with key people may be achieved with minimum delay, the following individuals are issued with a Paging Device (Bleeper) activated via the telephone system:
   
   

   Pager No	Custodian
   300	OOD
   301	Duty PO / POWOD
   302	Outside MEM(M)
   303	Onwatch MEM(L) / Duty MEM(L)
   304	Cdr N

   
   To Access Paging System
   Dial 3 followed by the number of the pager you require, then the number of the extension you want the Pager holder to contact. On receipt of a paging Signal, the custodian of the Bleeper is to dial the number required as shown on the Bleeper.
   
6. Hot Notices Included in each main Notice Board is a space in red baize marked Red Hot Notices. Once Daily Orders for a given day have been published any subsequent changes to the routine or warning of new events will be promulgated by a ‘Red Hot Notice’
   These notices may only be originated by the Commander’s Office and they will be put up by the Commander’s Office writer or the Boatswain’s Mate as appropriate.
7. The distribution of notices is as follows:
   Both Main Notice Boards
   Engine Room Notice Board
   Wardroom Notice Board
   OOW/OOD (copy to be delivered by hand)
   Officers' Cabins
   Messdecks
   MCO
8. Each Hot Notice is to bear the time of origin and be sequentially numbered.