Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2019/06/17/watch-royal-naval-trainees-att.html
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How exciting! Brings back fond memories of Sea Survival School, six months of trying to drown us, what’s not to like…
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Once upon a time I belonged to an Army Reserve unit that shared a facility with a Navy Reserve unit.
The Navy folk had a simulator like the one in the linked video.
Every time I looked inside that thing, I was more glad that I had chosen Infantry as my branch 
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Every big navy has simulators like this. Damage control training is standard.
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Cool. I wouldn’t have imagined they’d use simple wooden wedges and braces, etc. I guess I’ve seen too many sci-fi movies where there’s some kind of hi-tech expanding patch made of super-material which can staunch a hull breach in seconds.
I guess the old ways are the best.
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Damage Control school, Norfolk VA. There is a ship-like thing sitting in a dry pool. Then they fill the pool almost immediately. All of a sudden the million leaks and pipe ruptures, etc. start gushing in and you have to use your training to fix it. A lot of wooden wedges, hemp rope, oakum, wooden cones to plug holes, etc. - very low-tech.
It actually was pretty fun for a training. The fire-fighting training is similar, with diesel generated fires with fans to make it roaring in a simulated environment. It was very hands on, and really interesting.
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They should have a simulator for the old ships-of-the-line, where you have to plug holes with oakum and carpentry while sinking, with an occasional cannon-ball careening through the wall and decks slippery with blood and…
On second thought, maybe not.
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If the Master and Commander film franchise had ever taken off, I bet that would have been an attraction at Universal Studios.
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Oh dammit, way to reopen old wounds there.
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Sure, but only one of them is called HMS Excellent.
(HMS Sinky McWetface would have been another good choice)
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Sadly, no one cared about saving the HMS Reasonably Adequate.
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It turns out the HMS Excellent is a Bogus-class vessel.
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I just can’t believe they’re using wooden wedges to block these leaks. Seems like there must be a more effective hi-tech option here, right?
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I’ve heard Martian Congressional Republic Navy Emergency manuals are handy for this purpose. And whatever miracle glue she has in that gun.
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Really brings an emotional heft to that famous scene in Wrath of Khan.
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Light, strong, flexible, can be squished and bounces back (to form a seal and hold in place), cheap, easy to shape with simple tools, …
If it’s stupid and it works, maybe it’s not stupid. Also, you don’t have to halt the inflow of water, just get it down to a level where the pumps can keep up.
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Not actually Royal Naval trainees - they’re YouTubers, led by the excellent Tom Scott.
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I presume that the wedges expand when they get damp; making them work even better as a patch. Though I miss the good old days, where you could just keelhaul a cabin boy to plug any holes.
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Cool. Now imagine doing this as a 15 year old school kid! I was educated in the UK at a school with navy cadets, so we went off to camp every summer at various naval bases around the country, including this one. It’s scary as hell to have 10 of your classmates freaking out with some sadistic fuck just pushing buttons and shouting orders trying to drown you. Probably not even possible today with all the legal waivers etc. that would be required.
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