BUTTON DOWN THE HATCHES!!!!!

[Shultzie]

BUTTON DOWN THE HATCHES....STRRRRROOOOONG WINDS DUE TODAY!
Talk about TRAMA!!!! MAAAAMA!!! Waaaaay back in 1963.....Ben Madsen and I were hanger trashin in his basement, when the news that the new Gallopping Gurdy NARROWS BRIDGE...that crosses the Narrows was being closed due to gusty  October winds that were being recorded in the 70 mph range.
I am not sure...but it was  combined idiot effort that we both chose to hop out into my old VW. and head out to the bridge. We parked at the Narrows Phamacy....and jogged down to the Narrows Bridge which was closed at the time.
However we snuck by the Bridge patrol...who was busy putting up barriers that were being blown down by gusts.

Ben and I made it almost to mid span before the wind gusts began to really increase. Worst of all...sheets of rain started making that life line railing extremely difficult to hold a grip onto.

By this time we were both holding onto the railing with both hands as the gusts and wet walkway...would pull our feet out from under our bodies and flap us momentaraleeee' like a gunny'sac' in the wind.
It seemed like a LIFE-TIME..before we finally managed to return back to the end of the bridge.
The Tacoma Police and guards were standing there waiting for us. I thought we were headed for the Tacoma POKEY FOR SURE!

If it wasn't for the bridge master....who saw the look of TERROR AND TRAMA IN OUR FACES AND RAIN SOAKED BOD'S...decided to take us back to my old VW at the Narrow's Phamacy (who was a favorite account of mine.)
Tom the Store owner, gave us some old counter towels to dry off.

Both Ben and I had NIGHTMARES FOR YEARS AFTERWARDS TO THAT EVENT. Even though funny afterwards...
THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME IN OUR LIVES...THAT WE BOTH THOUGHT THAT OUR LIVES WERE TOAST!
(Confession...time! I told Ben that I could actually begin to hear the angels sing....and see the tunnel of light?) NOT!
We both knew in our hearts and souls...that we were both ever so thankful that as horrific as it seemed at the time...our prayers were answered. Once more...that the LORD ABOVE takes care of fools, stunt grunts n' dogs!"
Thus proving:
"THERE ARE NO MISTAKES..JUST LESSONS TO BE LEARNED! N' LEARNED!"

[Randy Powell]

Son,

Yea, I just heard the weather report. Yikes!

[bruce malm]

Smotzie,
I was thinking of that when I was listening to the weather. I remember  just trying to get around all the down trees on my early morning paper routein 1963. The road next to Kiwanis Park was really bad.

As far as seeing the tunnel of light, I got close when a dentist gave me to much gas. He brought me out when I tried to hit the nurse. Didn't know I had been under for almost 2 hours.
There were a few times of the coast of Viet Nam that I was wondering how far I could swim.

Bruce

[Bob Reeves]

Thought it was "Batton" down but what do I know I was an airdale. Worst storm I have ever witnessed was a huricane we went through heading for Viet Nam, the flight deck was 60 foot off the water and waves were breaking over the bow. I really felt sory for the sailors in the tin cans running beside us.

[Glen Wearden]

I think I remember that storm.  I was at Ft. Lewis until I left for my first Vietnam tour in August 63.  We had trees down all over post.   Glen

[bruce malm]

We went through several Typoons. Each one would bend the sponson decks up over the winches so you couldn't get around them. One ripped a lot of the expanded metal off the catwalks. You had to really watch where you stepped when checking the fuel stations. It was amazing  to pull into Subic  bay and watch them jack down that heavy plating, and straighten  out the gussets in the matter of a few days. Ther's one picture in the Cruise book from 1968 that shows a wave landing right in front of the island. Some guy way up on the island to take the picture. I know the 31 elevator pit was a swimming pool and a couple of forklifts went through some A4S. You always wondered if the destroyers would come back up. Sometimes you could barely see the top of the exhaust stack.

Another thing was to walk down the hanger deck and watch the expansion joints. You felt like you were going through the mountains on a choo-choo train.

It reminded me of the walking down the school hallway during the big earthquake in Washington in 1964/5??

[Shultzie]

Thought it was "Batton" down but what do I know I was an airdale. Worst storm I have ever witnessed was a huricane we went through heading for Viet Nam, the flight deck was 60 foot off the water and waves were breaking over the bow. I really felt sory for the sailors in the tin cans running beside us.

BATTON DOWN...seems like the correct term...but hey? Lets ask an old Saltydog???
Hey GARY LETSINGER....IF YOU ARE LURRRRRKING?
BATTON IS THE RIGHT TERM? Gary was an amazingly gifted sailboat Captain.
I was a very poor 1st mate crewman..."Gary kept yelling at me..."TO FALL OFF!!!
FALL OFF?? NOT ON YOUR LIFE!!!(Especially when Gary just knew how poor a swimmer I was at the time.)!!!!

What he meant...was that I was to turn the bow slightly more away from the wind.
Another time...when he yelled a command..."GO TO THE PORT! and yelled again at me...when I went down to the galley and brought up a bottle of wine?

[Shultzie]

"OOOPS! THE WIND HAS STARTED...AND OUR LIGHTS ARE BEGINNING TO DO THE FLICKEROOONIES!!! 

[Tom Perry]

http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/56700.html   

[john e. holliday]

Amazing the stuff we can learn on these forums.  DOC Holliday

[Steve Helmick]

How's all youse local yokels? We had two night w/o power, but it went off during the night and came back on during the following night, so it wasn't as bad as it coulda been. The power outages have made traffic a mess. Gas stations with power have lines of cars waiting to get into the stations. I gassed up Friday, before 5am, so it wasn't a problem for me.

Too many folks whistle right through stoplights that have no power to run them. Driving is dangerous in these conditions, so stay home if you can. Unfortunately, power was mostly on at work, so I had to show up. Went by the gym afterwards, but it was very crowded so went home; I expect the showers were popular. Last night, I was reading the operator's manual for my new CNC milling machine by candle light. It finally got too cold, so went to bed. Good time to catch up on sleep.  Steve

[Bill Gruby]

Steve;

Glad to see you weathered the storm OK, bet you're glad it's over.

Bill Gruby   

[Keith Spriggs]

Thought it was "Batton" down

Climate change is providing plenty of opportunity to reinforce our property against bad weather. The securing of property, especially the covering with protective sheeting, is called 'battening down'. That's not how the phrase originated, although it's not far away in terms of meaning. It has a nautical origin and 'battening down' was done on ships when bad weather was expected.

The earliest known citation is from John Badcock, in Domestic Amusements, 1823 (referring to a sea voyage):

"The severity of the climate having compelled them to batten down and caulk their abiding place."

A batten is a strip of wood. Caulking is the filling of gaps with oakum of similar, to prevent leaking. That's 'battening down' in a general sense. The first citation of the explicit use of the phrase 'batten down the hatches' is from the 1883 Chambers Journal:

"Batten down the hatches - quick, men."