Today is Plimsoll Day, which commemorates the birth in 1825 Samuel Plimsoll, politician and social reformer, best known for devising the Plimsoll line. 10 plimsoll line facts.
First of all, what is it? The Plimsoll line is a reference mark on a ship's hull to indicate the maximum depth to which the vessel may be safely immersed when loaded with cargo.
Samuel Plimsoll was a member of the British Parliament who had a particular interest in safety at sea. He was born in Bristol and before becoming an MP, had been the manager of a brewery and a coal merchant in London, although that particular business venture failed and he lived in destitution for a while.
In 1873, he published a book entitled Our Seamen, which raised awareness of 'coffin ships' (ships that were highly insured in case of sinking, with minimum consideration given to seafarer safety). He went on to be instrumental in getting Parliament to pass a bill which mandated marking a ship's sides with a line that would disappear below the waterline if the ship was overloaded. Plimsoll was passionate enough about his cause that when the Prime Minister of the time, Benjamin Disraeli, announced that he was dropping the bill, Plimsoll shook his fist in the Speaker's face and called members of the house “villains”. Disraeli moved that he be reprimanded for this behaviour, but Lord Hartington persuaded him to adjourn for a week and give Plimsoll time to calm down. Plimsoll apologised, but public opinion was on his side and the bill was passed in 1876.
The law applied to all foreign ships being loaded in British ports, so the plimsoll line became a standard across the world.
The plimsoll line, also known as the load line, is found midship on both the port and starboard hulls of cargo vessels. It is designed so that, even if the paint wears off, it will still be visible.
The load level can vary depending on the conditions at sea, and so there are several levels marked on it with letters which indicate different situations: ITF = Tropical Fresh Water; T = Tropical; F = Fresh Water; S = Summer; W = Winter; and WNA = Winter North Atlantic.
It wasn’t an entirely new idea. In the Middle Ages, the Venetian Republic, the Republic of Genoa and the Hanseatic League required ships to show a load line. In Venice, it was a cross marked on the side of the ship, and in Genoa three horizontal lines.
Samuel Plimsoll wasn’t just concerned with the safety of humans at sea. While he was the honorary president of the National Sailors' and Firemen's Union, he drew attention to cattle-ships, where animals were transported under appalling, over-crowded conditions.
Samuel Plimsoll appears in the third series of the BBC historical television drama The Onedin Line, portrayed by actor David Garfield.
Plimsoll shoes, worn by schoolchildren for PE, were so named because they resembled the Plimsoll line on boats.
Beta
(Combat Team Series #2)
Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?
Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.
Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream.
Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.
Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.
Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.
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