'Helipad' marking on m.s. Rotterdam

Reading through RevNeals' wonderful thread - Rotterdam: South America / Antarctica Photos - I noticed a couple of comments relating to the 'Helipad' type marking on the bow of the Rotterdam, and how long the marking had been there....

We sailed on the Rotterdams' first trip down the Orinoco River in late 2000 and remember the River Pilot boarding the ship by helicopter very early in the morning before we entered the river.

Many of us gathered in the Crows Nest to witness the event. The helicopter made an expert landing, on the specially positioned, large white 'H' marking which had been put in place on the bow prior to his arrival. I don't believe we witnessed his departure for some reason, however, the large white 'H' disappeared once we left the River.

I'm not sure how usual, or otherwise, such landings are, but for us it was, and remains a gem of a memory.....

Katie :)

The marking was on the Rotterdam in January 2006. In fact, on our first morning in Antarctica a woman slipped and fell while walking across it and broke her arm. Apparently, the white paint is different from the surrounding grey paint and freezes quicker. Therefore, the Helipad area was icy. After that, there was always a velvet rope surrounding the Helipad area to keep people safe.

The "H" in a circle marking has been on the Rotterdam's foredeck at least since December 2004. There is a picture which includes the marking at http://www.fortogden.com/pancanal-4.html . This was from our first holiday cruise on the Rotterdam.

Reading through RevNeals' wonderful thread - Rotterdam: South America / Antarctica Photos - I noticed a couple of comments relating to the 'Helipad' type marking on the bow of the Rotterdam, and how long the marking had been there....

 

We sailed on the Rotterdams' first trip down the Orinoco River in late 2000 and remember the River Pilot boarding the ship by helicopter very early in the morning before we entered the river.

 

Many of us gathered in the Crows Nest to witness the event. The helicopter made an expert landing, on the specially positioned, large white 'H' marking which had been put in place on the bow prior to his arrival. I don't believe we witnessed his departure for some reason, however, the large white 'H' disappeared once we left the River.

 

I'm not sure how usual, or otherwise, such landings are, but for us it was, and remains a gem of a memory.....

Katie :)

Thank you for your kind remarks and for your information! The helicopter actually landed? Wow! I wouldn't have thought that the space was large enough for a helicopter to actually land there. Drop down a basket on a line to pick up a sick passenger, yes ... but to actually land ... I wouldn't have thought it was large enough. Thanks for sharing!

Very interesting reading. Thanks for sharing that, KBC .

Last night I noticed the pad on a photo of the Rotterdam I have. The photo was taken during "The Wave" of 8/23/03. So it was there at least that long ago.

Funny what we don't see until we look for it.