For years working aboard deep sea going supertankers, especially when in my role as the Chief Mate, there were certain times where there were periods of no or little sleep and high stress. For those who may not be aware a supertanker typically carries over 2 million barrels of crude oil. A single US Barrel of oil is equivalent to 42 gallons. So if you buy a gallon of milk in the store, it’s two million of those without the plastic container! As the Chief Mate, I was in charge of the loading … [Read more...]
Where Are You Right Now?
The majority of us depend on an app, on our handheld device, for directions these days. You may have a personal favorite app for directions and driving, walking and even for hiking. Feel free to share the name of your favorite and why it’s your favorite in the comments section. Odds are good that if you’re under thirty years old you never saw, no less utilized, a paper map. The kind of fold out map that no one can quite get folded back up correctly once opened up. You may have seen these in … [Read more...]
Mark Off The Date With A Big X
A favorite and consistent habit of every person working aboard an ocean going merchant ship is marking off each day on the calendar. A big X signifies another day done and dusted. Sometimes the calendar is a large one on the bulkhead (that’s the wall you land lubbers!) and for others a smaller calendar on the writing desk or by their bunk. It’s a combination of seeing the days gone by and looking ahead to the days when it’s time to leave the ship and go home again. Other than a few words … [Read more...]
Happy Independence Day!
"Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." ~ President John F. Kennedy "There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by what is right with America." ~ President Bill Clinton "America was not built on fear. America was built on courage, on imagination, and an unbeatable determination to do the job at hand" ~ President Harry S. Truman "The essence of America, that which really unites us, is not ethnicity, or nationality or religion. It … [Read more...]
Are You Ready To Explore? Three Ways To Start Now…
The journey Ferdinand Magellan ventured out on over 500 years ago was thought to be utter madness by most people. They had heard stories of sea monsters, human flesh eating frogs and worse – would they fall off the end of the world? Not all of the ships that left on this journey returned to their home port. In fact, not many of the total crew returned home. By the end of the trip there was no food aboard and the crew was chewing leather aboard to obtain some potential nutrients. What was … [Read more...]
Do You Have A Crow’s Nest?
If you have been aboard any of the popular ocean-going cruise ships, one of the popular night spots aboard is the club located on the top deck of the ship. The name is usually something like Roxy’s and then followed by the words ‘crow’s nest’. Why crow’s nest you might ask? The crow’s nest was critical to whaling vessels in spotting whales at sea as early as possible to direct the vessel to the whales and to have the crew prepare for the kill. This early sighting was made possible by having … [Read more...]
