[AlphaKilo]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

It's a very good video. It is old, 1979, but still very good.

1979 was also the year I "went to sea". As part of our four year Bachelor program, the third year is an apprentice year. You need to spend 365 on board of a ship and keep a log book. It comes with a long list of assignements that you have to document ate. Anything from watch keeping routines, to routine maintenance, repair and overhaul jobs, etc.
Jeroen

Nice to hear your experience sir. So did you have your days of sea sickness? How did you deal with it initially? One of my uncle was a submariner (Indian Navy) and was for around 25yrs working with the merchant Navy and I used to hear similar experiences from him.

I always wonder how does our body cope with the wild swaying of the ship during high tides, normally we get a strange feeling of negative gravity in our stomach even when we suddenly descend in a flyover or over a road unevenness, how do you people manage such massive undulations?

[Thad E Ginathom]

As a small-boat sailor I was only actually sick once. However, there are other symptoms to motion sickness which are just as unpleasant, and, if one is in charge, can be very dangerous. One feels weighed down with a sort of malaise, lethargy, can't-be-bothered heavy-headedness. It becomes such an effort to navigate, reduce sail, whatever, it is easy not to bother. It is even too much effort to tell someone else to do it! It is very necessary to be aware of this state, apply self discipline, and do the necessary. Sailing is really great experience, even when it is unpleasant

Jeroen, my PC audio is broken today, and won't even allow me to watch video in silence. Hope to get it fixed later in the day. As soon as it is fixed I'll be watching your video. I am envious of real big-ship experience

[Jeroen]

I have suffered from sea sickness. Especially if I returned from a long leave to a ship and then immediately found myself in severe weather. I was lucky in the sense that it never lasted very long.

Being sea sick can be pretty awful, you just want to die, at best crawl back in your bunk. Of course, on a vessel at sea, especially these sort of ocean going tugs, there are only a handful of crew. So there is nobody that can stand in for you. You have to get on with it no matter what. Most of the SmitLloyd vessels had a crew of 7, the larger more powerful vessels had a crew of 9.

Captain, Chief engineer, Second engineer, fist mate, two sailors and a cook. On the larger more powerful vessels we also had a third engineer and an oiler.

Although most of our vessels were certified for automated/unmanned engine room operation we never did. Everybody ran 6 hours on, 6 hours of. But during salvage work or anchor handling it wasn't unusual for everybody to be on their feet for 36-48 hours. During big salvage operation there might be additional temporary crew as well.

The main reason for not leaving the engine room unattended was the very nature of the sort of work these vessels undertake. Extensive manouvring near oil rigs, salvage work and or towing. You don't want to be towing something and have a problem with the engines with the engineers asleep in their bunks. Your tow will catch up and might have run you down, before your engineer is awake and made his way into the engine room.

Also, on all SmitLloyd vessel all the handeling of the various winches was done by either the Chief or Second Engineer. So with crews this small, nobody can be ill, sea sickness or anything else for that matter. You had to be able to pull your weight, or you needed replacing. Simple as that.

This is a rough, dangerous environment.

Being forced to work and stand your watch is probably the best cure to sea sickness. Sitting around idle doesn't make it better. I've done a fair bit of yachting, mostly Caribbean, north sea and the English channel. Whenever I board a yacht I will always take some sea sickness pills. It's just not worth getting ill, and if you haven't been out to sea for a while it will hit you.

Apart from the sea sickness there is of course the constant motion in heavy seas. Remember, these tugs are very powerful, extremely seaworthy, but essentially they are all pretty small as well! So you do get thrown about a lot. You do get used to it. One hand for the ship, one hand for yourself is the rule.

Sleeping takes a bit of getting used to. You need to sort of wedge yourself into your bunk, putting a few pillows in strategic places to keep you in place. Even then, in heavy seas you can still feel yourself moving inside your skin sort of. But you do get used to it.

Jeroen

[Thad E Ginathom]

Nice to know you've sailed small things too --- I have to admit that a 40-footer can feel anything but small in some circumstances! Some of that video (system working again) is just nasty. The idea of going that far up ....and down ....and up again ...and the whole thing going on and on and on and on is just not nice.

In ordinary circumstances, I love sleeping at sea. So much so that one of my friends named me "The Kipper." Although, there was a plan, which was to be available and alert all night. My sailing, very modest: English channel, Cornish coast; cornwall/Channel Islands; Cornwall/Scilly Islands; Southern North Sea, UK East coast, Ipswich/Netherlands; Ipswich/Belgium. Most of that North Sea stuff done with a friend who lived aboard his 50-yr-old yacht.

The Southern North Sea is horrible when it gets choppy: too shallow for a decent swell to form. No wonder the Dutch have seamanship in their blood!

By the way, did you learn to speak Dutch?

EDIT: After a quick surf of the net, this was my late friend's boat: Cayenne.

The obviously unoriginal mast was fitted after she was dismasted off the coast of Africa. My friend later sold her and bought a much smaller GRP boat, which he described as his "retirement cottage," which he died aboard, on a trip to the Azores, of a heart attack.

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

By the way, did you learn to speak Dutch?

I am Dutch, and I learned to speak and write English!

I was born in Amsterdam and grew up in Amstelveen which used to be like a sort of a suburb of Amsterdam. Nowadays a proper town in it's own right.

Although I'm done sailing from a professional point of view, I'm still interested in anything to do with shipping. And I do like to go out on yachts. One day, I'll be able to retire and get my own. I know exactly what I want. There is one small problem, beside the pension I will definitely will need to win the lottery!

Man has to have a dream.

Jeroen

[Thad E Ginathom]

Oh! Nothing I can tell you about the North Sea then!

Cayenne was probably the nicest boat I ever sailed aboard. Compared to a modern 44-footer, she was quite compact. You could hold your hand in the water from the cockpit. The cutter rig is very handlable, although the original wooden boom used to win if I was on the topping lift . In light airs she could sail into the rear of a racing fleet of boats fifty years younger, and sail out the front. You can see from the broker's site owner's comments that she has experienced seriously heavy weather. She was comfortable to live aboard too: just enough space. Could be my dream yacht!

Except my dream boat, these days, is a Kerala village boat of about sixteen foot. Easy to row, but enough to keep fit. Trouble is that my wife won't move to Kerala.

All totally off topic ...but, hey, the grounded ship is gone!

[Warwithwheels]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

....Economically stranded, I think.

Contrary to our understanding, the other vessel of the company isn't sea worthy too!

MT Pratibha Warna, the troubled motor tanker, was on Thursday declared an ‘extremely bad vessel..

Link to full Article

[vibbs]

It is heartening to see this thread up here. Shipping is a field which doesn't invite much interest from the outside world. Except when incidences like this happen. I am a Marine Engineer who sails on large crude oil tankers and cape sized bulk carriers. I started my carrier with shipping corporation of India but despite having very good promotional aspects I left the ccompany due to very bad safety attitude and indifference of the company towards environmental issues.
Contrary to what some here opined, there is a regulatory authority namely the director general of shipping responsible for the implementation of the merchant shipping act on Indian waters, but needless to say like all governmental organisations this too is a toothless body when it comes to dealing with those having power. In this case the owners of prathibh shipping.
The utter disregard by Indian and many foreign countries for the environmental guidelines of IMO when in Indian waters is a standing testimony to this very fact. Really a sorry state of affairs in a country that prides itself on the quality of merchant navy officers it produces.

[rjstyles69]

Jeroen, interesting story there. Mind putting up a thread with your experiences at sea ? Fellow member deky has been on cruise-liners for a good part of his career and has a penned his experiences while at sea.

Originally Posted by Jeroen

I am Dutch, and I learned to speak and write English!

I was born in Amsterdam and grew up in Amstelveen which used to be like a sort of a suburb of Amsterdam. Nowadays a proper town in it's own right.
Jeroen

And I know of someone who shares the same name as you and from Startbaan, Amstelveen. No offense,I like the way my dutch counterparts pronounce "J " and "V".
Jeroen pronounced as " Yeroon" and Volleyball was always " Folleyball" .

Our beloved mod vid6639 a.k.a Vidyut was always called "Fidyut" during his stay there.

[Jeroen]

Although I grew up and lived in Amstelveen for many years, I haven't been there for quite a number of years. I don't have any family or friends there anymore, so no reason to visit.

I do know the Startbaan very well, though. That whole part of Amstelveen was developed and built when I was in my early teens.

Let me think on putting a little naval experience story together. Unfortunately, I don't have any photographs of my merchant navy time with me here in Delhi. In those days, we're talking the late 70s/early 80's, I did all my photography on analog film, some prints, but most are on slides. There were no digital camaraas in those days. I started my photography with a Praktica SLR and upgraded a few years later to a Minolta 700. Still have both cameras, but I hardly use them these days. I did use the Minolta a few years ago for a trip in my classic Alfa Romeo Spider to the Artic circle, top down in the winter. -27oC! Digital cameraas dont do very well at those temperatures. Cameraas and slides are all in storage in the Netherlands.

Let me think what i can put together .

jeroen