GMDSS Squeeze-in

I just finished up a 4-week hitch yesterday, hopped off the boat, grabbed a burrito and headed to my favorite coffee house in West Seattle for some studying.  Last May, I bombed the lab part of GMDSS and needed to retake it, (see May 2014) and there just happened to be one offered in between two work trips, so I signed up.
     So, it hasn't even been 24hrs since we docked, and I'm headed back to class for more punishment.  It's Saturday and we have a 6-hr class today that goes over the lab equipment and basic introduction, all of which I'm fairly comfortable with, but will obviously need some time to re-familiarize myself with. The class ends on Thursday (hopefully for good this time) and then I crew up on Friday morning for a month long hitch to Hawaii.  Every time I mention to someone that I'm going to Hawaii on a work trip, they say "ooh, nice!".   Not so much.   It's a 2 week crossing of the Pacific, 24-36 hours in port and then a 2-week crossing home.  It's boring, the seas can get ugly and we don't really have enough time in port to do much, BUT, it's work and I'll take it.  I need the sea time under my belt and the income is nice too.
      Bummed about being gone so long from the family, but this SHOULD be the last long one and then I can settle into a regular work schedule that allows a bit more home time.  When I get home from Hawaii, I will have been gone 9 weeks and before that, it was a quick 10 day visit after my month long class.  Essentially, Since the start of September, I've been home for 10 days.  All I can do at this point is focus on that homecoming date and spending time with my wife and kids for Christmas.
     I don't have class tomorrow, so I'm going to probably do absolutely nothing.  I haven't had a day off in over a month, so I may just stare out the window and drool.

Radar Fritz and Nautical Beatings

So, we spent about 5 days in Prince William Sound, waiting for better weather in the Gulf before heading across.  While we steamed around in circles and waited, a few things kept us busy.  The first one being the small search for a missing boat that I wrote about in a prior post, and the other was our radar taking a dump.  Since Radar is our most important navigational tool, we had to comprise a plan to get it fixed. We have a required secondary radar, but it’s old, outdated and has had some issues on this trip to the point where is wasn’t reliable. The closest port was Whittier, so after our engineer decided that it was beyond his abilities, we got on the Sat phone and made some calls.  The end result, was a trip to Whittier, where we met with a radar tech from Anchorage and he got us going again with some new brushes.  We landed the barge in the late afternoon and had a few hours of downtime and dinner.  During that time, 3 of us took a stroll into the bustling community of Whittier where very few lights are even left on, let alone businesses open.  It was 8 in the evening, so we didn’t expect much, but the only store in town was open until 9 and we were in luck.  I think the tiny asian woman thought we were there to mug her, but we quickly put her at ease with our magazine purchases and toiletries.  It was then back to the boat, and underway.

A day or two after Whittier, it was evident that the weather wasn’t going to get much better, so our captain decided it was time to make a run for it before things got any worse.  There was a big super-storm brewing out in the Aleutians, and I don’t think he wanted to stick around and see if it was going to head our way. I knew that night was going to be nasty, so I popped motion sickness pill as a precaution, which in retrospect, I probably should’ve popped 2.

We decided to head out the main entrance to Prince William Sound, which is the main traffic lanes for ships heading into Valdez.  The currents and wind through there are typically a challenge on an average day, and we were already beyond that point in the weather.  About 2 hours into it, we were taking 25’ waves straight ahead and winds exceeded 45 knots.  That combined with some large swell from the south and we were taking a nasty pounding.  When I got up for watch around midnight, all I could hear was stuff crashing around in the galley that was fairly well secured, or at least we thought.  I staggered out to find books, condiments, DVD players, napkins, coffee filters, playing cards and much more, strewn all across the deck of the galley.  It was awesome, but my inner ear didn’t agree and soon I was feeling the effects pretty bad.  I knew it was nasty when our seasoned engineer comes in from the engine room with the same look on his face that I had.  His accent made it even better when he said “jeezus, man, this come nasty shit!”.  He too wasn’t feeling well and immediately headed off to his room.  All I could do was hang on for 4 hours until my watch was over.  I wedged myself in at the galley table with a bucket nearby and watched the time click by.  It was bad and probably the worst seasickness I’ve endured.  I still managed to do my rounds, collect trash and so forth and I kept a good attitude despite the level of suckiness.  The next day got better and I felt much better, the day after that, I was good to go.  I typically only get seasick if the transition from calm to nasty is short.  If it slowly ramps up over a few days, I tend to adapt fairly well.  I know that others have experienced rougher conditions, but this was the nastiest I’ve seen on tug so far to date.  It’s a great way to lose weight quick and start a new diet.  ;-)

So, we made it across and are now on the inside passage near Ketchikan, heading south towards Seattle.  We should be in port sometime Friday and then I get to head straight to class for a GMDSS Lab makeup.  After that, I’ll be hopping onto a slow boat to Hawaii for a month.  I’m certainly not fond of having to be gone so long right now, but if I want to get my license, I need to jump at the opportunity to get available sea time and income between now and next Spring.  The short term pain is worth the long-term gain and soon I can fall into a better schedule of being home in between trips.  School is out soon and so it’ll just be sea time to deal with.

Today, I sat down with our Captain for a few hours and went through my TOAR (Towing Officer Assessment Record) and he signed me off on a bunch of it.  It’s basically a document that says you are ready to be an officer on a towing vessel.  I was glad that he took the time to help me out because the TOAR is a big chunk of assessments that must be done before you work as a mate on a towing tug.  Getting there…

The Hunt For Big Johnson

Yesterday, we overheard the Coast Guard putting a call out for an overdue fishing boat called the “Big Johnson”.  It was 27’ Hughescraft, which is an aluminum fishing vessel, and apparently the owner’s son called the Coast Guard because he was concerned that his dad and the crew aboard didn’t have enough fuel to make it all the way into Whittier.

The CG did get ahold of the vessel and the the skipper said they were aiming for a hunting lodge in a small bay near Knight’s Island Passage, which is where we’ve been driving around in circle for the past few days.  They were planning to get some fuel there and continue on with their voyage up to Whittier this morning. So, it seemed that everything was good to go.

This morning, the Coast Guard tried multiple times to contact the Big Johnson on Ch 16, but no luck.  The Coast Guard knew that we were in the vicinity and asked if we could get closer to where the lodge is reported to be and see if we could see a vessel or any activity.  We re-routed from our “busy”, scratch that “extremely boring” day of round turns and went to investigate.  We couldn’t get into the bay because of the shallow depths, but could make out a few things via binocular that appeared to be where a lodge might be hidden, yet no boat.  The visibility was good, but we were still sitting about 3-4 Nm’s off the beach and couldn’t be exactly sure. Finally, after repeated attempts of the CG calling “Big Johnson” on the radio, we offered to give it a try, thinking that maybe that the boat couldn’t hear the CG, and to our surprise, they answered.  Apparently, they stayed the night, found some fuel at the empty lodge, and were just about to get underway towards Whittier.

So, all said and done, we got to play SAR for an hour or so and it certainly gave us a break in the mundane vicious circle of round turns. The best part of the whole ordeal, was hearing the female CG watch officer put the call out for the “Big Johnson” repeatedly for quite a few hours. I think we’ve been stuck here too long, because it sparked many inappropriate jokes about boat names and CG calls.  Sometimes you just have to laugh and be silly.

The weather might be offering us a slight break in the next 48 hours, so we might poke our heads out into the Gulf and make run for it.  It’s going to be nasty and we’ll get beat up quite a bit, but it shouldn’t last for more than a few days and then we’ll be back on the inside of Southeast Alaska where hopefully it’ll provide some shelter.

If all goes well, I’ll be feet dry before Saturday 11/15 and I can take the rest of my GMDSS class before shipping off on the Hawaii run, 11/21.  Looking forward to getting all this stuff done so I can tone it down a little and actually see my family a little more often. I “should” be home for Christmas and a few weeks following before we take our last class session at PMI in the 2nd week of January.  ALMOST DONE!

It’s 17:07 and I’m 7 minutes late for dinner..    gotta run!

Anchorage, Nikiski and more

Well, it’s been a good trip so far.  We towed a fairly light barge, yet lightly loaded, up to Anchorage, offloaded its contents and then popped over to Nikiski, about 50 miles away, to pick up a random load that consisted of a drilling rig that had been broken down into about 60 pieces.  Because the tides in Cook Inlet are so drastic, we had to break tow and send the boat away for about 6 hours, leaving 2 of us on the barge to help load cargo through the night in freezing temps.  We started cargo ops around 9pm and quite around 7am.  The next day, we returned to finish up the load, but had to break away again for tides.  All in all, we got it all done an were out of there by the end of the 2nd day.  Between Anchorage and Nikiski, I logged about 38 hours of cargo, which is a pretty good amount. My body ached, mostly from from the cold, and I couldn’t stop eating for a few days.

After we left Nikiski, we had to pop into Kachemak Bay to hide out from the winds and logged another 5 hours of cargo time on the barge, double lashing and fixing a few things that were rushed in Nikiski.  After about 24 hours there, we popped out into the Gulf and headed over towards Prince William sound where we are now, waiting for the weather to die down.  Winds in the Gulf tonight are supposed to be in the 40 knot range, so our captain thought it be best if we sit tight out of sight.

So, we’ve been comparing music, watching movies, reading, playing guitar, etc.  until it’s go-time.  I’m just about to go on watch (midnight), and nothing really new to report.  We’ll probably run out of bottled water due to the detention and round turns, but there’s plenty of rust colored tap water to tap into.  yumm  We have a desalinator, yet for some reason, the water the fresh water goes into an old tank and picks up some nice color, so we drink bottled water.  We plan to fill our bottles directly from the desalinator once we officially run out.  Hopefully that goes well.

Let Brass be Brass

It might just be me, but I'm a strong believer that certainly metals should be left to age and patina naturally.  It may also just be a little of my "particular-ness" that can't let things like this go...  So, today I decided to undo some wrong-doing.  I grew up on a boat, and thanks to my parents, have a high degree of respect for brass, stainless steel and even aluminum and don't think (although there are exceptions) that these metals should be painted.

This poor light cover has 2-3 layers of epoxy paint on it, which will always end up chipping over time and looking like crap.  I think a nicely tarnished brass has a certain amount of nautical sexiness that shouldn't be mesed with.

I took it upon my self to go around the boat and give brass back its sexiness. Not  because I like polished brass, but because naturally tarnished brass is "the way it should be.

Let it be, let it be...

Packing up.

          Each time I head out for a trip, I like to layout all my stuff and make sure I have everything.  Sometimes I take something out of my bag for use at home and forget to put it back.  If you get out on the boat and realize that you left a vital piece of gear, you're just going to have to do without until the next port.
          At any rate, I prefer to go through and check stuff off my list while packing up and since I've had a few folks email me through my blog, asking questions about "what to pack", I thought I'd get a little more organized and throw it out there for new folks that are starting the Workboat Program, or just new mariners in general.  This is not a comprehensive list, but it might shed some light on what to bring.   I work on towboats and we work cargo in port, so I bring things specific to that environment.  Some folks don't do cargo, but they work on tanker barges and their needs might vary slightly. Almost all of the boats have washer/dryer, but sometimes they break..  plan accordingly.  I sometimes do runs to Hawaii, so I scale back on the winter gear and obviously throw in some extra warm weather clothes/shorts for those trips.

For packing purposes, I like to have 2 bags. A seabag with shoulder straps and one with wheels for trucking through airports.  The seabag is my Navy seabag and I use it for core work gear plus it has backpack straps and easy to carry. The other rolling duffle is for general clothes/toiletries/etc.  I also bring my laptop bag with my Mac, cords, iPad (mostly for reading and games), hard drives, etc, credentials, etc.  I like these bags because they fold down pretty small and can stow away in my quarters pretty easy.  When I come home, these bags pretty much stay packed and ready to go with the exception of a few items.

Bag #1; (I use a military/Navy Seabag)
-Foul Weather Gear (waterproof parka and bibs).  I have an extra parka that I bring for cargo because it's a bit more breathable than my Grundens Rain Parka.
-Slip-on workboots. I prefer steel toe, (specifically Keens)
-Extratuf boots.  I prefer the steel toe/insulated because I sometimes wear them on the barge for cargo ops and they are warm in the winter months in Alaska
-Work pants: 3 pair.  I prefer Carhartt double knee and I insert the kneepads. (cargo/painting/etc)
-Belt
-Knee Pads (optional, yet nice when you're painting low all day)
-Heavy Carhartt Jacket: mostly for heading into town when in port.
-Heavy pullover hoodie
-Coveralls for dirty work/painting/etc.
-Workout Mat and resistance bands   nice for working out on deck/stretching
-Workgloves (I use the blue Atlas and white thermal Atlas, plus a pair of latex Atlas for wet conditions)

Bag #2: (Rolling Duffle.  Eagle Creek makes a nice one that folds up)
-T-shirts (a week's worth)  I throw in some extra in case I trash a few
-Lounging/offwatch/workout clothes (shorts, sweatpants, etc.)
-Shoes for off-watch
-Underlayers top and bottoms for winter
-Socks (a week's worth)
-Underwear (a week's worth)
-Beanie
-Toiletries (make sure you have enough for the trip). Toothbrush/shampoo/shaving cream/Meds/etc.
-Shower sandals
-Cords/chargers/extension cord or strip.
-Flashlight and headlamp
-Knives (I bring an extra, and keep one on me at all times)
-Sunglasses (plus one extra)
-Camera/charger/etc.
-Headphones (I recommend noise canceling because tugs are noisy)
-Books/Coast Guard study stuff if you're trying to move up in the world like me
-Laundry Bag  the mesh type works well.
-Misc:   I throw in a bungie cord, cordage, straps for use my room. Hanging up stuff/etc.

Laptop Bag
-Laptop
-Credentials (passport, TWIC, MMC)
-Study guides/TOAR/TRB/Etc
-Harddrive/Movies/shows
-Books
-GoPro and access.   I just recently picked one up and it's great fun.  Gives me something to do in the off time.

Here's everything packed and ready to go:

Sometimes, I'll have a little extra room and I might throw in an extra pair of shoes or an extra sweatshirt/extra hat/etc for use in port or in case I completely trash some clothes. There might be something that I'm forgetting to put in the list, but it usually makes it's way into my bag at the last minute.

A good habit to get into is to keep your packing list on your phone/laptop/etc. and every time you think of something you forgot, write it down.  I'm constantly making tweaks to my list underway.

I depart on Friday for a trip up north and then next month I'll be heading to Hawaii on another boat.  Might have to swap some clothes out for that one.

Happy sailing!


Workboat Academy

Post-Med Pause: Almost Done!

        My wife flew up to Seattle the evening before our last class and we had dinner in West Seattle and a few beers with friends.  The next day I finished up a week of Med Pro (Medical Care Provider).  This was a great class and we had plenty of hands-on practice with First Aid and CPR.  We did the usual stuff as with any first aid/cpr class, but then took it to another level with regards to the type of emergencies that we would encounter out at sea. Stroke, burns, heart attacks, compound fractures etc. and how to deal with them when your closest medical help is hours or even days away.  We had great paramedic instructors who kept the week lively and entertaining, which felt great after 2 weeks of tough celestial thought process.   The best feeling, was the realization that we are essentially done with all of our big classes.  We have about 8 days of mild classes left in January and thats it!  The end is in sight!

The Med Pro room, blown up with first aid supplies

Multiple trauma injury patient

     








After class on Friday and after we had all passed our exams, we had our traditional (and celebratory) "end of the session" lunch/beers with classmates and then my wife and I headed south... she drove.  ;-)   We spent the weekend in Portland with our good friends and so that she and our friend Joe could run the Portland Marathon. Monday morning we headed south again for the warm and dry climate of California.

My wife and our good friend Joe

       I'm home now and trying to relax for a few days before heading back north for work.  I'll be crewing up on the 17th and heading to Anchorage for a 3-4 week trip.  I'm still awaiting word on whether or not I'll have any other trips after this one.  The winter slows down quite a bit for our company, so trips become few and far between after October.  I still need 150 days of sea time before I can submit my packet and test with the Coast Guard next year.  It's going to be a push, but the sooner I get through all the requirements, the sooner I can get that license and move up the ladder to officer status.

      It will go by quick, but I'm dreading the fact that I'll be potential gone a lot over the next 6 months. I think it's safe to say that in a year from now, I'll be working as a Mate, and that is all the motivation I need to get me through the next 6-12 months.  We have a few weeks of test prep after our packets are submitted to the CG in the spring, and then it's test time!  Testing will take all week at the Coast Guard Regional Exam Center and it will be hell... but if all goes well, I'll walk out of there as a Merchant Marine Deck Officer!

I'd better get back to my relaxation, because I may not get much after next week.



Workboat Academy