For some reason I found myself thinking of some of the Guys that I sailed with that are no longer with us due to accidents at sea.
Made me wonder if anyone had ever made their mind up that they would NOT sail with XXXX if they thought it might endanger their lives.
I spent a good amount of my time sailing on Tug and Barges, ending my career on Large ATB’s. There were many times where the Office or Charterer forced us to sail when it might have been smarter to stay in Port. They did this by either belittling the Captain or out right lying about having a lay berth when they knew none was available. It takes a very strong Captain to stand their ground but I have seen way to many decide to go after swearing that they would Never be pressured into going and finally say “I think we will be Ok” and sail with no other option besides straight into a Storm.
Now, I was very lucky to have sailed with Many Captains that I would have gone anywhere with. This is not to say that I liked them but I did respect them.
There were others that I had decided that if need be I would have walked and faced the music afterwards.
One thing that does worry me and that is that in the VERY near future there will be Captains and Mates sailing on Large Seagoing ATB’s that have never had to get on a tow wire in bad weather.
Now, just to be honest I am sure that there were some that did not like me and might have felt the same way about me.
I am sure that their will be those that will say, it is up to the Captain and Only the Captain on whether to sail or not and they will be correct but that does not mean that they will make the right decision for the correct reason.
[QUOTE=Tugs;160954]For some reason I found myself thinking of some of the Guys that I sailed with that are no longer with us due to accidents at sea.
Made me wonder if anyone had ever made their mind up that they would NOT sail with XXXX if they thought it might endanger their lives.
I spent a good amount of my time sailing on Tug and Barges, ending my career on Large ATB’s. There were many times where the Office or Charterer forced us to sail when it might have been smarter to stay in Port. They did this by either belittling the Captain or out right lying about having a lay berth when they knew none was available. It takes a very strong Captain to stand their ground but I have seen way to many decide to go after swearing that they would Never be pressured into going and finally say “I think we will be Ok” and sail with no other option besides straight into a Storm.
Now, I was very lucky to have sailed with Many Captains that I would have gone anywhere with. This is not to say that I liked them but I did respect them.
There were others that I had decided that if need be I would have walked and faced the music afterwards.
One thing that does worry me and that is that in the VERY near future there will be Captains and Mates sailing on Large Seagoing ATB’s that have never had to get on a tow wire in bad weather.
Now, just to be honest I am sure that there were some that did not like me and might have felt the same way about me.
I am sure that their will be those that will say, it is up to the Captain and Only the Captain on whether to sail or not and they will be correct but that does not mean that they will make the right decision for the correct reason.[/QUOTE]
I have mentioned that very problem in other posts, also stated a union to help stand up for your…might be a good thing. A few things come to mind, engineers in the GOM that are good at monkey see monkey do but lack the ability of independent thinking due to lack of true knowledge and experience. There are also the engineers that do stuff to make an alarm go off, so they can go correct it and look like the hero. WooHoo i fixed it says the engineers, then the deckies say so and so always knows just what to fix every alarm…Give that guy a “real thing” to fix and you get the deer in the headlight look. Or the captains that boast " i can navigate the vessel by the sense of smell"…Or the captain that leaves the wheel house unattended to watch a movie while underway making way " gotta love that auto pilot …The NEPOTISM crews that sail together every one is like peas in a pot. Or the chief engineer takes on ballast until the vessel capsizes…Oh yes a few “red flags” . Usually it is the ones that say they know how to do everything, been every where, probably don’t ever need a pilot just get one as protocol. Ah yes, I have sailed with the finest the merchant marine has to offer. I just accepted the fact that I am doomed when I sail on vessels less than 3,000itc. A miracle i tell ya a miracle I am here today, after years of sailing with the finest the GOM has to offer. Oh gotta remember too, the GOM don’t ever go anywhere that does not start from Fourchon and then come back to Fourchon.
No not cajaya’s brother. But I can relate to working with engineers that were very limited
But quite well at faking the funk. The part that bothers me is like relating it to auto technicians
the one’s that are crooks, makes it harder for the honest ones.
There are two captains I will walk off the ship for.
C.H. repeatedly made horrible decisions that put people at risk, treated everybody around him like crap, panicked in an emergency, and blamed everybody around him for his mistakes. I wound up writing a letter to the owner and operator about him, stating that “he is unfit for any leadership position, and […] his captaincy seriously endangers life and property.”
E.B. wasn’t as immediately dangerous to life and limb, but he was certainly a liar and an unsuccessful bully. He openly admitted that he was smuggling guns (not for sale, but because he was too lazy to do the paperwork), obstructed our ability to go ashore and lied about it, and threw a tantrum when I refused to surrender my passport to him. He then attempted to bully me into giving it up by warning that I was breaking “the law” (which he couldn’t cite), that he would fire me for insubordination (which he did, to my relief), and that I would have to pay my own way home (LOL NOPE).
If I see those two again, I’m going right back down the gangway.
Yeah, I have sailed with a few. I can think of one instantly. He is still out there, so be very careful and I will not mention his name. Being a pathological liar was the least of his problems. . . . as were his bipolar issues. . . . watching the veins on his forehead pop out during his red faced rants was a source of entertainment… . . . I sailed with him about the time that Jon Lovitz was on SNL and his Pathological Liar (. . . yeah, that’s the ticket. . .) was on the air and it quickly became his alter ego with the rest of us. . . I remember one night, in port, watching SNL and a skit with the character came on. . . he never DID figure out why we thought it was funny. . . . I shouldn’t be so hard on the guy, I mean he only tried to kill me once. . . .and my quick reactions kept me from getting permanently crippled. . .
Of course there are a few that would never sail with me, either. . . I mean, all I asked of them was to do their job. . . for the most part, I was able to tolerate most, even in the confines of a tug. . . of course being able to escape into the machinery space, where few will follow was very helpful. . .
[QUOTE=cmakin;161022]Yeah, I have sailed with a few. I can think of one instantly. He is still out there, so be very careful and I will not mention his name. Being a pathological liar was the least of his problems. . . . as were his bipolar issues. . . . watching the veins on his forehead pop out during his red faced rants was a source of entertainment… . . . I sailed with him about the time that Jon Lovitz was on SNL and his Pathological Liar (. . . yeah, that’s the ticket. . .) was on the air and it quickly became his alter ego with the rest of us. . . I remember one night, in port, watching SNL and a skit with the character came on. . . he never DID figure out why we thought it was funny. . . . I shouldn’t be so hard on the guy, I mean he only tried to kill me once. . . .and my quick reactions kept me from getting permanently crippled. . .
Of course there are a few that would never sail with me, either. . . I mean, all I asked of them was to do their job. . . for the most part, I was able to tolerate most, even in the confines of a tug. . . of course being able to escape into the machinery space, where few will follow was very helpful. . .[/QUOTE]
You reminded me of a funny story with E.B. A few of the guys were watching a biographical movie about Adolf Hitler in the crew lounge, and he happened to pop his head in and see what was on TV. He watched for few moments, muttered, “And you think I’m bad…” and walked off. Word got around, and the best response was: “He really said that? That’s bizarre that he would compare himself to Hitler at all. Hitler was a [I]leader[/I].”
This is for the MSC newbies. If you are offered a berth on an ARS (Safeguard Class) ask for the name of the Captain.
If the last name starts with an “L” ask, “You mean Admiral L_ _ _ ?” If the answer is yes, find a reason, but pass.
He enjoys berating people he doesn’t like, especially new Thirds. His obvious dislike and lack of confidence chased one off the ship. I hope that Third is still sailing.
I was steering my first inbound Bridge Watch since coming aboard. The Third next to me at the throttles.
Pilot: Right 5!
Me: Silence. (I was warned to wait for Admiral L to verify Pilot’s orders before complying.)
A beat goes by. The Admiral was waiting for me to repeat Pilot’s orders so he could scold me in front of the Bridge crew.
This is for the MSC newbies. If you are offered a berth on an ARS (Safeguard Class) ask for the name of the Captain.
If the last name starts with an “L” ask, “You mean Admiral L_ _ _ ?” If the answer is yes, find a reason, but pass.
He enjoys berating people he doesn’t like, especially new Thirds. His obvious dislike and lack of confidence chased one off the ship. I hope that Third is still sailing.
I was steering my first inbound Bridge Watch since coming aboard. The Third next to me at the throttles.
Pilot: Right 5!
Me: Silence. (I was warned to wait for Admiral L to verify Pilot’s orders before complying.)
A beat go by. The Admiral was waiting for me to repeat Pilot’s orders so he could scold me in front of the Bridge crew.
[QUOTE=Glaug-Eldare;161042]Was that a pretty Long trip?[/QUOTE]
How are ya’, shipmate?
When did you sail aboard GRASP?
I was there twice, first in '09 with Capt. Delfaus, who is the best ship handler I’ve sailed with.
Then again in '11. We sailed home at full speed between two hurricanes, beating GRAPPLE back to Norfolk as she had to stop in Bermuda to put a sick crewman in hospital.
any one ever sail with a captain and a chief engineer that when you thought about it, It was more like captain rocky and chief bulwinkle? Had you looking around for moose and squirrel ?
[QUOTE=pwrmariner;161053]any one ever sail with a captain and a chief engineer that when you thought about it, It was more like captain rocky and chief bulwinkle? Had you looking around for moose and squirrel ?[/QUOTE]
I was there twice, first in '09 with Capt. Delfaus, who is the best ship handler I’ve sailed with.
Then again in '11. We sailed home at full speed between two hurricanes, beating GRAPPLE back to Norfolk as she had to stop in Bermuda to put a sick crewman in hospital.
ps: Strong Deeds, Gentle Words ![/QUOTE]
Never did, actually, but I caught the first draft of your post and did a little sleuthing… :rolleyes:
I try to stay away from MSC ships, to tell the truth – I prefer things on the commercial side
I’m very pleased that you recognize my avatar and know our motto, though
[QUOTE=Glaug-Eldare;161063]
I’m very pleased that you recognize my avatar and know our motto, though ;)[/QUOTE]
I’m from Pikesville. All the streets in my neighborhood had Indian Tribal names. I lived on the corner of Navajo and Lighfoot Drives. The next street up is Cherokee.
Ever flown from the US to Guam? When you get to Japan, the thru-passengers on your flight split into 2 parallel lines: one for Guam and the other for the Philippines.The first time I flew there was from Norfolk via Detroit.
I’m in Japan in the line for Guam and notice, right next to me in the Philippines line, a family whose dad is wearing a backpack with his address written on it: Chippewa Dr., Baltimore, MD.
Chippewa Dr. is two streets from where I used to live. I got his attention. “You live on Chippewa Drive in Baltimore?”, I asked.
'Yes"
“Do you know where Navajo Drive is?” He did.
I said “I used to live there”.
My favorite nautical expression is “It’s a small f***ing world when you live on a boat.”
Back when i was tank trash riding on the garbage that finally went to africa i got stuck with a certain “barge captain” who was known to be batshit crazy to begin with. I did everything i could to be decent, saved his ass a few times, but between being a drunk and scared for his job he wouldnt cut out the shit. After a blowout in New Haven because of a delay at the dock it finally erupted, gloves where coming off. Ive never wanted to push someone over the side in the middle of the night going down the beach like this asshole. About 6wks later the layoffs started and he got bumped. I hear that term “B/C” and my blood pressure doubles.
I can honestly say that there is only one guy who I would never sail with again. It’s a moot point as he retired years ago but still…
D.E.P. was chief on an American LNG tanker. He was absolutely insane. He had multiple personality disorder with 4 separate and distinct personalities, and he could shift on the fly:
Personality number 1 “Dave” - Nice guy, easy going, actually sat in the control room at coffee time and shot the shit with whoever was there. Talked about his live aboard yacht etc.He would even talk to mates as Dave.
Personality number 2 “The Chief” - Pretty stiff, no nonsense guy. Stood at coffee time and only talked shop. He might acknowledge a greeting from a mate as The Chief.
Personality number 3 “DEP” - Fucking psycho. Paced to and fro at coffee time ranting to no one in particular about what incompetent assholes his engineers were. Did not recognize that mates even existed.
Personality number 4 “The Wimp” - We suspect this personality only surfaced when his ulcer was acting up. Complete anti social recluse. Never showed up for coffee time. Interacted with no one. Stayed in his stateroom alone with the door closed, sometimes for days.
I felt really bad for the engineers that had to work for this crazy bastard, so I took it upon myself to fuck with him, especially when he was “DEP”. I almost got him fired once, accidentally of course. We had a feature on our phone system that allowed you to forward calls to a different phone. So if you were going to be in the lounge but were expecting a call you could forward the call there. Well, I went around to every phone in a public space on the ship and forwarded all calls to the chief engineers number. After he got several of these calls, “NO this is NOT the fucking galley”, the crazy bastard, instead of just going to the phone control panel and resetting the system, changed his number. He didn’t tell anyone, so now the chief engineer has an unlisted number. His phone obviously stopped ringing. His goal accomplished he went to his room to sulk, and locked the door. At about that time we had just cleared One fathom Bank and were westbound in the Straits of Malacca. A salt water service line ruptured creating a beautiful, but dangerous waterfall in the stairwell in the house. The sudden loss of pressure caused a domino effect culminating with the loss of the plant. Lights out, no propulsion and no steering right near Berhala Bank. Not a good spot to loose the plant. The engineer on watch tried to call the Chief. He met with no success since he wasn’t privy to the chief’s private number. Anyway, after the plant was back on line and we were once more on our way to our load port, the Captain read the Chief the riot act and came very close to firing his ass. I was pretty happy with that one.
Hate sailing with crazy people? Man, I think just about EVERY vessel I sailed on had at least one. Wait. The crazy one was usually me. . . . I am waiting for stories about me now. . . . I drove one of my assistants so crazy that he jumped off before the gangway was down at Port Everglades. . . good riddance. . .
