At the time I read about it in 1970 their test platform was a Navy crash boat in rough weather on Pensacola Bay; but apparently for the submitted papers they got fancy (or at least used fancy language?) with a “rotating room” on shore.
In dealing with fishermen among fleets with high rates of addiction (New Bedford, Gloucester and Portland ME in my case), meclizine has some sub-acute effects that are underappreciated- in particular, mood swings with moderate doses of the OTC variety. No surprise the mild depressive effects, but when combined with ADHD meds the speedball effect is frightening, and when combined with Prozac or MAOI’s, thoughts of self-harm. Anecdotal evidence but frequently experienced. Worth considering. Regardless, after a time I wouldn’t let suspected addicts or unstable personalities have any of the boat’s meds.
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“Less effective than others” doesn’t mean “not very effective” and I was talking about among OTC options.
I’ve really enjoyed your series. Thank you for sharing. Quick question, since you guys sail with a Captain and 2 Officers do you run a 3 watch system while underway? I understand the 2nd needs supervision going through the Inside if they don’t have pilotage yet but what if they do? Thanks!
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When we have two mates aboard we do a three watch system. As you guessed, if both mates are not on the company’s PPA waiver then they go down to a two-watch system for the time they are in BC waters (1-2 days out of a 7-day run).
The unwaivered mate stands watch with a waivered officer. When they get enough transits in, the company submits paperwork to the PPA to add them to the waiver.
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As colleague has already pointed out, seasick tablets should be taken prophylactically immediately upon taking your place in the lifeboat/raft. This is a no-brainer, as even the “old salty” can quickly become dehydrated. And once you’ve reached the state of being “deathly seasick”, there would be nothing that could help you.
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One of the great things about open water training is you can see what works, what doesn’t, and what needs to be taken with a grain of salt. Some things you come across are shocking .
Several years ago we came across several life rafts with paddles that were pool toy quality. They collapsed after a minutes use. Of course paddling a round life raft is an issue itself. Good to have an appreciation of how inefficient it is.
Another things is that we insist on is aluminum compression mechanical patch kits on all our rafts. They are the best to use but don’t come standard on all life rafts.
Also, the type of air pump that is designed for kneeling on it to actuate it is near useless. Yet we still come across them in training rafts, which are just normal rafts that have reached the end of their span.
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Here is a video showing Week Three of CTI’s annual training program for its crews:
This time we managed to capture video of flames during the firefighting exercise, though by mistake. The initial smoke comes from burning small hay barrels. Thick, noxious smoke, nastier than wood smoke… Can’t see the flames until you are right on top of them. Realistic, but bad for photography.
We time the ignition of the main wood fuel load so it doesn’t burn itself out before the firefighters arrive, since it can take them a variable time to reach the fire. You want the main fuel load at peak-burn when the firefighters arrive. But here they happened to arrive just as the pyrotechs were lighting the main fuel load. What you see in the video is the propane flame we use to ignite the wood.
The superheated exhaust from the propane is smoke free, and actually drives the smoke from the smoke-barrels out of the compartment (you can see the smoke layer down low).So you get a few moments of ok visibility. A few moments later the pyrotechs would have been shut down the propane when the wood fuel ignited, and the the visibility would have gone to zero again.
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Our Training Group is always thinking of new challenges to throw into our training scenarios. The boat crews aren’t told the details of what they will face beforehand, or where the fires will be on the “boat”. They only know the Training Group will try to throw a monkey wrench into things.
This year’s monkey wrench: before the firefighting scenario began a crew member was secretly instructed to set off the engine room fixed CO2 system without orders.
The scenario began. After the first report of smoke, the “Judas” set off the CO2 system. The puzzled captain listened as the siren blared and CO2 flooded the engine room, killing electrical power, then flooded up into the berthing area.
The captain, finding out who had set off the system, was understandably livid–and then quickly calmed down to deal with two problems instead of one.
Good images of the wood fire in the cargo hold, or as good as you can get in a smoky environment.
When Disaster Strikes! Preparing for Emergencies at Sea. E. 4 (youtube.com)
Season 2 of “Sailing to Alaska with Coastal Transportation” has debuted. Each five-minute episode spotlights the crew of the Coastal Trader on their voyage to the Aleutians and back.
Here’s the link:
If you enjoy the video please hit Like and subscribe. A new episode comes out each week this fall.
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Nice video, makes me think in hindsight I should have stayed on that run instead of going deep-sea foreign.
The Coastal Trader would be better known to some ex-Alaskan mariners as the old Sunmar Sky.
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Did the Dutch built ship that was seized in Savannah in the 1980s for running drugs become the Sunmar Sky or Sunmar Sea? I was thinking Sunmar Sea (later Coastal Sea), but my memory has gotten hazy on this.
I last saw the Coastal Sea in the Yukon River at Emmonak loading Salmon in 2014, just before she was retired.
The ship was forfeited to the US Government and sold at a US Marshall’s sale in Savannah. That’s how she got Jones Act privileges.
The first group of Norwegian owners (I don’t remember the name of the company or the cast of characters) with Norwegian-American frontmen that bought her at a US Marshall’s sale in Savannah went broke and the American crew had trouble getting paid. They also bought a second ship under similar circumstances.
A second group of Norwegian owners, Sunmar, took over and sent one of the ships to be rebuilt in Norway, and the other went to Korea where she got an entirely new forebody. Those foreign rebuilds were allowed for US “fishing vessels” at that time.
As I recall Sunmar operated the Sunmar Sea and Sunmar Sky in competition with Western Pioneer (which became Coastal Transportation) for a few years, and then Sunmar went bust. Coastal bought both of the Sunmar ships.
At least that’s how I hazily recall events of 35-40 years ago.
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Coastal Transportation was always a separate company from WP. WP got its start in the 1970s. Peter Strong began CTI in 1984. When WP folded in 2005 CTI bought its fleet of boats. We kept two and sold the rest. Sunmar made its first run with the Sunmar Sea in 1985.
All three Sunmar boats were US marshal sales from drug seizures: a common way for foreign hulls to be baptized as American back then.
The hulls that were to be the Sunmar Sea and the Sunmar Sky were radically altered after they were acquired by Sunmar. Everything forward of the engine room bulkhead was scrapped and an entire new forebody was built. The work on the Sea was done at Marco shipyard in Seattle. The work on the Sky (present Coastal Trader) was done in Korea as you say.
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The Dutch ship was the “root stock” that became the Sunmar Sky. The Sunmar Sea (later Coastal Sea) began life as a German ship named Rodsand.
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Originally the MV Homborsund:
https://skipshistorie.net/Haugesund/HAU238DSVeritas/Tekster/HAU23819560100000%20HOMBORSUND.htm
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The final voyage of the Coastal Sea …
I almost took a job with coastal, I’d of probably stayed. hell, i’d maybe work for the food?! lotsa good stuff on this post and seldom do i post without having gone thru the posts but this one is epic!
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Episode 2: the Daily Grind
The Coastal Trader steams north on the Inside Passage, across the Salish Sea as far as Seymour Narrows. The crew falls into the normal pattern of a mariner’s existence: cleaning and maintenance. No contrived drama in these videos. Just five minutes of life at sea as it really is.
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Episode 3: Chief Engineer
The chief talks about his job and why he goes to sea.
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