[QUOTE=pwrmariner;158855]While I agree send office staff out for a boat ride is beneficial. There is a difference between riding a vessel as an observer for lack of better term. Do they stand a watch ? Go undercover as a newly hired OS or Wiper ? If not there is a separation in experiences. No really getting in touch with vessel life. I seen a coordinator on such a ride. All he did was sit in the wheelhouse and talk story with the deck officers. Ooh my that is vessel people do is sit and talk story …[/QUOTE]
There’s still a value in office personnel riding. Maybe they don’t get down and dirty, but they do get to see what it is the vessel crew actually does, what the actual living conditions aboard are, that sort of thing. That said, there should be a prior understanding of vessel lifestyle before riding. A port engineer is likely to be of much more value riding than a crewing coordinator or accountant.