The existence of Cato on this forum should be proof that gCaptain only cares about making Kaptain Konrad rich.
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Anyone’s free ti make an account dawg. I don’t agree with a lot of what @cpgrabow says but living in an echo chamber does nothing. He’s polite, sources his data, and doesn’t take things to far. Can’t say that about 99% of the members here.
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I can’t think of any other pro mariner forums, they’re probably some out there.
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Perhaps the only friend of the US mariner?
And pretty sure John’s mentioned several times that it’s operated at a loss.
The fact that a policy guy is willing to come here and discuss outside views of your industry directly with you should be seen as nothing beyond a success, and benefit to mariners who wish to understand.
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I just breezed through the OP’s short comment history, he’s only been here less than 6 months, & 13 comments were aggressive towards & used derogatory terms against gCaptain ceo JK. Now he’s started a whole thread on it? WTF? Almost all the threads he commented on are political ones with many of them closed. He also mentions Pete Buttigieg positively a lot for some reason? Without a doubt, I think chemicaltanker is a troll who contributes very little. Since he obviously has a toxic grudge against JK for some unknown reason & JK doesn’t interact with him by ignoring, I suspect chemicaltanker is a former commenter who was suspended or a troll for an anti-JA or anti-American lobbying group. Just my opinion, feel free to make it your own.
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I’ve been around since shortly after gCaptain started. I know some folks who worked with him on drillships, some didn’t have a high opinion of him because he was devoting too much time in developing his online presence but others thought he was an OK guy. Though I don’t always agree with his politics I think he does care about the average person working at sea. Nuff said until proven otherwise
In general, there is a lot to gain from the post and threads in gCaptain.
Yes, you have go through all the Pros and Con positions but be even the negative positions can be worth your time. Also I have found there are some post that require reading between the lines to understand the position provided.
Overall, the potential services provided by gCaptain extends far beyond the impact of the various discussions; as some content has the potential of become actable guidance and development for current and future mariners.
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Anyone who thinks this forum does anything but lose me money and cause me stress needs to have their examined
But maybe there is a special formula I’m missing so please explain to me how a free forum that covets free speech churns a profit?
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No it was blowing the whistle on safety problems then writing a book about it that put a bad taste in some people’s mouths. Prior to that all my evaluations and crew feedback were excellent.
Nobody likes it when HR comes, causes everyone a lot of headache and does nothing to solve the problems.
Many warned me no good would come out of blowing the whistle and sadly they were right.
It’s also a very dangerous job and some people don’t like hearing about how dangerous it really was. It’s hard enough justifying spending half your life away from kids and family… impossible for a good father to do not f he also has to think about no coming home.
Transocean also lied about why I was removed from the rig. They didn’t explicitly blame me but they made it seem like I caused the massive engine room fire that happened after I blew the whistle and was taken off. For legal reasons I couldn’t do anything for years to defend myself against those false allegations.
As for the book, most were grateful I told the crew’s story and kept away from politics but I did receive a few death threats from people I formerly worked with. The reason? They thought the feds would read my book, then shut down drilling and they would be out of a job. For guys who spent their entire lives offshore, loosing that would be a big deal so I don’t blame them.
The problem is that’s not how the federal government works, the o&g lobby is way to strong for a total shutdown to have been even remote possibility.
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Regardless of political party I’m very glad both sides are working together on the SHIPS for America act.
Threads from this forum were used by the team that wrote the legislation.
Anyone who doubts the value of this forum or my contribution is free to reach out to the Mark Kelly or Mike Waltz teams and ask.
That’s why I keep paying the server and forum software subscriptions… there is a LOT of great and useful information in the archives.
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On my very first ship, many years ago some old salt said to make, - “don’t be part of the drama”. Just saying.
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ChemicalTanker, Bro, who hired you?
Or, what did Konrad do to you?
Many of us would like to know. So, just be honest and tell us what the deal is? What’s your vendetta with him?
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Everyone knows, if you point out the problem, it must be your fault.
Like others I don’t always agree with your politics and you can be a little thin skinned, on the whole I think.this sight does a lot of good, and frankly I don’t see a downside.
FWIW, this is the sight I refer people to when they want more information on maritime issues.
I might do a few things different, but what the hell do I know, I’m just a black ganger missing his wife and son, stressing over bills and jobs sitting in Yokohama.
Just keep doing what you do John.
If you and I are ever in the same port, and we have time, I’ll buy you a drink, or several.
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I like the saying, “My mind is made up, don’t confuse me with facts”.
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This. John has a lot of good things to say, but I would rather stick an ice pick in my ear than listen to him say them. I can’t ever forget how much of an ass he was when the Navy was reeling from the Fitzgerald and McCain collisions, when he had an outside perspective that could have been insightful.
I suspect he is one of those people who believes that style doesn’t matter, only substance. But the truth is no one is ever going to hear your substance if you’re insufferable. I was just able to get through this podcast he was recently on, but only after several pauses to take a break from the pain:
He makes a lot of valid points. But the moderator has to keep reeling him in, like he has no concept of how to hold a human conversation. At least Sal Mercogliano can talk normally. And then at the end he goes completely off the rails about OSHAs and sending sailors over the side to paint ships returning from deployment because they have rust streaks, giving everything he said previously a veneer of crazy.
I get that John was here doing this work when no one else was, and that he deserves credit for not only this site but raising maritime issues in general. But his personal style is never going to be effective, and he’s never going to be hailed as a hero. He should stick to his bomb throwing and leave a channel for others to come in and deliver solutions. That may not be the arc he wants, but I think it’d be the best use of his talents and a role in which history may judge him most favorably.
You’re of course free to start your own soght
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While gCaptain has its political side, I find that it also provides some potential for struggling mariners to obtain proper direction when preparing for USCG credentialing and training.
However, when the mariner is provided with misinformation, whether the information comes from gCaptain or their peers, it leads to a waste of time; missed opportunities; and the possibilities of lost revenue .
The same could be said with the political sides, where there are seemingly two sides to a story.
I am a big fan and supporter of this forum, and your work in general. The fact that there are opposing viewpoints discussing the issues is one of the reasons I like. Keep up the good work Captain.
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The bigger question is where are we to go? What forum for all it’s warts allows us mariners to express our varied opinions? I’ll stick with gCaptain.
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The site has been invaluable to me as a hawespiper and I enjoy the varied content on here. The fact that this resource exists and is free is reason enough for me to hold Mr. Konrad in the highest regard.
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