25 years and 40 boats… Like to move around huh?
You are missing the point here. If the captain remembers the make and model of all the engines of all the boats he has ever worked on, does that mean he knows how to work on them? Kudos to him if he does, but it doesn’t necessarily mean anything.
[QUOTE=cajaya;164634]You are missing the point here. If the captain remembers the make and model of all the engines of all the boats he has ever worked on, does that mean he knows how to work on them? Kudos to him if he does, but it doesn’t necessarily mean anything.[/QUOTE]
It doesn’t necessarily NOT mean anything either.
I was a captain before I acquired my engineer credentials. I started out on charter boats and crewboats, and in both cases captains were expected to know the engine room by the employer. It was one of the conditions to being ‘checked off’ to run the boat/s. I bet lots of folks started out this way. It’s not until you get on the bigger vessels, tonnage wise, that deck and engine become seperate departments.
A couple of the places that I have worked had several vessels that ran day trips. I moved to different vessels every,day of every week depending on charters. Another never had assigned crew. You could move,between any of the companies five vessels any time throughout the year depending on their need. The two companies in the GoM moved me around a bit until I found a permanent rotation and then have moved between four since the downturn and vessels being stacked or sent overseas. Isn’t always cut and dry to start with a company and stay on one vessel.
Yes, I do actually although I absolutely hate to do so. That’s why I went the deck route. I like windows.
I must say the people that forewarned me about working in the GoM were right. It is a pretty fucked up working environment. If you are a woman either you have to screw around at work and risk losing your job, or refuse to and risk losing your job anyway from what will be said about you to the coordinators.
And if you are a man, you have to pretend to not know how to do anything otherwise get run off and have your work sabotaged, and have bad things said about you to the coordinators.
Now imagine if you are a woman that likes to fix stuff.
I don’t have a problem with Jeaux Bawse, but I do hope my comments have been enlightening.
This is a blanket notion, which I wildly inaccurate. But I suppose if it has been your experience, I feel bad for you.
If I had all of Hess experiences so bad as you have I’d leave the industry. Nothing is worth that much nonsense. It’s a shame but why tolerate it? Have you found companies that ARENT that way?
Deep sea was better but I don’t fancy the schedule.
Yea, deep sea but not too fond of the schedule. Also worked for one awesome company in AK but wasn’t interested in living out there.
I still find it amazing that you want to sail as and engineer and DON’T know what kind of engines you are operating. I still know every type of diesel main engines that I operated when I was sailing. Steam plants are a bit different, as often different boiler/engine/condenser/auxiliary equipment can be combined even among sister vessels. I still can tell what makes of the major pieces of equipment are. When I sailed Chief, I would ask every new engineer after being onboard for two weeks about the systems to see if he (I never had a female assistant)knew the basic systems and had spent any time tracing piping and getting to know the plant/engine room. I don’t imagine that you would have been happy in my engine room either, and that has nothing to do with your gender and everything to do with your attitude. . . . . and predisposition.
[QUOTE=cmakin;164676]I still find it amazing that you want to sail as and engineer and DON’T know what kind of engines you are operating. I still know every type of diesel main engines that I operated when I was sailing. Steam plants are a bit different, as often different boiler/engine/condenser/auxiliary equipment can be combined even among sister vessels. I still can tell what makes of the major pieces of equipment are. When I sailed Chief, I would ask every new engineer after being onboard for two weeks about the systems to see if he (I never had a female assistant)knew the basic systems and had spent any time tracing piping and getting to know the plant/engine room. I don’t imagine that you would have been happy in my engine room either, and that has nothing to do with your gender and everything to do with your attitude. . . . . and predisposition.[/QUOTE]
One thing about Cajaya’s posts is they are all over the map. What are we discussing? HR’s or techs failings in the Offshore O&G industry? Or just a couple crew boat companies or just one boat? Or the difficulties of being a women in industry in general?
With regards to the equipment specific knowledge, she shouldn’t have used that example and certainly not tried to defend it.
Having said that I can somewhat understand getting caught flat footed on models question. Deep-sea the question about the main or generators only is for chiefs and 1 A/E. The thirds and seconds stay busy on other systems, the steam system, the heavy oil treatment, pumping waste oil, the incinerator. What is it for the 3 A/E except for “the incinerator”? Of course if they are sharp they’d know.
I can see why an oiler might not know. As far as what engineers know their stuff and which don’t I suspect she is not qualified to judge.
Let me explain it this way. When I was doing PM items like walnut washing the turbos on a MAN B&W, I wasn’t exactly thinking “hmm, I wonder what series engine this is? Is it the me-b or the me-c?”. Why does it matter really when in a few months I will be on an entirely different ship with an entirely different set of engines? I learn the routine, PM items and system of that ship and then learn it again on the next ship. The exact model, series and tier etc is irrelevant and not exactly something I think about when I am at home. Maybe it is a cultural thing of deep sea, vs small boat people to talk about engine models etc. Deep sea, there isn’t just a few types of engines you are likely to run accross like on small boats. When I am hanging out with fellow blue water folks, it is not something we talk about.
And hey if bayou’s best consists of the type of people that think that generators can run off of batteries they can keep doing things like that if it’s easier for the nice little world that they live in. Just don’t be surprised when boats have to go back in to the dock all the time for stupid shit or huge break downs that could have been avoided. I know that guy still has his job and is getting lead pay. I can see putting friends of people etc in leadership positions such as captain, but it takes a lot more than being a good kiss ass to keep an engineering plant going.
It wasn’t one of the boat companies that asked the question anyway. Their questions when hiring should be: “Are you good at kissing ass? Are you willing to do everything and anything you have to do to please the captain and/or chief to ensure they put in a good word for you? Which may or may not include sexual favors? Are you willing to flirt with and/or stroke the ego of the guys on the boat? Will you be absolutely sure to never try to troubleshoot or fix anything to ensure you don’t hurt anyone’s feelings? Can you memorize a routine and be sure to never go outside the scope of that routine even if it will save the vessel from downtime and having to wait for a tech?? Ok, good. You’re hired.”
Well, I don’t know your situation but it might be wise to go back deep-sea or work on tugs. Or at least scout around for the better boat companies.
I only worked on a crew boat one time. Believe it or not I got fired for asking a question. Specifically I asked the captain “What the fuck is wrong with you?” Or it might have been the follow up question: “Do you have your head up your ass?”
Your voice has been heard. I don’t know what else you intend to gain by repeatedly telling the world about your experiences. Does it upset anyone? I doubt it. Everyone here has experienced this, and probably in many other industries other than the maritime industry.
You have to eat shit one way or another, no matter what the job is or where. If your tolerance is exhausted, then you go work somewhere else. Decide what flavor you like. Good pay but unreliable crew changes? Good medical benefits but a shitty crew to sail with? State of the art equipment but sub-standard pay? You appear to be passionate about your career, and thats a beautiful thing. Like I said before, harping on these negative experiences is toxic. For the sake of your own mental health, move on.
JAYZUSS KEYRYST PEOPLE! Joe Boss is having a field day FUCKING his peons these days and all you can do is group pummel the messenger because she made an error is posting too much about her personal experiences working in the GoM. I this downturn we should be discussing how to prevent such slash and burn tactics from ever being used again against the GoM mariners but y’all just love to bleat how such ways to treating the GoM labor as just business and something to accept.
ADMIT Y’ALL STILL JUST LOVE GIUSEPPE CHOUEST AND SUCKING HIS COCK…DON’T YOU?
I am not pummeling the messenger. I intended to try and be helpful because there is obviously a seriously pissed off person who can’t get past the trials and tribulations she has experienced. I see no sense in continuing to sit here and piss and moan about it. This is not old news.Not all of us have the option of being self employed or having greener pastures to go to. I can sit here and talk until I am blue in the face about how I have been fucked over in the past as well, when I worked in the GOM and elsewhere, but I chose not to because what’s the fucking point? It doesn’t change anything. Life is too damn short to sit here and look to pick fights and argue over this. So much to your delight I’m throwin in the towel. Have fun continuing to kick people when their down.
Everything I wrote would have been irrelevant if they didn’t have coordinators that were clueless. And I say “clueless” in place of a much more impolite word that I so desperately want to use.
[QUOTE=cajaya;164686]Everything I wrote would have been irrelevant if they didn’t have coordinators that were clueless. And I say “clueless” in place of a much more impolite word that I so desperately want to use.[/QUOTE]
I updated my blog if anyone wants to read it. It’s a little bit more organized now and I added some stories. Specifically the part about outsiders.
[QUOTE=cajaya;164759]I updated my blog if anyone wants to read it. It’s a little bit more organized now and I added some stories. Specifically the part about outsiders.[/QUOTE]
I don’t know what is more incredible. Your statements about how smart you are or your horrendous grammar. . . . using hearsay like this in your blog is dangerous, and assuming that you are using your real name is just sabotaging your own career. The way I read your anecdotes certainly do not reflect well on you. . . . If the sexist behavior is such as you write about, lawyer up and take care of it. You only make yourself look bad, and it increases the more that you write. . . . . sheesh.