Hello. I’m interested in knowing what happens after a vessel docks at any certain port. Are Mariners allowed to leave port to explore towns or cities for a short time after docking?
what kind of ship? What nationality are the Mariners? What country?
When we get shore leave in Las Vegas I always hit the Bellagio and see Wayne Newton.
[QUOTE=ccmetalhead;178579]Hello. I’m interested in knowing what happens after a vessel docks at any certain port. Are Mariners allowed to leave port to explore towns or cities for a short time after docking?[/QUOTE]
Don’t think of it as a cruise… it’s more like jail with the possibility of drowning. But some jails do allow short escapes.
I liken it more to a floating state mental hospital, myself.
[QUOTE=catherder;178691]I liken it more to a floating state mental hospital, myself.[/QUOTE]
From what I gather about NOAA. . . . that said, working for a region of a larger company (like the old Lake Charles boats for Crowley) isn’t bad because of the relatively small pool of personnel on a certain route. We know who the crazies are and that helps, or even a single boat operation like I dealt with on the SEA SKIMMER/PLAQUEMINE. Even that batshit crazy captain was OUR batshit crazy captain. . . even when he almost cut my legs off. . . .
[QUOTE=cmakin;178751]From what I gather about NOAA. . . . that said, working for a region of a larger company (like the old Lake Charles boats for Crowley) isn’t bad because of the relatively small pool of personnel on a certain route. We know who the crazies are and that helps, or even a single boat operation like I dealt with on the SEA SKIMMER/PLAQUEMINE. Even that batshit crazy captain was OUR batshit crazy captain. . . even when he almost cut my legs off. . . .[/QUOTE]
Oh yeah, you gather correctly. Except that here, the nuts aren’t always apparent until they decide to act out. It’s like they’re bipolar. I blame a lot of it on the schedule. The permanent guys spend 10-11 months a year on the ship and many of them don’t go home at all. Some don’t have a home to go to, so the ship is home. That leads to a certain mindset. I don’t understand it, and I don’t want to.
I guess the closest thing you could liken it to is someone who has been in and out of prison for years. They become institutionalized. They can’t handle life outside the institution, and develop coping skills while in it. Those coping skills would be considered eccentric behavior by those on the outside looking in.
It should be mandatory to take at least 3 months a boat/ship off a year. For everyone’s benefit, even if it’s just a company policy.
The days of sailors going ashore to enjoy themselves are more or less over. There are still pockets of it here and there but it’s pretty much gone. Companies spend millions of dollars on ships because they’re good at moving things from point A to point B. If they’re not moving then the company isn’t getting their money’s worth. Ships now spend record minimums of time in port handling cargo so they can get on to the next job and keep the accountants back at home fat, dumb, and happy. That combined with ever-more heightened security regulations means that you’re pretty much confined to boat-prison except in a few special cases.
Welcome to the new merchant marine, not as romantic as it used to be…
[QUOTE=catherder;178787]Oh yeah, you gather correctly. Except that here, the nuts aren’t always apparent until they decide to act out. It’s like they’re bipolar. I blame a lot of it on the schedule. The permanent guys spend 10-11 months a year on the ship and many of them don’t go home at all. Some don’t have a home to go to, so the ship is home. That leads to a certain mindset. I don’t understand it, and I don’t want to.
I guess the closest thing you could liken it to is someone who has been in and out of prison for years. They become institutionalized. They can’t handle life outside the institution, and develop coping skills while in it. Those coping skills would be considered eccentric behavior by those on the outside looking in.[/QUOTE]
I am sure that the demands of a research vessel are different from a commercial vessel when it comes to port stays and their endurance. . . I was single most of the time that I sailed, and while I did like it, there were times that I really needed to get away, especially when I started sailing as Chief. . . even if it was for a few hours in port, but yeah, especially to get to “home”, wherever that was since I moved around so much. Home back then was where I got my mail and parked my car. . . but it served as a refuge of a sort. I know that when I worked with Crowley, and because I was the only engineer that lived in Lake Charles. . .I got a lot of early call backs, request for shipyard time (at half pay. . .Union agreement, too). . . I kept an even keel back then with copious consumption of adult beverages. . . maybe I was the crazy one and just didn’t notice. . . but I still remember that batshit crazy captain of the ATB and how he almost killed me. . . . well, okay, cut my legs off. . .hopefully I wouldn’t have bled out. . .
[QUOTE=cmakin;178855]I am sure that the demands of a research vessel are different from a commercial vessel when it comes to port stays and their endurance. . . I was single most of the time that I sailed, and while I did like it, there were times that I really needed to get away, especially when I started sailing as Chief. . . even if it was for a few hours in port, but yeah, especially to get to “home”, wherever that was since I moved around so much. Home back then was where I got my mail and parked my car. . . but it served as a refuge of a sort. I know that when I worked with Crowley, and because I was the only engineer that lived in Lake Charles. . .I got a lot of early call backs, request for shipyard time (at half pay. . .Union agreement, too). . . I kept an even keel back then with copious consumption of adult beverages. . . maybe I was the crazy one and just didn’t notice. . . but I still remember that batshit crazy captain of the ATB and how he almost killed me. . . . well, okay, cut my legs off. . .hopefully I wouldn’t have bled out. . .[/QUOTE]
Don’t conflate NOAA and research ships in general. I have sailed on a couple of UNOLS research ships and there is a difference. There is something about government employment that instills a malignant mindset in many people.