I’ll preface this post by saying I searched for this topic but didn’t find much on it, so I’m posting a new thread. Not asking for any help on anything, just want to satisfy some general curiosity. On a typical offshore vessel, how do you spend your time when you’re not on duty besides sleeping? And what’s your typical room like? Do you have access to TV, internet or can you use your cell phone? Can you bring a fan on board with you? How many people to a room and does your roommate usually work the opposite shift so that you can get a restful night’s sleep?
Im on the crewboats.
1.Have my own room so no sharing has to be done …its a nice size room with one bunk bottom being bigger than top with a closet to store everything.
2.Have direct TV which works when we at the dock so not much tv time lately.
3. cell phone calls work when at the dock but I have wifi so i can be online offshore. 4. And when its nasty out I get a free roller coaster ride and a ass beating… my time off on my vessel…
Drill ship. I share a room, double bunks, sometimes opposite shift, but not 100% of the time. Usually 2 to a room, some tv, basic internet (no Skype, hulu, etc). Sometimes what you can bring depends on if you helicopter out or not. Never leave anything onboard you don’t mind leaving for good. Cell phone over wifi sometimes. Time off is spent showering, eating, boat drills, sleeping, maybe a little tv or reading. 12hrs sounds like a lot of time off, but it goes by in a heartbeat.
Tugboat. Own room, thick twin bed, plenty of storage space and a little desk for my computer. AC keeps it somewhere between warm and freezing but there’s a porthole to even it out. We have direct tv and wifi, usually have phone service. On the upper deck you can use your phone in your room.
A restful night’s sleep? Reminds me of Mark Twain’s"Life on the Mississippi.
The watch was ended at last, and we took supper and went to bed. At midnight the glare of a lantern shone in my eyes, and the night watchman said—
'Come! turn out!
And then he left. I could not understand this extraordinary procedure; so I presently gave up trying to, and dozed off to sleep. Pretty soon the watchman was back again, and this time he was gruff. I was annoyed. I said:—
‘What do you want to come bothering around here in the middle of the night for. Now as like as not I’ll not get to sleep again to-night.’
The watchman said—
‘Well, if this an’t good, I’m blest.’
The ‘off-watch’ was just turning in, and I heard some brutal laughter from them, and such remarks as ‘Hello, watchman! an’t the new cub turned out yet? He’s delicate, likely. Give him some sugar in a rag and send for the chambermaid to sing rock-a-by-baby to him.’
About this time Mr. Bixby appeared on the scene. Something like a minute later I was climbing the pilot-house steps with some of my clothes on and the rest in my arms. Mr. Bixby was close behind, commenting. Here was something fresh—this thing of getting up in the middle of the night to go to work. It was a detail in piloting that had never occurred to me at all. I knew that boats ran all night, but somehow I had never happened to reflect that somebody had to get up out of a warm bed to run them. I began to fear that piloting was not quite so romantic as I had imagined it was; there was something very real and work-like about this new phase of it.
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Container ship. Own room, head, tv, some ships have networked x-box and a refrigerator. No Internet or cell phone deep sea. There’s a gym, library of books and movies. As a newbie, I suggest studying
Research vessel. We work coastal and nearshore so much of the time you can make cell calls but be aware of roaming charges
If you read invest in an e-reader like a kindle. Music, iPod etc are also important (to me)
I usually share a room with one other person and that can go well or poorly depending. Most people try to be quiet when you are sleeping. Earplugs or earbuds help.
See what happens when you ask nicely? 
When you state “offshore”, do you mean in the oil and gas industry or ocean going. There is a difference, and also one’s position on a given vessel.
Crewboat working the shelf:
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I have my own room, single twin bunk (the $80 memory foam topper was a great investment).
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We have DirecTv via a Kvh satellite antenna so it works everywhere and always, except in heavy rain or when it’s really rough or when we’re in the shadow of a rig. Company provides three flat screens, I could bring my own and another box for my room if I wished.
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I read, a lot. Usually bring a coyple of printed books and my Kindle (broken kindle=no sail).
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If we’re standing by offshore and off watch and the customer has no objection, our company allows us to fish.
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Wi-fi through mobile hotspot at dock and nearshore. 4g is good enough for mediocre skype. Same for mobile voice service.
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I sometimes bring my ukelele, pretending I’ll learn to play it.
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As mentioned, that 12 hours off watch goes fast. Between meals that bleed into off time, projects in the engine room or on the deck, too much caffiene or lots of boats moving around, it’s sometimes hard to find 8 hours sleep.
I know when I went to sea, and now when I go offshore, I read. A lot. I am still old fashioned and like turning pages, but I do have a few books on my “not so smart” phone. I also have spent some time writing. Just for fun, really.
gym -if they have one!
Internet all day, every day
besides checking, reading and writing emails you would likely find me on one of the following (not in any order of importance)
- Craigslist
- eBay
- GSA Auctions
- Government Liquidation
- Washington State Surplus Sales
- Steelsoldiers forum
- Woodenboat forum
- last but actually first gCaptain forum
nothing but time to search out and bid on surplus shit! No wonder my storage is overflowing and my bank account gasping for funds
take away my internet access offshore and I become one very unhappy little camper
btw, thought I’d mention but the mightty M54A2 made its delivery voyage from Sumas to Sedro Woolley on Sunday without mishap or incident!
WHAT AN ABSOLUTELY FUCKING AWESOME TRUCK IS ALL I CAN SAY! SOUNDS LIKE A BLOODY LOCOMOTIVE ON THE ROAD AND DRIVES ABOUT THE SAME!
Thinking about it, I need a name for the brute. “THE BEAST” comes to mind but I don’t really like it that much. How about “THE LEVIATHAN”?
[QUOTE=c.captain;116784]
WHAT AN ABSOLUTELY FUCKING AWESOME TRUCK IS ALL I CAN SAY! SOUNDS LIKE A BLOODY LOCOMOTIVE ON THE ROAD AND DRIVES ABOUT THE SAME!
Thinking about it, I need a name for the brute. “THE BEAST” comes to mind but I don’t really like it that much. How about “THE LEVIATHAN”?[/QUOTE]
That thing leaking oil? My back 40 is going to be an EPA Superfund Site someday.
Lots of reading, music, movies and Xbox running deepsea. Very basic e-mail, ie no attachments. What is this 8 hours of sleep you speak of? What are the weight limits for flying offshore?
One of my best investments. All Hail Costco!
Tug, I have a room to myself with a single bunk, flat screen TV with HDMI inputs/laptop with outputs so I usually have a few seasons of whatever now to watch. Nice quiet room with my own thermostat and wifi/wired interwebs access. Don’t have my own head anymore which sucks once you get used to it. We try and take it easy on the bandwidth though. Joe boss provides a say antenna but not the service and with the cheapskates onboard and on the other crew we don’t use it…bozos.
Off watch I spend a few minutes on here, hit the “gym” a few times a week, break the chiefs balls, cook a few meals, pay all my bills/nonsense paperwork (may as well do it here), that kind of chit.
We use air cards they seem to work pretty decent to the north end of Vancouver Is. I also have a Verizon hot spot mi-fi for my iPad that is pretty good as well.
Tanker. I have my own room and head. Direct tv in everyone’s room and also in the lounges. Ship bought xboxs for the the lounges as well. Some books and a nice gym. No Internet but were coast wise so iPhone works most of the time.
Doesn’t anyone play poker (or cards for that matter) anymore? When I sailed for Crowley, we played poker most every night on some boats, depending on the crew. Some games lasted for days, with players dropping out and joining as their watches passed. I also used to play quite a bit of cribbage back in the day, on several different vessels/companies. The secret to keeping poker games civil was to have low limits and stick to them. I don’t know that anyone ever won or lost much over 50 bucks over three week round trip between Lake Charles and San Juan.
[QUOTE=cmakin;116894]Doesn’t anyone play poker (or cards for that matter) anymore? When I sailed for Crowley, we played poker most every night on some boats, depending on the crew. Some games lasted for days, with players dropping out and joining as their watches passed. I also used to play quite a bit of cribbage back in the day, on several different vessels/companies. The secret to keeping poker games civil was to have low limits and stick to them. I don’t know that anyone ever won or lost much over 50 bucks over three week round trip between Lake Charles and San Juan.[/QUOTE]
Depends on the crew. Some trips there is a cribbage game on a long sea passage several nights in a row. I did a relief job on a ship that had a nightly poker game when the schedule is not to hectic.