<p>My Plebe is on B split. It looks like he goes to sea the end of June, returns for only one trimester in October, then goes back to sea for 6 months. Is Sea Year all independant study or is there an actual curriculum?</p>
<p>They are assigned Sea Projects, which are big! There is a lot of work for them to do. I'm sure some of the Mids will tell you once again its all about time management. From what I hear they need to work on the project(s) several hours a day while on board their ships, and even then many of them pull all nighters the last weeks before they are due. More than one has been set back due to either not doing or flunking their sea project. Hope this helps.</p>
<p>My best estimate for the second sailing period (engineering) is 500+ pages and counting.
I don't think that includes all of the drawings. He said that his steam propulsion project alone is over 100 pages with 40+ drawings. He has a total of eight projects due.
He was freaking out for a while but he says it's done now. It helps if one of the officers on board is a Kings Pointer, they understand what needs to be done and can help provide the time needed. They also serve as mentors / big brothers providing the necessary "kick in the pants" if one is required. :)</p>
<p>Wow, that makes their classes sound easier in comparison!</p>
<p>Its actually both really. There is a curriculum with deadline dates and its pretty tough as most of it is done on their own. On occasion, some of the completed project materials have to be sent in via snail mail or email when they go into ports. My son is a deckie so I don't know if that holds true for the engineering Mids. The Mids will pack about 50 lbs. of books & material with them. I can't recall some of the names of the projects and how many there are and hope a Mid will pipe in? There won't be anyone pressuring them to get the work done so its important to the extreme to jump on it early and stay with it (unlike some Mid I know who was still putting on finishing touches on the thing 20 minutes before the turn in deadline when he returned) :rolleyes: </p>
<p>Sea Year tends to eat some Mids. The second part of sea year seemed a little more daunting than the first part from what I saw with my Mid. In other words.... more of the usual professional KP complaining they learn to be so good at early on. The materials were much harder in addition to a daily journal & orals that are graded much more stringently. The information I've posted here is just from my point of view from looking over a good portion of the Sea Year projects & in hearing how it all came together over that time. To me, it seemed ridiculously tough & these Mids get my huge respect in being able to pull it all off all while working a normal work day. They come back knowing much more than books which I consider the best part of the Sea Year experience. Good luck to your son as he begins the journey!</p>
<p>Whoops... Didn't see the responses until after I'd posted. Good stuff written here. :)</p>
<p>His first sea period didn't seem all THAT bad but, this last one has really worn him out.
On his current ship he would stand watch from 0500-0700 then goe to breakfast. At 0800he would start his 8 hour shift in the engine room. Then he would eat dinner, unwind a bit and then start working on his projects. He worked until midnight or 1 A.M. and then went to bed. Lather, rinse, repeat.</p>
<p>^^^ Ditto that for sure. Another thought I'll throw out there is the Mids I've talked with say their duties/lives varied greatly depending on what type of ship they are on & what it was doing. No two kids were alike in that aspect. One kid got stuck in Norfolk in a hotel for two weeks while playing the waiting game for another ship. My kid & sea partner were stuck at my house for about the same length of time while waiting on theirs. They worked some on the project while waiting. Using son's & his sea partner's experiences, while on an oiler/tanker, they were able to work to a schedule of the 8 hours (sometimes in dry dock where they liked to climb the stack & write KP on it for kicks & go to the local Hooters out of boredom with nothing to do) & then whistle away while they worked at the project. But while on the USNS Comfort, they would work 12-16 hours a day for 8 to 10 days then see a day off. The project got way behind from what I recall especially while in Ecuador where they apparently thought learning to Salsa was more important than any old sea project. It was a tough trip in that the seas were rough while moving all the supplies, people needed more help just due to the mission plus there were those 800 nurses aboard to distract them as well. LOL The first part of sea year on the container ship was "cake" almost. Pardon the pun..... :D</p>
<p>My boy had a few weeks between getting off of his ship and heading back to KP - so I MADE him come to work with me each day and he spent at least 8 hours a day finishing his stuff...even though he said he only had "about 3 days worth of work" to do when he showed up :)</p>
<p>I believe (and I'm sure he'll correct me if I'm wrong) the highest scores he got were on the projects that he worked on here....something about focus and having dad staring over his shoulder?</p>
<p>the projects are significantly more time consuming than they look! i remember thinking "oh this project only has 8 questions, that can't be that bad..." 135 single spaced typed pages and 50 drawings later i realized that i was a moron. ha.</p>
<p>the sea projects are their own thing aside from school. no teachers, just you, the projects, and your text books. they're not very difficult, just exceptionally time consuming and require you to pay attention. get ready, that's all i have to say, sea is going to rock your face off! (in a good way of course)</p>
<p>DS is currently at home, working on the final touches of his sea project. </p>
<p>Those final touches should take about the next 2 weeks..... or so</p>
<p>God Bless me for not killing him for not getting this FINISHED while he was at sea or during his intership.</p>
<p>That boy has caused me to EARN every freakin' grey hair in my head.</p>
<p>But I couldn't be more proud. And June 2010 can't come soon enough!</p>
<p>I am going to show my Plebe all of your comments when he comes home for his trimester break. I hope he isn't afraid to go back to KP! LOL, just kidding, he loves it there but I don't know if he is aware yet what awaits him at sea. Thank you all for your comments, now I realize why every trimester is another obstacle to climb over. one day at a time, one trimester at a time, one year at a time....</p>
<p>KPMarineOpsDad- please check PMs.</p>
<p>O.K. MMAMom. I think I responded, I hope it helps. I have several more stories if you are interested.</p>
<p>FYI - for Marine Transportation Majors</p>
<p>First sailing period Sea Project sections and credit hours</p>
<p> Navigation 1 2 credit hours
Navigation Law 1 (rules of the road) 1 credit hour
Cargo Operations 1 1 credit hour
Seamanship 1 1 credit hour
Ships Structure and Nomenclature 1 credit hour
Marine Engineering for Deck 1 credit hour</p>
<p>Second sailing period Sea Project sections and credit hours</p>
<p> Navigation 2 3 credit hours
Navigation Law 2 (rules of the road) 2 credit hours
Cargo Operations 2 1.5 credit hours
Seamanship 2 1.5 credit hours
Maritime Business 1 credit hour
Humanities Sea Project 1 credit hour
Ships Structure and Stability 1.5 credit hours
Electronic Navigation 2 credit hours
Internship Report 1 credit hour</p>
<p>
[quote]
The Mids will pack about 50 lbs. of books & material with them
[/quote]
</p>
<p>^^^For deckies if youre packing that much school gear, you aint doing it right.. Remember, go as schooner rig as possible. Many of the required books are available in PDF format on the Sea Project CD, or available on line, also in PDF format. Additionally all ships will have a Bowditch, Bowditch tables, Rules of the Road manual, a Merchant Marine Officers handbook, a LaDage (Stability and Trim for Ships Officer) and of course sight reduction tables (HO 229 and HO 249). If Im not mistaken the Sea Project CD even has a rudimentary sight reduction program on it; or at least it use to.. You should learn how to use the tables first, but the program is good for checking your work.</p>
<p>Also bring your sextant. Dont assume that all ships will have one (although most do) and that you will be allowed to use it. I see it as a mark of professionalism to bring it. If youre flying remember, sextants are precision instruments, easily damaged, so DONT put it with your check-on bags. ALWAYS carry it aboard the plane with you. </p>
<p>The deck project is extensive. As my son told me, doing the project is like eating an elephant, from its tail to the tip of its trunk. So come hungry.. </p>
<p>
[quote]
sea is going to rock your face off!
[/quote]
after going to sea for 33 years I can tell ya thats not all it'll do to your face.. not to mention your hair color..</p>
<p>Do the deckies still have to copy by hand the Rules of the Road? Oh how many pens I must have run through doing that.......considering I had the joy of doing it twice :) (don't ask, haha)</p>
<p>So yeah, sea projects are time consuming. 56 days into my sea year I had completed 20% of my projects. 46 days later I was getting off with only the Shop Project done, Deck Operations for Engineers done, and 80% of Marine Propulsion I done. Then I got off and completed my Shipboard Systems I project completely off the ship and got the A- on it. The Marine Propulsion I never got completely done and now I have to 9 projects this time out. A lot of work cut out for me. Being a perfectionist is a killer. Just do the drawings and get it done. But if you work diligently for about 3-4 hours a day, each project should be like 2-4 weeks. Luckily this sea year, I have about 2.5 weeks crossing from Israel to Corpus Cristi so project being worked on.</p>
<p>kp2001: Yes they do. I remember laughing at my sea partner last year having to do that.</p>