email from sea

Colleges & Universities A-Z Merchant Marine Academy - Kings Point
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<p>The latest email from Is2day cracked me up....ahhh..humor at sea:</p>

<p>ok, sorry there are no drunken rages, or prostitute purchases in this voyage's tale, but alas, tis a good tale, filled with adventure, suspense, laughter, and tears. and off we go!</p>

<p>the night before last (I have no idea what day it is today... I think it's Thursday... which would have made this story start on Tuesday night), I was expecting to be called down for the 4 1/2 hour maneuver into Shanghai. I told the 1st engineer that I wouldn't come down unless they called me, and lo! they did not call, so I slept all night! when morning came we were pulled into the dock at shanghai-- which as I have said before would put the fear of God into any one that doesn't believe that china is an economic powerhouse. and I opened the door to look outside and was immediately hit with a wall of smoke and dust... much like standing behind a bus that's accelerating. ah, shanghai.</p>

<p>it was virtually impossible to see the sun at all through the soot and the smoke, but that's how it is there. after breakfast I went down to the engine room to see if I had to work at all. there was a note on the white board that said "Karl (the 2nd engineer), you are 'the man,' everyone else is going ashore. don't f*** anything up! - the 1st" so I took that to mean I was free for the day. I ran upstairs and changed into suitable clothes and headed out. I left with Ryan and the 2nd Mate, Dave for this GIANT underground mall type place that is hidden underneath the Chinese Museum of Modern Technology. this market has more stores than ever could be visited in a few days time. and I was only in town for 12 hours. so we get to the market and start doing some shopping, we stopped at one store (I will not say what we got there because someone on this e-mail list's Christmas present was purchased here) where we met with Ryan's "girlfriend" from the last trip. we joked about it, and of course, picked on Ryan. after there things started to get a bit screwy. it started approaching noon, and the 2nd Mate had to be back to the ship by noon, so he left us, and took our all day cab driver/ chaperone/ translator (which only costs $10 for the day) with him and he didn't return. so me and Ryan were left to our own devices in a country where our phones didn't work, we didn't know the language, and we didn't have any connections. well we decided to grab some food, and of course when you're in China, the only restaurant you can find is a KFC. so we went there. I was amazed... I couldn't even order at KFC... I wanted a chicken sandwich and got fish instead. it was decent enough I guess... Ryan ordered something wrong too, so he went back and got more food. a full meal at KFC for both of us cost around $4. not bad eh? from there we wandered around some more. </p>

<p>in the dark back corner of this marketplace was a tiny tea shop with a single old Chinese woman sitting in there at a small table. we walked in and gave the appropriate Chinese greeting (pronounced Ni-How) and sat with her.</p>

<p>she tried to say something to us, which of course, neither of us understood.</p>

<p>so she yelled out and a beautiful 18 year old Chinese girl came in (Ryan is in love with her... he hasn't stopped talking about her since) and started translating. I asked which type of tea is the very best and she motioned to a small tin on the wall. I asked if we could try some prior to buying it.</p>

<p>the old woman smiled kindly and nodded her head. we all went back to her little table and sat down. she went through a big long process of making the tea the traditional Chinese way and served each of us with a tiny cup which we all drank slowly in unison. immediately she refilled our cups and we continued to talk and laugh and sip our tea. we then decided to make a toast to the Junior Engineer Neil (who is ordained as a minister in the Church of Poseidon's... yeah, I speak the truth) and all his great wisdom. at this, Ryan foolishly decided to down his tea in one shot... not realizing that it was scalding hot. so now everything tastes like rubber to him. hehehe. so after we finished off a whole pot of tea, we said our goodbyes and left the tea shop to continue shopping. at this point I was forcefully grabbed by my arm and was dragged into a toy shop. I had walked by this shop earlier looking for a toy car for my sister Cassidy. I found a really nice remote controlled formula one racecar and I asked the man how much he wanted. when he said $35 I laughed at him. he asked me "what you bess price?" to which I replied "$10" that got a sad look and a "no, that impossible!" and so I said "ok, bye" and walked out. well when he grabbed me this time he said "my friend I make special deal for you. $20" and I said, "no, I will pay $10."</p>

<p>he argued and argued and I didn't budge at all. yeah, I got the car for $10.</p>

<p>[I trust that dad and Joan will allow Cassidy to play with it more than they will... ;)] I think Cassidy will enjoy it because it is what she asked for and it says right on the box "FOR TO FEEL EXTREMITY SPEED!" so you know it must be intense. after this point I had to find Natalie a good Christmas present as well. hers is not one so much to play with as a toy as to appreciate it for its artistic qualities. I got her a very nice chess set with handcrafted individualized pieces. I feel that as a 9 year old she is capable of learning the game and maybe even playing with her sister. I hope she enjoys it... if not a purchased a back up (Joan use your best judgment to decide if the second present is more suitable, and if the so the girls can share the chess set). the chess set came at a great bargain as well. the guy wanted $65, I paid $12. oh yeah! </p>

<p>after all the shopping was done we started looking for other guys from the ship who we had seen wandering around... they were all gone. we went to one shop where everyone from the ship goes and of course the lady inside said everyone had gone back to the ship. we had no working phone, no translator, and no idea how to get back to the ship. we were totally alone. we both dug through our pockets and wallets and luckily Ryan had a business card from the all day cab driver that left with the 2nd mate and didn't come back. he gave it to the lady and asked her to call the number and find out how we could get back to the ship. she did and wrote something down on a sheet of paper and told us to show this to a cab driver outside and he would take us there. so we thanked her for her help and did what she said. the cabbie spoke no English. we showed him the paper, he stared at it for about 5 seconds and then nodded and took us to the ship. this guy drove like an absolute maniac. what should have been a 45 minute drive took less than 20.
we almost hit at least 5 pedestrians, 3 motorcycles, and at least 25 cars.</p>

<p>I'm talking less than an inch misses here. I don't think I've ever fervently called on the name of Jesus so many times in 20 minutes. horrifying.</p>

<p>regardless of the fact that it was more than a 40 mile cab ride, the fare was just around $10. </p>

<p>he brought us to the gate of the container yard where we met up with our old cab driver that said he couldn't find us at the mall. at this point we went to buy some "DVD movies" for $1 a piece. it's pretty much awesome. I bought like 12 or so, Ryan bought about that many as well and all is good! from there we went to get some "yum yum" at a local restaurant. I knew it would be classy because all the meat was on a rack outside hanging out in the sun. mmmmm. </p>

<p>we went inside and had a great 4 course meal , for which they attempted to make us pay 400 Yuan. we didn't even have that much money on us at all. so we gave them $30 and bolted. the meal consisted of fried duck eggs with cabbage sprouts, small saut?ed fish, shrimp, and a mushroom-spinach dish, of course accompanied with great sticky rice. it was nice. oh and did I mention that our driver, who sat and ate with us downed a 40 oz. beer with his meal and then drove us back to the ship? gotta love china. we made it back to the ship with plenty of time to spare and had a nice night of maneuvering out where I was allowed to work on my sea projects the whole time. </p>

<p>now we are rounding the northern end of Japan heading for open water. the entire sea is speckled with flashes of light from the swarms of Japanese Squid boats that patrol these waters. these boats use intense light to attract squid to the surface, so as a result we can see them from far away.
the waters are calm, but that is promised to change very soon. I will update more and I apologize that I have not been responding as frequently to e-mails. I do read every one of them, but as time has been short lately, I have not had the chance to reply. please know I love you all and will write again soon!
love love,
T</p>

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<p>hi guys, im around for the holidays, catching another ship on monday up in boston yay</p>

<p>was on a ro ro for november between san diego and hawaii, was on an aircraft carrier out of norfolk for december. That was real cool, I think everyone should do a navy cruise just to see what life in the navy is really like as opposed to what we think its like at KP. Its so different. That USNA69 guy from that other post...needs to rejoin the navy to see what its really like before he makes those claims. So yea...i am an engineer but stood bridge watch on the carrier...and got to conn a lot. That was pretty sick. Here I am commanding the speed and direction of a multi billion dollar ship...before my decky sea partner did! Engineers are obviously better. but the best part about the navy cruise is free sea days, I got 25 and did like no work at all...and they have internet and tv AT sea. LCD flat screens too! Your tax dollars at work...</p>

<p>Alright, time to go eat some pizza.</p>

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<p>While I am relatively sure that my 24 yrs in the Navy with the majority of it underway, does not hold a candle to the vast experience you have picked up in your 25 days assigned to a carrier, I do hope you didn't call the Captain that four striper "guy". </p>

<p>One small kink in your vast knowledge of the Navy might be the workings of the Morale, Welfare, Recreation (MWR) Fund. This fund is continuously replenished with profits from the ship's store. It is with these funds, not taxpayer dollars, that LCD flat screen TVs are purchased.</p>

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<p>Sure beats pulling pistons, cleaning purifiers and fuel pump strainers, eh Davygravy

[quote]
no work at all

[/quote]
That’s sick indeed..</p>

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<p>You trying to tell me that ALL of those TV's come from the MWR fund? I don't think so. The ones in the wardroom and lounge...sure I believe that. The ones in the offices I find hard to believe. </p>

<p>I met the Captain briefly and I'm pretty sure I called him Sir or Captain...just as I would on a merchant ship. Yes you do have me beat on Navy underway time but what exactly did you do? I mean...you could have been a supply officer in which case how much seamanship do you know compared to a second class mid at usmma...yknow the academy that's not up to par with usna...i think i remember reading that somewhere on here....</p>

<p>Y'know you'd think a guy with 24 years in the Navy would understand that it doesn't matter where you come from, it's about the person...officer or enlisted...merchant marines or armed forces. And the fact that you call the service KP grads give upon graduation not at the same level as active duty military....****es me off. Who gives you your fuel, stores, or weapons ? Can you do anything without them? No. Makes me sick to read that, why don't you go back to the USNA forums where your insight might be more beneficiary. </p>

<p>you're messing with one fired up teenager and all those parents out there know...that's not a good thing!</p>

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<p>Davy, </p>

<p>Calm down. You need to have more poise than that. Especially, online.</p>

<p>The guy was a pilot, he served his country well and is entitled to his opinion. Count to ten before you hit the post button and think of all the ways whatever you write could be taken and decide if that's what you want to say before you post it. Otherwise you won't come off as any smarter than some of the gasbags on this forum.</p>

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<p>Actually the ones in the wardrooms, wardroom lounges, and the chief's mess probably came from mess fund dues collected from the members. Those on the mess decks were probably MWR. The few PLAT monitors located in the RRs, on the bridge, and in a few other locations are probably the sole govt. purchased 'TVs'. In most work spaces there is an old beat up refrigerator in the corner painted usually in a flat navy blue color to somewhat camouflage it from the inevitible purge. It is the 'coke mess'. The plebian labor is accomplished by the non-rates, sales mostly on the honor system at only a slight profit, income is huge (100 persons in the shop, 4 sodas per day, 6 month cruise, $.15 profit per soda = $10k +). It is from this mess that inport party funds are generated and also space improvements. Hence the fancy sound systems and tvs. A simple question to anyone in the shop would have cleared it all up for you.</p>

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<p>Yep. Of course I got my OOD quals when I was ships company on the LPH. As an aviator, I was permanently assigned as unrep OOD due to the aviator's inate ability to detect very early changes in relative motion. Subsequently, as helo det OINC on supply ships, I was always somehow 'conned' into conning the ship during unreps. I actually really enjoyed it.</p>

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It is fun for sure... and you do become a master at managing relative motion.. :) As a reservist I taught at the Navy shiphandling school at Little Creek and some of my best students were Helicoptor pilots. ;)</p>

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<p>My son is on his first term of Sea Year and he emailed me yesterday to tell me that his ship was in a severe storm and suffered ship and cargo damage.</p>

<p>I was thinking that with worldwide email and a nationwide internet forum that I could foolishly announce the Name of the Ship and the type of damage before the insurance companies and customers know of the problem.</p>

<p>That's just a word of caution to anyone with that type of information. </p>

<p>Anybody have thoughts on decorum in this type of situation?</p>

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<p>Add satellite phones to internet and email. </p>

<p>You want your son to share information with you, both as a bonding experience and as a notice that he is okay and that you have no reason to worry for his well being. Even though he may not even realize it yet, he trusts you to keep that information priviledged. About the third time he gets an email from his great great aunt sally whom he has never met, stating that she was sure thankful he made it through that last storm unscathed, he will commence self censuring himself and you will be the loser.</p>

<p>Internet and email was not restricted in the last Gulf War as it was during the first. My son was intimately involved in the last one. His instant access to a satellite phone, a CNN reporter embedded in his very ready room, constant emails, and daily phone calls, combined with my constantly watching CNN, I knew more than I wanted to know. I actually did an interview with the embedded CNN reporter from a parent's perspective. It was almost more than I could handle.</p>

<p>Cherish it. And guard it's privacy.</p>

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<p>I tell everyone on my ship that email is a privilege and is NOT private. I screen ALL outgoing messages for content that maybe privileged, confidential or exempt from disclosure. If there’s anything I deem inappropriate or embarrassing to the company it doesn't fly. The same goes for sat phone calls. I’m surprised the Captain allowed that to be sent.</p>

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<p>quote: "I’m surprised the Captain allowed that to be sent."</p>

<p>That's an even more important reason to be careful with any information. </p>

<p>I live in the middle of America and know very little about shipping. Do you or anyone else have any ideas on how much the Company has to pay for insurance? </p>

<p>I would imagine that the insurance costs for each cruise must be enormous. It seems to me that not only the cargo needs to be insured but also the ship itself.</p>

<p>(I know that I'm going off topic so I'll shut up after this.)</p>

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<p>My husband's company ships lots of cargo from China to the USA (he's not in shipping but is a customer of a shipping company). I'm not sure which company he uses, but he told me that the person who owns the cargo, ie, his company has to pay for insurance for the cargo shipped, so it seems to me that the shipping company is off the hook for insurance claims for lost or damaged cargo, at least that's the way he explained it to me :)</p>

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<p>My company is insured against third party liability by a “P&I (Protection and Indemnity) club.. In our case The Standard. The Club is a mutual, and so is owned by its shipowner members and controlled by a board of directors drawn from the membership. I don’t know what we pay in premiums.</p>

<p>As for cargo, we abide by the CARRIAGE OF GOODS BY SEA ACT. For more information on COGSA go here > Carriage</a> of Goods by Sea Act - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</p>

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<p>Quote"
As for cargo, we abide by the CARRIAGE OF GOODS BY SEA ACT. For more information on COGSA go here > Carriage of Goods by Sea Act - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</p>

<p>Thanks for the link; complex but informative. I need to take time to go though it. This is the kind of information that makes this forum valuable.</p>