<p>So I thought I'd come back and post my experiences for you now that I have a few minutes:</p>
<p>Sea year can be very different for two different m/n based on which ship and which crew is aboard. I had very good experiences all around, so I may be slightly biased, but here goes.</p>
<p>Sea year starts by selecting a sea partner (pick someone you like, needs to be same sea split i.e. same sport season if athlete) and by submitting your dream sheet for ships/routes to the ATR (Academy Training Rep who is at the Academy.) Choices of ships are varied as mentioned above, but for engineers it comes down to diesel vs. steam powered (need both throughout time at sea) and for deckies it doesn't really matter (I recommend sailing on a oil tanker as a 2/c so one can get their tankerman PIC endorsement on the license) but it ranges from Container (back end of 18 wheeler, 4000 or more on a ship), to Ro/Ro (Roll On / Roll Off, car carriers), to oil tankers, break bulk ships (the ones you see in old movies with general cargo aboard), and MSC (military sealift command, the navy's personal merchant service). I'm sure there are some I'm missing, but I think I caught the big ones.</p>
<p>When sea year starts you'll fly from New York to meet your ship wherever it is, may be overseas, may be in New Jersey (school pays for travel). Day to day life can vary widely based on crew and ship. My first year experience was as follows (I'm a deckie). Flew to california, joined APL President Truman, a container ship. Daily worked four hours with chief mate doing various odds and ends, but never touching certain things due to labor agreements with the union. I then stood four hours of watch with whichever mate I chose. I then had the rest of the time to work on my sea project or enjoy a nightly movie and beers with the officers who were off duty (yes, had beer on the ship, it was awesome). Coming into/out of port I was with the chief mate on the bridge. Once in port I was free to do whatever I wanted as long as I made sure I was back on the ship before it left. That ship went from california, alaska, japan, taiwan, hong kong, mainland china, and back. Overall spent a little over 100 days before going to back to KP. </p>
<p>2nd class sailing started with MSC on one of their Kaiser class tankers in hawaii. Sailed with two of my soccer team mates. This was the biggest racket ever. Somehow got out of all work except four hours of bridge watch daily. Schedule was 3-4 days at sea refueling Navy ships and return to Pearl Harbor for the weekend. Day after joined ship went to Maui for four days of R&R that the crew had earned somehow. Also spent a month in San Diego on this ship while in "wet dock." Basically got all the requirements met for Tankerman PIC, worked on my sea project, and enjoyed Hawaii. After 3-4 months there flew to Houston to meet my second ship which was an old break bulk ship that was headed to West Africa. I was the only cadet on this ship for this trip. Actually had to work on this ship, even in port. Put in 8-12 hour days most days, but got alot of time off in port to go visit places that don't have electricity and have M-16's for stop lights. An adventure to say the least, and probably shouldn't have gone out by myself in the one place I did now that I look back on it. </p>
<p>On a daily basis the deck cadet usually works for the chief mate. On some ships I have heard of them being assigned deck work (chipping/painting, etc) but this is usually verboten as it takes away work from the unlicensed crew who have very strong labor agreements. On the bridge the cadet may be allowed to plot the position, take the helm for a bit, and may be allowed to 'take the con' for a four hour shift when in the middle of the ocean.</p>
<p>As to longshoremen there isn't much interaction with them, they are part of the pier as you know and the ship's crew doesn't really interact with them much.</p>
<p>Now the seedy side: As one would imagine the maritime industry is full of 'dirty old men.' This is not to say they aren't nice or there aren't 'normal' people out there, but a life at sea can be salty to say the least. These people are usually also very good at what they do and are some of the best teachers in the world, but they may not teach the best manners. Ships are usually almost always male, in my four years (including two as a mate) I sailed with a total of 3 or 4 women. Some meal conversations I listened to were about how fat their ex wife was, which port has the best hookers, and where to find the cheapest beer. I was also offered to partake in many of those activities, but they didn't force me to do anything I didn't want to (although they did get a good laugh at my expense for not taking them up on some of their offers). </p>
<p>The crew generally look out for the cadets, they will usually pay for meals/drinks whatever while in port b/c they realize the cadets make peanuts. They also will generally warn them where not to go or who to avoid (Fong in Kaoshung Taiwan is the worst driver in history by the way). </p>
<p>Overall I would agree with NFODad in that it is in general a safe environment. There is alot of maturity to be gained with going to sea and being away for a while. I'm sure my parents might not have liked some of the language that became common after returning to sea, but I'm sure I returned a better person. </p>
<p>Hopefully this helps you some, I see that it became a novela, so hopefully it isn't too long. Best of luck on your decisions and there are some very helpful people around to ask questions of as needed.</p>