Did a lot of work in port on this trip. We got into Richmond late on Tuesday, and immediately went to work bringing down the starboard boiler. Some contractors would be in to work on the furnace refractory on Wednesday and Thursday, so we needed to start ahead of time to allow the inside of the boiler to cool enough that people can work inside without melting. Most of this is accomplished by removing most of the water from the boiler, but you can't just open the bottom blow drain and empty it (as the tubes would likely melt), so its a patient process of waiting for pressures and temperatures to come into line and removing water as quickly as you can safely. By about 0330 we had it drained well enough that we could let it sit until morning.
The next morning there was a lot of activity going on. We were taking on fuel, assisting the boiler contractors, repacking and replacing several valves that can't really be touched while the boiler is on line, and then preparing for the shift from Richmond to Oakland. Once the shift was complete we were planning to bring down the other boiler for some general maintenance over the whole plant. While this had been known for weeks and the Chief Engineer had specifically notified the office several days earlier that they would need a shore power generator on the dock (since, if both boilers are down there's no steam, and if there's no steam there's no way to run the onboard turbo-generators). It seemed like there was a lot of delay in planning, and when we finally got to Richmond they decided we should load the generator on board. This of course creates a serious problem with exhaust as large (>3000 KW and the size of a semi-trailer) diesel generators are not clean machines and could easily asphyxiate the entire deck in minutes. Someone from the office showed up after we got to Oakland with a bunch of collapsible stove pipe, with the intent of running the exhaust thru the pipe and out one of the side ports, but there wasn't enough, so it just channeled the exhaust into one spot from which it could easily billow through the rest of the deck. And since there were 2 Rolls-Royce Sedans, and brand new Mercedes SL, and an original Ford GT within 50 feet of the generator, it was finally decided to scrub the whole project. But of course the generator had already been loaded on board, and so would have to make the whole trip over to Hawaii and back at several thousand dollars a day, sitting. All of which just goes to show that, yes, "The Office" here is the same as it is anywhere else.
So a large part of the engine room remained on standby for 4 hours while all of this was going on, prepared to bring down the boiler, but actually doing nothing. Which kind of excluded much up the street time Wednesday as well. This marked two 16 hour days in a row for me, which aren't terrible, but do kind of suck, especially when you get $30 / day, whether you work overtime or not. Of course, I also get $30 / day whether I spend the day drinking on the beach or not, so I guess it all balances out quite well.
Thursday I was knocked off in the morning and got the hell away, though, as I was ready for some off the boat time. Hung out in Frisco again, and finally caught up with Shawn's friend Carrie, which was a nice opportunity to just sit on a couch and watch a movie and reflect on how quiet it is in the real world, as opposed to on the ship where you can never get away from some pretty loud low level hum at all times. Also discovered from Chet that nearby in Mountain View is one of the Simpson's inspired 7-11's converted to a Quickie Mart, so hopefully I'll make it by to check out that surprisingly inspired marketing ploy, and buy some Duff beer and a Squishy.
Got back the next day to work on the steering gear, where the followup control (which consider it the power steering module of the steering system) had broken earlier. So we had to empty out the hydraulic sump for the technicians to get in and work on it, and make a new gasket and just generally keep things organized and clean. At the same time was getting the boiler up and on-line and getting ready to leave that afternoon. So it was a pretty busy day.
I was put on the 8-12 watch to work with the new 3rd engineer who had just joined, and had less than a year sailing, to help him learn the plant. Basil is a cool guy and we talked about guitars and sailing and other good stuff. The 8-12 watch is pretty mellow. The main duties are maintenance on the evaporator and blowing soot from the boiler tubes, which is done every morning at sea. So I've been getting up at 8 and working with the new 1st (Paul) until 12 and then standing the night watch from 8-12. Paul the 1st has been real good to work with. Mostly we've been doing basic maintenance and repair, which is pretty typical 1st engineer stuff. One thing I've noticed, Paul is a permanent 1st as opposed to Chris who I worked with earlier who was a relief 1st, so he is more inclined to make major decisions about the plant and is very concerned about keeping the system running smoothly, keeping the engine room clean and organized, and other housekeeping things like that. He is very patient and tries to explain why he's doing anything he does (not just to me, but to the other engineers, the juniors, the wiper, etc.) which makes him an excellent guy to work with as a cadet.
One of the jobs we did on the way over was to clean the molasses strainers, which was a dirty slightly stupid job, but not too bad overall. I think I've mentioned already that the ship has a large tank for carrying molasses in addition to containers and vehicles. The molasses is a waste product of the sugar plantations and it mostly goes back to the states to be used in animal feed. When pumping it off there are hard deposits that form in the strainers that will plug up the pump, and eventually the strainers making it impossible to get the product off. So the strainers are cleaned every two weeks (after pumping off) whether they are particularly dirty or not, to keep from developing a problem. This mostly involves using a plastic scoop (like a hotel ice machine scoop) or (if you don't feel like messing around) your hands, with gloves on of course, to pull out all of the hardened molasses. Like I said, dirty and slightly annoying, but not too bad.
Also had what is likely to be our last barbeque for a while, as I'm told the captain that is replacing this one doesn't usually bother to have them. Which is fine, because its really a perk I didn't expect and can be satisfied with only having them on half of the trips.
Wanted to talk a bit about ship board culture, such as it is. It's not too much of a stretch to say that most of us are slightly odd, and you don't decide you'll spend months at a time away from home with little human contact besides other people like you if you're possessed of exceptional social skills. Most of us are at least partially loners, in that we don't mind sitting and having a conversation or a drink with some of the other guys (especially in port) but are pretty easily satisfied spending our off time privately in our own rooms.
There's also a culture of honesty that's a bit disarming if you aren't used to it. In fact if someone was wearing an incredibly ugly shirt and you *didn't* say something about it, you would be thought strange. I guess most people are used to the sort of good-natured ball-busting that occurs in most workplaces which I observed in all of my employment experiences from pizza joints to plastic plants to General Motors Engineering. And you're likely all used to the way you frequently interact with your "work" friends as opposed to your real friends, which is tolerable, but a little strange and false in its overly emphasized vulgarity and one-upsmanship. Well imagine that environment for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for 120 days, and its easy to see how sailors sometimes have trouble relating with people back on shore. The atmosphere isn't really all that different, its just more intense because of the amount of time everyone is immersed in it.
For the same reason, there really is no privacy on ships. Pretty much everyone knows everything, especially if you screwed something up, and that first trip into the mess after will be difficult, and probably every single person you see that day will mention it. Most of this has to do with how small the social network is. It doesn't take long for word to travel, and usually you do it to yourself without realizing it. Again, think about the things you've revealed about your life to cow-orkers just over occassional lunches and coffee breaks, and then imagine being stuck with them for over a month straight, and it easy to see how you can get to know people pretty well without even trying.
There is a bit more of a sense of hierarchy than in corporate culture, but considerably less than the military. An order from the Captain really does mean something. And insubordination is grounds not only for termination of employment but a review by the Coast Guard. Mostly, though, people are used to and comfortable with their roles and so it doesn't come up, and you wouldn't really notice it that often.
There is a bit of a culture of drinking and failed marriages, its true. But there are exceptions here as well, so its not really a sentence but more a caveat. Almost all of the guys work on some other job or pursuit when they are on shore as well. For instance, Paul works as a general construction contractor back in Boston, Rob owns and operates a farm in North Central California, The radio officer has a ranch where he raises alpacas. No shortage of musicians and madmen either. Again, it feels like home.
Mostly its just a bunch of guys (and a few women) who are all just trying to put in their time, and have recognized that sailing for them is a great compromise to get to spend their off time living the life they really want to live on shore. Almost all of the relief guys I've talked to don't work more than about 5 months a year, and usually most of that in one hitch.
Anyway, back in Hawai'i tomorrow. More next week.
I've always thought of Michael Bay (Hollywood director of the Transformers and more notably and notoriously of Armageddon and Pearl Harbor) as more of a film-processing machine than as a director. Before you get ahead of me here, this isn't a slam, and I'm not here to rip on Pearl Harbor, though it may well deserve it. I've never shared the consuming hatred that most film buffs have for Bay, though many of his films have been sub-par. To me, Bay exists to translate screenplays into slick-looking, quick cut action loaded films, and in this way he mirrors Hollywood very closely. When he is given a good script like "The Rock" he creates a good slick-looking, quick cut action film. When he is given a script that is mediocre, he creates a mediocre slick-looking, quick cut action film. And when he's given a script like "Pearl Harbor", well we've all seen what happens then.
But can you really blame Michael Bay for "Pearl Harbor"? (I use quotes to distinguish the film, as I'm pretty sure you can't blame him for the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941). Sure, a better action director (I'm thinking of James Cameron or David Finchner or Ridley Scott, really just anyone who's made an Alien film) might have noticed the severe shortcomings in the script and barring that might have noticed the very bad acting that was happening in the reading of the script, but its not like this is a new phenomenon.
And can you really give Bay credit for "The Rock"? Look at the actors, Sean Connery, Nick Cage, Ed Harris. That's 3 Academy award nominees starring in a popcorn movie. The writers don't have a lot of other impressive credits going for them, but its clear that much of the strength of the movie is in the dialogue between Cage and Connery.
There is a school of thought that a film director is different from any other artist, in that he can take the work of many other people to create a piece of art reflecting his own viewpoint, such that independent of the contributions of the writers or actors or technicians, he becomes the "author" of the film. And since the whole discussion started in France with the New Wave of the 50s and 60s, this is referred to by its French name "Auteur". And there are examples of Auteur directors, from Goddard to Hitchcock, whose films bear a definite look and unmistakable point of view, independent of subject matter. There are some modern parallels as well, though most directors who would really fit into this category also write the screenplays for their pictures, making the distinction more vague.
But the problem with auteur theory is that it seems to assume that every director is an auteur, or author of his own picture, and even more, this idea has crept into the movie-going consciousness or even into the subconscious, so that directors often get credit and blame for things they really had little to do with. Bay himself has said several times that he makes movies for teenaged boys. Sometimes, movies aimed at teenaged boys can be very interesting, but character development is rarely high on their priority list (OK, it was for me, but I'll accept being and exception).
Which brings me to "The Transformers" which I just watched last week in Hawai'i. I watched the cartoon as a kid, like everyone in my age group, but was pretty well over it by the time I was 13, opting for shows (or even better books) with much better characters and stories. But I had a small amount of nostalgia for the show that didn't make me averse to seeing the film. But I didn't go in expecting to like it just because it had giant robots.
It was quite good, mostly due to terrific writing. Of course, there were several of those typical action movie moments where you wonder why the characters are doing this or that, but that is really to be expected in the action movie genre and shows up in the best of them. But the characters were well written and very funny, and the over the top saving the world pathos contained in any predominantly male kid's cartoon program was kept sparingly brief. There were a few too many characters to keep track of, but this is also an normal action movie flaw (especially in modern times). The characters that were there though were well-written and well-acted and spent very little time annoying me. One possible exception was Megan Fox's Mikkayla. One of the above named directors that pays more attention to actors would probably have offered her some direction freeing her from her standard choice which is to be quiet looking beautiful and inappropriately sullen. But, then, it didn't seem that the writers really knew what to do with her character either, being the required action movie heroine that otherwise didn't have much stake in the story (apart from saving the world, or course).
But most of these complaints are nitpicky in the scheme of a very well shot movie with fantastic writing and stunning visual effects. I wouldn't think of it come Oscar time, but the film is highly recommended as a summer popcorn movie. So I am without reservation recommending a movie directed by Michael Bay. I'm just not giving him all of the credit for it. He certainly deserves credit for the look of the action scenes and the excellent blending of effects and live action, but the same could be said for Pearl Harbor, which is really the point. Michael Bay did his job, and as long as Hollywood keeps putting out scripts that are better than brain dead, he will continue making good movies. Let's just not expect him to make a bad script into a good movie.
Happy Independence Day! Got not one but two fireworks shows in Honolulu, after I'd been told that Hawai'i didn't really celebrate as much as other places.
First night in town, went to a little dive called Hank's Cafe. What a great place. Its probably the smallest bar I've been in (about the same size as the 1906 Earthquake place in Oakland), and Tuesday nights a couple of English guys (or blokes I suppose) stand around drinking and playing mostly Beatles covers. They've built up quite a band as well, though I get the sense that it changes from week to week, and you can tell that just about everyone in the place knows each other, which makes me the weird guy, but they didn't seem to mind to much. Listened to some fun music, had some weird conversations with a bunch of people, got cajoled into putting down my beer and singing a few songs (which were well received or at least nothing was thrown at me) and invited to come back next week. Which is impossible as I'll be on the other side of the ocean, but the week after, its a plan. This was one of the recommendations from Kim and I'm so glad she said it, I probably never would have found the place with her telling me (though I tend to run into little places like this pretty frequently, so maybe I should say I wouldn't have found it so quickly).
The rest is a similar story, wandered around the city, saw fireworks, had a lot of beer bought for me by the engineers who were off and enjoyed the hell out of myself. In other exciting news: I bought a ukulele! I've been going a little crazy not having my guitar with me, but it was just too crazy trying to get it through on the plane and carry it with me to the boat when I didn't even know where I was staying. So I had some cash left over and just decided to go for it. I love the little thing, its cute and fun to play, and I'm slowly learning how. Not too different from guitar, but you have to get used to how small it is and all the different chord forms.
Went back to the morning watch and 8-12 work watch schedule this week. Got a new spectrometer for doing boiler chemistry tests, so the 2nd and I spent some time checking it out and comparing the results to the previous machine. Did some more Excel computer work for the Chief. Starting to settle into a routine, which is good. Anyway, we get into Richmond tomorrow, and it will be a long day, so I'm off to bed.
Figured I'd talk about the crew this week, since many of you might not know how a ship like this is crewed.
There are three departments aboard most ships, Deck, Engine, and Steward. The Deck department is responsible for navigation, cargo, and the management of the ship. The Engine department is responsible for the operation and maintenance of all of the ship's machinery. The Steward department is responsible for preparing meals, cleaning, and hotel functions.
There are 13 positions in the Deck department. Here they are:
1. Master
2. Chief Mate
3. 2nd Mate
4. 3rd Mate
5. Radio Officer
6. Bosun
7-11. AB
12. OS
13. Deck Cadet
The Master is the Captain of the vessel. He is responsible for everyone on the vessel, and the articles (the agreement under which all sailors are bound to the vessel) are an agreement with him.
The Mates each stand a navigation watch, either 8-12 (AM and PM), 12-4 (ditto), or 4-8. Typically, the Chief Mate is the 4-8 watch, the 2nd is the 12-4 and the 3rd is the 8-12. They are responsible for the navigation of the vessel and cargo on their watch, and each has other specific duties as well, for example, the 2nd makes sure all the clocks are set to match the current time zone, and the 3rd operates the slop chest (a small general store on board with toiletries, snacks, and souvenirs that is open once a week).
The Radio Officer is responsible for all of the ships communications equipment. These positions have been disappearing over the years, but there is some sign of a resurgence. REOs were originally on board because the radio equipment was added after the ship was built and so was in a location remote from the pilothouse, requiring someone to man the radio and report to the bridge. However, smaller equipment and more modern vessels means that there has been less need for this part of the job. In recent years, though, computer technology and communications equipment like satellite email and internet services have required more specialized services. The jury is still out on the fate of the Radio Officer's, but I could see a need as more systems are automated and computer-based.
The Bosun is in charge of the deck gang. He is not an officer, but is still a supervisor, similar to a foreman on a job site, or a Seargeant in the Army. The ABs (Able-bodied Seamen) and the OS (Ordinary Seaman) work under the direction of the Bosun, although they are often assigned to watches as helmsmen. The do basic vessel maintenance like painting and cleaning, as well as mooring and cargo operations.
The Engine department has 12 positions
1. Chief Engineer
2. 1st Assistant Engineer
3. 2nd A/E
4. 3rd A/E #1
5. 3rd A/E #2
6. Electrician
7. Reeferman
8-10. Jr. Engineer
11. Wiper
12. Engine Cadet
The Chief is the head of the Engine department and spends a lot of his time doing paperwork. He is also required to be in the engine room during any maneuvering situations.
The 1st Assistant is the lead working engineer. He typically works days from 8-5 and sets the worklist for the other engineers, along with doing general maintenance all over the ship. He is responsible for the throttles during maneuvering.
The other Assistant Engineers each stand a watch, overseeing the plant while underway and doing repairs and maintenance to the plant. Each A/E is responsible for the entire plant on his watch, but they also have specific parts they are in charge of, for example, one of the 3rds looks after the evaporator and operates the sootblowers, the 2nd is responsible for the boilers and fueling, etc.
The Electrician (he's actually called the Chief Electrician although he's the only one) is responsible for electrical work. The Refrigeration Technician works not only on the ship's refrigeration and AC system but more importantly on the container refrigeration systems that protect refrigerated cargo.
The Jr. Engineers each work on a watch and assist the Engineer on Watch as directed. They typically take readings from equipment, add oil to machinery and other odd jobs.
The Wiper is responsible for cleaning and grunt work in the engine room. He works days, and is usually very dirty by the end of it.
The Steward department has 4 positions
Chief Steward
Chief Cook
Asst. Cook
Officer's BR
The Chief Steward heads the department, plans the menus, orders supplies, and oversees all galley operations. The Chief Cook is responsible for cooking most of the meals. The Asst. cook helps with salad bar and dessert as well as cleaning dishes. I don't have any idea what the Officer's BR billet is reserved for. We don't have the room filled currently and I'm guessing it is a spare room that needed to be assigned to some department.
In addition there are frequently 1 or 2 stocktenders on board, who tend to their animals, and being customers eat in the Officer's Mess. There is also an "Owner's Stateroom" that can be used for guests, company personnel, technicians, and other non-crew passengers. So altogether, when underway there are at least 27 and as many as 34 people on board.
In trip news, we got into Richmond, CA late early Wednesday morning. This is a small area north of the Bay. We were only there for about a day and I spent the morning working with the 2nd on taking on fuel, so I just went out for a drink with the Radioman and went back to the ship. We shifted the ship to Oakland later that night. The next morning I took the BART train to San Francisco and wandered around all day. Had a good time, got to catch up with some of my favorite places and find a few new ones. Then wandered back and hung out at a cool little bar in Jack London Square in Oakland. Its a historical landmark, as a little shack dive bar and the entire floor shifted to a 20 degree angle in the 1906 earthquake. Just a cool little spot to grab a beer, and weirdly enough I met a woman from Michigan there who had just moved into the area so that was cool. Took off the next day around 1 PM.
This week we got a new 2nd Engineer, so I spent most of the week on watches day and night helping him learn the plant. He had been doing mostly 1st A/E time on diesel ships, so he needed a little time to come up to speed on water chemistry, but by the end of the week he had it well in hand. Hawai'i tomorrow, and I saved money from San Francisco, so I should be in better shape to spend this time.