The Bridge

Life Aboard a Ship

Today I’ll take you on a tour of the bridge as in on board the vessel. On board, the bridge is a place from where I navigate the ship. It is essentially subdivided into a chart room and wheel house and these days since the communications too has become a part of the navigating officers job, a communications space.
The chartroom is the place where the chart or the map of the region where the ship is placed. The position of the vessel is plotted regularly. The frequency of such plotting is more when she is near the coast than when she is mid ocean where there are less obstructions. A modern day gadget is the electronic plotter which indicates the position of vessel by a light on the chart and is interfaced with the GPS. The digital versions of charts are now available under a system known as ECDIS or the Electronic Charts Display and Information System. These are the digital charts which are easily updated by satellite. Apart from charts the chartroom has GPS which gives us the present position. There is a depth sounding device called the Echo Sounder. It works by sending the sound waves and timing the reflected waves from the bottom. Then there is a course recorder which records the course the vessel is steering. A relative new addition is the equivalent of the black box in jets and is called the Voyage Data Recorder. A comprehensive data logger which keeps records of all important data and is primarily for investigations following an accident.
The wheel house is forward of the chartroom and is separated by only curtains during the night. This is to ensure that the watchkeepers are able to see the far off lights without any interference from the chart room illumination. It essentially houses the steering wheel which is used during manual steering. The autopilot is used for steering while the vessel is at sea. There is an engine telegraph, which is used to increase or decrease the revolutions when maneuvering during arrival or departure at ports and anchorages. The various switches for steering motors, air horn and other accessories are on various panels located here. The front of the wheel house is a series of glass windows to ensure good visibility and is more like the wind shield of a vehicle.
Since the start of the millennium the communications too has become part of the navigating officer’s job. It was formerly the responsibility of the Radio officer. Here various satellite terminals and transceivers using terrestrial means of communications are located.
It is the bridge of a ship where the captain goes to take the vessel alongside or coming out of the harbor. It is the place of work for the navigating officers and the command station of the ship.I have spent many a working hours on the bridge of many a ships and hope to continue for as long as I can. It is from the bridge that I have viewed many beautiful sundowns at sea and spectacular views around the world.

Humor 360

A recent news in a National broadsheet. A group of persons hired as audience for a reality show were unhappy the way they were treated during the shoot.
So much for the “Reality Show” with a not so real audience.

There were two men at work near a park. One was digging a hole and the other was filling it up. A curious bystander who had been watching them for a while finally couldn’t stop himself from asking them as to what were they trying to do. The man filling the hole replied. Sir, we were a team of three. The supervisor had assigned the job to plant saplings at the perimeter of this park. We decided one of us would dig the hole, one would get the saplings and plant it and one would fill the hole up. It just so happens that the guy who was to plant the saplings has reported sick.

Today’s picture is of Portulaca in full bloom at our home.

The Portulaca

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A Life Free of Ego

Spirituality and Humor

The ego is born as soon as the child comes out of the mother’s womb. Though it starts manifesting itself only when one is in early teens and this limit must be heading southwards, I guess, like everything else in these times. The sad part is it doesn’t leave you even during your last days with Mother Earth. An old, fragile person though hardly able to carry out anything physical may be full of ego that may make a youth uncomfortable.
The ego is the cause of many an unhappiness in a person’s life. It is the ego which bars you from doing acts of kindness to fellow humans, or accept the fact that you had been wrong in whatever you were asking others to follow or to simply do things which are supposedly not suited for your stature or the position you hold, like cleaning the floor or doing the dishes and many other similar jobs, jobs not chores. It comes in the way of relationships.
The ego makes one live under a constant fear of being hurt, hurt which any one from a child to someone from the so called lower stratum of society can deliver. It is like living in an emotionally stooped manner under an invisible weight, lifelong. No one is seen to consciously make an effort to get rid of it, on the contrary it is encouraged in some personality development circles who argue that ego in healthy dose is good to achieve your ambition. I would like to differ. It is such a shortsighted view of things.
The egoist is shunned by all, though many may practice the art of sycophancy when dealing with him to achieve their ends, whatever those may be. An egoist never gets the true picture of how things are. He gets the distorted reports manipulated by sycophants. The result, the decisions are biased. The wealth and the associated stature fan the fire of egoism. So does the high position one may have in publiclife. However humble we may project ourselves to be in public but ego is the main reason of family businesses splitting. The ego in us make us take things for granted like how should we be treated by others, and when such treatment is not met, ego is easily hurt and leads to disappointment.
Yes, the ego free life would be an ideal life but can one achieve it by sheer perseverance, once one is convinced of merits of such a life. I would say no. It would not be possible by our efforts alone and we’ll get back to my “Total Surrender” post for some reference. We do need His help. Without his helping hand, it is impossible. Once the Ego starts leaving, you start feeling the pleasures of the weight being withdrawn, the weight that you had been carrying since way back when. Forget the way world wants to see you. Let the world see the way you want do things without a trace of ego, carrying out things much more productively and getting results which none of the Management Gurus ever dreamt of.
I personally experience it during my management at workplace and in life in general. I wouldn’t opt for any other way. It is such a nice and fulfilling feeling. The works which you have to struggle getting done with your share of ego can be done in relative ease, almost effortlessly and with a little more effort put in by the staff.
Taking the ego purging to the next level can mean not to hint it even in the body language. A person in authority tends to have his arms akimbo when getting things done. The same act of getting things done can be done without the hands on the hips and elbows jutting out and with a higher level of acceptability among the subordinates.
These thoughts may seem trivial but I have found them of immense importance and I am having a great new experience in this purging of the ego.

Humor 360

One person to another: It’s so easy to quit smoking, I have done it so many times.

One study shows that every country of the world is in debt. But where has all the money gone?

Today I bring you a picture from the Ocean.

The Turbulent Sea

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Carrying Cargoes

Life Aboard a Ship

The major trade of the world is by sea. The merchant vessels generally known as freighters as distinct from passenger ships make the transportation possible from one part of the globe to another.
The type I work on are the kind which carry stuff in bulk like coal, iron ore, grain etc. and hence known as Bulk Carriers. Today I’ll give you a sneak preview of all works and planning that goes behind carrying cargoes, from the time of fixing a cargo to when it is delivered to its rightful owners.
The moment any cargo is fixed the charterers or owners as the case may be ask the vessel how much would it be possible to load, given the fuel, freshwater, unpumpable ballast, constant (unknown weights) and stowage factor(volume occupied by one ton of cargo). All this is calculated and cargo distributed in holds (compartments in the ship where cargo is stowed) in the loading computer to ensure stresses and other parameters are within acceptable limits.
Once the cargo quantity is calculated and sent back to the charterers and voyage confirmed preparations for loading in the holds start, depending on the type of cargo. It basically requires a dry sweeping, and washing by high pressure water jet. I love this high pressure cleaning. It is so efficient and satisfying. If required to clean for high grade cargoes such cleaning is done to a higher standard.
On arrival load port, the holds are inspected by a surveyor who checks if the condition of the holds is acceptable to load the cargo that has been fixed. An initial draft survey is done to ascertain the displacement before loading and another one after completion of loading to arrive at figure of cargo loaded. After this go ahead, the vessel starts to load cargo as per the loading plan that had been prepared with due consideration to the fact that at no stage of loading, the maximum allowable stresses are exceeded. There have been instances when vessels have snapped into two, in port while loading. After the final draft survey, the Master signs the bill of lading, which is a kind of receipt for the cargo loaded and a second original serves as means of identification of the rightful owner of cargo at the discharge port. I love the sight of a fully laden ship, all battened up, ready to move out of the harbor and head for her port of destination to yet again deliver one more time what she has been delivering eversince her inaugural voyage.
On arrival at the discharge port the Master is presented by a Bill of lading or other legally acceptable instrument. Once he is satisfied as to the authenticity of the receiver, the discharge of cargo begins. Here too there are the two draft surveys to ascertain the quantity of cargo discharged. The discharge plan like the loading plan is followed, for the same reasons. Once the cargo is safely delivered to the receiver, the vessel is ready to start her preparation for next loading, the instructions for which would have been received by now.
As a result of the present economic downturn a number of ships had to be laid off due to lack of business. An indication of which was the number of vessels seen at anchorages off Singapore, till a few month ago, which is by far the world’s busiest port. That number has started to decrease, as I noticed during our last call at Singapore. An indication that the world trade is picking up again which is good news for each one of us, I guess.

Humor 360
Once a man was asked to make observations on the effect of breaking legs on a cockroach. He broke one leg, and he shouted “Move” and the roach started limping. He noted the roach starts limping when one leg is broken. He broke the second leg and roach started dragging. He made the observation in his notebook. After a couple of more leg breakings, he wrote the roach starts wobbling. And finally it was the turn of the last remaining leg. He broke it and shouted “Move” but the roach did not respond. After a little thought the man concluded that cockroach gets deaf when all it legs are broken.
I have just been back after just over six months at sea. I plan to be home for some time now as I would be building our home. I sure would blog more frequently now.

Today I bring you a picture of Mother Nature taken during a long drive not long ago.

I Wish I Had a Home Here

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Life Aboard a Ship: My First Voyage

My First Voyage

Life Aboard a Ship

After completing my training at T. S. Rajendra at Mumbai (formerly known as Bombay), I joined as an apprentice in Shipping Corporation of India in the winter of 1982. I remember there were four of us from that class of '82, who had joined M.V. Kalidas, berthed at Indira Docks in Mumbai. It was around nine in the evening. We were asked to go on deck the moment we boarded, so as to get the hang of things. It was a container vessel. None of us had a clue regarding the nature of operations being carried out. We were complete stangers in these new surroundings. It was quite a while before we were allowed into our cabins.
The next day we were to set sail for the ocean. After completion of loading, we secured the vessel for sea, and cast off to start my maiden voyage. Aquaba, Jordan was destined to be my first foreign port. For the first few days I could barely make out if she was moving because of "sea like mirror" conditions. Gradually, though vibrations from the main engines made me aware of her making headway.
This vessel was at that time a "cadet ship" with only a few old seamen in the deck side. There were fourteen of us cadets who did everything that is required of a seaman on board. It was a great learning experience. We made our usual newbie mistakes and the seniors had all the fun.
From Aquaba, it was Baltimore, my first port in the US of A. On the way we faced a severe storm in the Atlantic which gave us the first first hand experience of turbulance at sea. It was amusing at times to see everything moving uncontrollably from one side to the other as the vessel rolled. Some boys got sick. The working conditions became tough especially with huge waves pounding the main deck. We had to occasionally go and check the securing arrangement of containers lest they get washed away with the waves. It was pretty scary to be on deck with the angry ocean showing no signs of mercy. It was exciting at the same time, as such things are, at that age. Finally, we cleared the storm and berthed at Baltimore. It was the breathtaking Great lakes, with US on one side and Canada on the other, next in our voyage. We went right up to Duluth, Minnesota. It was great transiting the lakes even though we had to work round the clock while passing the locks.
That was my first ocean voyage and today many years later, I would soon be sailing another first as the person in command. A long voyage, I guess for the boy of eighteen then who will be meeting more boys of eighteen now, on their first voyage. I haven’t been sailing as much as I should have so as to be with the family, especially during the growing up years of our son. Now that he is a big boy, I guess I would be going to sea more often then I had been lately.
I was in Delhi late last month to fix my next employment. I would be leaving soon for my next assignment. Though it is going to be pretty hectic as a first time Captain, I am sure I would get some time to do a post once in a while.
The weather had been freaky this time here with “The Monsoons” arriving way too early and May being the new July this year.

On one of my brisk walking sessions while in Delhi, along the perimeter of a natural lake, I found this lucky bird in her front yard enjoying the sundown.

The Lake View Nest

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Humor

The grin that follows, the funny side of life, is always a welcome break from the supposedly serious matters which we pursue on a daily basis.
I remember a time when I was training on board T.S. Rajendra at Mumbai. An instructor had this peculiar habit of talking in plurals, so much so that we started calling him Mr. Sharma(s). He was great in his subject which was seamanship but not so much in English. One night some boys played a prank and hid bathroom slippers of a few cadets.
When it was reported to the duty instructor which happened to be Mr. Sharma(s), he mustered everyone, close to midnight and started his speech.
"It has been reported that some cadets have lost their left pairs of slippers and some have lost their right pairs. I request you to return both the pairs."
Everyone was grinning under their breath.
Once, three persons, a chemical engineer, a mechanical engineer and a Microsoft engineer were traveling together when their car broke down.
The chemical engineer suggested may be it is the impurities in the gasoline that has caused the problem. The mechanical engineer suspected overheating of the engine.
The Microsoft (Windows) engineer didn’t have a clue. He suggested, “Why don’t we close all Windows and open them back and may be it will work”.
Like it happens in the Windows OS.
A Dennis the menace cartoon quip I read lately, in which Dennis asks his mother aboard a jet. “Would it be alright to go to the bathroom while we are flying over the cities?”
Heard at the home of a Supreme Court judge.
The wife was scolding her husband over some petty matter. “Do you have any brains?”
The man who spent his whole life deciding the fate of many a lives was being questioned about his abilities at his own backyard.
A miser in an Indian small town, decided to fly kite on occasion of a festival. He went to the rooftop of his two storied house and while he was busy concentrating on the kite his feet slipped off the roof and he started falling down.
The miser that he was, during his free fall, while passing in front of the kitchen window, shouted to his wife, who was preparing the afternoon meal, not to make food for him as he would not need it now.
He was worried about unnecessary expenditure rather than his life even in these last moments.

Todays pick is the vegetable flowers.

The Onion Flowers

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Life Aboard a Ship: A Day in the Life of a First Mate

A Day in the Life of a First Mate

Life Aboard a Ship

The day of a First Mate or the Chief Mate as he is commonly known, begins at 0400 at sea. I arrange to be woken up at twenty minutes to four. After taking over watch from the second mate, who keeps the midnight to four watch, I head for a cup of tea. The cadet, who gets his training under my supervision, usually makes it unless he is too busy with something.
The planning starts the moment I am woken up and continues till I go back to bed. It is an integral part of a Mate’s life, for no work however small, can be accomplished, without a fair amount of planning and anticipating the difficulties one may encounter. I think I get paid for thinking on board. It is in ways similar to a job of a housewife who is expected to do everything and manage within the resources available to her. My notebook comes in very handy in all this and I often wonder how I managed things during pre notebook days.
The incharge of the crew, the Boatswain or Bosun in short, comes up on the bridge at about seven and I tell him what is on my mind for the day. Together we do a little discussion and agree on a final plan.
After breakfast, at eight, I change into my coveralls and go for a general round of the vessel, to check everything is, as it should be. Once planning is done, it is time to execute and monitor the plan.
After lunch, I take a short nap and get up for tea at 1500. Take another round on deck to see that the work is going as expected and resolve difficulties, if any. I go back on my navitgational watch on bridge at 1600 until 2000. The bousun and the fitter (if on board), report at 1800 about the jobs done during the day and I note it down in my works diary.
Dinner on board is at 1800 and after finishing watch if there is not much of a backlog , I go down to the lounge to be together with other ship mates. I usually end the day by 2200 so that I can start the next day afresh at 0400.
This is the typical day when things have gone more or less as expected which is not very often, especially in older vessels. I remember a time when we had arrived at Richard’s bay in South Africa and the moment we docked we noticed a hole in her forepeak tank. The hole was very small and it took us a while to locate it. I was there the whole night and most of the following day. My wife who was sailing with me, got worried. She asked the radio officer, “Have you seen my husband? I haven’t seen him for over a day.”
Life is tough but it has got its own rewards. A hard day’s of work gives you a sense of satisfaction. You feel great after a job well done.
I love the sea. I have spent most part of my adult life there. I would continue to sail till I can and enjoy heading towards where the ocean meets the sky.

Today I bring you this picture of love.

A calf showing some affection

Humor 360

Life is full of humor. A funny incident here and a one liner there. It is medicine for the stress we encounter each day. So let me start right away with some serious humor, part experienced myself and part forwarded.
Years ago, as a second mate aboard a tanker, I had my wife join me on board. She came in Livorno, Italy. As it happened to be hours away from Pisa with it’s famous tower, we decided to go for a visit. As expected we took some photographs. Some were taken by me and some by her. As she took my pictures with the cathedral in the background her hand shook and we had a picture with a leaning cathedral.
The British Cadet who saw the photograph said to my wife, “Either you were drunk while you took this or is it the Leaning Cathedral of Pisa”.
We could not help but smile at his remark.
A few years ago I was trying to learn Flash with Matthew Pizzi and others’, Flash MX unleashed. It is a book which has some great humor besides some great content. One of the observations made was, Thermos flask is a great invention. It helps to keep the hot liquids hot and cold liquids cold. But how does it figure out which one to keep hot and which one cold.
A commercial I saw on television a month ago. A young girl leaves her newly bought ripped jeans on the bed and goes for a shower. While she is in the bathroom her mother comes to her room, to keep something and looks at the jeans which are ripped. She shakes her head at their condition. Thinking the jeans are torn, sews them and puts them back before the daughter is out.
A rip signifies different things to different generations, I guess.
On my last ship, the Captain had just taken over for the first time and it was his second day as incharge. We were in Corpus Christi, US of A and had to offload some garbage to shore facilities. The garbage was collected by the garbage van and the driver came up to the captain’s cabin for collecting cash for the services.
While the captain was counting money, the garbage man initiated some small talk. “How long you have been Captain?”, he asked.
I being there at the door, the Captain gave me an embarrassed look and then to him and said two days and laughed.
The garbage man thought he was kidding and joined us in our laugh.





I leave you with the picture of lily at our home in full bloom.