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MaritimeLinks.net (a must see site) brings us what is reportedly “The Worlds Sexiest Sextant” or less smashingly called the Cassens & Plath Horizon Ultra. Why? Here’s their answer:

WIRED magazine ran an article that was a real surprise to me: It was about a sextant, and a very good looking sextant at that! This old school navigational device has some sexy styling that any nautical buff would be proud to get their hands on. Take a look at the story and the picture of this excellent piece of retro nautical tech. Read More

Wired’s Take: [Continue Reading →]

Each year hundreds of cadets graduate America’s Maritime Academies looking for a Third Mate job with the country’s best shipping companies. Polar Tankers, Transocean, Matson… the names don’t change and the number of positions set aside for newly licensed officers rarely widen. Only the top cadets will win these spots, the rest are left to join unions or sail with less respected companies. While not making the cut seems like a sure path to becoming Giligans next skipper, you may actually end up better off than your classmate. Here are the Top 10 reasons why:

10 - A Learning Experience

Sure the new Vessel Management and Integrated Bridge Systems sound impressive but Captains are not looking for a mate that knows what buttons to press on a console, they are looking for someone who can think through what happens when the buttons are pressed. Years studying manuals is simply not as effective as months spent tracing cargo lines and rebuilding values.

9 - Management Skills

A chief mate is only as good as his crew. On the Rusting Rover, undermanned and in poor condition, even the simplest jobs can quickly because an “All Hands” event with mates and seaman doing the jobs together. By working closely with the crew you learn what makes them tick; knowledge that will serve you well later in your career.

8 - Networking

While the Marine Superintendant knows a lot about the fleet’s new ship he is more likely to have sailed the rest bucket. All companies have a ship “everyone” has sailed “back in the day” and by merely mentioning your rig it won’t be difficult to get them sharing sea stories at the next company picnic.

7 - Hard Work Gets Recognized

The reason Joe Perfect got the job with Polar is because companies recognize it takes a lot of hard work to get a 3.9 GPA and Joe will likely work just as hard for the company… but as the old joke goes; “What do you call the last member of the graduating class? Mate!” Five years into your career no one will ask what your GPA was. What they will say is ” wow, you spent 5 years repairing leaks on our worst ship. You must be a had worker.”

6 - Learn Different Ships

Your new company may not have the impressive pay scale of Transocean but it may have more flexibility is ship assignments. While the offshore king has only semis and the more coveted Drillings, traditional shipping companies have contracts aboard a wide range of vessels. The breadth of your experience is what will get you a master’s job by age 30, not your previous pay scale.

5- World Travel

The best ships of the biggest companies have the high dollar contracts. Matson isn’t going to send it’s best ship tramping around SE Asia, it will be put on a liner run to Hawaii. The M/V Rust Bucket, however, will take grain to Africa then refit to pick up containers in Singapore.

4 - Failure

Failure is the best learning device. With skyhigh dayrates the gem of the fleet is rigged against failure. With redundant designs, new equipment and the company willing to pay expensive 3rd party contractors at the first sign of trouble the mate aboard the gem of the fleet is unlikely to be tested with failure. Conversely Danny Salt, three voyages away from the trip to {insert shipbreaker} has a much better chance to witness critical failures at the worst possible times. These failures will test his ability and he will grow with the experience.

3 - Beats Working 9-5

The facts are in and the jury has convened, shipboard “managers” are now spending more time behind the computer than hitting the deck and junior mates aboard new ships can now spend weeks sitting in control rooms, bridges and chart rooms. This puts them at a disadvantage. When the big cargo tank needs to be mucked in August and the stripping pump dies will the Chief Mate know how to fix it? Can he accurately determine when the guys are at their breaking points? Will he have the self-confidence and knowledge to grab his boots and help the guys fix the pump?

2 -This is great!!

Read any blog on the topic of happiness, productivity or selling yourself for a promotion and the key ingredient is a positive attitude. Nobody like to hear the new Captain say “On the M/V Pride of the Fleet, we did this or had that!” while every sole aboard will appreciate the one who says “WOW you guys run a top notch operation her on the M/V Pride Of The Fleet, I’m so glad to be here.” Your outlook, job satisfaction and motivation to get things done will be higher when upgrading to a new vessel than moving down to the Rust Bucket that has a ten page deficiency list.

1 - Meeting new people

No one stays longer than they have to aboard the M/V Bucket ‘o Rust. From unqualified or inept people hired off the street to the fleet’s best captain who’s asked to do one hitch as a company favor, the number of short service employees is going to be highest on the worst ship. For better or worse each person who passes through your ship will have a lesson to teach even if the next captain’s only purpose in life is to serve as a warning to others.

No Worries Mate

So before you get too depressed about your 2.0 GPA and graduation just months away, lower your standards and reap the rewards later in your career. For a wise old bosun once told me; “Never trust a Captain that doesn’t smoke like a chimney, drink like a fish or has never sailed a working ship.”

Congrats to gCaptain contributer Richard Rodriguez for the recent syndication of his post on whaling protests by Reuters. Next stop a Pulitzer for his coverage of the Washington State Ferry dibacles on his blog The BitterEnd.

For more of gCaptain at the news stand be sure to check out the next issue of Sail Magazine for an article by our very own cp-founder, John Konrad (with much help and advisment from Panbo).

INTERVIEW WITH USCG RESCUE HELICOPTER CREW

This past July, in a gCaptain and Robin Storm exclusive, we brought you the Lessons Learned by North Atlantic freak wave survivor Jean Pierre de Lutz. Just two months prior to that article Jean was aboard the sailboat Sean Seamor II when he found trouble in the north Atlantic. In the final logbook entry he writes:

On or around 7 May 2007 the s/v Sean Seamour II was struck by a what is believed to be a “freak wave”, during Subtropical Storm Andrea. The sailboat was broadsided by a wave that did an great deal of damage to the boat and sent the crew flying about the cabin doing 360’s and causing its Master to break his ribs. The wave caused the sailboat to immediately list starboard.

After a harrowing time riding the waves a EPIRB signal was received by the USCG and a C-130 over fight located the wave riding crew. A J-Hawk Helicopter was dispatched to the area and launched a rescue swimmer, who injured his back during the insertion into the water, when a wave dropped from beneath him and he dropped some 50 to 70 feet. All of this done in 50 to 70 foot seas, with winds estimated at 80 knots.

Today we bring you an MAIS Podcast interview with the entire crew of the J-Hawk Helicopter that came to their rescue. It’s a story of survival in nature’s harshest conditions so be sure to listen.

THE HEROS

Aviation Survival Technician Second Class Drew D. Dazzo, H-60 Rescue Swimmer
Lieutenant Commander Nevada A. Smith, H-60 Aircraft Commander
Lieutenant Junior Grade Aaron G. Nelson, H-60 Copilot
Aviation Maintenance Technician Second Class Scott D. Higgins, H-60 Flight Mechanic

Read the Award Ceremony Minutes HERE.

THE VIDEO

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEESqfWxYIE[/youtube]

Background Reading

• 10 Lessons Learned For Sailing in Severe Weather
• s/v Sean Seamour II - the final log entry
• Rogue Waves - A Call To Action
• EPIRB Failure aboard the “Sean Seamour”
• Top 10 Rescue at Sea Videos from the U.S. Coast Guard
• The Deadliest Catch - Rogue Wave Edition
• The Sean Seamour III

MAIS Special Report - Rescue on The High Seas;

 

 Messing About In Ships Podcast #12 - Special Interview of US Coast Guard Rescue of Sailors Aboard the Yacht Sean Seymour II: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Youtube commentary;

While sailing on San Francisco Bay we had a close encounter with a container ship. The container ship honked at the other sailboat. We had space to turn…but when we tried the container ship blocked our wind. That captain was a hell of a driver! He threaded between our two little sailboats.

I don’t think I need to comment on these boaters but I will say if you’re a boater and sail in an area of heavy ship traffic head over to the Bitterend End blog an soak up some collision avoidance knowledge. You can start here: VTS - Working with large vessels

Over the next few weeks we are going to be sharing gift ideas. So if you have a loved on who is a Captain, Mate, Engineer or just a boater sailing the ocean keep an eye on our new Gifts Section.

Our first pick is a device that has made my life at sea significantly more enjoyable, the Tivo DVD Burner. Sure you could buy a video ipod which we also highly recommend but nothing is better than having a device connected to your TV, downloading TV shows for FREE.

The best part is how easy this unit is to use. It hooks up and operates just like a normal TIVO allowing you to pause and record live TV but insert a blank DVD-R/RW and it burns your shows to a disk he can take with him to work.

Bonus features:

• The Burned DVD’s work on any DVD play.
• The unit can record and burn movies from HBO, Starz…
• If your tivo runs out of space simply burn the extra shows to DVD and keep them for later.
• Select the option “Season Pass” and tivo will record the entire season of your show to disc. Perfect for catching up on series while you were away at sea.
• DVD’s are cheap to mail. Send your the burned DVD’s to his ship’s agent at the next port of call and we promise he will be the most popular guy on movie night.
• The unit also lets you transfer and burn movies from your old camcorder to DVD.

[Continue Reading →]

Ships have been around for thousands of years but it’s interesting to note that most of the traditional names have survived. We know that not all our viewers at gCaptain.com are lifelong sailors so here is a short lesson for you! (Parts of a Ship)

I was recently on deck with a mate I work with and while faking a mooring line his USB stick fell out of his pocket and onto the deck. After being stepped on by an AB and serendipitously finding a puddle of saltwater the look on the mate’s face was priceless. He knew that moment his data was lost.

My first reaction was “What idiot brings his valuable computer information on deck?” but my second thought has proved more productive… “Is there a USB drive made to the same standards as the Panasonic Toughbook“.

Luck for the mate’s future data the answer is yes. The device is the “Cosair Survivor Flash Drive” and from the test I’ve seen it works.

Here’s what Maximum PC says about the drive;

The 8GB Flash Survivor GT, after all, is shock and water resistant—and if your service automatic runs out of ammo, you can even fling its hard aluminum body at someone’s head. But how does it perform?

Quite well, actually. Older keys can deliver great speeds with medium and large files but are painfully slow when transferring small ones. The Survivor GT, however, is speedy with all file sizes in both reading and writing tests. So if you need to copy that PowerPoint presentation off of Salazar’s laptop before the building explodes, this is the thumb drive for you. The Survivor GT handily beats the original Flash Voyager GT in all our read and write tests.

We also tested the Survivor by dunking it in boiling water, freezing it, flinging it against a concrete wall, burning it with a butane torch, dropping it down four flights of stairs, and attaching it to a car muffler during a lunch outing, and it, well, survived. It didn’t look pretty in the end, but the data was still intact. Read More…

While the Corsair Survivor seems like the perfect solution for professional mariners, boaters and sailors it does come at a high price. The 8gb model sells for $99 and the extra large 16gb drive will set you back $199.

Amazon Links:
“Cosair Flash Survivor 8GB USB Flash Drive” (Corsair)
“Corsair 64816 Flash Survivor 16GB Flash Drive” (CORSAIR VALUE SELECT)

Video:

I wanted to take some time and thank some of our partner sites; Maritime Experts from around the web. I also wanted to take the time to explain each one to our readers. The sites can be found at the bottom of the right sidebar —>

This is Part 2 of our series and concentrates on sites devoted to near coastal (boating) sites. When you are finished reading revisit Part 1; Big Ships.

Bitter End Blog

Formerly know as Maritime Ramblings this blog is written by Richard Rodriguez who also happens to be one of our most prolific contributers and winner of our last contest. Richard mixes stories about his adventures as a vessel asist Captain with interesting maritime news of the day as well as local Seattle area waterfront happenings. The blog is interesting, well written and updated frequently giving it the gCaptain seal of approval.

Panbo

From the newest VHF radios to the latest AIS information if your looking for goodies for your boat Panbo is the place to visit. What I like most about panbo is they always consider unlimited vessels in their reviews of small boat electronics. If every boater was a reader of this blog I would certainly feel more confident brining my ship into places like Port Everglades, the Puget Sound or even San Diego. Highlights of the site (from the unlimited tonnage perspective) include Digital Charting, AIS and pilot ride-along sections.

Sea Fever

I grappled with the decision of whether to categorize this site as “Big Ship” or coastal since it contains lots of interesting articles for us unlimited seafarers. The decision was made after reading the author, John Masefield’s Peter Mello’s, excellent “About the Blog(ger)” section. To quote, “The Sea-Fever blog is a work in progress that will cover subjects that interest me, professionally and personally. Topics will include maritime heritage and cultural initiatives, corporate social responsibility”. A great blog that’s on my daily reading list.

Tugster

This site is not about small pleasure craft, it is about New York Harbor’s working side. The site is filled with interesting pictures and commentary on the blue collar boats and ships that keep the harbor running. It’s a great site that first time visitors can spend hours reading, especially if (like me) they have roots in NYC’s maritime community.

Marine Firefighting Newsletter

Along with Tugster, Tom Guldner’s Marine Firefighting Newsletter has roots in New York Harbor. Tom was a New York City firefighter and worked a wide range of assignments including the FDNY’s fire boats and rescue trucks. This is not a blog, so it isn’t updated on a regular basis but it does contain valuable information that will help keep your crew safe in an emergency.

Honorable Mentions:

Navagear

Navagear gets left off our blog roll for the simple reason that it does not contain enough information relevant to our core audience; Ship Captains. Otherwise it is a great site that I read on a regular basis.

You can see the best stories from all the above blogs, as voted on by gCaptain readers, at our Maritime News Discoverer. Have a maritime blog post you would like to share, submit it now.

In a gCaptain exclusive we were able to discuss the May 2007 abandonment of the s/v Sean Seamour II with her captain Jean Pierre de Lutz. This story was first brought to us by Robin Storm, Marine Salvage Specialist and Maritime Severe Weather Spotter.

The Background Story

Here is a clip to bring you up to date on the Sean Seamour’s voyage but for the full story visit Robin’s coverage of the incident: LINK

On or around 7 May 2007 the s/v Sean Seamour II was struck by a what is believed to be a “freak wave”, during Subtropical Storm Andrea. The sailboat was broadsided by a wave that did an great deal of damage to the boat and sent the crew flying about the cabin doing 360’s and causing its Master to break his ribs. The wave caused the sailboat to immediately list starboard.

After a harrowing time riding the waves a EPIRB signal was received by the USCG and a C-130 over fight located the wave riding crew. A J-Hawk Helicopter was dispatched to the area and launched a rescue swimmer, who injured his back during the insertion into the water, when a wave dropped from beneath him and he dropped some 50 to 70 feet. All of this done in 50 to 70 foot seas, with winds estimated at 80 knots.

To continue here are the captain’s own words:

10 Lessons learned from the Incident

1. No two passages are alike, do not consider that setting sail at what is deemed the most appropriate time is reason for less vigilance. Weather routers are not only for racers, they add a level of security through objective analysis of far broader data than one can access on board within economically reasonable parameters.

2. All security equipment should all be grouped together in the most central, least vulnerable and most accessible area inside the vessel. Heavy weather requires as much crew as operationally possible to be secure inside the vessel where security equipment can be accessed in anticipation of catastrophic events. The most vulnerable element of a sailboat is the rig. Such was the case for Sean Seamour II with the exception of cold water protection suits that were in a rear port deck locker that ended up under the crushed rig. Had these been kept with all other security equipment in a compartment at the base of the companionway the crew would have been able to don these after the first knockdown and avoid hypothermia.

3. Pumps are never redundant: whale pumps are great, I had three installed on board, only the cockpit pump could have been used, the stern and bow units were not accessible due to debris or water levels. Again these should be centrally installed on the highest floor level within the vessel. 2000gph electric Rule pumps should be permanently installed in tandem to avoid debris plugging the pump. Ours had to be constantly monitored against floating paper and other debris.

4. Redundancy saved my crew but not my vessel. The second EPIRB I always considered a luxury, eleven years later it still tested operational, which it ended up being. Had I planned this redundancy with purpose it would also have been sent for recertification, would have been kept with the main unit inside for deployment, would have been initiated and efforts to save the vessel accomplished. Redundancy is a must, but making sure you are not carrying duds as a feel good notion of redundancy is almost as important.

5. Reliability of equipment, considering the above, both ACR 406 EPIRB units tested operational yet both performed below specifications. The ACR Globalifix died within thirty minutes after being sent for verification and recertification two weeks prior, the second old ACR self tested positive but battery life was only ten hours, had we been further out to sea its remaining ten hours of battery would have been insufficient to guide help our way.

6. Lashing is too often considered and applied to on deck equipment, openings, doors, etc. Within the vessel we generally secure for heavy weather thrashing forgetting what happens during knockdowns and 360’s. Start with floorboards - these are the first to pop under such circumstances either through simple gravitational action, let alone kinetic energy that can be created during a knockdown. Besides half of my floorboards that were not secured, the one most forgotten in my case was the salon table which detached and was probably the cause for half of my ten broken ribs. Had it knocked me unconscious or worse my crew would have likely perished.

7. Gulf Stream, staying away from the core is not sufficient when confronting opposing direction weather systems. I left the stream well before the storm but did not take into account the size of the eddies in that area. I had used the stream carefully avoiding the eddies in my 1996 crossing, but over the past five years I had noticed the eddies diminishing in strength in the North Atlantic. Had I tacked further east from the night of the 4th I would have probably been less punished by Andrea. New data seems to correlate this.

8. Stowing and backup usage of vital electronic equipment must be designed into contingency plans. Sean Seamour II had most everything but contingency plans did not take into account such catastrophic circumstances. VHF, a backup antennae was pre-wired to enable the DSC VHF to function, but the stowed antennae was unfindable after the 360 which crushed the rig. The SSB antennae used one of the backstays, gone with the rig, also the tuner was positioned too low and was shorted by water. The Iridium satfone should have been kept in a waterproof skin, it was soaked in the 360.

9. Securing the vessel at least for the short term must remain a priority. With the knowledge that the GPIRB had been initiated securing the vessel was to be my first objective by dumping the rig, 100 meters of chain and bow anchors and plugging the mast passage. These actions would have secured the vessel for at least extra hour or two, taking other actions could have put us under way with engine propulsion. Although for years I have prepared myself mentally for this type of situation, given the level of panic, physical trauma and the ensuing disorientation too much time was lost attempting to get electronic equipment to function — if it doesn’t work it is not going to, redundancy yes dependence no.

10. Although substantial time had been dedicated to briefing the crew prior to departure on the security equipment inventory, whereabouts and deployment, showing them how collision mats, rule pumps and other equipment should be sued, as well as other procedures such as rerouting whale pumps, effective drills are far better. Had I been incapacitated during these catastrophic events I am not sure the crew would have survived.

These lessons were written by Mayke & Jean Pierre de Lutz
Camp de la Suyère, 83680 La Garde Freinet, France

www.maykesassen.com

s/v Sean Seamour II - the final log entry