Articles
Rope ‘snap back’ and ‘parting’ among marine safety hazards
Safety has been a theme in seafaring to varying degrees throughout the centuries. The traditional definition of good seamanship is “a safe and timely arrival.” Of course, since the creation of OSHA and the safety convention created when the Titanic sank, safety is more regulated than those early years. A hundred years ago, sailors could
Planning for the worst
It’s quiet on the bridge. The stars rotate over your head slowly, descending to the western horizon as you walk around the bridge, checking the radar as you pass it, looking at the speed logs to make sure everything is as it should be. You exchange a few jokes and sea stories with the deckhand
Winter on the North Atlantic, the most dangerous waters on Earth
The junior midshipmen at Maine Maritime Academy embarked this New Year’s on the first winter training cruise in 17 years on board the State of Maine. While I did not get to go with my classmates as before, I got many pictures and stories from them about the storms on the North Atlantic. Upon their
Moving tugs from sea level to lake level
Every Wednesday, the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks in Seattle, Wash., send the majority of the Western Towboat fleet out to sea. That’s “sailing day” at Western Towboat. The staff at the locks recognizes the company’s blue and yellow stacks that come through every week. It’s a simple operation, despite what people may think. The Panama
Handling barges inspires awe, caution
I could almost hear my father’s jaw clattering on the floor over the phone. He simply didn’t believe me at first—how could an ordinary cargo barge be so enormous? At Maine Maritime Academy, we learn a great deal about cargo on large vessels—ships carrying 16,000 containers or 2 million barrels of oil. But the world
Scrambling for your boots
In the Swedish magazine Utkiken, a 10-year-old British schoolboy wrote an essay titled, “Why I Want to be a Captain.” My favorite line of this essay reads, “”¦most people think it’s dangerous to drive a boat, except captains, because they know how easy it is.” I hope my children think I’m that cool one day,
The sun at midnight: working the seas off Alaska
The gentle motion of the boat encouraged me to stay asleep when my alarm went off at 2330 hours, the seventh bell of the first watch. Despite the comforting roll, I groggily rose and donned my working clothes and my boots. Fishing through my bunk for my flashlight, I checked my pockets for the other
The Castine baptism and other silliness
Last summer, just before many of us Maine Maritime Academy cadets left on our annual training cruise, I decided to take a dip in the harbor after a hard run. The water was so cold that my muscles seized up as I slept that night, and I could barely stand up straight for a day.
High expectations in a changing industry
Maine Maritime Academy boasts of one of the finest training programs in the country. We are the only maritime academy in the country to certify tug and barge operators with TOAR licenses (Towing Officers’ Assessment Record), a necessity for those working in the towing business. We train some of the best boat handlers and navigators
Confounding pirates–technology may be one step behind
The wonders of modern technology never cease to amaze. In the 1970s, my parents’ generation watched as characters on the TV show Star Trek performed countless functions on hand-held devices. More recently, we saw characters in James Cameron’s Avatar who did everything from their tablet computers. Now we do all the same things. Science fiction