SailorInProgress

Ship life as a maritime cadet.

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A few more...

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Various shots from my time aboard the Overseas Los Angeles. Many thanks to OSG and all the crew!

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I was hoping to be able to post more frequently, but I have been very busy since boarding the Overseas Los Angeles, and learning a ton. I'll definitely putting up some more detailed pics and info after I get off in December. Until then however, posts will be sporadic.

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Boarding the Overseas Los Angeles in SF Bay in a few days! Can’t wait!

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Ok, after lots of hard work at school this past year, it is time for Sea Project #2!!! I will be sailing on a tanker with OSG, which I am super excited about! I do not know for sure what vessel I will be on (should find out soon), but it will be similar to the one pictured. This voyage will have me out there from September through sometime in December, and I hope to learn a ton while I am at it.

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Just in case someone wants to see a data plate from a lifeboat ;)

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No particular rhyme or reason to these. Oh yeah- random note to future cadets, a camera is really helpful for doing your sea project. One with a good zoom lens- even better. Came in handy for capturing the data plate on the lifeboat...

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I didn’t really end this properly before, so I’ll throw up a few more pics from the Burns Harbor in Summer 2015. I ended up getting off after 98 days to enjoy some R&R at home before starting on the Fall semester. All the hard work on the sea project ended up paying off! Got a 4.0 on the whole thing, that was a huge relief! Should any of the crew of the Burns Harbor stumble upon this, thanks much for your time and teaching aboard. I learned a ton, and am tremendously grateful for the opportunity!

In other news, the Fall 2015 semester was a challenging one- Lakes Piloting was oodles of fun! Really...it was! Ok, it wasn’t a trip to Disneyland, but I got through it in fine fashion. Looking forward to Spring 2016 semester and then getting back out there on a ship again. Next time on the high seas somewhere!

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Nothing terribly exciting has happened lately. Haven’t taken any notable pictures lately. I’ve been too busy working on Pat 4 of the Sea Project. As expected, it’s been a lot of work, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Only a few more weeks till it’s done and I can enjoy things a bit more and take some pics! Note for any incoming or prospective maritime cadets- Keep a good pace on you sea project assignments, they take a lot of time. That said, you will still have some free time between watches and working to relax or get off the ship occasionally.

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Sea Project Part 3 is complete!. Above here are the 6 lake charts completed which make up Part 3. They’ll be in the mail next time we’re in the Soo in a day or 2. Now it’s down to Part 4, with river charts, piloting narratives, and lots of other goodies...

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GLMA’s training ship, the State Of Michigan has been running up and down the St. Mary’s River lately as they finish up the final leg of this summer’s training cruise. Here they’re headed downbound on Six Mile Point Range. See y’all back in TC in a few months!

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My friend Joe has been sailing over on the Wilfred Sykes this summer. The other week they pulled in right behind us over in Indiana Harbor

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Completed part 2 of my sea project the other day. We've had a nice long delay in Duluth, so I am celebrating and enjoying some time on dry land for a bit. Beautiful 75 degree day here. Life is good :)

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Cue Jaws theme...

*Walter J. McCarthy Jr. cruising through the fog on Superior

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A few sunset pics from west Lake Superior

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Nothing super exciting this week. Just been keeping on with standing the 8-12 watch with the 3rd Mate and the St. Mary’s River. On a good day with no traffic beating us to the “Poe” lock we make it from Gros Cap Reef Light (the northern entrance to the river) to De Tour Reef Light (the southern entrance) in about 8 hours. With traffic at the locks I’ve had it take up to 10.5 hours so far. I’m starting to get more familiar with the lights and waypoints we use for piloting the river. I should know it pretty well by the time I get off at the end of the summer. When not on watch I’m frequently working on sea project stuff. Above is my finished Lake Michigan chart. I also have Lakes Superior and Ontario done. The lake charts make up part 3 of the project, and I’m happy to be 50% done with that at this point (still have chart for W. Lake Erie, Erie and Huron). Part 2 deals mainly with the ships crew, the various pilothouse navigation electronics (radars, ECPINS, GPS, etc.), and the ships cargo unloading system. Still have most of that to do (sketches, final documentation, etc) but I’ve gathered much of the required information. Part 2 is due to be postmarked by June 21 and part 3 by July 9. I should have both of those done reasonably well ahead of time, which is good because part 4 dealing with the St. Mary’s, St. Clair, and Detroit rivers looks like it is going to take a lot of effort...

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Part 1 of Sea Project complete over a week early! w00t!

*oodles of diagrams and other goodies not shown. It was a lot of work to collect information about the ship and honing my artistic skills (or lack thereof).