Ft. Lauderdale, Florida!
After a couple of days of high winds and relatively high seas, we’ve called to port in Ft. Lauderdale,Florida!
A very nice day with a slight chill, in the morning, but it seemed to warm up by lunchtime. The night before, I called the harbor master on the VHF Channel 14 during my Watch to verify the pilot boarding time. The ship was still thirty miles from the pilot buoy or pilot station, as it is commonly called. We would, hopefully, receive a pilot and not have to head to the anchorage, which is sometimes a possibility.
And sure enough, by two o’ clock in the morning, all went as planned and before approximately, three thirty in the wee hours of the morning, the ship was docked. As is with procedure, of the Three Mates standing watch, only two, plus the Chief Mate are called to assist with docking. Since it was outside of the hours of calling me, I got to sleep through the docking, and Travis, the other Third Mate, handled gear tests, and throttles while the pilot was, in command. Second Mate, Michael, assisted with line handling; directing the Able Seaman on what lines to heave over, and which ones to pull taught.
I woke up to a nice, breezy day, cargo had just begun as I started the eight-to-twelve watch. As we were discharging the jet fuel, a representative from Chevron oil was present to inspect the vessel of its operating procedures. The ship goes through this ‘Vetting” cycle, approximately every quarter and the crew is fully aware that the scrutiny exists. It’s somewhat of a hassle, but all the paper work going into the maintenance of the ship is always updated. The mates, especially, are busy with keeping the maintenance records updated and constantly working on something besides Bridge Watch duties.
The ship has a fair amount of experienced crew, and the Second mate and Chief Mate have been permanent fixtures as they’ve returned on normal rotations to this very ship. Speaking of the ,aforementioned, Third Mate Travis- this is his first ship after graduating from a maritime academy. I can imagine the frustrations for him,as much of the tasks, required, have burdened him slightly. Yet I think he’s handling it quite well! As a third mate with some good experience on my belt, I’ve taken some initiative by helping him along; whatever a fellow shipmate can do to help out…is my motto!
Lastly,I can send and receive emails from sea, yet, with only being able to seek out a local Internet Cafe, while in port..pardon if the information doesn’t reach in quick time. Cousin Shane has been doing an exemplary job, would you say of updating my travels?!
Have a great day folks!
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