Nautie Tugs Have Nicer Sterns

Sometimes things just unfold.  One second you're going one way and the next thing you know you're going another way. A path that you didn't even consider becomes a viable option and that friends, is exactly why I'm currently sitting on a tugboat headed to ports unknown.  

When I was in school I took Tug & Barge and it was hands down one of the best experiences I had. It was incredibly hands on - we spent all day on the tug - much of the day was spent moving around the barge. It was fabulous.  

Getting out of school I went deep sea. I worked on ships and I moved up my license. I didn't really consider tugs because the tonnage wouldn't have moved up my license.  

Now here I am. I've maxed out my license, I've hopped around the industry (and let's be honest I've struggled to find a home since my favorite ship was reflagged), I've moved back home to Hilo and I've had to do some soul searching. 

What it boils down to is that it's been harder and harder for me to get excited to go to sea. I've just slowly been losing steam. It's been longer than I care to admit that I enjoyed a watch, had fun with my shipmates or really felt like I was excited to learn something new.  All of this is out of character for me. I'm excitable. I enjoy the sea. I love to learn.  

When a friend said, 'why don't you try tugs. You might be surprised!'  I thought, what the heck...I've got nothing to lose.  

One week later I flew out to meet a tug in Japan. Destination to be determined.  

As I stagger around the tug (because ummmm....these tugs really move around...more on this to follow...) it feels new. Right now, new feels good.  

a sailbot. some sunglasses. swollen eyes.

Let me tell you a little story.  Circa 2005 I was kicking around Castine, ME for the summer.  I had just graduated and was a brand new Third Mate who had no clue how to find a job.  I decided I better stick around and sail on the Bowdoin for the summer because really when you're a new graduate why the heck not.  I had a few days before I had to show up for the Bowdoin and there were these two guys that I kinda sorta knew.  They were delivering a sailboat from Maine to Rhode Island and asked if anyone wanted to go with them.  I raised my hand because I was bound and determined to be an adventurer.

sunrise on day one.  sun & sail.

A couple wool sweaters, foul weather gear and long undies later my bag was packed.  I don't even know what we took for food and honestly I don't even remember eating.

Here's what I remember in perfect order...

We were pulling away from the dock.  I leaned over to take the line off the cleat.  In slo-mo my sunglasses slipped off the top of my head and sunk before my eyes.  I was bummed but we were off and I was excited.

It was a gorgeous day.  I laid on the deck in the sun.  With my wool sweater and pants on because it may have been sunny but it was definitely not warm.  I think I dosed a bit.

i couldn't get enough of the sun through the sail.

Then I took my turn at the tiller.  It was a nice day but not much wind so we mostly motored.

Night hit quickly and it was 'effin freezing.  So.  So.  So cold.

We woke up in the morning huddled in the cockpit together.  I think we kinda sorta all roused at the same time...

it's actually freezing.  spinnaker & cockpit.

There was a very, very large LNG tanker just a couple hundred meters in front of us.  Honestly, I was so naive that I'm not even sure I knew it was an LNG - I just knew there was a big ship in front of us - and now that I'm sailing that is pretty much my worst nightmare....they probably had no idea we were there.

love the caption. 

By midday my eyes were swollen shut.  

Remember that little nap I took in the sun with no sunglasses?  I burned my eyeballs.

I was officially freezing cold on a sailboat with my eyes swollen shut.  It was awesome.

There was no wind and we spent the rest of the trip motoring at an incredibly slow speed.

smooth sailing.

I spent the last 24 hours huddled in the cockpit trying not to move.  I'm sure the dudes I was with thought I was a total head case.

I ran across this photo album while settling into my home...it definitely brought back some memories!

National Maritime Day

The Maritime Industry just plugs along and people continue fueling their cars, sipping coffee and buying out of season fruit.

Today is National Maritime Day and I can't think of a better day to think about what we're buying, where it comes from, and how it gets into your hands.  Even President Obama has a bit to say about honoring the Women (and Men) who take to the seas to boost our economy.  

The next time you're at the grocery store buying a banana - especially if you live somewhere where it's impossible for a banana to grow consider these facts:

• Sea Transport has been the primary means of moving freight through recorded history!
• Each year the Maritime Industry transports 13 trillion dollars worth of goods totalling 70% of world wide freight (source).  
• The Maersk Triple-E can carry 18,000 containers - 10 above and 10 below deck - and are to large to transit the Panama Canal (source).  
• The Philippines is the largest source of Seaman in the world - and has been since 1987.
• More than 60% of the dry cargo ships lost were bunkers older than 25 years in the period 2009-2013 (source).  
• A modern large crude oil tanker (VLCC) for example, is able to transport the same amount of cargo twice the distance as of 20 years ago using the same amount of energy.  Marine diesel engines, the prime mover of the world merchant fleet, has undergone similar efficiency improvements and modern engines installed today use about 10 to 15% less fuel per kilowatt-hour as compared with engines installed 20 years ago (source).
• In the 1970s there were about 3.2 million tons of oil spilled in the 2000s there was less than .25 million tons of oil spilled (44% of that was from 2 incidents) - major progress!
• Shipping transfers approximately 3 to 5 billion tonnes of ballast water internationally each year.  A similar volume may also be transferred domestically within countries and regions each year.  The IMO (International Maritime Organization) has developed and adopted the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments which, when in force, will require all ships to carry out Ballast Water Management procedures to a given standard (source).  (Here's a post from 2010 when I talk about Ballast Water!)
• In 2010 Somali Pirates seized 1,181 Hostages.
• Thanks to Navy Patrols by Coalition Warships there has been an almost 90% decrease in Piracy in Somali waters!

Via

All you need to do is look at these shipping lanes in black & red to see the magnitude of what's being moved across the worlds oceans!

(it is completely by accident that I blogged at length last night about The Jones Act - it can't be National Maritime Day without mentioning the importance of the Jones Act and how misunderstood it is.)

HAPPY NATIONAL MARITIME DAY!!!!!