Sea-Year

Ah the joys of seayear... Then again, one of the best times was Christmas Day when DS ship's captain let him call home on the satellite phone for five minutes. What a great surprise that was!
Our DS actually got to use the sat phone a couple of times, courtesy of winning the captain's ping pong tournament.:biggrin: Keep in mind that if you have caller ID, your kids' calls may come up with some pretty strange call numbers. You may want to risk answering the phone.:wink:
 
I know I seem like a crusty old timer. . . oh, wait, I guess I am; well, that aside. . .

Our connectivity has changed SOOO much in the recent ten years or so. I still recall leaving for sea and only getting snail mail sent to the agent and mailing the odd letter and/or post card from the Seamen's Club. If the timing was right and I could budget it, I think I made a couple of overseas calls, but that was rare. Of course I have always been a bit anti-social. Handy trait when choosing a career at sea. . . .

That said, I don't know if being disconnected is tougher on the kids than the folks. Let's face it, these days, people don't even want to be disconnected for the time it takes to drive home and are willing to risk their (and other drivers') live on it.
 
Communications

How do you address snail mail? Is it always sent to "the agent" who then forwards it to someplace the ship is supposed to wind up? Who is "the agent", the shipping company if the assignment is on a commercial vessel?
 
Project

How much of the first tri sea project must be done at sea as opposed to on the assigned ship in port (not underway)?
 
The address will be provided by the Vessel, and if I recall (it has been many years since I sailed and even more than that when I got mail) correctly, the mail is sent to the shipping company and then forwarded to the agent in the next port. When the Vessel arrives, the boading agent delivers mail among his other, many duties.

As far as time onboard, I am not so clear about your question. If you mean the time spent onboard a vessel, it is counted whether or not it is in port or out at sea. Most port stays for any vessel are minimal, or at least as minimal as can possibly be. Ships do not make money in port, they make it while underway. Less time in port is what a ship owner wants. Often times there are penalties (demurrage) to be paid for excessive port time. Most port stays are only a couple of days, or less. Depends on the type of ship, cargo, shoreside facilities, etc.
 
...As far as time onboard, I am not so clear about your question. If you mean the time spent onboard a vessel, it is counted whether or not it is in port or out at sea. ...

Thanks for the info about the snail mail address.

I think I got my second question answered already, but what I was asking about was whether the ship needed to be under way in order for the cadet to do the sea project ("homework assignment" from the academy), not days at sea. I think the answer is "no" (correct me if I'm wrong). I was wondering if, since the ship assignment was made only 2 weeks ago, and the ship has been sitting in port since, with maybe another week before it leaves, if that will make it harder (or impossible) to complete the sea project. I think the answer is "no" as long as work on the project is done regularly, even when the ship is in port.
 
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I think I got my second question answered already, but what I was asking about was whether the ship needed to be under way in order for the cadet to do the sea project ("homework assignment" from the academy), not days at sea. I think the answer is "no" (correct me if I'm wrong).
[/FONT] [FONT=&quot]For deckies the celestial navigation portion of the sea project will need to be done while underway. Not only does the ship have to be at sea but it will need to be at sea in an area with an unbroken horizon and a relatively clear sky.[/FONT]
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The address will be provided by the Vessel, and if I recall (it has been many years since I sailed and even more than that when I got mail) correctly, the mail is sent to the shipping company and then forwarded to the agent in the next port. When the Vessel arrives, the boading agent delivers mail among his other, many duties.
[/FONT][FONT=&quot]Cmakin is correct in that the ship will give you the mailing addresses. However it has been my experience that mail should be sent directly to the agent and not forwarded on to them through the company home office. [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Of course all my experience was on 'line haul' ships (ships on a set schedule running an established route); crew mail might be handled a bit differently in a 'tramp' ship operation. [/FONT]
 
Thanks for the info about the snail mail address.

I think I got my second question answered already, but what I was asking about was whether the ship needed to be under way in order for the cadet to do the sea project ("homework assignment" from the academy), not days at sea. I think the answer is "no" (correct me if I'm wrong). I was wondering if, since the ship assignment was made only 2 weeks ago, and the ship has been sitting in port since, with maybe another week before it leaves, if that will make it harder (or impossible) to complete the sea project. I think the answer is "no" as long as work on the project is done regularly, even when the ship is in port.

As long as he is signed on, the days are considered to be sea days. In counting, there is no distiction. As DeepDraft stated, for a deckie's celestial nav assignments, he will need a good signal on the GPS, uh, I mean clear skies and an unobstructed horizon. For engine cadets, there are no such distinctions. "Days at sea" for licensing purposes are days onboard. One can receive "sea days" as long as they are signed on, even during shipyard periods. Or at least I have. Shhhh.
 
for a deckie's celestial nav assignments, he will need a good signal on the GPS, uh, I mean clear skies and an unobstructed horizon.

Whatever works.. I've seen more than one cadet work his sights backwards from a GPS position. :wink:
 
The onboard work schedule is much less predictable while in port than while underway. Oftentimes our DS had to work 12-18 hours per day while in port leaving no time to work on projects. Once underway, the crew gets into a rhythm that makes time for sea projects much more available and planning one's day much easier.
 
Sea Partner

How unusual is it for there to be no sea partner (only one cadet) on board?
 
Not very. First sailing the academy requires that everyone goes out with someone else. Second sailing is a little more lax, especially for the specialty ships, but even then you generally end up going out with someone else.
 
How unusual is it for there to be no sea partner (only one cadet) on board?

I spent half of my second sailing as the only cadet. Couldn't have asked for a better experience and although would have been nice to have a friend along I don't think I missed out.
 
I spent half of my second sailing as the only cadet. Couldn't have asked for a better experience and although would have been nice to have a friend along I don't think I missed out.

For my first two ships, there was a deck cadet with me. For my third (last of my first sea year period), I was alone. For my second sea year, it was the same. It all depends on how well you get on with the other cadet. It also depends on the accommodations and whether or not you have to share a cabin. In that case, you BETTER get along with the other cadet. On one of my ships, I did not get along with the deck cadet, and I largely didn't see him except for meal times. I don't recall ever going ashore with him, either.

I do think that sailing alone was a better experience, and much more reflective of life and work at sea after graduation. But I have always been a bit anti social.
 
I think the only real advantage to having a sea partner is shore time. The regular crew might not get the shore time or want to go ashore in the same places as the cadet. If a cadet has never really been away from home before it might help to have a sea partner as kind of a comfort zone, but otherwise I think sailing alone integrates you better with the rest of the crew.

My second sea year I chose to sail by myself. It actually got me on a great ship. My ATR said he hadn't put someone on that ship in several years because they don't have much space for cadets but since I was sailing alone he would put me on it. Even though it wasn't much for creature comforts, it was hands down my favorite of the four ships I was on. I also had the added bonus of getting to spend time working with the mates and deck crew. The Chief loaned me to the 1st Mate for some help with things that they had traditionally used the deck cadet for. I normally wouldn't consider this a "bonus" but when sign off time came, my envelope from the crew was noticibly fatter. Even the mates and unlicensed kicked in.
 
Wow you gentlemen were on 4 ships? Now it's 3, unless of course there is a need to change ships due to problems of any sort
 
I think the number of ships during sea year isn't a set number. My DD and her sea partner (same person for both sea terms), were on 4 separate ships. Time varied from just under a month to 4 months per ship. They were insistent with their ATR with what they wanted and wouldn't take no for an answer.
 
Wow you gentlemen were on 4 ships? Now it's 3, unless of course there is a need to change ships due to problems of any sort
If my ATRs original plans held true it would have been 5 ships and that was by no means the most of anyone.

It was important for us engineers to get time on both steam and diesel ships. Not sure if that is even possible anymore. There were a lot more steam ships back in my day.
 
If my ATRs original plans held true it would have been 5 ships and that was by no means the most of anyone.

It was important for us engineers to get time on both steam and diesel ships. Not sure if that is even possible anymore. There were a lot more steam ships back in my day.

I sailed on 6 ships during sea year. They were all steam. Two of them were sister ships. I think that it is important for engineers to get on as many different ships as possible. For mates, I would venture that it is more important to get on different types of ships (i.e. tankers, containerships, Ro/Ros, etc). To be honest, I didn't feel that I was hampered in any way by not having sailed on a diesel ship, even though most of my time after graduation WAS on diesel powered vessels.
 
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