We had a sunny but very windy day at sea. In fact it was a stormy day. It blew over 40 knots at times straight down the St Lawrence. But because there was no swell built up and the ship was going at a slow speed, the ride was not uncomfortable. Thus a very windy day. Most people associate bad weather with a rocking and rolling vessel and quite often it is the case. If you have a storm in the open ocean, then the wind can freely blow over vast expanses of water and whip up the waves. If the wind blows for a continuous period, the waves will get higher and higher and then the ship will move accordingly. If the winds only blow for a short while, or over a small expanse of water, then the waves cannot build up momentum and the ship does not move. The latter makes it then very difficult for a captain to explain that the weather is indeed bad, especially if the sun is brightly shining and the ship is as steady as a rock. That is when I get the comment cards from guests, saying: “…..And the captain cancelled the port and it was such a beautiful day, so we think he did not know what he was doing……….we want compensation.”
Apart from attending the Suite luncheon and the Mariners party, it was a quiet day for me. Time to send all my ETA’s to the various agents in the various ports. ETA’s (Estimated Time of Arrival) are being sent by the Master a few days in advance to confirm with the agent that the ship will indeed arrive on the planned day. Docks and anchorages are being booked up to two years in advance by the company but until the agent hears from the captain that the ship will indeed arrive, he waits with making arrangements. Those arrangements include gangways, water loading, Garbage off load, dock confirmation, tugboats and whatever else the ship might need. Sometimes the chief officer wants a cherry picker for outside maintenance, the chief engineer needs spare parts (there is always that one special size bolt short to complete a project) or the hotel manager needs more bananas, that all goes via the ships agent. He/she is the person who has the contacts and gets the right people to attend the ship. A good agent is worth its money in gold. Like everywhere else in the world, we have good ones and we have not so good ones. When we get back with the ship to Tampa, I will tell you about the very best one we have, Sandy, who has looked after us for 24 years now.
My special project today was Crew Washing Machines. Not exactly a topic you might think that is of direct interest to the captain, but it is. On the crew decks, we have various spaces where we have washing machines and dryers installed for crew use. According to the crew there are never enough and that is a partially true. There are enough hours in the day for the machines to be used for everybody but also the crew wants to sleep and does not get up at 3 am, to do the laundry. So during peak hours there is lack of availability. The chief engineer orders the new machines and he is really trying very hard to do his best for the crew. Thus he got an extra machine. But where to put it. That is where I come in. As a captain I can cut through all the arguments of the three department heads and decide things. All three department heads also want that washing machine to be there but not in THEIR space. Because they already have too little storage space as it is, and now they re going to loose more because of THAT washing machine that should be put SOME WHERE else.
I walked around with the Chief and he pointed out which lockers he could install a washing machine, due to the availability of cold and hot water supply and drainage.
Then I made my pick. I try to run my ship on consensus and in close agreement with the head of departments but not when it comes to locker allocation. So now we will install a new machine, add two existing machines from another location and make a whole new crew laundry area. The crew will be happy, except the person who had this locker and who has now been allocated a smaller space somewhere else. But that is the way it is. At home you never argue about washing machines with your wife, at sea you do not do so with the captain………….. In both cases you do not win.
October 7, 2007 at 8:03 pm
Capt. Schoonderbeek, enjoying the ride especially the tale about washing machine location(s). The decisions a modern cruise ship captain needs to make must be pressure cookers at time! 😉
Re: port agents and advanced notice to them; who/what determines if a cruise ship coming into port will dock at one, two, three, etc. available berths at a particular port i.e. Charlotte Amalie or Puerto Vallarta or will drop anchor in the bay and be forced to commence tender operations?
When you have to dock “on the inch” and the security officer reads off the distance to where the gangway needs to be placed to you or your C/O, is that done in feet or meters?
Thank you much!
October 9, 2007 at 2:48 am
There are interesting similarities and differences between running a household and running a cruiseship.
Similarities? Well, we too have a washing machine, though only one. In a household, as on ship, there have to be clear lines of demarcation of responsibilities and allocation of tasks esential to the successful working of the whole enterprise. So, ‘I’ am responsible for the purchase, of the washing machine, overseeing its installation and organisation of repairs or replacement as/when necessary, whilst ‘she’ takes care of day to day selection of washing programmes and insertion & extraction of items of clothing.
Differences? I suppose that the biggest difference is that on our ‘little ship’ there is continuing confusion, lack of clarity & sometimes argument about just who is the ‘captain’. I’m glad to see that there is no such uncertainty aboard the Veendam!
October 9, 2007 at 1:30 pm
When it comes to some decisions, it seems it is always going to be lonely at the top. Unfortunately as Master of the Vessel, it can require you to make “unpopular” decisions. That is one thing that remains unchanged through the centuries of navigating the oceans, true a Maritime tradition.
I so enjoy your blog Capt. Albert, thank you for your time and effort, it is truly appreciated!