Rough Weather and Long Days Part 2

That night we were sent inland to a calmer harbor for a nights rest.Upon awakening at 6 am we were greeted by members of the USCG and the salvage team hired to get the tug off the beach.Our sister tug was loaded up with 12 inch towline and we headed back to Va Beach.After arriving and seeing that the seas had laid down overnight we had a feeling that this wasn't going to be as easy as everyone else thought.In theory raw horsepower was to be used to free the grounded barge.In reality some luck and another higher than normal tide was going to be needed.With help from USCG zodiac boats and some extreme luck we were hooked to the bow of the barge via the emergency tow wire that was already on the barge prior to it's beaching.All offshore barges are equipped with an emergency tow wire and bridals in case the original tow gear fails.The problem is in rough seas it's literally a death wish to try and grab it off the side of the barge,so it ends up on the beach.Our sister tug paid out the 12 inch line it was equipped with earlier and it was towed to the stern of the barge with the help of the USCG boat.Now with the stern and bow being pulled on loosely the salvage team had great hope the job would be over soon.Apparently they forgot to check the tides.The barge moved all of zero feet and with sundown coming on quick the tugs were told to keep the lines tight throughout the night and they would return in the morning.At seven am with high tide quickly approaching the tugs were given the order to "give it all she's got" and the barge made a great leap of fifty feet.With the salvage team now understanding the situation of needing a higher than normal tide they quickly saw that the next day the tides were to run 2 feet above normal with a strong wind from the north.Noticing all efforts were futile before then everyone was told to ease the engines back down.Knowing the next morning may be there last chance before drastic measures,dredging the barge out,another tug was brought in and hooked on to the stern.The next morning brought rough seas and high winds.The salvage arrived and gave the order for full ahead and just like that the barge came off the beach bow first.It was a difficult hook up break down and just pain in the ass.That being said it's these kind of jobs that keep me interested and make the days go by quickly on board.Sitting around at a dock playing cards and watching movies is for the birds.Now if the economy would improve maybe we could get a few out of the country jobs.

Rough Weather and Long Days

I'm sure everyone who lives near or on the East Coast will have a hard time forgetting the Nor' Easter that did so much damage last week.That storm now will forever hold a special place in my heart and my brain.Last week I was in Charleston,S.C. on a dredge job when we noticed the weather was turning for the worse.We informed the dredge Captain of the upcoming weather and the job was put on hold for a few days.As the wind kicked up and the inbound ships sent in weather and sea reports we relaxed inside the boat watching movies living the tug boat high life,getting paid in the shade.As the weather had started to subside we were given orders to leave immediately,Thursday night,bound for southern Virginia.Unfortunately the tug is made to withstand massive seas and we had no choice but to leave.Heading out to sea,knowing we wouldn't see calm water for days is a bad feeling.Everything it tied down,bungied down and tied again.Then as we cleared the sea buoy it started with a calm four foot roll.We came around and started heading north along the beach taking six foot seas over the bow,not to bad we thought.On the second day as we came around Cape Hatteras and Diamond Shoal we all were quickly reminded why we get paid to do what we do.As you come around Diamond Shoal you have no protection from a north sea and you will make very little time as your boat,ship or vessel get mercilessly pounded to bits.The seas were in the twelve foot range with a sixty mile an hour wind.There is a reason why that part of the Atlantic is known as the graveyard of the ocean.We continued northward linking up with our sister tug heading toward False Cape,Va into what we have now learned is a salvage job.A barge bound for New Jersey "broke" it's towing gear and was unable to get the emergency wire hooked up before it got into shallow water,or so the story goes.I need to take a second and just say I wasn't there and I don't know what happened.I just know we were told to get there,survey the situation after the storm passed and get it off the beach.I will make this story a two passage event as I seem to have gotten a bit long winded.We arrived off of Virginia Beach and saw the reason for the hurry up.The barge,a 550 foot container barge,came to rest in front of some very high dollar condominiums and was a bit of an eyesore.We sat three miles off the beach in six foot seas reminiscent of a washing machine wondering how in the hell are we supposed to do this?

Slow Motion

Every now and then I actually get a little excitement out of life.That's a broad,depressing statement,so let me clarify.I'm a high stress individual that thinks the world is out to get me.That being said the majority of my life,I have wondered around trying to make sense of it all.Yeah,how's that going for me?In all actuallity it's going pretty well.I haven't found the cure for AIDS or how to make world peace,but I have found some peace inside of my little head.It's taken entirely to long to get it,however I'm glad I have it.Now I know everyone always says money isn't everything yet it really is.Sure there is always true love and finding inner peace but who ever actually gets that anymore.Ever since I was a little kid I wondered what ever happened to the trade and barter system,it worked so well.Now if you want something you have to pay for it.Whether it's something you need or something you want.Up until two years ago to the day,I was busting my ass trying to pay rent and feed myself,I was doing a terrible job at it.I finally got my first real adult break when the company I now work for decided to give me a chance.Over the course of the last two year I have learned,worked hard,traveled to distant locations and earned a decent paycheck.It wasn't until recently I nticed how much I have changed in the last few years.Besides losing the rest of my hair and putting on a few pounds I actuallt enjoy waking up most mornings.I find myself smiling throughout the day for no reason.Now with all that being said,it really makes me angry.Here's why,who's to say I get the job and he doesn't.Who's to say I get to be happy and he can't.It just doesn't seem fair to the "little" guy.No I'm not going to give him my job or all my hard earned money.I know it isn't fair because for the longest time I was the little guy and it wasn't fair.Why does everything in America have to be based on money and financial gain.Maybe it would be a good idea for everything to fall apart.Maybe we should all sit back look at the ceiling and imagine it isn't there.Imagine you are outside with no grocery store,gas station,bank or government to tell you what to do.Could you survive or would the little guy steal your food?Just remember the little guy has been stepped on his whole life,he isn't about to let you take his last can of beans.

Enough Already

Oh yeah I'm loving it!The shipyard everybody,it's the place professional mariners go to die.It's also unfortunately where I have spent the majority of this year.Sure I know what you're thinking,stop complaining you have a job,and well you're right.I have this want inside of me to get back out there and actually tow a barge.This shipyard situation simply can't go on for much longer.With colder weather moving in all the time,almost all outside work will be removed from the equation.There simply won't be much to do in the shipyard,so why should they keep bringing men in to sit on the butts and make hundreds of dollars a day?The simple answer,we're good,so good in fact that they don't care if we get anything done.So good they couldn't let us defect to another company.This of course is crap.Sure we do a good job but lets be honest there are at this minute thousands of overqualified mariners sitting on there butts at home no making a dime.I'm also quite sure they would work me under the table,take a pay cut and still be happy about taking my job.This being said,I think everyone should know something about me.In my personal life I'm a bit loud and sometimes a little too rowdy.At work I'm the exact opposite.Don't get me wrong we have a good time when possible but for the most part I try and stay under the radar.Unfortunately over the last month I have had to go on both the offensive and defensive to try and protect my job.This does not mean that I kissed ass or threw someone under the bus to get ahead.I didn't have to,other people tried that,failed and it made me look better for not being the one who tried.So simply said,by staying under the radar,doing my job well and keeping my nose clean I seem to have come out in a good way.If I knew where the end of this economic downturn would be it could make my life,as well as millions of others,a bit easier.I still don't enjoy having talks in conference rooms about other employees that hold a higher rank than me,it just doesn't feel good.Especially when you get called down to the office like it was elementary school and all your friends are snickering.It is simply a situation you can't prepare for and have to keep that used car salesman smile on 24/7.So that's where it's at,the shipyard I have seen enough of for a long time.Looking forward to a few days at home and then possibly coming back early to be home for Thanksgiving.There is an secondary motive to that as I don't care much for turkey,hunting season of course.

A Few Pictures from a Few Hard Days of Work

The aftermath,this was after the area was chipped and cleaned and it still looked horrible
The rudder tiller,it's supposed to be either painted or polished

The ladder down into the "hole",aka the rudder room/lazzerette

A New Project

After being kept home a few extra days I was sent back to work.The lack of a contract for my boat led me to another boat within the company nicknamed tug matchbox.It gets this name from the size and feel of it.The boat is the smallest in the company fleet,66 gross tons,and feels every bit of it.It was good to be back at work but very frustrating being on a small boat with three other large men.Large men who don't clean up after themselves or do any regular maintenance to the tug.However after thirteen days on the tug I was sent back to my original boat which,you guessed it,is back in the shipyard.The only difference is this time we aren't working on our boat we are working on an over used,under appreciated boat in the fleet.The boat has gone five years since being pulled out of the water and looks every bit of it.These are the really tough days to be a mariner.The days when you would rather be towing a barge offshore not picking up the pieces someone else left behind.The four other guys I'm working with would all rather be doing something else besides looking like they just got out of a coal mine at the end of the day.It's one of those projects that everywhere you look it needs to be fixed.Whether it's rusty,broken or just plain dirty.There isn't anything we can do but just take it day by day.Chances are when the upper management sees the work needed below decks the boat will either be scrapped or sold,have fun with that.Either way I just need to keep telling myself it's good to have a job,I guess.Pictures to come in the next few days.

A Cruise Ship to a Matchbox

That's what it feels like anyway.After being kept home for a few days past my time off I am finally back to work.It seemed like an eternity,waking up everyday trying to figure out when I was going back to work.Well that's all over,for now,and I must say I'm glad.I'm not glad to have this awesome head cold/sinus thing and not have access to a doctor.No big deal I have survived worse.So my normal boat has been jobless since the end of last month and I was told I just needed to wait for something to pop up.So I did a bit of hunting with my extra time off and got pissed off my schedule got ruined for this upcoming hunting season.But without a job I wouldn't have the opportunities to hunt and fish in the manner that I currently do.So after six extra days home I got the called and was offered work which I accepted.Unfortunately I went from the biggest boat in the fleet,my normal boat,to the smallest one,ouch.Being on here really reminds me of when I first started working on tugs almost six years ago.Small tugs,small engines,strange crew,interesting jobs.In all seriousness everyone on board,all three people,have accepted me and have tried to make it as normal as possible.It's a hard thing to do when you open your bunk room door and it hits the door to the head.So there it is,back to work dredging in Baltimore,Md.It's good to be back,now I just need to kick this cold.