if you're not driving, then what does the captain do?

21 april 2009
2345 )11:45p

first day back on the ship after hawaii and it was a quiet day. likely a combination of choppy seas and the loss of an hour last night, the ship was sleepy. i had class 0800-12 and subsequently napped, intending to be productive and to get on top of the papers due in the next few days. i did get through a few of the write ups and plan to spend time working on them tomorrow. i will also be registering for my fall 2009 courses at unh and looking for a summer position during my free 2-hour "registration daze" time slot. here's hoping i find some summer employment, or leads anyways.

a few exciting things on the ship today: we have fresh fruits and they now make quesadillas at the snack bar! quesadillas have been a hot topic for nearly the entire voyage after les mccabe mentioned the idea during a pre-port. we'd been told they wouldn't happen, but as of today (and after hawaii's re-stocking of food) they now make quesadillas. i'm sure they are tasty but i'm trying to avoid the snack bar for the sake of my ship-account.

this evening's explorer's seminar was a special called "dirty jobs with the mv explorer crew," sponsored by the student environmental club. the captain, jeremy kingston, and 3 of his officers sat on a panel and answered audience questions. below are some of the questions & answers that were the most entertaining or informative, enjoy!

how much water is used every day?
220-240 tons of water per day (at sea)
120-140 tons of water per day (in port)

how many potatoes are eaten on the ship?
500g/person/day @ sea
400lb/day/108 days
those figures do not take into account the frozen potatoes, which include items like french fries.

how many rolls do we go through on the ship?
the rolls are baked on board, as are all of the breads, croissants and other bakery items.
700-800 rolls per meal, for both lunch and dinner. (~172,800 rolls in a voyage)
extra room for flour

rumor has it there is a jail, a morgue and a padded room for crazy people. is that true?
a jail-- no
a morgue-- yes
a padded room-- no

how much gasoline does the ship use?
the ship can hold 1190 tons of fuel, and will use about 300 to get from hawaii to guatemala (over 3,500 miles)
the fuel economy is about 6.5-9 miles per ton of fuel, depending on factors such as speed, weather, etc.

what would we do if we encountered pirates?
in the words of captain jeremy, "have you ever seen monty python & the holy grail? we'd 'run away, run away!'"
our ship's best defense is our speed, of up to 30 knots
other methods: avoiding known-pirate areas, re-routing itineraries and the use of high pressure water-hoses

how do they choose the countries?
"some times i think they just use a dartboard," captain
the ports of call vary based on theme and what each country offers

if captain jeremy is here [in the union], who's driving?!
jeremy does not drive, he's the general manager but he gets to park the ship in port.
3 officers work in the bridge at all times, 4 hour shifts and rely on lookouts to keep the ship safe.

which port was the most difficult to park in?
casablanca, morocco
it was not so much the parking, but the entering and exiting of the port, through the breakwaters.

how much rolling can the ship tolerate?
the ship is able to roll about 67degrees, though he [captain jeremy] is comfortable with about 5 degrees.

how much did the ship roll in casablanca?
"i don't know because i hanging on and steering, not able to glance at the computer."
he guessed, based on the horizon that the rolling was about 30-40 degrees

if he's not driving, then what does the captain do?
"as little as possible"
overseas the function of the ship, inspections, future planning (working on budget), mostly administrative work and most importantly, he parks the ship.

can you [captain jeremy] marry people?
"i do not marry people because my wife won't let me"

in the event of a medical emergency, what happens? can surgery be performed on-ship?
the ship does have the facilities for an emergency surgery, though it comes down to a matter of whether the on-ship medical team has the ability or training to perform the surgery. the medical facilities are meant to keep a student stable until the ship reaches land. a person could be medi-vac'd from the ship if close enough to shore.
in 2005, a student came down with appendicitis in the middle of the atlantic. they increased the ship's speed to full, and rushed the student to a proper hospital for an appendectomy. the trip should have taken 4 days but they made it in 3.

what is the best part of the job?
"the six months off the ship"
"parking"
-captain jeremy