Queen Charlotte Sounds :-)
BELIEVE IN YOUR LIFE’S PURPOSE
“Dare to be yourself. Dream, imagine, explore. Take initiative. Don’t be afraid to face your fears. Always seek the Truth. Value you identity. Be strong yet soft. Your future is in your hands. Be beautiful – Be bold. Be YOU!"
MAINTAINING YOUR RELATIONSHIPS – BOTH WITH YOUR LOVE AND YOUR GIRLS!
Recently I have come to that point in my life where I have realised how much it means for a woman to have her girl friends by her side.
When in a relationship it is so easy to focus all your time and energy on your partner. It sounds draining though. What about time apart to spend time with your own friends family? Like a guy who needs to have time to spend with his guy mates watching rugby and drinking etc… A woman also needs to have time to herself where she can go out and spend time with her girl friends.
Woman love talking – that’s a proven fact! Men are the opposite though. When a woman gets home from work all she wants to do is talk about her day with her partner but a guy when he gets home from work he wants to sit down on the couch and relax for the next half an hour or so. This is just one of the many differences of both men and woman. A woman she needs to have her girlfriends in her life in a different way that men have their guy mates. For me I need to have the support and friendships of my girls to fill that little space in my heart. The kind of friendships where you know you can sit down with your girls, be yourself, not be judged or hit on if you were talking with guys and talk about absolutely anything and everything knowing that they will listen back in return. I love my girls and the friendships that we have together. They are a big part of my life and I am so very thankful that I have some good true girl friends who I can turn too no matter what time of day it is!
LEARNING TO LOVE YOUR OWN COMPANY
When you get to that stage m in you life where you can quite happily say that you are happy with your own company and spending time to yourself, then that’s when you will be able to start to think about sharing part of your life with someone else.
When you love yourself first you can then start to love someone else. When you enjoy time alone to yourself then taking a break every now and then wont be too painful.
If we aren’t able to cope being by ourselves then we will start depending on our partner for support and comfort all the time, and that can be very draining. What happens when a break up happens? Who are you going to turn to then and better still how are you going to manage being by yourself again? I will give you a little example from my life. – I work on a ship where we all work as a team but we also have a lot of our independent down time to ourselves. Now most people would think that this would get boring day after day, but to be totally honest I love it! You get time to yourself where you can do what ever you want without having anyone else influence your decisions. Its great! I sleep, go to the gym, watch a movie, listen to music, relax on my bed reading a book, do some creative art work and write ups for my blog page and have a lot of time to think about my life as it has been and will be. I get time to focus all my attention of “ME” for a change. Thinking about what I have achieved in life and also what is still yet to be achieved ahead of me. Its not to say that I don’t like spending time with my partner, family or friends. No it’s the complete opposite! I love my social and love life to pieces, but I have realised for to keep myself true to who I am I have to have time to myself every so often. So why not take the chance now, do you want to figure out who you are as a person and know if you love your own company? The only you are going to know is by trying it out for yourself someday.
PHYSICAL V’s MENTAL STRENGTH
I’d like to take a moment to come back and touch on one of my previous write-up’s. “Physical V’s Mental Strength” I’m not what you call one of the biggest woman in the world in fact most people would say the opposite.
Physical strength can be built on by excising and working out. You can see a change in your body shape, muscle strength and over all general fitness stamina. But mental strength? How can you gauge how strong you are mentally or what areas need working on? Yes sure you can go and see a psychologist and they will tell you where your weak areas are in your life, but wouldn’t you like to be able to know and judge this on your own? Fancy that – being able to know where your mental weaknesses are and then having the ability to work on strengthening them. Here are 4 steps to making this possible:
1- Keep a Journal of the highs and lows of your day, what happened, how you reacted, how it affected you and how you felt because of it. Feelings, emotions and thoughts - do this for 3 weeks.
2- Sort through your points arranging them into two lists of which had either a positive and negative affect on your life.
3- You can put the positive list aside for the moment and focus on the negative list. Re-order the negative list to which point had the biggest affect on your life. i.e.- worrying, feeling lonely and lost, being heartbroken etc…
4- Take each negative point one by one and write down some points about how you can avoid feeling the way you did if that same thing happened next time. Is there anything on your positive list which you could link up to one of these points?
It sounds like a lot of hard work but trust me in the end you will be thankful you did it. I now have techniques which help to me identify my mental weaknesses and how I am to approach them when they occur in the near future. Life is full of some many highs and lows. It is up to us if we want to stay on the low or reach up for the high ride!
LEADING BY EXAMPLE
An inspiring Captain back in the year 2002 once told me:
“You must work as though there is always someone watching everything that you do! You never know who maybe learning from the little things done in your life…”
Wow! I worked on a medical ship in Fiji in 2007 where there were a lot of children on board. On this particular voyage there was a 7 year old Australian girl called Zakaiya. She was such a gorgeous young girl, so full of life and happiness (we didn’t know at the time that she came from an abusive background and was now being raised by a solo parent) Zakaiya took a liking to me. Everywhere I went she would follow, everything I did she would copy, she ate what I ate, wore her hair the same as mine, sat down when I sat down and basically mimicked everything I did. At first I though that this would get a bit annoying until I realised what this Captain once told me. She was learning from me. I would be working on the bridge doing chart corrections and she would ask to come and sit next to me and promised not to talk or distract me, she was so caring and considerate at only 7 years old. Then there was one particular afternoon which I still remember so clearly to the day. I walked into my cabin and found Zakaiya sitting on my bunk and looking at my photos while frowning. I asked her what was wrong? She then said: “Why do you try and change who you were created to be?” I looked surprised. “I mean if you were created with brown curly hair why would you want to try and change yourself, I don’t understand!” I didn’t know what to say in response. Zakaiya then jumped off my bed, placed a hand made card of my pillow and walked out of my cabin.
I was stumped! This young girl had been coping me and learning from me since the day she had met me and now she was confused as to why someone else would want to try to be someone they are not. From that day on Zakaiya and I did things together. She wore her hair the way that she felt comfortable with and we did things that she wanted to do for a change.
ENJOYING BOTH LOVE AND WORK!
We could spend our entire work week complaining about the problems with our job but that wouldn’t get us anywhere! For instance I could moan and complain each day when I am at work on the ship about how much I miss my partner and life back home on the farm. But how would I perform to the best of my ability at work? I just wouldn’t. Instead of feeling homesick or worrying about missing my loved ones I try to focus on the joys of my job and how much I love doing what I do for a living. I mean who works in an environment where their scenery changes every day. Sighting dolphins and whales on a regular basis, experiencing the feeling of night sailing under the moon and star lit sky and as well at the sights, living in a place where you have your own chefs, stewards and cabin attendants. What more could you want?
You’d be surprised how often the feelings of loneliness and missing loved ones comes up on a daily basis. At times they try to outweigh the highs of the job.
The secrets to avoiding homesickness and enjoying work life, especially on a ship, is to think of all the good positive things you like about your job. Focusing on your work can be good at keeping your mind occupied while working as well as communicating with loved ones back home on a regular basis - good balanced life.
Everyone is different! This is only one of the ways in which I cope with balancing my love life and my job.
WHAT IS MY SOUL PURPOSE IN LIFE?
Recently I was asked this question by someone very special in my life. At first I didn’t know how to answer it. I mean I had to explain to this person why I thought I was placed on this earth and why I am continuing to live each day out. Now I must say don’t even try to think about this question if you are feeling down at the moment because it will only make you feel worse! Some people would look at me and say “You were placed on this earth to be an awesome Woman Captain” and I am thankful that some people think that, but that’s only a job, its not who I am as a person or why I am here. I truly believe that I am placed on this earth with one purpose and one purpose only. And that is for “Love”. I am here to love others and to be loved myself. It has always been on my heart that I will only ever fall in love with one guy and love one guy only. That is a big value of mine which I will stick with for the rest of my life. I am here to share love, teach love, give love and spread my love with my friends and family! There are so many different types of Love. Family love, friendship love, relationship partner love, parental love and so much more.
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking. It is not easily angered. It keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails!”
A GOOD YEAR IT HAS BEEN… (2009)
Well I now have time to sum up everything about 2009 for my life in less than 200 words. It has been an amazing year filled with so many first experiences for me. Starting from January: “Worked on a ship in Australia, Passed my AMSA Oral exam, Moved house into a flat in Wellington, Learnt how to surf in summer, Ran a half marathon, Got a Job and a pay rise, Travelled New Zealand, Met lots of new friends, Had a make over, Fell in love and now in a relationship, Started a family (28 baby chickens and 1 duckling) Had my fair share of hospital visits, Attended a couple of weddings, Learnt how to relax and now I have a balanced life!”
And that’s only a few of the things which have happened in my life this year. What’s coming up in the next two months are pretty exciting as well. My birthday, a Cruise on a Cruise ship over Christmas with my partner, New Years spent in Australia and then a Holiday with my partner in Fiji at the end of January next year!
So many plans and so many fun times ahead to look forward to.
QUOTE OF 2009!
“When you reach that point in your life where your dreams become your life and your life becomes your dream… You know you are the happiest person in the world!”
SHARING YOUR PASSION IS WHAT KEEPS IT ALIVE!
Some people go through their whole lives doing something that they love doing while keeping it to themselves. These people are happy with who they are and what they have achieved in life. They are happy just trundling along quite smoothly in life. Then there are the people who love their live, live their dreams out each day and share their passion with others along the way. That is about the stage where I am now. I have been living my passion out for the past 5 years at sea and loved just about every minute of it. Now though I am sharing my love for my job and career with close ones around me, and I don’t mean sharing with young woman in an inspirational sort of role, I mean sharing my passion and work done through the day with my Dad and close ones by my side. And I tell you what it’s such a nice feeling! Being able to share the highs and lows of your day with someone else, talking about the little things in your job that make your eyes sparkle and ignite – that’s PASSION! For me, being able to work on the ship and share my passion and positiveness through the phone to a close friend, makes me happy. I have a more balanced life now. Simply being able to merge my work life on the ship with my life back at home, this is now bringing a steady flow of happiness back into my daily life.
Keeping Your Dreams Larger Than Your Memories!
Have you ever turned your head around while driving a car even for the slightest second to see what was behind you? Then a fraction of a second later you are grabbing the steering wheel trying to bring the car back onto the road.
That’s what most of us experience at some stage in our lives. If you spend more time looking back at your past, where you have been, what you have done and so on, eventually you are going to slowly begin to drift of track.
A good mate of mine recently told me: “Keep Your Dreams Larger Than Your Memories!” RD On hearing this I thought to myself I have so many memories that all I want to do is remember them all, all the time. Then one day I woke up and realised that by keeping your dreams larger than your memories you are actually creating more opportunities for memories in the near future. Wow! So next time you decide to turn your head around and see what gone by, make it only brief because there is so much more that lay’s out ahead of you.
Being Respected For Whom You Are As A Person!
FOR WHOM YOU ARE AS A PERSON! Not for what people see you as.
This was a big issue for me when I stepped onto my first ship 5 years ago and it somewhat still is today when I join a new ship for the first time. Picture this:
‘An environment which is male dominated has just had a woman join them. She’s not joining them by starting at the bottom and working her way up, No, she is joining them close to the top of the pecking order.’
How do you think the guys below her would feel? I mean in today’s world the workforce is seen as a man’s world.
Many people think that men should respect woman right from the start. How that would be nice! But from what I have learnt from the past 5 years of working with men at sea is that the only way to achieve this is to earn their respect. Earning guys respect can be as easy as working together to get to know what kind of person the other is and also listening when each other has something to say.
For me, being respected for being a woman working on a ship full of guys, it’s totally out of the question. I have had to earn each guys respect one at a time and continually work at it. Now I could have changed to be ‘just one of the guys’ or ‘a high nosed chick’ but instead I just decided to be myself. It required less work from me and I was comfortable in the process. The guys therefore respected me for who I was and not for what people saw me as – a woman.
Everyone is unique in their own personal way. For some people it takes years to earn others respect and for the rest of us it just comes naturally!
Putting words onto paper
You would not believe how many write-ups I have actually written compared to how many I have published – 100’s and 100’s. Now I know how a writer feels before they get to the final stages of publishing their book! That is another one of my dreams that I would like to achieve one day. Putting all my write up’s together and creating my own biography. I know that it is going to take up so much time with collating everything into one flowing book, and not to mention the proof reading which will be involved. Isn’t it funny how English was my weakest subject at school yet once I left school I started writing my own blog. Word’s are like Gold! So powerful that they can have a changing impact on someone else’s life without you even knowing about it. I have so many stories of personal accounts I’ve had with young girls of how just one spoken word has made their dreams come true. All these write-up’s of pieces of my life and experience over the years has made me come to the point where I am now ready to write my first book. I have always wanted to write my own biography but have thought that I am too young to even attempt one yet. I have realized that what I have achieved and been through in the past 23 years is enough to start my own series collection. So keep an eye out for it. In just over a years time I hope to be on my way to publishing my first book. December 2010 is my deadline.
Change can influence self-esteem
Ever since I was a child I’ve always been strong minded and determined t o achieve what ever I set my heart to. High school was one of my biggest challenges as a teenager as I was not popular and got bullied for going to school to study and play sport. When I was at school popularity was clarified by how many friends you had and how many parties you attended. The way you wore your uniform and did your hair was also a factor taken into account. Image didn’t really matter to me much. I was happy with who I was each day. Learning in the classroom, competing and winning all the sports events and competitions. Times when I was alone, some were hard but overall what people thought of me didn’t really effect me, if I was happy then that’s all that mattered. Now 6 years down the track I decided that it was time for a change. Now I know that you shouldn’t have to change your appearance to get people to like you but for me I did this for myself. I decided for a change in appearance to one which has made me feel so much more confident with myself which has boosted my self-esteem. I went from a girl with long brunette curls who only focuses on her work/study/career to a woman with short blond hair who has a balanced life with work/family/friends/career. Life couldn’t be much better at this stage. I’m not saying that everyone should go out there and have a makeover, but more so ever now and then taking time out to treat yourself to a nice pamper session. Introducing change into your life because you want to can have such a rewarding effect in the long run.
New Sea Contract
I have just signed a new contract with my shipping company which has set me up for the next three years. This included a huge pay rise, endless training opportunities, chances for promotion and personal development in my sea career. 2010 starts off with me back studying Mates/Masters for 10 months to gain my Chief Mates ticket. This is then followed up by a graduation and a week of celebrations! 2011 and 2012 has me working back for the company who is sponsoring me through school next year. 18 months sea time will need to be gained within 24 months before I can then sit my Masters Oral exam in the end of 2012. During this time the company will send me overseas to gain 6 months sea time elsewhere (hopefully a cargo ship). My dream has always been to gain my Masters ticket before I reach the age of 27 years old. As well as this I aim to pay off my first home mortgage by then. A lot to aim for but I am focused and determined that I will reach this by then. My new contract promises me a pay rise every year, a promotion to second mate and also opportunities to train younger cadets up in this industry. The work schedule is week on/week off with 4 weeks annual leave plus accrued leave on top of that. Working 12 hours shifts for 7 days is just bliss when you think of having 7 days off afterwards. I will be living back up in Auckland and flying to Wellington every second week to work. It’s a good thing that I love flying! So my new contract has been signed, with many thanks to my employment lawyer for all his help with the negotiations and benefits. I am now fully employed and on a regular pay roll. That mortgage may just be paid off after all.
<3 Love the job your in <3
What other job allows you to sit back in a leather chair and watch the sun rise or moon set while working? Having the chance to watch dolphins and whales swim past you in summer and making wishes on numerous shooting stars every night in winter?
Every job has its negative qualities about it. It’s the positive which we have to keep reflecting on when we feel like our job isn’t worth it anymore. In my industry from the outside it seems like happy sailings in beautiful weather with stunning sceneries. But when a blustery southerly screams through in winter, followed by 5m seas and thunderstorms, the last place you won’t to be is at work. This can be compared this to the days in summer where the seas are like a sheet of glass, the sea life has come alive and the temperatures are really pleasant. Working on a ship, day or night and in rain or shine just shows the extent of the variety of change that can occur when at sea. Boredom is seldom experienced in my industry. There is always something to do whether it is working or doing your own personal task or hobby in your down time. I have gone through times when I am away at sea that I wish I was home with my family and friends again. Visa/Versa, when I am home in my time off wishing I was back on the ship working again! There has to be a fine line in drawn in life which divides work from family life. When I am on the ship that is my time to myself to focus on working and my own personal downtime so that when I at home I can focus on spending quality time with my family and friends. We only live once and so many opportunities are lost because people take their work life home into their family lives. In the end you love for your job is lost and your interest in your working for pleasure dies out. Keeping the two lives separate is the best way to maintain a balanced life of love for your family and your job.
A change in career paths
Have you ever though to yourself that ‘I have been doing this for so long now, it must be time for a change to try something else?’ I have only been on my career path for 6 years so far, it’s not that long I know but to me it feels like a life time and I do have my days where I would like to try something different one day.
My passion at this stage in my life is at sea, and while I spend half my time living and working on a ship I still have many other dreams and passions that I would like to live out one day.
1 – To work as a Commercial Chef for a high class top restaurant (I am sort of starting to live part of this out when I am off the ship. It’s only minimal, but being able to cook for the household each night is keeping this passion alive.
2 – To travel the world in 12 months with a best mate. Writing, sketching and photographing my way around the world.
3 – To become a sportswoman and representative my region in my two favourite sports. Netball and Touch Rugby.
4 – And I still love working with kids up in the South Pacific Islands (3rd world islands) There are so many things that I dream of doing one day. We can’t do everything though all at once. Various passions become achievable at certain stages of our lives. Right now the career which I am in has me set up for the next three years. I am happy and wouldn’t give this up to work in another profession just so that I can tick it off my list. I will get a chance to achieve all four of my passions mentioned above, when though? Who knows? All I know is that I will achieve them sooner or later.
Back to school in 2010 for Mates/Masters
We all started in the same position, at the bottom, and now after all going our separate ways we are now coming back to study the next stage in our sea careers together again next year. Out of the 5 guys from the class of 2007 2nd Mates, 2 are from cruise ships, 1 is from the offshore industry, 1 from NZ coastal tankers and 1 from the NZ rail ferries. The syllabus for Mates/Masters next year will consist of weeks of: Marine Engineering (2) Ship Masters Business (2) Compass Adjustment (2) Command Meteorology (2) Maritime Administration (1) Maritime Commercial Practice (3) Managing Vessel Condition (3) Command Principles and Practice (2) Naval Architecture (5) Piloting Ships (1) Control Navigation and Emergencies (4)Managing Marine Operations (4) Orals Prep Course (4) and three short courses which I have already completed - Ship Masters Medical (1) Advanced Fire Fighting (1) GMDSS Radio Operator (1) It’s going to be a pretty full on year with studies and exams, what will make it most enjoyable will be the guys who I’ll be studying with again. We get half day Wednesday’s and Friday’s and study classes two nights a week at one of our houses. And I must not forget to mention the quiet drink at the end of the week to unwind after a week of sitting in a classroom. Only 6 months to go now!
If you believe you can - You can !!!
One of my favourite childhood songs is “I believe I can Fly” the lyrics speak so strongly about believing that you can do anything if you want to. “I believe I can fly, I believe I can touch the sky, I think about it every night and day spread my wings and fly away, I believe I can fly!” The biggest challenge that sets people back in life is thinking and believing that you can’t do something before you have actually tried to.
How do you know if you can’t park a ship between two wharves if you have never stepped forward and taken hold the opportunities given to you? I joined a ship last month where the Captain came up to one of the Deck Officers and asked them if they wanted to take the ship off the berth to anchor in the middle of the harbour. He hesitated and said no because he has never done it before. The Captain then came and asked me if I would then like to. Straight away I jumped and said yes please! The only way you are going to learn how to drive a ship is to actually practice driving a ship. Confidence is one thing that lets a lot of people down. But Could I really do this? I mean me, drive a ship by myself off a wharf and stop in the middle of the harbour and let the anchor go. I’m only a young, small female how could I possibly drive a ship of this size? That’s the sort of questions which I get asked by a lot of people when they look at me working in my chosen profession. It has taken me 5 years to get to a place where I have the ability to believe myself into being able to do something. At the end of the day it’s having confidence and faith in yourself which will determine if you can achieve a task. Think and dream big. Believe you can do anything and you’ll be surprised at how my more you can actually do.
Techniques to overcome loneliness
This is an issue that I have been looking into for the past few months. Myself along with several other young deck officers working in our company are starting to experience the feelings of being alone while working at sea. It is not a nice feeling and I hope that if anyone ever feel like this that you are able to use some of these skills to switch out of it.
Just exactly how do you overcome those times when loneliness creeps up? My findings after a lot of research and study show that by writing a couple of lists of the things that you are good at, things you like to do and things that make you happy, you are then always able to refer back to these lists when you start to feel down.
Below is an extract from a couple of lists which I have written for myself this year:
WHAT I AM GOOD AT, MAKES ME HAPPY AND SOME OF THE THINGS THAT I LIKE TO DO:
Running and playing sports in a team, Talking to people, Living and working on a ship, Writing emails but better still receiving emails from friends, Driving ships (ship handling) Cooking meals for a group of people, Writing for my blogpage, Artwork, Cactus planting (gardening) Relaxing on the couch by the fire watching a movie with a good Mate, Socialising with friends in town, Living on a farm and listening to music. These are just some of the things which I can refer back to whenever I feel down and lonely on the ship. By feeding positive information into your system you can actually help change your mindset of the down hill spiral. Try it for yourself one day, you’ll be surprised at how writing these things down can change the way you feel.
Thank's for all the Support ! :-)
Now is probably a good time for me to take 5 minutes to say thank you to all the people who have given me their support since I have been working at sea. I don’t have enough space to mention everyone by name but you know who you are. All the people who have supported me financially, supportively, physically and emotionally, thank you guys! But most of all I have my family and friends to thank. Without them I would be able to enjoy my job away from home. Thank you to all my friends from back home and my Dad for the continuous flowing emails, phone calls, text messages and post cards sent. There is nothing nicer when you are away at sea than receiving a message from a really good friend back home, it’s such a nice feeling.
To all my friends from Kaukapakapa primary school, Kaipara College, NZ Maritime School, Spirit of New Zealand, Marine Reach, Helensville CLC and my Auckland friends and mates (also Massey guy!) You guys are all awesome! I’d also like to thank all the people who I don’t know which send me anonymous e-mail’s with feedback and support from my blogpage. And last but not least the NZMWA – New Zealand Woman’s Maritime Association. Thanks everyone. Without all your support my life working away from hard would be so much tougher to handle.
PHYSICAL V’S MENTAL STRENGTH
Most people under estimate the significance of mental strength when it comes to working on a ship out at sea.
Whether someone is away for one week, six weeks or three months, it takes a lot of mental strength to adapt to the change in lifestyle as well as being able to cope with the emotional side of missing loved ones back home.
Physical strength comes with the job. You are kept fit by being active while working on board 24/7 as well as by using the ship gym equipment.
Mental strength on the other hand takes a lot more to build up. Most people say that this comes with age and develops over time. As you grow older you learn to cope with life’s issues and the curve ball’s, which it throws at you a lot more than when you were younger.
So far for me this is my biggest hurdle. Having the ability to adapt to a change in lifestyle every seven days. One week I’ll be with my friends and family at home, working on the farm, feeding the animals, cooking dinners, shopping and sending time with friends socialising in town. Then the next week I’ll be working 12-16 hour days on a ship at the other end of the country. And I have to be honest it does get really hard at times!
As time is passing by I am taking one day at a time and learning techniques on how to manage my life when change occurs.
It’s not easy all the time, but that’s just Life! We have to accept what it throws at us and find the inner strength to pull through it.
NIGHT SHIFT ON A RAIL FERRY
Hmm … now you would think of working the night shift as working between the hours of darkness and sleeping during the day, wouldn’t you? This maybe true for a job on land but on the rail ferries is means you are working a 12 hour shift from 4pm-4am or the more recent set up of 4/4, 8/8. What does this mean though? A night shift on the rail ferry Arahura would consist of starting work at 12pm-4pm. Then working again at 8pm-4am. So your rest times are 4pm-8pm and 4am-12pm. It takes a while to get used to and once your body understands when you are supposed to be awake and asleep it becomes so much more easier to handle. Telling your body to go to sleep at 4:30am in the morning when the sun is getting ready to rise is not normally easy. But I tell you it will be your body that starts to tell you when to sleep towards the end of the week.
The 12-4 day shift is split in half so that one deck officer does the bridge drive in through Tory Channel to Picton and loads the rail deck while the standby deck officer does cargo deck rounds and loads the top deck. On departure from Picton the deck officers switch so that the standby officer is now doing the drive out through Tory Channel. The evening watch from 8pm-4am is divided into two watches again, this time they are 4 hour watches. 8-12, 12-4.
Leaving the past behind you...
So many people have regrets in life which hold them back from moving forward.
Regrets from doing something wrong and making the wrong decisions and holding grudges against someone for something they have done in the past. These all do nothing good for you and worst of all they rob you of your happiness. Happiness – A feeling or an emotion? Either way it is something that you experience and brings a smile to your face. Have you ever been happy and not wanted to smile? The saying “Build a Bridge!” sounds pretty direct but in reality that is what’s needed to put the past behind you and move on. We all have regrets in life, gosh even I have a few which I am not proud of, but in amongst the bad regrets there are some which we have learned from to makes us become who we are today. At the end of the day it is only yourself who can let the past go and make that first step forward. Not your parents or your partner, only you!
SPAGHETTI BOLOGNESE
You'll need:
My favourite meal in the whole wide world!!! Here is how to make the best Spag/Bol that is to die for...
500g prime mince
3 tomatoes
1 small can of Watties pasta sauce
2 medium onions
5 garlic cloves
6 or 7 large mushrooms
1 green capsicum
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp of mixed herbs
2 plucks of basil from the herb garden
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp dried thyme
Fresh ground pepper to taste
1 cup of hot water
200-300g spaghetti (pasta/noodles)
Colby or tasty cheese, grated
How to cook and serve up:
1. Peel and chop onions and garlic cloves.
2. Chop your mushrooms, green capsicum and tomatoes.
3. Heat saucepan with hot water in it then place mince in.
4. In another saucepan lightly fry onions, garlic, mushrooms, and capsicum for 5 minutes until onions turn clear and garlic starts to smell strong. The leave to simmer.
5. Fry mince until browned and it breaks apart into small clumps. Add fried vegetables to the mince. Add chopped tomatoes now.
6. Add pasta sauce and all herbs now. Mix ingredients well. Cover the saucepan and leave to simmer for 20 minutes.
7. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. Add spaghetti, a little at a time. Stir and add a dash of olive oil to avoid sticking. Cook for 10 minutes or until just cooked through (no hard white centre). Drain and run cool water through spaghetti.
8. Serve spaghetti up on a plates, remove mince from the heat and pour over the spaghetti. Add grated cheese for garnish.
Spaghetti Bolognese is now ready to eat and enjoy!
Taught to cook and prepare by my Dad!
Night shift on a Passenger/Freight ferry
For the past 2 months I have been working on the night shift as 3rd Officer on a passenger/freight ferry in New Zealand. Night shift usually means that you get to see to sun set in the evenings as you start watch but because it is currently winter we don’t get to see the sun anymore. As well as that I have to mention the rapid decrease in temperature outside on deck.
The night shifts are 12 hour shifts which start at 1800 in the evening and finish up at 0600 the next morning. A typical night shift roster would be:
1800-1845: Cargo planning for the departure from Wellington-Picton.
1845-2000: Loading the ship in Wellington then mooring stations for departure.
2000-2330: One Officer drives and the other Officer prepares the next cargo load and conducts safety rounds of the cargo decks.
2330-0050: Mooring stations for berthing in Picton and then discharge and loading.
0050-0415: One Officer drives and the other Officer completes safety checks and safety rounds of the cargo decks.
0415-0600: Mooring stations for berthing in Wellington and then discharge before finishing your shift.
That is the structure of the night shift watch system. As for the day shift it is pretty similar work hours, all divided between two Deck Officers. The only difference is the day time sailing is for passengers and their cars and the night sailings are for Trucks and dangerous good cargo.
Winter Blues or Winter Warmers?
If you think you are cold at home in winter then try living and working on a ship where at sea the air temperatures don’t get a chance to reach positive double figures. Brrrhh… The only thing at sea which increases in winter is the amount or layers of clothing you wear when working. A set of thermals, woollen fleece, uniform shirt and jumper, wet weather jacket and pants, 2 pairs of socks, a scarf, woollen gloves and a beanie. Also in my case I have a mini hot water bottle which I fill up twice a day and place down the front of my shirt close to my heart (warm blood is them pumped from my heart around my body to my extremities) The coffee intake increases as well which also helps. Some mornings in Picton the temperatures barely reach 2 degrees Celsius. Trucks are even arriving on board the ship with ice and snow still on their tyres from the roads down south. Winter on the ship is a time when I don’t worry about what I look like in the way of clothing and appearance, if I’m all wrapped up like an Eskimo then in my case my warmth and comfort is far more important. I mean I don’t have to dress to impress anyone at work, the guys who I work with are co-workers and the average is around 45 years old. Most of them are if not the same age as my Dad or older! Thankfully winter only comes once a year and our summers down here are something for us to look forward to.
Shipboard Fire Fighting Circuit Training
As if I didn’t have a big enough work load already in my 17 hour shift! Stepping on board the ship on joining day and being met by the Captain with a little task to organise and carry out in two days time is not the usual way you are greeted when coming back to sea after three weeks off. A couple of months ago I was in this exact position. Don’t get me wrong I love my work and love the challenge of extra work but to organize a training session for 60 people in less than two days, you have to be joking! I had only been working on that ship for a month prior to being asked this so I had to learn a lot more about the ship and all its fire fighting equipment which it carried at the same time as preparing and writing up the training drill.
My task was to arrange a fire fighting circuit training drill for 60 crew members to be held one afternoon when the ship is alongside. I planned a circuit consisting of 6 stations with different fire fighting equipment, each with instructions of their use and a deck officer split between two stations. The training lasted 90 minutes and included hands on use of setting fire extinguishers off, fire hoses, foam and fog branches, donning fire suits and BA gear, the use of fire blankets and chemical suits and grab bags. The feedback was unbelievable. Cooks and stewards thanked me for giving their department a chance to set off fire extinguishers and hold a fire hoses when they were fully charged under pressure. The purpose of the training was to give all crew a chance to use the ship board fire fighting equipment and become familiar of its use in case they are needed to use it in an emergency.
Training is one thing that can never be overlooked at sea. It is an essential part of maintaining the safe running of a ship.
Life living on board a ship. What is it actually like for a woman?
I can answer this question from two perspectives. Life for a woman working on a deep sea trading ship and life as a woman working for Inter Islander on the Ferries. Both perspectives are from my own personal views.
Woman bring a unique touch into the maritime industry. I haven’t worked with only a couple of women in my sea career so from what I have been told woman bring a variety of competence to their job, pay a lot of attention to the finest details and they are highly reliable officers. The presence of even just one woman on board on a ship has proven to have an influence on the behavior of the other 17 male crew members. Enthusiasm for their job is just one of the many keys to enjoyment.
There will come a day when woman will be accepted into the maritime industry on the same level as males, as shown in the increase in woman seafarers, this is looking promising for the near future.
When this world eliminates all gender discrimination and all associated hurdles, we will hopefully be able to see more of woman employed and promoted in the maritime industry. On deep sea voyages you get a lot of time to yourself to think about your life and things that you want to do in the future. Have the opportunity to watch sun rises and sun sets every day from your workplace and even from your cabin window. On coastal voyages you are surrounded by glorious coastline and sea life and not to mention opportunities to go ashore and sight see. Working on the Inter Islander Ferries you work full time for 7 days and then get 7 days off afterwards. Talk about a great deal, equal time on time off. The ships cruise the glorious Queen Charlotte sounds and at the end of your week on board you can choose whether you get off the ship in Wellington or Picton to travel the south island.
4-8 on a Coastal Product Tanker
You can pretty much guarantee that my life each day on the 4-8 watch involved the same things, day after day after day. You get yourself into a routine and everything just starts to happen automatically after time. You wake up and go to sleep at the same time, meals were always at 8, 8am and 8pm. The afternoon nap wasn’t something that you planned it started to happen naturally no matter where you were. Yes that’s right. When I hopped off the ship for some time off I would instantly start to fall asleep at 3pm every day. If I didn’t I would find myself curling up in the corner somewhere just to try and get half an hour of shit eye. You were the same clothes, either bridge uniform, overalls or casual gear. You know who everyone is instantly form the distance by what shirt they were wearing. Being a woman you can mix and match things every now and then to avoid boredom. Things like doing different hairstyles. On many occasions I have braided my hair in over 40 little plats. It took me over 3 hours so it filled in basically an entire watch while we were deep sea.
Anyway my daily routine when on the 4-8 watch was basically set out as follows:
0330 – Wake up and get ready for watch.
0400 – Bridge or Cargo Watch commences.
0800 – End of Watch.
0815 – Breakfast, usually by myself.
0930 – Study.
1000 – Morning cup of tea.
1200 – If not doing safety checks or study then may have lunch.
1500 – Afternoon nap.
1530 – Wake up and get ready for Bridge or Cargo Watch.
1600 – Bridge or Cargo Watch commences.
2000 – End of Watch.
2015 – Dinner, usually by myself.
2030 – Study.
2200 – Try and be asleep before clock reads 2200.
Don’t you get bored of routine? What do you do to relax? Do you ever become complacent? These are just some of the many questions I get when explaining deep sea life to my friends and family. Going deep sea you get a lot of time to reflect back on your own life and also look forward to future plans that may happen. I had a friend who went deep sea for a few months and planned an entire world trip for him and his wife when he hopped off. The amount of time you get to pay attention to detail is incredible. Having no distractions around you so that you are able to focus on what you enjoy the most and having beautiful scenery to relax in at the same time makes it all worth while. Sure you do miss your friends and family with being away for so long, but the times that you get to spend together when you see them is like gold to you. You resort back to the old fashioned hand written snail mail letters which take a week or two to get back home when you do actually get into port and send them. Now days though most ships have caught up on the latest technology and internet accessible throughout most of the world. Emailing and even Skype. You can talk and see your friends and family while you are away on the ship so it actually feels like they are there with you.
Cherish both the clam and the rough
Its days like this that I cherish and days like this that I pray. Some people love fine weather and others need a bit of rough times to keep them focused on where they are going. Some people love rough weather so much that they get an adrenaline rush every time that a gale force storm is expected and they also get really bored with calm seas and sunny days. Me, I cherish and pray in both the calm and the stormy days
We need storms to be thrown our way every now and then to spice up life a bit and also so that we don’t get bored with to many calm times. 
“It’s moments like these that we need minties.” I still remember this advert that used to be shown on TV.
Decision time - Now it's my turn
As I sit on a large bit of drift wood at the beach I gaze out to the ocean looking at sea extend further than we could imagine and then merge into the sky. The ocean and the sea, all seen as one. Where am I going in life and whom am I meant to be walking with? This bought me back to one of my previous posts of decision’s, decision’s, decisions. I have now come back to that point in my life where I have to choose between my career, my life’s calling and love. Am I to follow the soft fuzzy feeling that I get in my heart which makes me happy? Or do I pursue my career at sea? What am I to do and which way am I to turn? If I follow my dreams and my calling will I ever get to experience this warm fuzzy feeling again? If I leave the path which I am called down and go to where my heart smiles will this be the right way for me? Love verses Life! If I choose one way and then finds out tat it doesn’t work out am I able to turn back and try the other way or will it be too late? This is something which creeps up on most of us throughout our lives and it has crept up on me now so unexpectedly. What am I to do? I haven't the foggiest idea at this stage. All I can do trust my faith and the direction I choose to go in will be the right one for me.
Unexpected change ?
Have you ever heard people say that change gets sprung on you when you least expect it? Just wait till you work on the waters of Cook Strait in New Zealand. One minute it will be as clear as glass and then within less than an hour later it will be blowing a gale from the south. It creeps up unexpectedly and blows its way in before you even get time to turn around and head back to a safe haven. We have had days out there on Cook Strait where we think that everything is all glamour and rosey but then when you head back out again to cross the strait it can have changed just like that, no more red roses, more like custard. Cook Strait in New Zealand would have to have been the roughest and the most calmest seas that I have ever sailed in. The biggest seas I have even been in have been on Cook Strait and that was 10m seas, swell, with southerly 65 knots. The calmest has also been on Cook Strait where the seas look like a sheet of glass and you can actually look over the side of the bridge wing and see your reflection in the sea. Once you are out there you are committed to following through and battling your way through it. There is no turning back once you exit Tory Channel entrance. There is only one direction which you can go and that’s straight to the next port of call. So when people say that they have been hit in the backside by and unexpected change, just think of the poor rail ferries out there on Cook Strait battling southerly storms. 
Quote of 2009
“When you reach that point in your life where your dreams become your life and your life becomes your dream… You know you are the most happiest person in the world!”
Character Moulding in your environment
It’s the people around you who have an influence on your character. Your personality is set in concrete but your character is more like clay, it can be moulded and shaped as you grow up. Character shows who you are as a person.
I live and work on board a ship, I have for the past 5 years, and my character has been moulded and shaped so many times that looking back you would think I was three different people. At the end of the day it has all contributed to who I am today.
People can influence the moulding of your character in both a positive and negative way. For instance my time on the tankers was at the time a negative influence but now I see that how the tankers shaped me has been an effect on my inner strength and ability to say ‘No’ these days. So the ship which I am on now has a crew who are 99% positive most of the time an love talking, being social, smiling and saying hello. All this contributes to the shaping of you are as a person. It is a nice feeling when your true inner character comes out.
You would be amazed at how much of a stress free atmosphere creates a relaxed environment. Why stress? Why worry? Does this get you anywhere? As much as it effects your physical health it also effects your mental and emotional well-being. Fatigue, lack of sleep, high blood pressure, decrease in your level of patience and tolerance and your ability to control yourself starts to become over whelming. So how can we make a change t o create a stress free environment in our home, workplace, family and everyday life? You’ll be amazed at how much of an influence hading a positive attitude makes your surroundings comfortable to be in. Make eye contact when you are involved in conversation, greet people as you walk past them, smile to all people who walk past you and no matter what mood you may be in always do things out of love!
Life Influences
The person who has influenced me the most in life and whom I also admire is my Dad. The one and only Mr Stewart. My dad is the most amazing person I have ever known. He spent 10 years raising his beautiful daughters, 2, which have turned out to be successful happy young woman. All thanks goes to him for our upbringing. When we were growing up he was a fulltime 6 days a week worker to earn money to keep us going, a farmer, sailor, fisherman, netball referee, running and biking buddy, a taxi driver, rally car driver, chef, cleaner, medic, support person, volunteer coastguard skipper for the Kaipara and watch leader on the Spirit of New Zealand. Also a peacemaker, provider, family binder, father and a best friend to me and my sister. He still is a lot of that to us today. He runs a fulltime, full on house hold for 5, a farm which requires 90% of his time, managers his workplace and his family commitments are more than most would ever experience in one year. He never gives up and never refuses to help someone in need. Never failed us and never left us with nothing. He is my Dad and I love him!
De-railment in Life
I had a dream the other night after cargo watch that the railway wagons, which we just discharged from the rail deck, had a derailment on shore. It came a huge shock to me because all I could think of was what did I do wrong to cause this to happen and how could I help this situation? When I woke up in the morning all I could think about was what I had just dreamed about. I spent a bit of time reflecting back on what happened and replayed the situation over and over again in my head. I thought that this may have been a warning for me for next cargo watch on the rail deck, but in the end I realised that it was a reminder of how important it is to stay on track on life. It came to my attention that many unpredictable things can happen in our lives, which we don’t fully expect, or ever think could happen to us. Some things shake us up and others leave us stranded. But it is the ones that cause us to fall off track that are more of an issue to try and get us back. Think of transportation as an example. Cars and trucks have the freedom to go where ever they like, trams have a bit of flexibility to how far that they can stray from the overhead cables and trains are restricted to the direction which the tracks are going.
Just can't stay away
Here I am again. Back at sea when I'm not at sea. Making any sense? Probably not. I have just moved into a new flat in the town where I now work and it is by the beach. So what is the last thing I do before I go to sleep at night? I look out the window and see the 10pm ferry go past on its way to Picton. What do I do during my days off? I go down to the beach and sit on the sand watching the Ferries go past in the morning. The evening walk along the beach is enjoyed as the 6pm ferry sails from Wellington. Some would say that I have an addiction and obsession with ships and the sea but I say that I have a passion. Addictions and obsessions bring pain but Passions bring happiness to life.
I do what I love and I love what I do, what more could I ask for?
Reaching that point in your life where you are happy with who you are and what you are doing, it is such a nice feeling. Passion brings happiness and happiness brings life. I used to not look forward to the day where I would have to sign of a ship, but now I am not bothered by this any more because I still get the buzz of seeing them from my bedroom window on my days off.
Learning from your past
Someone once told me that “We are all products of our past.” Wow! That’s pretty deep. At first I didn’t like that, because like most people I to have things in my past that I am not proud of. People say things they don’t mean and do things in the spur of the moment which they never would dream of doing in their lifetime. People have regrets and scars and bruising from issues that they may have encountered.
So in my eyes the past is the past, it’s behind us and there is no way that we can go back and change things. They have happened and now it is history. What we can do now though is focus on the future and moving forward in life. Learn from your mistakes and make a better effort to do what you do better next time round.
“Always look forward, don’t ever look back”
What a Captain and Mate will do for their ship!
In April-June 2005 Captain Leppington and I sailed the Pacific Link to
Riddle: - What runs fore to aft, port to starboard, left to right, stern to stem and there are three of them on a ship? – Guessed yet?
Captain Leppington and I spent a few months training crew in bridge watch duties, ship maintenance and ship board safety training procedures. Full time work, lots of hours on deck and little sleep gained by all on board. Grinding would start at the crack of dawn and noise s=would start to cease by sunset. There was no chance for an afternoon nap for me in
Make the most out of what you have in life, you never know when you may loose it. What is rubbish for someone may be someone else’s treasure.
2004 Spirit of Adventure Trust Cadets
You spend 18 months together living in close proximity together, every meal is eaten together, tears are shared with one another, good times and bad times they all happen in the same boat. You study in the same room, work on deck and aloft everyday and even share shore leave is spent together.
This is what it is like for cadets on the youth development ship the Spirit of New Zealand. In 2004 Suz, Luke and myself were cadets together. We lived and worked on the same boat as we voyaged around the New Zealand coast with youth from all over the country. We shared many good times with one another and also some very sad times as well. It wasn’t all fun and games we did have our moments, just like any teenagers growing up. But in our case any conflict that came up it was closely resolved within a matter of hours. You can’t hold grudges or give someone the silent treatment to anyone on a ship, it is just not possible. Everywhere you turn you see the other person. If you avoid them during the day you will see them at meal times no matter what.
So where are we all now. Well Suz went back onto the Spirit of New Zealand as 2nd Mate then moved up to 1st Mate, now she is in London in the UK working and having an OE at the same time. Luke is a Skipper for New Zealand Dive and Salvage and is currently doing some work in Samoa. Me I am a 3rd Officer on a Rail Ferry on my way up to the next rank. So there you have it. After 18 months living and growing up together, 5 years later we are still keeping in contact with one another.
Like I explained to someone one day: “Place 2 people in a boat together and after 10 days they will either be the best of friends or have killed one another!”
Reflections on the water
What do you see when you look over the side of the ship into the water? Do you recognize what you look at? Do you like what you see? Or wish you were different? That is the thing with reflections, we cant change them. They show exactly who we are at that particular point in time. Yes sure sometimes we don’t like what we see so we slap the water and the image fades away, but that is only for a moment. Once the water settles again the image comes back and it is the exact reflection of the one who is peering down into it. It is the only thing in the whole world which we can not get rid of. It follows us every where, always looking back at us and showing us what we look like.
Some people grow up their whole lives with out ever liking what they see about themselves. Most would say that this is low self-esteem but I say that people have just not realized their own inner and outer beauty yet. It make takes years even decades for this to be realized but the reality is that you beauty is in you now! All you have to do is look into the water and you will see the uniqueness of your creation. Just take a moment and look at you face. Who else has you nose of the same colour and spacing of your eyes. What about your hair? There is so much that you can do with it, why not do a style that makes you smile.
So every time you peer into the water and chuck stones at what you see looking back at you just remember that when the water settles the reflection will return no matter what.
Settling down for a year
Some would say I’m crazy some will say I shouldn’t, but anyone who knows me knows that I only do what is best for my career and for the people who I am around. Now six years later and after years of training, exams, experience, sea time and seeing amazing places, I have now settled down in a permanent job. I am working on a ship now which is the one I started on as a cadet in 2005. It is such a different perspective now being in a higher role than what I started in. All the training and experience was definitely all well worth it. I am on the Arahura working week on week off for 12 months. It is a great job with great benefits. I am now living in a flat in Wellington by a surf beach with a bedroom view of the ocean. I miss my Dad every day but this is one of the stages of growing up. Settling down for me was scary at first as I have always lived out of a pack since I started at sea. So believe me even I was surprised when this opportunity came up. What am I going to do in my weeks off the ship? Well I have taken up surfing and more hill running as recreational sports and also French as a language to learn. Maybe now is the time when I can now start to catch up with friends. My passion has grown into a lifestyle and is blossoming every day. I wouldn’t change any part of it so far.
So I’ll be working away on the Rail Ferries and enjoying every minute of pilotage, cargo, passengers and safety checks. Bring on the Easter Rush!
Pacific Link Missions 2005
Crew on the Pacific Link in 2005. Paul Leppington - Captain, Megs - 1st Mate, Ivan - Chief Engineer. Missions on the medical ship, Pacific Link, in the islands of Fiji were such an amazing introduction into 3rd World children's ministry. So many lives were changed and impacted on just by having us there with them in the schools. Some of the happiest children that I have ever see were in a village called Naibalebale on Viwa Island. These were kids aged between the ages of 4 and 14, and although they had no money and lived off the food which they grew and clothes that were delivered from supply boats every few months, they all had dreams to become something bigger than anyone could ever imagine. Two little girls want to be doctors so they can help the people in their village get better when they get sick. Some want to be pilots, air hostesses, teachers and even surgeons. These little kids all they see is the future ahead of them that is what keeps them going. They keep their eyes fixed on the goal and live every day to reach their dreams.
Passions and dreams build up inside them and the live each day to become the nurses, teachers and doctors that they have always wanted to be.
Broken Relationships
My second passion after the sea is children. Children are the future. What we put into them now can have an influence on the way they turn out. Whether it is good or bad it all has a influence.
It hurts me to see children being neglected by their parents. When parents break up it is the children who get hurt the most in all of it. Why bring such pain into a young persons life while they are still learning how to live in this broken world? Children learn from us, it is what we do that they copy and learn from. So if a child sees their parents fighting and arguing, the child will class this as normal behavior and their parents actions move down onto their children.
If parents get a divorce then it should be a clean move apart. Each parent should leave the other to live their own life and move on. None of this still fighting for money 10 years later. This only brings unnecessary stress and frustration into the child’s life. I guess what I am tying to say here is that I was raised by my Dad and grew up without a mother so I know what all this is like. I really want couples out there to really think before deciding to have children. Once you bring someone into this world you are obligated to look after them and be there by their side forever. It is a full time commitment. Put the child first in any relationship, think of their needs and their well being. If the relationship ends in a break up and there are children involved then for what its worth make the child’s upbringing conflict-free and clean.
I would just like to thank my Dad for the best upbringing that I could have ever wanted. Without him and what he has done for me I wouldn’t be where I am today!
Fire Fighting Training
If there was a fire in your workplace for you home would you know what to do? There are few people out there who know how to fight fires. Working an living on board a ship you are onboard a floating time bomb. This is mainly focused towards tankers but any ship if it is in the middle of the sea is basically left the experience of eth crew to control a fire. On a ship you are in an environment where if there is a fire on board you cant ring the fire brigade to come and help, you are it! Fire training is a huge part of shipboard trills and safety management. On my current ship we have fir drills every week. We muster, gear up and get involved in pre-planned fire scenarios. Sometimes this may include a dangerous goods spillage on deck, electrical wires involved, medical casualty and some even end in the crew having to abandon ship (just in practice sense) At all times on board we are to know where the nearest emergency exit is, the closest fire extinguisher and alarm call point and also the quickest action to be taken in that area. Whether it is to contain the fire by shutting the fire doors, attacking it by yourself if it is manageable, or evacuating the area and going to muster stations. It all depends on the situation at the time. All we can do as crew on board a ship is know that we are confident and competent in using the fire fighting equipment and know the procedures to be followed to ensure safety in an emergency.
Training done on board ships these days usually involve a smoke machine to give a drill a real life feeling. In some drills the masks of the crew wearing the BA gear get covered up so they cant see where they are going. Everything is dodne by sound, touch and senses.
Blind Pilotage
Everyday is a learning day for me. Not a single day goes by where I haven't learnt something new. 20 years could go by and I would still be learning about new stuff and new ways of doing things. The latest new experience I have had was so amazing! I was the pilot and got to con the Arahura in through Tory Channel Entrance all the way up to Picton. Solo, on my own and I wasn't allowed to use any navigational equipment. It all had to be done by sight and senses. Of course the Master was on the bridge for ticket exemption purposes and company regulations. I had to stand in front of the conning area on the bridge which is in front of the radars and navigation equipment. All piloting and navigation had to be done by sight. It was so awesome! Talk about an adrenalin rush and get your heart pumping. The Captain said to me 'Right get out the front you are doing this now, Blind Pilotage!' It would have to have been the best experience I have had on watch on this ship so far. Talk about being thrown in the deep end head first with no floaties to keep me afloat.
Well after this I am pleased to say that it went really well. The Captain and Mate were impressed with how I did it for my first time. I had only been on board for a week and hadn't done any pilotage work at all on this ship. I had memorized everything from my last ship, the Aratere, and made some fine adjustments to the helm orders. The Captain came up to me afterwards and said that I need to get a photo of myself conning the ship so that I can send it to my Dad because he would be so proud of me seeing what I do.
Well after this I am pleased to say that it went really well. The Captain and Mate were impressed with how I did it for my first time. I had only been on board for a week and hadn't done any pilotage work at all on this ship. I had memorized everything from my last ship, the Aratere, and made some fine adjustments to the helm orders. The Captain came up to me afterwards and said that I need to get a photo of myself conning the ship so that I can send it to my Dad because he would be so proud of me seeing what I do.
Motion of seasickness put into perspective
Have you ever wondered why passengers seem to get sea sick more than the Officers navigating on the bridge of the ship? Or why passengers in the back seat of a car are more prone to chunder? I took me a while to realise this but I have finally found out that most people like to have a sense of direction of knowing where they are going. From the bridge we can see what is actually going on and predict the movement of the vessel from observing the approaching sea conditions. So for a passenger who is indoors all they know is that the vessel I rolling around and their head then starts to signal to them that something isn't right. I bought a passenger up to the bridge one day who suffers from real bad sea sickness. She said that she has never been on board a boat or ship before and not been sick. This lady did the whole voyage across from one port to the other on the bridge and didn't feel the slightest urge of sea sickness. Being on the bridge of the ship she could see where we were going and what we expecting to encounter, wind gusts, sea waves and long swell waves. We sometimes get like this in life as well. If we can't see where we are heading or have no sense of direction we start to feel a bit sick. It's just a matter of opening up your eyes and looking forward to what is in front of you instead of down at the inside of a white paper bag.
Life in the Sounds
Marine life in Queen Charlotte Sound is just incredible during spring time and the summer seasons. Seeing dolphins is a regular occurrence and whales are an added bonus. Bird life is encountered all year round, the only variation being bird species.
You think that dolphins are just creatures like any other marine life t sea, but from personal experience they are must more than this. There is something about seeing a dolphin when you are on watch and at sea that brings a sense of contentment and makes you smile. The beauty of creatures gracefully enjoying life at sea, riding the bow waves of ships or trailing behind in the wake left behind. One of the only creatures that can change your mood if you are feeling down or in the dumps. They have a way of coming to the surface when we most need to be saved and cheered up. At first I thought this was just something that I encounter when I am at sea, but after sharing this with many people I have found out that over 30 other seafarers that I know experience this as well. So as you can see I don't just like working on a ship for the job and the pleasure that it brings, I do it to see the dolphins.
You think that dolphins are just creatures like any other marine life t sea, but from personal experience they are must more than this. There is something about seeing a dolphin when you are on watch and at sea that brings a sense of contentment and makes you smile. The beauty of creatures gracefully enjoying life at sea, riding the bow waves of ships or trailing behind in the wake left behind. One of the only creatures that can change your mood if you are feeling down or in the dumps. They have a way of coming to the surface when we most need to be saved and cheered up. At first I thought this was just something that I encounter when I am at sea, but after sharing this with many people I have found out that over 30 other seafarers that I know experience this as well. So as you can see I don't just like working on a ship for the job and the pleasure that it brings, I do it to see the dolphins.
Gourmet Cuisine and Rest
How many people do you have to cook for in your house hold? Two or three, maybe 5 if you have children. Do you ever complain about not having enough bench space in your kitchen? Or too many mouths to feed when friends and family come around? I bet you have had one of those days where you don't feel like cooking anymore so you order takeaways. Am I right? Of course!
Living and working on a ship we aren't able to do that. All our food is provided for us. We have highly qualified chefs who live and work on board the ships with us, cooking meals four times a day non-stop. If a ship is tied up for lay-by (not sailing) then most crew get shore leave. This isn't the case for the cooks. If they go ashore we don't eat. If they stop working we stop eating, and then if we stop eating then we stop working. It goes round and round ending up with the ship not sailing.A ship funnily enough moves around quite a bit when she is at sea so sometimes this can make cooking in the galley (ship's kitchen) very difficult. There are usually 2 or 3 cooks on a ship who all have to work in the same small area and walk around cautiously when the seas get choppy. So next time you have a party at home and are complaining about having to feed so many people just take a minute to think about he cooks on ships who have to cook for 40-50 crew members four times a day. For some reason your party will seem just that much easier.
Living and working on a ship we aren't able to do that. All our food is provided for us. We have highly qualified chefs who live and work on board the ships with us, cooking meals four times a day non-stop. If a ship is tied up for lay-by (not sailing) then most crew get shore leave. This isn't the case for the cooks. If they go ashore we don't eat. If they stop working we stop eating, and then if we stop eating then we stop working. It goes round and round ending up with the ship not sailing.A ship funnily enough moves around quite a bit when she is at sea so sometimes this can make cooking in the galley (ship's kitchen) very difficult. There are usually 2 or 3 cooks on a ship who all have to work in the same small area and walk around cautiously when the seas get choppy. So next time you have a party at home and are complaining about having to feed so many people just take a minute to think about he cooks on ships who have to cook for 40-50 crew members four times a day. For some reason your party will seem just that much easier.
I am just not understanding, How?
Have you ever tried to understand something that just isn’t making sense? Most of us have experienced this at least once in our life. Whether it is an English exam in high school or working out how plants grow upwards and ships float on water, we all have the ‘how’ question in the back of our minds. How does this happen? How does it do that? We like to find out everything we can in life, like how things work, but to be honest we will never in our lifetime find out about everything. Some things we created not to be worked out. Like the TV commercial about the little girl that asks her father where babies come from, children don’t learn about this until they are in the high school years in health classes. There is a time and place where things are to be known. No point in trying to work it all out now. You can only absorb as much as the sponge will let you. Any excess and it will just leak back out. Don't spend nights laying on your bed looking out the window trying to work out how the stars stay up in the sky and don't fall down to earth. He created everything for a reason some of which we will never know.
So pace yourself! Keep being observant and learning as much as you can but don’t forget to take time out to let it all sink in. Your brain doesn't have the capacity space to store the entire knowledge of the world and creation. If you want to know anything just open up the book. :-)
So pace yourself! Keep being observant and learning as much as you can but don’t forget to take time out to let it all sink in. Your brain doesn't have the capacity space to store the entire knowledge of the world and creation. If you want to know anything just open up the book. :-)
Chasing the wind
Sometimes my life feels like I am chasing the wind. Which direction am I to go in now? Am I supposed to turn now or continue on? Strong gusts come at times when I least expect them then they are usually followed by long periods of lulls. Storms come and they are usually ok when you are in the eye of the storm as this gives you a short period of time to re-gain the strength to get through the other side. But when squalls of thunder come they usually bring with them lightning which came seem quite frightening. You get tossed about to and fro, don't know if you will make it or this may be the end, you then think will it ever stop?
There are many times in our lives where we may feel like we are chasing the wind. Everything we do and every direction we turn in is like we just keep chasing our tales, just meaningless. What ever direction you are going in if you have faith in where you are heading and trust yourself to follow you gut instinct then no matter how strong the winds get you will get through to the calm spots. If ever you are in a situation and can’t see a way out think about someone who is chasing the wind. Chasing the wind is meaningless but if you have faith in where you are heading you will get there in the end.
Imitating
Have you ever noticed how a child learns to walk or attempts to use a spoon themselves for the first time? Or maybe even just sat in the park and watched the children as they play on the playground and in the sand pit. I know this probably sounds a bit wrong but if you do this with people who have children there then it is ok. It is quite fascinating watching children as they observe how others do various things and then attempt to try them for themselves.
Just like little children growing up, adults spend their entire lives doing the same. Whether it be learning and doing or watching and imitating, we all spend our lives copying and imitating how to do things from the ones around us. You may think feel intimidated having someone watch you and then copy what you do. Don’t feel that way at all. Instead feel blessed that what you are doing is inspiring others around you. Do what you do well because you never know who might we watching and learning from you.
Loneliness is just a state of mind
Question: How do you cope being away from family?
I recently just caught up with a Mate from 4 years ago where the topic of one conversation was based on loneliness. Do seafarers get lonely? How do you keep yourself sane without becoming depressed? What helps to pass time on ship? And can you cope with being away from loved ones? So many questions and many answers would normally be given. In my case recently over the last 3 months I am able to answer these questions without thinking to myself, where am I going in life? Why am I working at sea and taking myself away from the people who I love, it just doesn’t make sense. When you have a passion about something and work hard to get there nothing else around you really matters. The whole world could sink beneath the ocean and it wouldn’t be noticed by those who have a passion for their work.
Loneliness is just a state of mind that comes when you have no hope. Hope gives you something to look forward to and focus on. It is very easy to become lonely on a ship when you start to stick to yourself and avoid any social interaction. There are three keys to avoiding loneliness on a ship. 1.) Be sure of yourself. You have to like who you are as a person before you take a job on a deep sea ship. Because there will come a time when you are the only one you have a conversation with, if you look in the mirror and don’t like what you see then you have lost your first best friend. 2.) Have hope. You need something to look forward to which give you the desire and motivation to achieve greater things. And last of all 3.) Smile and be happy. All of these sound simple but in some cases it is easier said than done.
Loneliness is just a state of mind that comes when you have no hope. Hope gives you something to look forward to and focus on. It is very easy to become lonely on a ship when you start to stick to yourself and avoid any social interaction. There are three keys to avoiding loneliness on a ship. 1.) Be sure of yourself. You have to like who you are as a person before you take a job on a deep sea ship. Because there will come a time when you are the only one you have a conversation with, if you look in the mirror and don’t like what you see then you have lost your first best friend. 2.) Have hope. You need something to look forward to which give you the desire and motivation to achieve greater things. And last of all 3.) Smile and be happy. All of these sound simple but in some cases it is easier said than done.
Bucket List
You’re probably thinking to yourself ‘did she just watch the Bucket List movie?’ Well you are 100% correct. So I thought about it for a while and the decided that it actually is a good idea to have a list of things that you would like to do before you die. These aren’t goals or personal achievements but more like things that you would like to experience and give a go at some stage. Here is my bucket list of 13 things that I would like to do, (13 being my favourite number) it took me three weeks to write because I wanted to make sure that I covered every area of my life.
1.) Sky diving. I want to jump out of a plane and survive.
2.) Have a champagne breakfast in a hot air balloon one morning.
3.) Go on a holiday with my Dad, Jody and Lissy to an island resort.
4.) Visit the pyramids of Egypt with my uncle Matthew.
5.) Go diving in Fiji and see what is on the sea floor.
6.) Take a cruise on a boat with my uncle Chris and cousin Rachel.
7.) Have a picnic at Cape Rienga lighthouse and watch the sun rise from the east, set in the west and see the meeting of the two seas.
8.) Be fluent in 5 languages. English, Japanese, Fijian, French and one other.
9.) Start up a trust or organisation which supports woman who go to sea. Leave behind a legacy to be followed.
10.) Have a family photo of all my family, the Stewarts on Long Bay beach.
11.) Cuddle a white tiger cub and take a photo with them.
12.) Visit Europe. – Rome, Paris, London, the Greek Islands and many more.
13.) And last of all to experience the feeling of what it is like to fall in love.
Take a break
People weren’t designed to run continuously 24/7. Batteries do eventually go flat, light bulbs blow, kettles boil and tyres go flat. Are we different from any of those? Five years ago I would have been the last person anyone would ever talk to about taking a break I am well known to continue working on through break times because I enjoy my job so much. Back when I was younger I thought I was a machine. I thought that if I worked night shifts on the ship then I could get 1 hour sleep before breakfast then start day work on deck. This was possible for a few months, believe it or not, before the Chief Officer found out.
In any job rest, relaxation and recovery become a part of your normal daily work routine. At sea working on a ship you have to make the time each day to rest, relax and recover. If you know your shifts then this makes it a lot easier by giving you a broad idea of when you will get time to rest. The last thing that you would ever want to happen is to become fatigued. Fatigue is not a nice feeling and it takes weeks to months to overcome, you can trust me on that one.
Be more like my favourite animal the tiger. They are fully active creatures always on the go, but they to know when to sleep and lay in the sun. So the next time someone gives you a tea break or invites you out for a coffee, say Yes! You will actually be doing your body a favour.
In any job rest, relaxation and recovery become a part of your normal daily work routine. At sea working on a ship you have to make the time each day to rest, relax and recover. If you know your shifts then this makes it a lot easier by giving you a broad idea of when you will get time to rest. The last thing that you would ever want to happen is to become fatigued. Fatigue is not a nice feeling and it takes weeks to months to overcome, you can trust me on that one.
Be more like my favourite animal the tiger. They are fully active creatures always on the go, but they to know when to sleep and lay in the sun. So the next time someone gives you a tea break or invites you out for a coffee, say Yes! You will actually be doing your body a favour.
Importance of Friendships
Some people are bought into out lives for a reason. What reason? We may not always know. It is the ones that we lose that we wish we could re-kindle and start over rather than the long lasting ones we have. Some people come into out lives to correct us and put us straight some come for guidance or just for the feeling on comfort. Whatever friendships we are involved in we are to cherish the moments that we spend together. Who knows if each of you will still be standing together tomorrow, next week or in 10 years time. The old saying that goes: “It is better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all!” is totally true. Just think about a close friend you have now, how would you feel if he/she didn’t arrive home after a trip away with family? How would you feel? What would you do? How would you cope? There are so many questions that go through our heads now about what if? And what may or may not happen? We need to stop think about all the what ifs? It’s nice to be prepared but tale more time to think about the present times you have with your friends. Take every opportunity that you get to spend time with them, hang out, go to dinners and share stories with. I have recently just caught up with a friend which I haven’t seen in 4 years. In that time a lot of changes happen in each our lives. But because this friendship was strong from the start (I mean we did live and work on the Spirit of New Zealand small sailing ship together for over a year) that no matter how many things had happened in our lives since we last saw each other it actually felt like yesterday was the last time we laughed together. Sure things had changed and we both have grown up, but our friendship was still there, still as crazy as ever and full of laughter. So now is a good time to ring up you old high school friends who you may not have seen in many years, but what is there to lose, a friendship that has already grown apart or will you re-gain a friend from your past? All it takes is a pick up of the phone. It’s as easy as that!
In loving memory of high school friend James Skipper. (1986-2004)
Complacency
I was just looking through my dictionary at work and when I came across the word COMPLACENY. It was defined as the “self-satisfaction accompanied by unawareness of actual danger or deficiencies”. Wow! You say. I hope that this never happens to me.
So how are we supposed to live without becoming complacent in our work place? Situational awareness and variation are the two main keys to this. We have to be alert and aware to what is going in our surroundings. This is where the three “A’s” come into account. Being awake, alert and aware of what’s happening. A high percentage of shipping accidents and accidents in the workplace occur because of complacency. People just become too familiar with their environment and start to lose their larger awareness of the situation. The second key which also flows on from key one is variation. By adding a bit of variety to your job and duties it keeps you actively interested and allows you to enjoy your job more. When someone says they need to ‘spice up their life’ take not of this and try it in your workplace.
Decisions, Decisions, Decisions...
What am I supposed to do? How am I supposed to go about it? What if I fail? Who will be there to pick me back up? Am I to move to a new house right now or continue to stay in backpackers? Should I pursue an existing career path or explore a career change? When do I leave my job I am in now or should I wait around for a miracle to happen? When will this be? Do I fight for what I want or let it go and move on? I have an idea should I step out and pursue it or take a back seat? These are just some of the questions and decisions that most people face many times in their lives. In some situations, the decisions are made for us. In others, we have to agonise over the choices, some involving sacrifices which in turn may not seem possible. Decision-making is never easy especially if the choices we make have life-altering consequences. Choosing what to wear each day may appear to be a challenge on some days. But, it certainly can’t compare to say choosing to live a life as Christian or fit into the world’s view of a woman. Since I have had to face a few significant decisions in my life over the last few years, I have had to use more than just my own inner strength to come to a decision. I chose to follow the path of the one who is always there for me when I fall down. The one who picks me up and wipes my tears away, the one with the shoulder I lean on and the hands I hold most. I owe all my thanks to the most influential person in my life - My DAD!
“When I grow up I wanna be a Captain, I wanna be a star, I wanna grow taller…”
Lyrics of a song just edited a wee bit for me. These words “when I grow up” come up in some many conversations daily that it has got me thinking a lot about this. What does this actually stipulate? I mean little children say this all throughout primary school and then high school and college. Even adults are still saying this when they are in their late 20’s and 30’s. So many people these days want to be someone other than who they are right now. Some want to be taller and skinnier, some want to be beautiful so that they can meet Mr Right, fall in love and have children while some just want to be a different person to who they are now. Why do we all want to different? I don’t understand this. I mean we have all been uniquely created with hand crafted gifts and talents placed in each of us, none like any other in the world, our creator wasn’t sleeping when he thought of us. We all have our own inner and outer beauty that defines who we are as people. Who else has your nose or your eyes? What about your thumbs and fingerprints, are there any more like yours?
I must admit some days I look into the mirror and cry out to God for just a little bit more height and less weight. What good does that do though? I only feel let down when my height doesn’t come and my weight just sits there. It is when I learn to be happy with who I am that I am able to stop saying that “I wanna…?” I do say I wanna be a Captain one day but that is in a different context. That context is in a living your dream context. This photo is of me and my current Captain on the Arahura getting ready for a tank inspection during a lay-up time in Wellington. So now is the time step up another level and move aside from saying “when I grow up” because your whole life is about growing up, living and learning each day.
P.S. "I Love You!"
Have you ever though to yourself what would happen to you if you lost all your family one day? What about if your family lost you? How would they handle it, would they cope? So many questions have gone through my head day after day since I have started working at sea about loss of life. All the ships I have worked on have come under a convention called SOLAS. This stands for Safety Of Life At Sea. We as seafarers are trained to protect the life of people on board and the sea environment which we work on. I admit it though but you could be the world’s best seafarer and have never been in any disaster at sea and then one day run into an ice berg. It could be the Titanic disaster all over again. What would you be thinking when you are abandoning your ship into a lifeboat which is one fire? Me personally I would be letting my family know much I care for them so much and also this message. P.S. “I Love You!” Moments like these are common among seafarers today. Disasters do happen, lives do get lost and pain is real for the families who are left behind. Don’t you wish that you could say just one more time “I Love You” to your Dad or sisters? And hug your Granny or little cousin before you leave the dock? Now is the time to start doing all this because you never know when your time is going to be up. Write letters and emails to your families when you are at sea, include P.S “I Love You!” at the bottom of each letter. Ring, make phone calls and text messages as often as you like. Let your loved ones know that you are thinking of them, miss them dearly and love them more than ever. Send surprise gifts in the mail home to them and even do the ultimate surprise of all a couple of times a year. Show up on their door step unannounced early than they were expecting you. I did this on Christmas Eve on year in 2005. Be a breath of fresh air when you return home and share your love and passion for life with them.
Surrounded by Water
Everywhere I go I am surrounded by water. Whether it be at work (on a ship), at home at my dads (ponds and harbour) and now on my time off (the fountain in this picture). I just can’t escape it. It is in my blood now. Humans are made up over 90% water so I guess this is where I get my sea legs from. Water hydrates us on a hot summers day, fills us with the refreshment we need to keep our body at a constant cool temperature. We use water for our boats to float on, to wash our feet in, to water the garden and wash our cars down (that is if we’re not in Australia) There are some countries in the eastern art of the world which don’t have access to water facilities each day. Some people have to walk miles on end just to get to the creek to wash their clothes. Sometimes we take so much for granted. So every time you turn on the tap in your bathroom room to brush your teeth of turn on a half full washing machine, just take a moment to think of the people in Ghana East Africa who struggle to have enough water to live on. 
“Water in our sink, is what we like to drink. Water beneath the boat, is what keeps us afloat”
Sweet Home Arahura, where the seas are so blue...
I am home at last! It is so good to be back working for InterIslander Line again after being away for so long. The Arahura Rail Ferry was the very first merchant ship that I worked on as a trainee deck officer for 3 weeks in August 2005 before I moved to the Aratere for the rest of my cadetship. I have recently just signed a 12 month fixed contract to work as a full time 3rd Officer on a week on week off roster for InterIslander Line. I will start off on the Arahura then move to the Kaitaki for familiarisation. When all the familiarisation is completed I will be available to work on all three ships where I am needed. As long as I am working for this company I am pretty flexible as to which ship I work on. The 12 month fixed contract is perfect for me. I will working regular hours, getting regular time off and pay and being able to live a close to normal lifestyle as I am able to know when I am working and when I am not. It’s pretty exciting having your whole year planned ahead of you. I am used to going from one ship to another and then back again without rest. That’s what happens when you make yourself available for three companies, they all tend to want you at the same time so time off becomes non-existent. I will now be able to plan my leave and studies around when I am working and not worry about if I am going to get called back to sea for a 6 week contract in my leave. February 2010 I head off to the NZ Maritime School to begin my studies for my Chief Mates Ticket. So this contract allows me sufficient seatime and work up till I head back to school. November 2010 I plan to sit my Chief Mates Oral exam. So for now it’s Wellington/Picton on the Ferries. Like Dorothy say's on the Wizard of Oz: “There is no place like home”
Who do you Trust on a ship?
I remember having a conversation with a Captain in his office one day about this particular question, Trust. Yes the big ‘T’ word. I have always had the approach of not trusting anyone as far as I can throw them, and even though I may have a good arm, the size of some of the crew on ships I wouldn’t have any hope in moving them. Trust was the topic of conversation on this particular day and to be totally honest my whole awareness of leadership and personal working relationships has changed to a new level. We discussed the purpose Trust and how a ship operates with and without it. But where there is Trust there is also Responsibility. You can’t have one without the other. Being a Master or Captain of ship you have to have full trust in your crew who are working for you because at the end of the day if anything happens it all falls back on you as the Master. An Officer of the Watch (OOW) is in charge of keeping a bridge navigational and safety watch on behalf of the Master to allow him/her to perform other tasks on board. No one is physically capable of carrying out all the shipboard duties on their own so that is why there are crew on board. Officers and Deck Crew all work together to maintain a safe and efficient running of the ship. There has to be some level of trust between crew members to eliminate the chances of tension developing, incidents and accidents happening and even serious ship related issues. So even if you don’t feel like you can trust anyone on board the ship think of the Master on your situation. If the Master trusts an Officer to perform his duties then this is evidence that you could possibly Trust them as well. Some people may have the knowledge but are they competent? Bottom line is don’t not trust anyone so far that you end up taking on more work load and responsibility than you can really manage. Teamwork and Trust is the framework to building a working relationship with your crew on board. 
This photo above is of the Captain, Chief Officer and 1st Officer on the Volendam, working together to deploy a weather buoy for the met. service in New Zealand. Location of deployment was in the middle of the Tasman Ocean between the South Island of New Zealand and Tasmanian of Australia.
"Your reputation precedes you"
It is such a nice feeling joining a ship and being greeted by a Captain who says:
“Oh it’s so good to see you back, your reputation precedes you…” I had no idea what he meant until I asked him later on that day.
New Zealand is such a small country and the shipping industry is even smaller. I have worked on just about all the ships operating on the New Zealand coast. Inter Islander Line – Aratere, Arahura, Kaitaki. Silver Fern Shipping – Torea, Kakariki. Golden Bay Cement. Pacifica Line – Spirit of Resolution. Holland America Line – Volendam. Marine Reach – Pacific Link. Spirit of Adventure Trust – Spirit of New Zealand. And I have been on board the following ships for a day. Pacifica – Spirit of Competition. Holcim Cement Ships – Melbourne Carrier 2, Westport and quite a few offshore vessels. Some would say to me don’t you get board with working only in New Zealand and to be totally honest why would you want to work anywhere else when there is a beautiful country like New Zealand here to work in. The coastal scenery is just amazing, the wildlife and sea life in the south island and the weather. I mean this is like a job in Heaven. The best part about it is that everyone knows me. If they don’t know me face to face they know of me. So that is a bonus for being a kiwi that ‘Your reputation proceeds you’ wherever you go. Every worker in the ports around the coast either know you or of you, all the pilots in the NZ shipping industry have heard of you, the Maritime School speaks highly of you and so on. So why would you want to leave all this behind to go and work on a ship deep sea where you don’t see anyone for days on end and then show up in a foreign port with workers and pilots with English as their 3rd language?
What you say and what you do will always pave a pathway forward in your life. It is proven that sound travels faster than man that is why the word gets around faster than you think. So what you do now effects what happens in the future. To end this, it is a nice feeling when you walk onto a ship for the first time and your reputation has already gone before you and paved a smooth way for your entry.
Risking your life
As an officer on board a ship you are trained in the operation s of all the fire fighting equipment and life saving appliances on board. In an emergency situation it is you who is responsible to use the equipment to best aid the situation. On a passenger ferry in a real emergency it is the officers who are in charge of the LSA operation. For an Abandon ship emergency an officer is to do all that they can to ensure all passengers are accounted for and evacuated into lifeboats. This may mean that the fire party have to conduct search and rescue patterns in passenger areas and cabins to account for anyone who may be missing. Working on a passenger ferry, passengers are put first. You may lose your life saving people in a fire on board your ship but at least you will be know as the one who risked their life to save others. Passengers place their faith in ships crew before they board. They have to be sure that they are going to step on board a ship where there is crew who know what to do in an emergency and will save them if need be. People still have the picture and memory of the Titanic disaster in the back of their minds. That is always going to be an issue and something that we don’t have control over. What we do have control over is the present. We are able to reassure passengers that they are in good hands with fully qualified competent crew.
She Captains - By Joan Druett
Joan Druett wrote an amazing book called "She Captains."
A piece of her writing is pasted below: If a "Hen Frigate" is any ship carrying a captain's wife, then a "she captain" is a bold woman distinguished for courageous enterprise in the history of the sea. There were women who cross-dressed to get into the forecastle and take part in battle, and women who pretended to be men so they could make lots of money (so they naively thought) in the whaling business. And then there were the female admirals, the lady shipbuilders, and the women explorers. And, of course, there were pirates. This book which Joan wrote she immensely enjoyed researching and writing it, it is a lighthearted buzz through female participation in the seafaring world over the past few decades.
Importance of Family
Being old and working at sea is a lot different to if you were young. For me I am young. My heart and passion are all about working at sea but at the end of the day I still need my family around me for love and support. You really find out the true meaning of family when you go to sea. Think about this for a minute: "You are on ship in a far off ocean with no land around to be seen in 100's of miles. The only human life you encounter is the other 17 people on board your ship. Writing in a journal and letters home to family and friends is a great way to express yourself, taking photos and collating them holds together memorable moments and experiences and counting down the days till you get home to be with your loved ones. Time away makes time at home have much more meaning. You tend to learn to cherish every little moment more, those little precious moments with family will be the basis of your pleasant memories to recall back on when you are at sea.
So my words of encouragement to all young people either considering working at sea or who are currently on board a ship is: "Reflection is good for keeping you at peace while at sea, but be sure to make the most of every opportunity when on land to spend time with your family." Take lots of photos, give lots of hugs, share heaps of meals together, plan lots of family and friends reunions and cherish every moment as if it were your last!
Where have i been?
I have created a one page blog for the journal of my life at sea over the last 8 years. It was to long to write as one post for my blog page so i have created a link to this, it is:
http://megs-at-sea-journal.blogspot.com/
My dream for young woman
I have a dream and this dream is different from the one which I am living. I am living my dream of becoming a Captain of a ship, each day on board I am learning and experiencing new things which is all adding to a new stage in my career. I live my dream rather than living to reach it.My dream which I have is to see other young woman reach their dreams and to their full potential. I aim to encourage young woman by leading by example in a challenging world today. To show young woman that they can achieve anything when they apply themselves to it. One thing is to believe in yourself and the other is to do something about it.
Like these children in the photo above, some of them have dreams to become doctors and dentists. Some also want to be teachers so that they can teach the other children in the islands of Fiji as well as helping them when they are in trouble. So even children in countries where education and resources are limited and future careers don’t seen possible from people outside their environment, these little children dream big and live their dreams out even from a young age. The teachers of the schools there at present are all ex-students who have been through the same challenges and hurdles to get where they are today.
So like these little children in the Fijian islands young girls and guys from any age, any race and country are able to take this step of faith, the step of faith in believing in themselves and reaching high in life.
So like these little children in the Fijian islands young girls and guys from any age, any race and country are able to take this step of faith, the step of faith in believing in themselves and reaching high in life.
There is so much discrimination out there in the world today against woman and especially young woman. My words of encouragement to you all is that if you want something go get it. There is nothing that can stop you from doing something that you want to do (within reason). Go for your dreams, put all your energy and time into it, its all worth it once you take that first step.
Set goals and step out to achieve them. That is how I have got to where I am today. I am now a Deck Officer on rail Ferries and Cargo ships overseas. If I didn’t believe in myself and believe that I could do what I do I wouldn’t be where I am today. You are your own worst enemy if you let yourself be, otherwise you can be your own best friend. Think positive, look straight and smile when you can. Trust me it will make a difference.
TRANSITION from school into the real world
Do you remember back when you were in your last year at high school? How you felt about change and transition out into the real world? What thoughts were going into your head, fears of making the big step, decisions having to be made as to what career path you should take? There is so much pressure put on young people now days to find a job that they want to do when they leave school and then they spend the first few years paying off a student loan while studying for a degree in something which they may never use in the future.It would be so much easier if everything we supposed to do was written up in an easy step by step manual. But the true is that life isn’t like that, what we do and how we are to do something can’t be found in a book. Could you imagine how boring life would be if we all followed the steps of a book that showed us how to live. The bible shows us the way to live a holy life in light of God but what book shows us what we are to do once we leave school? Nothing explains that.When I left school I walked straight into a cadetship on the sailing ship the Spirit of New Zealand. Just like my cadetship an apprenticeship in your chosen profession will set you up for life if you choose to follow it. The idea of these training schemes it to equip young adults and teenagers for life in the real world. All training is paid for while the individual is being paid a set wage. This is what I did when I left school and now I am living my dream out while being paid to do it at the same time. So my advice to young people out there today who are thinking about what they are going to do when they leave school is to have dreams and live to live them out. If you want to be an air traffic controller but your gender is holding you back – you go for it girl, if you are determined to achieve your dreams and reach happiness in your work do something that you love and that brings you satisfaction.Leave school with big dreams and plans and pursue a life of living them into being.
Advantages of working on cargo ships
What are the advantages of working as a Deck Officer on cargo ships rather than on cruise ships?Both types of ships have their advantages, for me personally I prefer cargo ships. You have a limited number of crew and depending on what company you work for and crew you live with on board it can actually be quite a nice environment to work in. A lot of people work and do a job because they have to, most people who work on a ship really like what they do, its a choice that each of us make, to leave our families at home and step on board a ship to sail away from at least 4 weeks to 6 months at a time. I mean why would you do that if you didn’t want to?So a ship a less than 20 crew that all get on and speak English is my choice of ship and chosen job. I found that on my last ship the Tasmanian Achiever, I can’t think of any other cargo ship that I have worked on where I have felt such a well knit family environment on board a ship. I mean there is no brick wall between departments like on the tankers and everyone enjoys interacting with each other, especially on a Sunday night when we all get given a well deserved day off.
On a cargo ship as well you are on set watches (12-4, 4-8, or 8-12) so you know exactly when you are working and what time you have off watch to rest. You are able to get your body into a routine of working and proper sleeping patterns and also able to set aside time to go ashore and have a good coffee. With less crew on board a ship there are more chances to get to know each other and grow up together in your job. The crew become like close friends on a family sort of level. My last ship has really shown that cargo ships and crew can be the best environment to work in at sea; compared to the tankers I’ve worked on in the past.Cruise ships – well they are another story. Personally they aren’t for me, over 2,500 people on board, not many English speaking first language crews, limited shore leave, not regular set watches and so many different uniforms to wear.
So thanks go to the crew on the Tasmanian Achiever for making my time on board really enjoyable :-)
So thanks go to the crew on the Tasmanian Achiever for making my time on board really enjoyable :-)
Day in the life of a Deck Officer on a RoRo Cargo Ship
It may seem like a fairly busy and long drawn out day but to be honest its all up to how you manage it. Good time management planning and record keeping is the key to preventing fatigue. The following is a typical work schedule for a 3rd Officer on board the Tasmanian Achiever on Bass Strait.
0550- ½ hour wake up call for mooring stations,
0615- Deck Officer on the fo’c’sle for the forward mooring station,
0730- Breakfast,
0800-Cargo Watch down in the cargo control room and on deck, discharge,
1000- Cargo Watch normally commencing loading cargo,
1200- End of watch, lunch time now with the engineers,
1230- Go ashore for a good coffee with the engineers,
1300- Rest time on board or safety checks,
1530- Bridge equipment gear pre-departure tests,
1630- Deck Officer on the fo’c’sle for the forward mooring station,
1700- Rest time,
1800- Meal relief for the Chief Officer on the Bridge,
1830- Dinner with engineers,
1900- Rest time,
2000- Bridge navigation watch for 4 hours,
2400- End of watch, bed time.
The best part about this daily schedule is that you are always busy doing something. There is really no time to get bored or lonely on this ship. You do get time to relax and watch movies every now and then and when you do you cherish those quite times a lot more.
Does any of this inspire or encourage you to take that step for a change in career?
Communication
BRM - Bridge Resource Management, CLC - Close Loop Communication
“Full Ahead on both!” “Aye Aye Captain”“Rudder hard to Port, lets make our way out of here now the war is over” Communication is a huge factor when it comes to bridge resource management. One of the high causes of accidents and incidents at sea is by poor communication if any between bridge crew members and other ships in the area. You would think that something so easy as talking would actually be a weak point for the most people. If you don’t communicate with others then no one is really going to know what is going on and how to prepare for an emergency if something goes wrong. Captain gives an order, helmsman repeats it back to the Captain and then the captain acknowledges that the repeat was correct by saying ‘Yes.’Now days CLC is in a format of order, repeat, acknowledge "Steer 320", "320", "Yes"Each day and prior to departure from the wharf it should start off with a briefing of the passage plan for what’s happening. After any occurrence, incident and training session a debrief should also be carried out touching on the point of what was done and how things could be improved on for next time. Communication is the key of any good management!
Now an Australian :-)
Gidday Mate! You would think that I would now be classed as an Australian; I mean I have an Australian ticket, and Australian Medical certificate, radio licence, an Australian Bank account, and work for an Australia company (temp.) and spend parts of each yeah in working in different ports in Australia. I mean I have also started to talk a bit like an Aussie. I call jandals - thongs now, twink - white out, vacuum cleaners - hoovers, and sausages – snags. Started to learn the rules of Aussie rules - and by that I don’t mean at there maritime rules and regulations I mean the football sport. I started to watch tennis like the Aussies and play cricket while on board. Geez even celebrated Australia Day last Monday with the crew on the ship. And I guess you could say that I must not be a true kiwi chick because I have not seen once were warriors, King Kong and The Lord of the rings series even since they were all made in New Zealand.
Taking the Helm
Just one look at this picture and some would say "She's not right to go to sea!" yeah I still do actually get that from some people in person. They take one look at me and compare me to an image of a seafarer which the world has created. In the worlds eyes you have to be a guy, be big and strong and masculine to work on a ship. Even on a cruise ship you are expected to look physically able to fight fires, launch life boats and work on the ship. That's ridiculous if you ask me. I may not look that big or that string but by the way which I work and the strength which I have compared to my size I have out done a lot of the guys who work in the deck side. Some people call an ant because I can lift things twice my body weight, which is basically the size of one of the guys on board.
Some may say that I am too girly to work on a ship - why because I am not afraid to admit that I am a woman and it is who I am. Where as others would say that I am going to lose my feminine side working on a ship full of guys. Either way both sides are wrong. I am happy with who I am and what I do. I am a woman working in a man's world - so to speak, and I have my feminine side. I am not afraid to get dirty and drag chain lashings on deck, neither am I afraid to go down and do tank inspection in 40 degree temperatures. It's my job and my passion and I live it. There is a right time and place for everything in this world. I am not exactly going to paint my nails while working on a cargo ship the right time to do that is when I am at home on land. And then when it comes to dress codes there is a dress code for every ship and I also have to abide by that. I am not going to prance around on deck or in the mess room in small string tops and a skirt no tat would just be asking to the guys to look at me. I mean there is nothing that I can do on board to stop the guys from looking when I walk by. It’s in their nature. But I am not going to flaunt myself in front of them. If it gets to the stage where I have to approach them and put them in their place then I will and i do, that always makes them feel nervous anytime they look at me after that. Which in a way is funny but I wouldn’t want people to feel uneasy around me. So what I am trying to say is that no one in this world doesn’t look good for a job which they are passionate about. Everyone deserves the right to step forward and be who they want to be and live in a way which makes them happy.
Woman v's Modern day technology
Days go by with endless stories of fellow crew members memories of when they were at sea. The loved ones and lost ones, the ones that got away and the grumpy old Captains who they have sailed with. I could write a book on merchant seafarers from as far back as 1900.When the guys share there stories about “when I was at sea we didn’t have all these modern technologies that we have these days, men were men and woman were the topic of all conversation!” That’s when I say “Sorry Mate since I’ve been at sea men are still just only men and woman happen to be so much more now!” 
Sure things have changed, we now have access to modern technologies and high class systems, but the biggest difference from back then and now is that that’s all in the past and there is nothing that you can o to go back there. Now days we have to opportunity to take that next step in technology, placing faith in electronics and technical equipment is something which I will never fully do as it all has the chance to fail on you. If you are confident in your competence and use wisdom to guide you in decision making then technical equipment is used as a back up to your actions. Some would disagree with me on that but think of it this way; if you have a blackout on the ship most times you will lose a lot of equipment so there technology fails. Whereas what are the likely chances of you yourself having a black out while on watch? Pretty slim aye.Not being bias or anything but woman are the centre of all wisdom. We tend to drift astray and follow our own instincts rather than following the pack. It’s a whole new world of thinking when you extract the differences in men and woman. So that’s why it is an advantage having at least one woman on board every ship. It invites a new way of thinking, fresh ideas, logically workings, and a new atmosphere where is something isn't going right they are not afraid to speak up and say something. Don't really know what the point of this write up was. Whether is about modern day technology vs. men's thinking or if it was about the wisdom gained of having a woman on board every ship!!!! :-) Either way I'm sure there is a point to touch on somewhere.
Working Down Under - Just a leap across the ditch
Tasmanian Achiever. In January 2007 I first joined this ship as a trainee Deck Officer the purpose was to gain experience working on a RoRo cargo ship in different waters other than New Zealand. Two years down the track in January 2009 I received a phone call from Toll Shipping in Australia. The next thing I know I am on a plane to Melbourne the next day to work one roster for another officer who was on medical leave. I joined the Tasmanian Achiever this time as a 3rd Officer and to be honest not much had changed on board over the last two years, I mean even most of the crew were still the same. The only real big difference was the bridge gear but I had used that on my last two ships. I sat my AMSA oral exam for my certificate of recognition to work on an Australian registered ship in Australian waters. 
The ship runs was between Melbourne and Burnie in Tasmania. We load the ship during the day and sail in the late afternoon to reach the next port in the early hours of the morning. The ship transports containers, trucks and trailer units, cars, tanks and up to 12 passengers. She also carried livestock trucks carrying cattle and sheep. I liked loading them on the weather deck because I had to go and check the condition of the livestock before we let it be loaded onto the ship. I grew up on a farm which had quite a lot of sheep and cows so it kind of felt like I was back home for a while.
Sunday nights the ship lays up in Burnie for the night so this was our favourite day on board, our day of rest after discharging the Melbourne cargo. Some crew would go ashore to church in the morning and the rest would go for shore leave. After lunch a group of crew would go ashore for a good decent coffee from Bango’s cafe. This was followed up by fishing with the deck guys in the afternoons off the end of the wharf in the hot sun. The evening was a time to relax and socialise with the crew over a nice cooked BBQ by an engineer on the back deck in the sunset. The finale of the evening was the movie night in the Chief engineer’s cabin which included fresh plunger coffee.
New years on board the Aratere
December 2008 I joined the Aratere again for my 3rd New Years on board working the night shift. It was so great to be back on board the ships which I started my career on. One thing I became aware of when I got on board was that you don’t really realise how much something means to you until you have gone away for a while then returned. I realised this with the Aratere. After being away from her for so long, working on other ships and sailing around different places of the world, I actually miss working on Cook Strait in New Zealand on the Rail Ferries. It’s the people that make a job worth enjoying and it’s the crew on the Rail ferries and the company which I particular like working with and for. I feel blessed to have such a great job with them and a reputation with the company that will stick for many years to come.Piloting the ship in through Tory Channel in the dark night with the moon setting over the leads to the entrance is just one of the spectacular sights of the beautiful Queen Charlotte Sound.Loading 23 Trucks on the top deck in a 22 truck space at 2am in the morning, planning the stowage and separations of trucks carrying dangerous goods – the late arrival trucks that you pray will fit on board and meet the IMDG Code requirements. All has always gone well and will continue to go well on the Aratere.
I have always worked with a great bunch of guys in the deck department; most have been from the islands in the south pacific and a pleasure to work with. You get the odd one or two that are always difficult to communicate with but like my dad say you are going to get that with any job.Working for the Inter Islander Ferries in New Zealand is a great way for a woman or young girl to start her career at sea. The company and crew on board the ships will look after you during your time with them, as well as they will through challenges at you to grow you into a strong confident young Officer.
So you want to be a Princess aye?
I could almost write a book about this word alone; ‘Princess.’ Who would have thought that just one little word like this could mean so much to a woman?Before I joined my first product tanker as 3rd Mate I was having a conversation with my Nana in her back garden about what it means to be a woman. One of the words that stuck with me from there on was the word ‘Princess’. I joined my first tanker in January 2008 where I was greeted by the crew and addressed as princess by one particular mate. I couldn’t believe it. After having that talk with my grandma about being a princess, here I was now being called one on a ship, and a tanker of all ships.I want to encourage all woman out there who work at sea, whether it be in the deck, engine or catering department, that we are all Princess’s. Even when we are covered from head to toe in mud and smelly sea water after doing tank inspections in double bottom water ballast tanks. Beneath the dirt is a princess who is strong, confident and beautiful. We don’t need to change who we are to mould into an image of a seafarer, no, we can be ourselves, be the princess who we were born to be.
Multi-talented Passions
I serve on a small medical missionary ship once a year when the time fits in with my work and studies. The voyages are normally New Zealand and up in the Fiji Islands. I work as a volunteer 2nd Officer on board the M.V. Pacific Link which means that I am in charge of the navigational charts and publications on board. When the ship sails I keep a navigational watch with a deck hand teaching him navigation and the rules of the road at sea. When the ship is alongside the wharf and involved in medical and missions work I assist in which ever department needs some more hands. Whether it is in the dentistry, medical or optometry department or in the schools working with the children. That’s my favourite part. Even it is just serving glasses of water to the locals who are waiting to see the dentist on board. It is nice to just sit down with them on deck and laugh and laugh, with the children its great to draw pictures and colour in and read books with them.My ultimate dream job would be as Captain of a Medical Missionary Ship voyaging around the world serving the countries which require medical and health services. We’ll see when that dream comes to be.
Respect starts with "U"
I have learnt a lot about the male species over the last few years at sea. In the industry which I work in I am amongst people who have been at sea their entire livesIf you want to gain respect of the other crew on board it first must start with you showing them respect. Respect is one of my highest values in life and when it comes to working on a ship it has to work both ways for a comfortable working environment to be established.I have learnt and I’m still learning how to approach another crew member (males) when it comes to instructing them on a task or operational procedure concerning safety training. There is a certain way in which you are to speak to a guy especially when it comes from a woman in charge. A woman needs to speak in a tone of voice that doesn’t make her sound too feminine but at the same time shouldn’t change who she is to fit in with the rest of the guys. Having a strong, confident voice and being certain in what she is saying is a big point in this. Speak in a way which doesn’t come across as intimidating to the guys or that you are trying to show them up that you know better than them. There is always going to be that little bit of conflict within some of the guys having to take an order from a woman. Once that respect and trust is established by the woman being confident, strong and sure of herself and her ability then the atmosphere opens up to be a more comforting environment.
I guess you could say that you have to be thick skinned working on a ship. You have to learn to not take anything to heart, don’t hold grudges against another crew member because that all makes life very difficult on board for yourself and others working around you.
For me every day is a learning day on board. Whether it be learning more in my studies, ship board operations or different ways to interact and learn about other people on board. I guess an advantage which I have is that I am studying for a Diploma in Psychology via distant learning. It has helped me to understand different types of people and that way in which an environment influences the way people act and interact.
“Be Strong, Confident and Positive” – Happiness.
Transition between Cargo ships and Passenger ships
Apart from the obvious there are so many differences between cargo ships and passenger ships. People are the difference which stands out the most. Not only the number of people on board but more-so the type.Cargo ships tend to generally attract people who are self-motivated and driven, like to work independently and don’t mind spending most days working alone.Passenger ships on the other hand attract people who are patient and who like working as a team, present themselves well, and who are polite and considerate.Cargo Ships generally have up to 18 crew members and can carry up to 12 passengers to come under SOLAS regulations for a cargo ship.Passenger ships on the other hand usually have at least 200 crew members on board and anywhere from 13-3000+ passengers. To go from a cargo ship to a passenger ship as a deck officer can be a big shock to the system with respect to the number of people who are now around you, but it’s also like a step up in class and presentation. Most deck officers make a transition that way rather than from passenger ships to cargo ships, because after having star service, cabin stewards, gourmet food, dry cleaned uniform daily, it harder to make the transition down to working in overalls on a deck of a ship, washing your own dishes and changing your own bed linen. Some would say that working on cargo ships is a hard life and is defiantly not for them. Personally I love working on a cargo ship where you can look after yourself and have a large cabin like a double bedroom and office at home.Cargo ships have a bridge team consisting of a Captain, Chief Officer, 2nd and 3rd Officer, an AB or IR as a QM/lookout. On Passenger ships the average bridge team consists of 2 x Captains, 1 x Chief Officer, 1 x 1st Officer, 3 x 2nd Officers, 2 x 3rd Officers, 2 x 4th Officers, 2 x Deck Officer Trainees, 1 x QM, 2 x lookouts and a Pilot in pilotage waters. That’s a lot of people.
So for me personally as much as I love people and interaction, cargo ships are the way for me to go at this stage.
Cruise Ship Luxuries
Cruise Ship Passenger Areas. Just some of the luxuries which passengers get to enjoy and relax in while on holiday or a cruise. Now wouldn't that be nice to experience one day. Well you can. There are some Cruise Ship companies which allow you to enjoy some of the same luxuries as the passengers. For example like using the passenger gyms, pools and Jacuzzis, attending shows and performances in the theatres, dining in the restaurants and buying from the on board shops, and some companies even encourage their crew and staff to join in on shore excursions and tours when the ship is in port. How awesome does that sound? How does a nice wine trail and tasting sound, or visit to the local art gallery or museum? Fancy a bus tour around a historical village? Or a trip with an explorer boat to go and swim with dolphins? These are just some of the joys of working at sea!
The Navigation bridge on a ship
This first photo is from the bridge wing of a Cruise ship looking aft towards the stern. You can get a good view of the side of the ship where the life boats are situated below the passenger balconies. Just about all cargo ships have open bridge wings where the Captain and Pilot will control the ship from outside the bridge. There are limited services on open bridge wings. Usually only controls for the bow thrusters, telegraph, helm and emergency stops. Whereas on enclosed bridge wings on all Cruise Ships and some Ferries the services which the Captain and Pilot have access to are far more than those on an open bridge wing ship. They have all the luxuries of CCTV Radar, ECDIS on conning display, Echo Sounder, Speed log, cameras, GPS, VHF radios and shelter from the weather. So you can see why most Captains like enclosed bridge wings. Me personally I prefer open bridge wings as you get a better feel for what the ship is doing when you can look over the side of the ship and feel the wind when making a decision in manoeuvring.
The second photo is a typical lay out of a navigation bridge on a ship. You see the central conning display which is situated in the middle of the bridge with a small wheel allowing the quartermaster to do hand steering. Yes most ships still do have chairs for the Captain and Officer of the Watch to sit in. Bridge areas on Cruise Ships and Ferries all have carpet on the floors whereas Cargo ships tend to just stick with lino floor covering. This is my favourite area on a ship. I spend half my day on the bridge of ship either on watch of doing admin for routine safety checks. Go AMOS!
MEDIVAC - Via Helicopter on the Australian Coast
MEDIVAC - A Medical Evacuation via Helicopter is the last resort for any medical case on board a ship. If the Doctors or Officers on board are not able to do any more for a patient then depending on where the ship is located a medical evacuation will be considered.I witnessed my first helicopter evacuation on board my last ship. I can see now why English is the required language for communication in emergencies. We had 7 different nationalities on the bridge during this scenario. Dutch, Polish, British, Latvia, English, Scottish and Pilipino.The overall outcome of the evacuation was a success and the paperwork afterwards only took 2 hours to complete. Thanks to the admin Officers on board - 3rd Officer.
10 Magical Wonders of the Sea
One of the 10 magical wonders seen on the ocean. It’s not every day you get to see the tale of a whale on more occasions than one.These are the 10 wonders of the sea as I see them from my journeys so far.
1- Sunrises and Sunsets seen on the horizon.
2- Sea Life and wild life. Whales, Dolphins, Seals, Birds and fish.
3- The sound of the sea against the hull of the ship, complete peacefulness and serenity.
4- International travel by sea and see the world while you work.
5- The Fresh air, ocean breeze and clear starry lit skies seen most on most nights.
6- Personal satisfaction from achieving set goals.
7- Strength, self-confidence, competence and perseverance gained from being on a ship.
8- Rough weather voyaging. Encountering near death experiences.
9- Experience different cultures from all around the world. Learn a number of languages.
10- The pay package you take home at the end of your contract is so worth it.These are only just some of the wonderful reasons to pursue a dream to live and work on the ocean.
Support Woman At Sea - Cause Campaign
I have started up a Cause Campaign on Facebook in the hope that more Women can be encouraged to pursue a Career at sea and stay strong in the midst of tough times. It’s a chance for woman to come together to encourage and show their support to other woman who are working in the Maritime industry. A chance to speak up about tough issues they have faced at sea and also sharing their exciting stories of experiences they have had at sea.The time has come for Woman to speak up. There are so many of us out there who have dreams to become Chief Officers and Captains of Cruise Ships, Product tankers and Bulk Cargo Ships. What is stopping us from stepping up and rising to the challenge? Male domination, gender discrimination, sexual harassment, male over-powering, insecurity? There are a number are factors that may be relevant, but in each case is different for every woman.I have started up a donation link on the site to raise money to sponsor a trainee to go on the Spirit of New Zealand. All donations go to the Woman for Woman International fund. When the goal amount of $1500.00 is reached, I personally will bring forth the $1500 for the young teenager to go on the Spirit of New Zealand. The Spirit of Adventure Trust will be contacted and a trainees name will be given to me who I will then pay for. This trainee will be mentioned on the website before they go on the ship and then they will write a small letter to us on completion of the voyage.I love my career and life at sea so much that I want others to experience the same passion which I have. I endeavour to spread the Word through the medium of the sea with other young woman out there. It is a fantastic career to start; you get to travel the world, see amazing places, work with a ship full of crew that becomes like family over time and have the responsibility of taking command of a bridge watch for two 4 hour shifts a day. The people you get to meet, places and sights you sea and the pay package at the end of your travels are only a few highlights of this chosen profession. So take that step and show your support to woman already at sea.
Milford Sounds Scenic Cruising
Milford Sounds Cruising on board the Volendam. Scenic Cruising through the beautiful hills and inlets of the South Island of New Zealand is defiantly a highlight on a South Pacific voyage on a Cruise Ship. The Milford Sounds area is much like the Marlborough and Queen Charlotte Sounds with fewer boats sailing and touring in the area. The wildlife is pretty much the same, with huge amounts of dolphins, birds and sea life. There are numerous amounts of waterfalls running down the hills and cliffs at the waters edge.Can you believe that we get paid to do this kind of stuff! Its amazing isn't it. Travelling around the beautiful New Zealand seeing wildlife, sea life and hills covered in native bush. I personally can’t dream of anything more spectacular that this!
Christmas 2008 - In New Zealand
Christmas 2008. For the last two years I have been at sea for Christmas and New Years. This year was different. I spent Christmas on land with my family. It was so nice to enjoy a day of celebration with my grandparents, sisters, cousins, aunts and uncles and parents. Although I left all my Christmas shopping till the last minute, last minute meaning Christmas Eve afternoon, there was no stress involved this year.New Years this year I will be doing the same as what I have done for the past two years. I will be on working on board the Aratere. My favourite ship as 3rd Officer. Maybe this year I won’t be the youngest crew member on board. Haha what am I kidding, of course I’m going to be the youngest again.
This photo is of me with my mum and two younger sisters. There is no seafaring history in my mums side of the family, the seafaring part of me comes from my dad and his father. My dad’s father did some service in the Navy when he left school and my dad works on the Spirit of New Zealand Sailing ship, volunteer coastguard skipper and loving taking our boat out fishing and tubing. You wouldn’t get my mum or sisters near the water even if you bribed them with chocolate. My dad on the other hand you would just have to mention the word sailing and he’s out already. I love my family to bits and was so very thankful that I was able to spend Christmas with them this year rather than in khakis on a ship working.
This photo is of me with my mum and two younger sisters. There is no seafaring history in my mums side of the family, the seafaring part of me comes from my dad and his father. My dad’s father did some service in the Navy when he left school and my dad works on the Spirit of New Zealand Sailing ship, volunteer coastguard skipper and loving taking our boat out fishing and tubing. You wouldn’t get my mum or sisters near the water even if you bribed them with chocolate. My dad on the other hand you would just have to mention the word sailing and he’s out already. I love my family to bits and was so very thankful that I was able to spend Christmas with them this year rather than in khakis on a ship working.
-^-^-The Joys of working at sea-^-^-
What other job description comes with the opportunity to see the sun rise and set each day from your workplace window or cabin porthole? To have the chance to experience international travel to exotic places and remote destinations around the world is just one of the many bonuses of the job. You get to work with a multi-nationality crew. Reap the rewards of personal satisfaction and a good pay package. Have well earnt time off in chosen ports of call. Get paid to train and learn. - To become a Deck Officer, Master or Chief Engineer. What ever area you choose to work in the rewards and joys of your job out number any other job you could think of.You will be faced with the challenges of decision making for navigation in dense traffic situations, but these times of hard concentration are usually followed by peaceful days of single watch keeping on the bridge in the middle of the ocean. Surrounded by beautiful scenery around the coast of islands and countries, and the soothing sound of the sea and gentle sea breeze when your on passage. With a job at sea it comes with the possibility of advancement and promotion to a higher rank. With promotion comes a whole new level of responsibility. Being more involved with the crew training and passenger lifeboat and emergency training if on a cruise ship.Any job comes with paperwork mentioned in fine print at the bottom of the application form. If only those words were bigger then we would be able to have a better perspective on the amount of paperwork involved in a job at sea. Time management makes the paperwork side of things a breeze.Seafarers especially deck officers are in high demands now days due to the shorta
ge over the last few years. Its a goal of the future to see more young people choose to take up a career at sea and travel and work their way to become captains of the future.Through the New Zealand Maritime School they offer a Deck Officer Cadetship training programme consisting of a few years of study and sea time on board a ship of your choice. On completion of this time successful students gain a 2nd Mates Foreign Going Ticket, a Certificate of Competence, and a Diploma in Nautical Science.The next stage is to step back on board the ship with a gold stripe on each shoulder in a rank of a 3rd Officer.It would be awesome to see more woman take on the challenge and experiences of working at sea to become Captains.
NZ Mates and Masters Graduation - 2008
Some of the woman of the night. From the left there is a young lady who used to be a catering attendant on a Rail ferry and is now married to the 2nd Mate. In the middle is a young woman who used to be hair dresser on a cruise ship and is now seeing the Chief Officer of her last ship? And that’s me on the end a 2nd/3rd Officer, now working on cruise ships. So as you can see from this photo woman work in all areas at sea. Not just in the cleaning side, but in passenger services and in the nautical deck department. This was a great night of celebration as the recent Mates and Masters received their awards at the presentation evening.
Look in the mirror and like what you see.
We all long to be loved and feel beautiful. Part of being a woman means that we come ready made with the gene of beauty.Working on a cargo ship and tanker of a crew of 18 and me, being the only woman on board I was in two mind-sets as to what beauty actually meant to me in my chosen profession in life. On one hand I could pamper myself daily before stepping out of my cabin. Then I take the risk of giving the guys on board the wrong impression. On the other hand I could not bother about presenting myself well each day and just go natural like the guys. And guess what? That’s what I did for 10 months. During this time I learnt a lot about myself and what it truly means to be a woman, especially working and living in the industry that I'm in. I am in this profession because that's where my heart is and I have a passion to live my dream out. What I did learn from this though was that by not looking after yourself and your beauty you slowly start to lose your self-respect. That didn't sound too appealing. So I sat down and thought to myself, if I am going to live a life as an inspiration and encouragement for future young woman who want to head into this industry then I’m going to have to start to take care of myself. By this I mean making a new mark. Presenting myself well so that I am comfortable with who I am and also in a way that I represent woman when I’m on the bridge or deck of a ship. With this then will come strength, courage, confidence and endurance. If you look in the mirror each morning and like what you see that is the best way that you can start off a day, being comfortable and happy with whom you are.Words of advice: "Don't dress to impress, or select to neglect!" Choose to make a stand for woman working and living in the Maritime industry. We are all of the same make-up - (genes of beauty).
Where is the sun in the Northern Hemisphere???
Earlier this year on a voyage to Singapore I crossed the equator on a ship for the first time in my life. Now tradition has it that for each person’s first equator crossing this deserves a christening - normally an unpleasant act is played on the person. Thankfully we crossed the equator at 0630 on my 4-8 bridge watch so nothing was done to me. I watched the GPS as we crossed the line from Latitude South to Latitude North. I was expecting the GPS to take a mind of its own and spin around in circles but it didn’t. The numbers just counted down then when it reached zero to 3 decimal places it started counting back up again, this time with the letter 'N' next to the latitude co-ordinates.I noticed that as we approached the equator the sun was rising and setting in more of an Easterly and Westerly direction than we see in New Zealand. Recalling my studies from 2nd Mates I remembered that: From between the Equator and the Tropic of Cancer the Sun sets anywhere from a south-westerly direction to a north-westerly direction, and from the equator to the Tropic of Capricorn the sun rises anywhere from a north-easterly direction to a south-easterly direction, depending on the time of year. At the Equator (0° latitude), it sets due west at the equinox in March. So it was quite easy to know each day where the sun would rise and set by just observing the compass in at bearings of 090 in the morning or 270 in the evening. By observing sunrises and sunsets as we were 2 degrees either side of the equator, it was seen that when the sun reached a height of its diameter above the horizon, it seemed to fade away, so that made it very difficult to take an amplitude for obtaining a compass error, as we need the sun a semi-diameter above the horizon for the calculation.For everyone back home, the sun in the northern hemisphere is just the same as what you see back in New Zealand. 
Personal Satisfaction
One thing that I have realised since being at sea is that "Receiving recognition for doing well in your job is not as important as personal satisfaction and achievement."
It’s hard enough for a guy to ask a woman to do a job on a ship let alone thanking them and telling them they did well.
In my case when I prevent cargo spillage on a tanker or load a Rail Ferry to maximum capacity in record time, you would expect even just a little bit of thanks or praise for my work.
Some people need to be given thanks and praise in order to keep strong and feel good about themselves in what they do. The career path that I have chosen doesn’t offer praise to employees. For a woman that is hard since all woman like to be told when they do something well. So I have learnt to strive on personal satisfaction in my work. Doing what I do well, giving it 110% and looking back and thinking that I couldn’t have done what I did any better. That’s the sense of achievement that gives me courage to stick with what I do.
"Believe in yourself and you can achieve anything!"
Holland America Line - Cruise Ships
A New Journey awaits. I’m joining a Holland America Line Cruise Ship as a Deck Officer in November 2008. It’ll be a change of lifestyle for me as I’m used to working with cargo, independently and with having a crew of 18 males on board. I am looking forward to working together with the bridge team and socialising with the crew when off watch. And I won’t be the sole woman on board. So that has to be a plus! Voyaging to where? New Zealand and Australia, the South Pacific voyages. To work for a month as a relief 3rd Officer. Maybe I’ll decide to take up a full time permanent job with them in the near future. I do know though that HAL has a 5 star rating of EXCELLENCE and practice safety at all times. So that’s a change from previous ships I’ve worked on. Bring on the professionalism, 8 pairs on uniform and polished shoes. I may even have to learn how to iron-oh no wait there are dry cleaners on board. When I return to New Zealand and have some time off in early 2009 I may be heading to some schools to give some motivational talks and speeches to the student leaders and careers advisors. This could be the first step in the door for more women to follow their dreams of working at sea. In the near future I hope to do some promotional marketing for woman working in the Maritime Industry. It’s another year away yet though. "A day in the life of a female Deck Officer on board a Ship." From Sailing ships to rail ferries, to Cargo ships and Product tankers now to cruise ships - I wonder what awaits me next.
How to stay in shape on a ship.
Most would say it’s really easy to control your weight at sea by only eating two meals a day and viewing ship work as quite physical. Well it’s actually the opposite. The food on the ship is so good that you don’t want to skip a meal. Not to mention on a cargo ship if you don’t show up for a meal the steward comes to find you. For exercise then when on watch there is a place to do pull ups outside, squats and leg lifts inside and pacing from wing to wing in the mean time. When off watch I do Pilates daily in my cabin. This is a good way to relax and de-stress after a hard day at work. :) Pilates is a good way to develop strength and flexibility while listening to music in my cabin. It sound weird but the best upper body exercise that I have found is doing hand stands against a wall then press ups in that position. That way you are using your own body weight to work out. Then there leaves cardio. Every chance I get to go ashore I go for a run, mainly aim for the hills and run to the top and back. It’s good to get a breather and change of scenery to. In this photo you can see that it will take a while to get ashore from the ship. I long tanker jetty that takes 9-10 minutes to walk the length of. (Botany Bay - Australia)
By one person speaking someone elses life changed...
I have recently just been on a 10 day youth development voyage as 2nd Mate on the Spirit of New Zealand. 40 teenagers aged between 15-19 years old. Youth from all over the country including exchange students from Germany, Sweden, Brazil, Italy and Chile came on board for a life changing experience. Three girls in particular really stood out from the other 37 teens on board. These three girls have life long dreams and goals ahead of them which they hope to live out one day. When they stepped onto the Spirit of New Zealand for the first time they knew no one. Despite being exchange students and having English as their second language they didn’t let that hold them back from putting in 100% in the voyage and getting back 110%. One girl had such a bubbly personality that made everyone smile every time she talked to them. She had dreams to travel the sea and work on a boat. But behind the scenes she had pressure from her family to join the Royal Navy. She likes to please people and always puts others before herself. Towards the end of the voyage she came up to me and shared that she was really scared about leaving the Spirit because she would then be heading into the navy. I could see her spark fading as she talked with me. She asked if there is any other way she could live out her dreams at sea and still please people. I shared with her my story of how I first went to sea and developed a career out of it. I gave her a letter with gave her 122 other options for pursuing a career at sea, one which she will enjoy, her parents may accept and the different roles which woman serve in on a ship or boat... She cried as she read it. A follow up chat with her the next day reignited her spark and she was on fire again and her smile reappeared :-) The young girl left the Spirit of NZ buzzing to tell her parent of her life changing experiences she had on board and also about her career options for when she leaves school. She is planning on joining a cruise ship to work in hospitality industry. She is so excited about her new found dream. She will then get to travel, work, have a social life, and enjoy each day as she lives out her dream of working on the water. Who ever new that by one person speaking it could make such a difference in someone else’s life.
Living your dream out. Not working to reach your dream.
Follow your dreams, persevere, stick with it, and let nothing take your dream away from you. You who follow the ways of others may find it hard to see the end goal in times of challenge. But she who believes in herself and lets nothing and no one push her around at sea, she will be the one to reach her reward in the end. That’s the dedication which will get more woman seafarers into Captain Roles. Sounds all good, but is far from being easy... With working in a male dominated industry RESPECT is something that has to work both ways in order for a safe comfortable working environment is to be created. And this isn’t always possible. No matter how hard you try. The best option for woman then is to protect themselves, put heir own needs and wellbeing before their job. If you work on a Tanker and think to yourself every night before bed; "Why am I doing this? Why am I working on a tanker, isolating myself from the world when I have so much to offer? "If you are a social person and love talking to people, socialising and have a bubbly personality, then why would you want to work on a ship where there are only 17 guys, it doesn’t make sense if you ask me. Wouldn’t it make more sense to work on a Cruise ship or Passenger Ferry where there are 1000’s of people on board, of both genders...?What ever your dreams maybe at sea. Whether it be to become a Captain, work in the bar and hotel services or in the deck department then I urge and encourage your towards reaching your goal. Stay focused and give it all you have, 110% at all times. It’s not about spending your whole life trying to reach goals that look so distant, it’s about living your dream out your entire life until you reach your destination. Your whole life is a dream of planning and living, so do all you can do to enjoy every tack you end up travelling on.
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