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inspiredcreativity — Me on a Ship after a Hurricane
Published: 2009-12-15 21:23:53 +0000 UTC; Views: 1195; Favourites: 3; Downloads: 35
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This is me in my office aboard The SS Exxon San Francisco, a Supertanker Ship, just after a Hurricane, sometime around 1985, give or take. I am the First Assistant Engineer, 2nd in command of the Engine Department. I am responsible for supervising the Engine crew, all repairs and all maintenance, as well as standing 8 hours of watch.Everything had taken a beating. Even the chairs have tie-down anchors to the deck. But the forces are so great that things tear themselves off the bulkheads and decks.
As you can see, I am not smiling. I am ordering spare parts for repairs. We are all exhausted. There is no sleep in such bad storms. Your body is like in a marathon constantly trying to control itself as you are thrown this way and that. We are working 16 to 17 hours, sleeping in 2 3-hour slots. Engine room temperatures averaged 110-130°F (43.3-54.4°C).
Forcing the first Assistant to stand watch in addition to his duties is something that Exxon did to cut corners, along with many other things that lead up to the Exxon Valdez disaster. Exxon forced us to work the longest hours in the world, for less pay. We had a Union when I got hired, but Exxon eliminated it by decree, saying we were all now management and not protected by labor law, then drastically cut everyone's pay, all while breaking yearly records for the highest profit in the history of the planet. There were no OSHA Health protections either, letting us be exposed to very high levels of Asbestos, Hydrazine, Benzine, and Aerosolized Hydrocarbon.
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Comments: 14
My ship, the RMS Queen Elizabeth 2, was caught in the path of Hurricane Luis on Monday, Sept. 11th, 1995 in the mid Atlantic. A 90 foot wave did some damage but we were in New York two days later. It was a stressful time for us that made up the crew and the staff. I even got a little certificate congratulating me for being onboard during that time.
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Nice ship. Are you sure it was 1955. You were rather young nipper to be working, lol.
When you go to sea you have to respect mother nature. I have seen waves so high that no now believe me if I tried to describe them. Tankers are long and if you perched between 2 wave tops or soothing atop one, you get sagging and hogging which could break the ship up. If you lose steerage way in a bad storm and cannot keep the bow into thee waves, the ship will go abrupt the waves and can brach (roll over). I was on the Exxon Philadelphia , when the bow plowed in and did not come back up, the entire main deck or the ship underwater for 7 minutes. Exxon, cutting every corner you possibly could, eliminated the forecastles on the that class ship. They have been on ships forever because it gives the bow reserve buoyancy. The forward chain locker had flooded and we were low in the water for being fully loaded. Exxon only put just one Boiler n the ship, the only ships on planet earth like that. You put two of everything on a ship for obvious reasons. Ship moved between sinking and floating, sinking and floating, then finally came up. The captain retired. when they reach port. Int he engine room, you know it is unlikely you will ever get out. Don't get me started telling sea stories. Do you know the difference between a Fairy-tail and a Sea Story? One starts, "Once upon a time…" and the other starts, "This is no shit…"
Well, I am still awake after over 2 days away, so I am afraid I have to wait to reply to your other comments a bit longer. My eyes are not staying in focus all the time.
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You may have noticed that I have a beard in this shot. When i was with Paul he insisted on me growing a beard. I had a mustache for years. After Paul left me, I shaved it off and Paul later told me I looked so much better without the beard. I naturally complained that he was the one who insisted I grow it and he said, "Yes, but that was to keep everyone else from being attracted to you."
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You are more than attractive ... you are a very handsome guy. Beautiful. You mentioned something about not liking your hirsute body ... but I assure you that to many if not most of us that is a very sexy and desirable attribute.
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Thank you. As you know, it is a matter of what one finds attractive. These get set in our younger ages. For example, a woman told me she was attracted to hair men because her brothers and father were that way and they represent security, affection and love. For me, my brothers and father are/were hairy but they represented abuse and no love. Buff guys represent bullies, so I am attracted to more spelt kind of guys.
For me, the seat of human beauty in in the eyes, followed by the smile, and I love a wide open kind of smile. I like upbeat outgoing guys because I am the opposite. But you also see plenty of gay couple who look like peas in a pod (look very much alive).
Do you remember when AIDS was at it worst and how skinny guys were no longer the fashion? In the time of Peter Paul Rubens, voluptuous large women were the style.
Do you remember the 70s, when the ideal gay man was muscular and had at least a mustache or a full beard. Now the trend is Urban Twink (more my style, lol).
Greg did not like my hair, so I mow my body with hair clippers and shave the nether and swinging regions… However, my two ex-partners liked the hair.
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"Kids where scared of me... until they found out what a smurfett I was." loved that line in the note, I lol'd.
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Hard on the outside, soft on the inside...
There was this cartoon of a polar bear breaking int an Igloo, with eskimos inside, and the polar Bear is saying, "Just the way I like it, crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside."
I found this cartoon that was so perfect I put it on my Office door. It was a roman Slave Galley, with the overseer in the stern cracking a whip. Next to the overseer was a Whip Rack, which contained a short whip, a medium long whip and a long whip. The caption said, "Slow Ahead, Half Ahead, Fell Speed Ahead." This is of course what our Engine Order Telegraphs say. This is what the older ships I sailed on looked like on the engine room side: [link] or on a Modern ship [link] and this is what the Bridge one can look like: [link]
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Fascinating! You look good,and concentrating!!! Very cute
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I think I look like a pirate. I can't remember who took this picture, or why. He was probably sucking up to me. That happens a lot when you are in charge, LOL.
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Well, if you look like a pirate,it's most sweet pirate
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Paul told me that the neighbor kids were sacred of me because of the beard. Am I I that scary looking? That reminds me of a nice story. We had just moved into a new house and apparently one of the neighbor boys called us "faggots." His little brother naturally immediately finked on him to their parents. After lecturing him, the parents send him over to our house to apologize, which was really touching.
The neighbors across the street would sometimes shout things like "Fucking Faggots." The put their house up for sale and moved. Another neighbor said that they told him that the neighborhood was no longer a safe or wholesome place to raise children with child-molesting perverts living here.
The day we moved in, he people from down the street came to the door bearing gifts and welcoming us. Cecil said that our next door neighbor Suzanne and come to their door saying,"Oh my god, have you heard, some Fags are moving in next door to me?" They figured they just HAD to come meet us. We then made a point to go over and introduce ourselves to Suzanne, and we all became friends.
In fact, we became friends with 4 other couples and on very good terms with everyone else. I helped most of them with putting is sprinkler systems, putting up fences, building things, etc. Then O found out the other next door neighbor was making passes at Paul… (another story)
My x-partner Paul got me to do it. I never liked it. I had a mustache when we met. After he left me, I shaved it off and he said,"You look so much better without the beard." I said, "But you were the one who insisted i grow the beard." He answered, "Because I didn't want anyone to be attracted to you." Men can be such !@#%$#...
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