Morning all,
Great pics Mark - It's very strange to see yourself on the bridge
.
Unfortunately I didn't get to take her out yesterday, since just before we came in we had some problems with the pitch on the Port engine, and so the Master didn't want to risk it. The engineers are having a look, but we're still having problems at the moment.
And Danny; The first time I took her out, I came onto the bridge, and the Master simply looked at me and said "Do you feel confident?"...I said yes (Although I was actually thinking what on earth is he going to ask me to do
), and he asked me if I wanted to take her out, which came as a complete surprise. I can't say I've heard of many cadets getting the opportunity to do any ship handling, so I consider myself VERY lucky. He just asked me "Have you been watching me?", I had, and so he just said "There's the controls, get the feel for her, do what you want". He didn't tell me what to do, he just wanted me to get a feel for the ship myself. Anyway, I brought the helm over to port about 30 degrees (facing the berth), put the bow thruster about 70% to starboard (thruster isn't very powerful on this ship), and gave her a nudge on the starboard engine, and so she crabbed sideways off the berth. It was a fantastic experience, I'll always be grateful to the Master for giving me the opportunity.
Also, we try and keep as tight up on that buoy as we can. If we're about 10 meters off it, the leading lights marry up behind us, so we're bob on track.
Anyway, see you all soon, I'm talking from the bridge computer at the moment, so I don't get the chance to come on the SS Forum often.
Kind Regards,
Jack.
