by Timerover51 » February 12, 2011, 3:37 am
Guest wrote:This is what I was hoping for, a real look into your world. Thank you for allowing me to see a world which is foreign to me now but which I would love to become fluent in. Since I saw my 1st ship ever, the American Century, at the Soo last summer, I wish to learn all I can about these intriguing vessels and every aspect of the world they operate in.
So about watches, are these time frames so that the sailors remain alert or because the work is so physically exhausting they need breaks?
Actually, the basis for the two 4-hours watches is so that the men standing watch will likely have one watch during the day and one watch at night. Otherwise, with an 8 hour watch, part of the crew would always be standing watch at night, and then trying to sleep during the day. There are a couple of other variants with respect to watches to ensure that there is some variety to when a man is on watch.
Guest wrote:The Bramble you speak of, is that the USCG Cutter Bramble? Isn't that at the Port Huron Museum? Would they put ships in and out of service like that? May I ask what kind of research you are doing, as that sounds really fascinating. Are you entertaining the idea of letting the public follow your adventure, say on FB or some other medium? That would be so interesting, I would think. What kind of a crew do you use for your research team? Thanks again for your information. Lisa
The Bramble was retired from the Coast Guard and donated to the Port Huron museum. Because of the cost of operating the ship as a dockside attraction, the museum has put it up for sale, and I am endeavoring to purchase it for use as a research vessel.
As for the type of research that I will be doing, I will be using the ship for wreck location, with the first objective being some ships sunk in World War 2 in the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific, where I was in 2002 with Dr. Robert Ballard, assisting him in locating John F. Kennedy's PT-109. I anticipate using the ship on the Great Lakes as well, for various duties. I will be putting the ship up for charter for use in research work, and she will be US-flagged for operation in US waters without having any problems.
I will be putting in a satellite Internet connection on the ship so as to allow video feed back to the US for either live feed or delayed broadcast. I expect to be supplying the feed to sponsoring organizations, subject to whatever restrictions those sponsors may have.
As for my research crew, I will be taking to the South Pacific a group of students from the Milwaukee School of Engineering to man the side scan sonar screens and assist with ROV operation. My son is a student there, and we already have a fair number of recruits. I am discussing several long-term ideas with the school as well. If I am on the Lakes this summer, postponing the South Pacific to next summer, I expect to have a mixture of MSOE students and volunteers for a research crew. I am in discussions as well with a gifted student program in the Chicago area for working with them in doing weekend workshops where we would take a number of junior high and high school students out on Lake Michigan for the weekend, and give them an introduction to maritime life, basic seamanship, and side scan sonar and underwater Remotely Operated Vehicle work. When in port, I will be more than happy to welcome any interested BoatNerd members aboard for a tour of the ship.
[quote="Guest"]This is what I was hoping for, a real look into your world. Thank you for allowing me to see a world which is foreign to me now but which I would love to become fluent in. Since I saw my 1st ship ever, the American Century, at the Soo last summer, I wish to learn all I can about these intriguing vessels and every aspect of the world they operate in.
So about watches, are these time frames so that the sailors remain alert or because the work is so physically exhausting they need breaks? [/quote]
Actually, the basis for the two 4-hours watches is so that the men standing watch will likely have one watch during the day and one watch at night. Otherwise, with an 8 hour watch, part of the crew would always be standing watch at night, and then trying to sleep during the day. There are a couple of other variants with respect to watches to ensure that there is some variety to when a man is on watch.
[quote="Guest"]The Bramble you speak of, is that the USCG Cutter Bramble? Isn't that at the Port Huron Museum? Would they put ships in and out of service like that? May I ask what kind of research you are doing, as that sounds really fascinating. Are you entertaining the idea of letting the public follow your adventure, say on FB or some other medium? That would be so interesting, I would think. What kind of a crew do you use for your research team? Thanks again for your information. Lisa[/quote]
The Bramble was retired from the Coast Guard and donated to the Port Huron museum. Because of the cost of operating the ship as a dockside attraction, the museum has put it up for sale, and I am endeavoring to purchase it for use as a research vessel.
As for the type of research that I will be doing, I will be using the ship for wreck location, with the first objective being some ships sunk in World War 2 in the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific, where I was in 2002 with Dr. Robert Ballard, assisting him in locating John F. Kennedy's PT-109. I anticipate using the ship on the Great Lakes as well, for various duties. I will be putting the ship up for charter for use in research work, and she will be US-flagged for operation in US waters without having any problems.
I will be putting in a satellite Internet connection on the ship so as to allow video feed back to the US for either live feed or delayed broadcast. I expect to be supplying the feed to sponsoring organizations, subject to whatever restrictions those sponsors may have.
As for my research crew, I will be taking to the South Pacific a group of students from the Milwaukee School of Engineering to man the side scan sonar screens and assist with ROV operation. My son is a student there, and we already have a fair number of recruits. I am discussing several long-term ideas with the school as well. If I am on the Lakes this summer, postponing the South Pacific to next summer, I expect to have a mixture of MSOE students and volunteers for a research crew. I am in discussions as well with a gifted student program in the Chicago area for working with them in doing weekend workshops where we would take a number of junior high and high school students out on Lake Michigan for the weekend, and give them an introduction to maritime life, basic seamanship, and side scan sonar and underwater Remotely Operated Vehicle work. When in port, I will be more than happy to welcome any interested BoatNerd members aboard for a tour of the ship.