Sunday 22 April 2012

MYTHS ABOUT SAILOR

         MYTHS ABOUT MERCHANT NAVY  SAILOR                                  

OK, so over the years I  had several thousand clinched questions asked about Sailors and Merchant Navy. So   here are some myths about sailors and sailing, along with the reality  attached to it :

  •  Myth: Everybody gets seasick – WRONG!!! this is usually the first question everyone asks. So ur in the merchant navy eh? don't u get sea sick?? Sea sickness is exactly like motion sickness. Does everyone have motion sickness? NO!! so why would everyone get seasick? Yea people do get sea sick but not as often as normally believed.
  • Sailor’s life is the easiest :  There is always work on a ship. what work you ask? cargo needs to be loaded, monitored, secured. routes need to be devised for the next voyage , necessary engine repairs need to be done. The need of the hour is speed, so by the time you are done with your work in port , it is time to depart. It is your good fortune if you get to go out.
  • Sailors can guzzle any amount of alcohol – Sure back then sailors and pirates had barrels full of ale and would get drunk at the drop of a hat. But these days that can lead to you getting sacked. Companies have a zero alcohol policy, thanks to all the drunken accidents caused by ancient mariners. Alcohol upto a certain percentage is allowed, anything above that is unacceptable. Which makes sense coz in that state ur a danger to yourself and your crew. So try being sober for 5-6 months and then guzzling crazy amounts of alcohol. 
  • Sailors make a ton of money – Not really. It firstly depends on the type of ship ur on. oil tankers etc will obviously pay more thanks to the inherent risks involved. Secondly it depends on your company. obviously some companies pay more than others but even then, a decent MBA from a good college or a masters will end up paying you the same amount. sure the starting salary has a wide margin, but 5-6 years down the line it is almost the same.
  •  I’ve been asked – Don't u get bored just looking at the sea everyday? Riddle me this, do u get bored looking at the same roads, buildings etc each day? Atleast at sea u often wake up to the sights of an island right next to you, or maybe a few dolphins swimming with your ship, or a pack of birds which fly for days along with your ship which in my opinion is fantastic. The night sky is unbelievably clear, the moonlight does wonders to the sea at night. You have to see it to believe it , I find it calming, the soft rustle of the ship cutting across the water, small ripples that run for miles.
  • Sailor eh? What about pirates? – Pirates are like a corrupt government. you know its there but not much can be done. it is an evil that exists and probably will for several decades to some. i dont know if the movie franchise ‘pirates of the caribbean’ can be blamed for it but it sure has risen over the years. what can be done?
  • Ships = Massive pollution – Ships are responsible for just 3% of the world total pollution. the rest comes from industries, automobiles etc. i know there have been a string of oil spills in the recent past but those were all accidents.
Bottom line after all this is that Sailors are human too. we too work hard, we too have families to think about and no sailing does not imply living on a cruise ship. it sucks ad hurts that sailors are branded as people who just love to while away time and are not really serious about life. working on a ship is no piece of cake. We live with  cuts, bruises, burns almost daily. The work environment is hostile, and it requires a great competence to survive at sea. the sea does not forgive incompetence. i know most of you cant help it coz this seems to be the general opinion for everyone. 
I’d be glad to answer any other myths that need attending to. feel free to ask. 

Monday 19 March 2012

SEA is Meant to be SAILED upon







  • The ocean is a mariner's factory.  When you successfully face a storm at sea, you're one storm closer to becoming a true mariner.  Surviving a single storm at sea may not make you into a mariner, but it's a step in the right direction.
  • Becoming a mariner takes time, because it requires years to get to know the sea in all of its moods.  You can't get to know it from books.  You can read about it all you want, but until you experience it first hand, you won't understand the wiles of the sea.  You need to put thousands of miles in your wake before you know the sea and know that you know it.
  • Becoming a mariner is a catch-22 situation.  You shouldn't go to sea unless you are a mariner, and you can't become a mariner unless you go to sea.
  • Knowing the sea, and knowing that you know it, isn't impossible, it just takes time.  If you are patient and put in the time, your confidence will increase, and you will know that the sea was meant to sailed upon,  You will become a true mariner.
  • Even till today Sailor and his Ship still remains unknown to the average person! How ships cross the oceans, how cargoes are converted into packages delivered by the postman, how oil is transported from the Middle East and Scotch Whiskey ends up in Japan is never questioned. These things happen and nobody feels the urge or curiosity to investigate further. And so, when confronted by a seafarer’s workload the mind goes blank! “My car doesn’t carry an Engineer”, they mutter, “so why should a ship need one”?

All I can tell u now is : Sail the ship and you will remember the experience at sea and feel of ship for whole life and obviously working on ship is not everyones play. 



Thursday 15 March 2012

Mariners of new ERA

                            


IS THIS ADVENTURE

  • In last 50 years Maritime world has changed completely in terms of Technology , Demand , Recognition and also the Thinking of Mariners. 
  • In-fact the Experience of an Old Mariner is Totally different from what we experience and Believe today. Actually this Thinking and Thoughts of an older mariner has become a thing to be Preserved.
  •  The industry has changed and probably faster than when the steamship came along and rang the death knell on the sail ships. Ten years ago everybody decided that seafarers were suffering from stress, that ships should run like shore-based establishments and that people should be accountable for their actions; i.e. a paper trail should be laid. Earlier paperwork on ships was nothing more than the daily log; the typing of the monthly stores order onto the telex machine and some night orders hastily scribbled by the captain after has last gin and tonic of the night! Today paperwork has become a real tension.
  •  It has not stopped there. As a result of 9-11, the terrorist attack on the world Trade Center in New York, the bureaucrats ashore rapidly suggested that ships could be used as potential bomb carriers (a laden gas tanker running up the St. Lawrence Seaway with a bomb onboard could cause untold loss of life and damage) and so ships and the people that sail them suddenly received a whole new host of regulations to follow and associated paperwork to fill in. The Chief Officers, once a figurehead to be frightened of, now has many hats to wear - safety officer, loading master and now the security officer!
  • Today not many ships stay long enough in port these days to allow anybody to go ashore! Time is precious and port stays cost money!
  • Life at sea has changed. Trips are more structured and the seafarers more professional than they ever were - life onboard depends on the individuals and how they accept the life, a life that no longer depends on crates of booze and alcoholic oblivion!
  • And so why would seafarers go to sea today? They go because it is an honest career that brings the bread and butter onto the table. There might not be a wife in every port, the company may require the same written entries to be made in about six different books and logs and the Chief Engineer might be a grumpy old sod because he can’t have drink but …….wow, what a life to be had!






Experienced comments are welcomed

Wednesday 14 March 2012

Information about anything on merchant navy ends at this link





                                                     

Merchant Navy Aspirants (Beginners)




  •   Career in Merchant Navy can be pursued either as an officer or a rating in mainly two specialized fields, i.e. Marine Engineering and Nautical (deck). 
  •   Officers                             
    1. 3/4 year degree course in Nautical Science for (10+2) students.
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deck_department
    2. 4 year degree course in Marine Engineering for (10+2) students.
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engineering_department
    3. 2 year course for Diploma Holders.
    4. 1 year course for Graduate Mechanical Engineers.

         Rating  (Entry standard Xth)
    1. 4 month Pre-Sea Course for General Purpose (GP) rating.
    2. 3 month Pre-Sea Course for Deck rating.
    3. 3 month Pre-Sea Course for Engine rating.
    4. 4 month Pre-Sea Course for Saloon rating.






      comments on latest changes are welcomed

SEA is Mariner's LIFE and WORLD


  • For majority, sea is just a large body of salt water expanded to horizon. But for a mariner, sea is a world of wonders and amusements. It is his world and sometimes his paradise.
  •  A mariner knows all aspects of the sea. He is the one who knows the feelings and emotions of the sea. Sea is never a factor of fear or threat or failure for a mariner. Most part of his life is in the sea that rocks him in her salty arms and thus he knows the endless immensity of her love towards him. A mariner is the better one in the world who can define a sea.
  • A mariner's life is completely an adventurous one. While fighting with the waves and the oceanic creatures the only thing that gives courage to him is his native and his family whose prayers are always with him. The hope to meet his family again after the sailing gives him the courage to fight with the sea and stay there.
  • A mariner knows that the sea is dangerous and the storm terrible, but they have never found these dangers sufficient reason for remaining ashore. He built his dreams in the sea. For him the world is sea.




                    Experienced comments are welcomed

RULERS OF OCEANS


MERCHANT NAVY ????  SAILORS????


Today MERCHANT NAVY is a best career option  providing an extraordinary lump of adventure and money , producing a human beings of high standards and awesome experience to brag about. 

Sailor, mariner, or seaman is a person who navigates water-borne vessels or assists in their operation, maintenance, or service. The name preserves the memory of the time when ships were commonly powered by sails, but it applies to the personnel of all vessels, whatever their mode of locomotion.

 Many seafarers are asked how they ended up at sea! Just like somebody may ask a teacher or a bricklayer why he or she became one, the answers tend to be varied and often without path to the end result. One common reason for entering a particular career is because “my father did it and so did my grandfather”. Some extremely obvious reasons for going to sea might have been to get away from home or to see the world; equally so many rusty seafarers today embarked upon their careers for lack of anything else to do, because some cranky careers advisor suggested they do so or because they had been recently dumped by the school hottie! 

Whatever be the reason once he sails the seas , they get sea in their blood.

Mariners are the ultimate epitome of responsible people. They have the skills and profess to not only take care of themselves while at the sea, but also the lives of their loved ones who are on land.