It was sunny but blustery on arrival and I had to take my time to bring the Veendam carefully alongside. This time, wind, current and swell direction were all going against what the ship had to do to get alongside so it was a bit of a balancing act. Costa Maya is fully exposed to all the elements and that makes it a fair weather port. What “fair weather” is depends a little bit on the personal view of the captain and what he thinks is safe to do, but the fact remains that we have to cancel Costa Maya on a regular basis because of the weather.
However this time we were lucky and it was all safely possible. We docked at the NE pier on berth one. Being the only ship gave me the option to pick the best berth and thus the ship went portside alongside with the nose almost in the wind and the swell about a 3rd on the sb bow. The current was to the North as is normal but by putting out extra spring lines the ship stayed nicely where it had to be and only rode very gently on the swell running under the dock. The only extra thing that we have to do is make sure that somebody watches the movement of the gangway which goes to and from over the dock with the movement of the ship along the dock.
With the ship riding along the fenders of the dock there is this creaking noise going on all day (just like when you squeeze a balloon) and if you are not used to it, it can be a bit disconcerting. However since the rebuild of the Costa Maya Piers they have really nice fenders there and thus the ship can ride nicely and safely along the dock. Later in the day the wind abated from 25 to 15 knots and that also reduced the movement of the Veendam as the swell height diminished in line with the wind.
When there is a swell we put out two sorts of mooring lines. There are the normal ones, which are made of synthetics (Either Marlon of Polypropylene) and steel wires. In non swell ports we only use synthetic ropes as they are light to handle and also very strong. In ports with a swell we add a few steel wires to the mix. These take the initial weight of the ship when it is pushed away from the dock by the swell. Polyprop lines are similar to elastic and thus they would not keep the ship alongside but stretch when the ship would move off the dock and only pull the ship back at the end of their stretch capacity). Steel wires do not stretch, so they take the full weight and then the synthetic lines help and hold in a regular way.
Thus today we had 5 lines on the bow, of which one was a steel wire. Five lines as the wind was on the bow pushing the ship aft. If it is a less windy day we normally have four. Two forward springs, of which one was a wire, and they are there to help to keep the ship in position when it wants to ride forward along the dock. Three spring lines aft, of which one was a wire line. We used three, to prevent the ship from sliding aft due to the wind blowing on the bow and because the riding of the ship along the pier. Then we had 4 lines as aft mooring lines of which also one was a steel wire. These lines had the function to keep the stern against the dock. The line/wire configuration varies from port to port depending on what the elements try to do with the ship and of course the number of bollards available on the dock. As mentioned in an earlier blog, I have asked for two more bollards on the dock, so that the Veendam can dock another 100 feet more astern, reducing the walking distance for the guests. They have been promised to be installed soon. (I have not been able to find out if this will be “my time” soon or “Mexican time” soon) However the bollards on the dock are good and plentiful but I have to stay further forward on the pier to use them.
The blue lines are the regular mooring ropes and the thin one on the left top side is a steel wire.
We left slightly delayed because of a tour but after disembarking the pilot we came quickly up to speed for getting to Tampa on time. The wind is supposed to get less tomorrow morning, so we should have a comfortable ride back.
December 20, 2008 at 5:24 pm
Captain Albert
I love your blog and read it daily. Your blog about Costa Maya reminds me of a question I had that perhaps you can help with. I like to get back to the ship before departure and find a spot above the gangway in order to watch the late arrivals. That is usually great fun as there will always be a few who have had a bit too much to drink and put on a show of sorts. At Costa Maya on one of these occasions I saw something very different. Two crew members of the Disney ship docked next to us and armed with axes began chopping away at one of the forward lines. This was something I had never seen before and wondered what problems would occur for them to have to manually free themselves of a line. They were docked on the outside position (old pier) if that makes a difference.
Thanks
December 23, 2008 at 12:34 pm
Thank you Captain for enlightening your readers some more on the lines that are sticking out of a ship when in port. This blog adds to the info you gave your readers on 21 July 2008 (Skagway) about things like winches, drums, head and stern lines. But, there is one mystery left, especially with lines on the bow.
How do they get to be tightened up around bollards on the dock? Is the crew hanging from the bow like window washers to tie up the lines to this throwline with a ball [proper term please!] On your picture the steel wire in particular is far from any ‘window’ in the bow. In your next Q&A session would you please address this mystery?