Huatalco is a bit low on cruise ship visits this year; the pilot is bitterly complaining. (I have the vague idea that there is a sort of bonus system in place for the number of calls and thus it directly affects him) Hard to understand as it is a great resort to call at.. But the cruise ship calls are down this year from 44 to 23 and that hits the local economy quite hard. Although it is a resort that is also very popular with the Mexicans, the influx of foreign currency does have a considerable impact on the local community. I from my side do not mind it all, the less ships that are calling, the greater the chance that there is no other vessel to share the port with. That means that I have four options about how to go in. West side, nose in or out or East side, nose in or out. Today it was West Side nose in, as explained yesterday, to give the Security Officer shade on his gangway. With a noon time temperature of 94oF (34oC) and the sun beating down, quite a good thing to do. And so we did.
Approaching the dock. the Statendam lining herself up to go alongside.
It was an interesting approach as the ship did it nearly all by herself. Once I had her lined up to my liking and stopped the engines, she just drifted forward with two knots and then slowly started to make a turn to starboard, bending around the end of the dock and then gliding along the dock. We on the bridge, were just standing there and watching. The only action required from my side was to keep reducing speed, as Dear Lady Statendam likes to start running if you do not check her. But for the rest it went all by itself. The gentle breeze coming through the mountains at the portside was just enough to start the move to starboard and the current under the dock just enough to prevent her from coming too close to the dock. Very interesting to watch. That brought us alongside by 09.30 and the guests could go ashore at once. The Mexican authorities have now decided, that if the pre sent – paperwork is approved, then the ship is cleared when the gangway goes out and they will do the rest later.
Today’s crew function: The quartermaster. The title comes from the olden days and is a bit hidden in the mists of time. It is said to come from the Latin word of quartarius literally meaning Master of Quarters. In the days of the pirates the Q.M was the leader of the raiding party, as he was the most trusted sailor who was sent out. In the land armies normally the person in charge of supplies and housing, also a trusted function as it gives ample opportunity for corruption. I assume that via the pirate days the title ended up in the regular navy and the merchant navy and it became the helmsman of the ship. E.G putting the most trusted sailor behind the ships wheel.
The arrival bridge team: one QM on lookout, one behind the wheel. The Staff Captain, for oversight, the Officer of the Watch behind the radar. The Assistant of the watch checking the equipment and me taking this photo and then taking the conn to sail the ship in.
So this is the sailor that works on the bridge. Two for each watch. One for the lookout and one for the steering. In between they keep the bridge organized, the windows clean, the coffee fresh, keep the ship upright with the heeling pumps, check fire alarms, etc.etc. Napoleon once said, an army marches on their stomach, well the bridge stays awake with Coffee, tea and large quantities of peanuts. All supplied by the quartermaster. They come forth out of the Deck department and start off as Sailor O.S. (ordinary Sailor) which is a trainee sailor. He then makes promotion to Sailor A.B. (Able Bodied) as soon as the bo’sun decides that he controls all the aspects of sailor life. When capable and willing (not all sailors want to be a Q.M and watch four hours out of the window (*)) he can get promoted to QuarterMaster. Then he gets trained up in steering & the bridge equipment by the Officers and learns the rest from an older colleague with whom he is paired. When in port, the QM’s are involved with watching the mooring lines all day and keeping them tight. In between they carry out maintenance that is of a higher skill that what is done by the sailors. That includes varnishing railings (it is not easy to get three layers of varnish on a railing without leaving streaks) and also training the new sailors O.S. In general a skilled and motivated Q.M can make the life of the Officer of the Watch very easy. Further promotion is there as well, going to Storekeeper, Asst. bo’sun and finally Bo’sun. While in Hualtalco the Quartermasters were involved with keeping an eye on the mooring ropes as the low swell running in made the ship lightly move along the dock. They work 8 hours on the bridge when the ship sails and then 2 hours on deck. When in port, they do work off the bridge but can be reached by UHF when needed.
When we left Huatalco the Quartermaster had an easy job. We were backing out all the way and the Staff Captain steered the ship with the bow thruster. After we had spun around and were heading in the direction of Puerto Chiapas, the ship went on auto pilot and thus for once little to do for the Q.M. Tomorrow things will be different; steering into the harbor entrance is always an adventure. One thing is good. The Gulfo de Tehantepec is quiet for a change. It is supposed to start blowing there tomorrow evening, but tonight’s crossing should be very quiet. (*) my wife considers it worse than watching paint dry.
Leave a Reply