Alaska Ranger Crew comments

Alaska Ranger -  USCG Photo

 Below is a comment I received on my post  The Alaska Ranger - shitty job, shitty boat :


I worked on The Ranger during 9-11. I initially was recruited and sent to Dutch to work on a different boat for the FCA. I witnessed a attack of a white man by three Samoans who beat this man so bad he was transported to the hospital with 3 broken bones all in his face. I careful exited the boat at dawn and returned to the bunks to request a ride back to Seattle. I did approach the Captain for the boat to report my witnessing the attack. I was told to be quiet and if I did not I would most likely not make it back to Land once we set sail. I was marooned in a bunk house for 12 days before a Man came to me offering a job on a new boat "The Ranger" This man turned out to be the Captain who was notified by the Main office in Seattle about my issue with the abusive nature of the Deck Hands and the boo sons on the first boat. He promised me no unfair treatment and that his boat is run by Whites and that I would be protected because of the color of my skins. I thought about it for a day and decided I came to Alaska to test myself, and to go home now would only result in me looking back questioning why I didn't try it. I spent 42 days aboard the ship, and it was by far the hardest most grueling test of my life. We were not notified of 9-11 until early Oct and the word track the Captain used was we were at war with Afghanistan and that they attack the pentagon. No talk of the Trade Towers or any thing else. The Coast Guard boarded our boat before heading back into Dutch and before hand the Captain order all of us to throw away Beer, Pot, and Fish that we were not suppose to have cause it was out of season. I look back now knowing that boat was the scariest ride and realizing now that I was so close to danger makes me wonder how many other boats out there too share the same issues..

 John S 

Thanks for the comment  John S.

K.C.

Talk Like a Pirate Day -All be Well

Talking like a pirate is not enough - why not go all the way.


As a professional mariner who regularly transits the Gulf of Aden and Horn of Africa  Talk Like a Pirate Day strikes me as  ignorant and  somewhat offensive. It's hard not to agree with Rick Spilman at Old Salt Blog  "I was kidnapped by Somali pirates"


On the other hand seems like it doesn't hurt to lighten up a notch from time to time,  Here is my AIW post run thru Translate-Pirate.com

In th' past, when I out t' sea an' very busy I would sometimes send me buxom beauty a short email. I would send her th' news, fer example me rpm, speed made good, sea conditions, ship motion an' th' mutiny level o' th' crew (low, moderate or high). I would also include th' letters AbW which means (to me) "All be well".

She used t' compl'n bout th' too short emails an' th' use o' "AbW" so I stopped. I tried t' add more interest'n items, fer example if I saw a fly'n fish, a turtle or if we had pork chops fer lunch.

So now, Commenter Will comes astern from cruise, home from school, an' off he goes t' th' George's Banks, fish'n on a boat out o' Portland, - noth'n heard fer six days. Me buxom beauty tells me she wishes fer a short email. Three letters:"AbW" .

 - Silly, but harmless

K.C.

Scanner Review

Brother MFC-7360N Multipurpose printer/scanner

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When I'm  running coast-wise, it's important to be able to get my various clerical chores done quickly so I can focus on more critical tasks. A key point is that it is more efficient and much quicker handling computer documents then paper ones. That means having a good scanner is important.

 I've had several various  scanners in my office over time but none as good as the Brother MFC printer/scanner. It prints fast, scans fast and the document feeder works much better then other models I've used. It also has software that is easy to use.

 Imagine out the window I can see my green third mate is about to have a first encounter with the fishing fleet but I  have a handful of paper to deal with. With this scanner I can shove the papers into the feeder, type in a file name, click the mouse button and then start a sprint out my office door.  Before the ship closes a couple more ship lengths towards the nearest boat  I'll be on the bridge in time to show the new mate fishing vessel avoidance techniques  and my documents will be safely on the hard drive.


K.C.

BOATLIFT, An Untold Tale of 9/11 Resilience

View from My Office - Gulf of Thailand

Northbound - Gulf of Thailand

Singapore to Laem Chabang Thailand is about a two day run, heavy concentrations of fishing boats but traffic seems easy after transiting Malacca and Singapore Straits.

K.C.