World Cruise Day 61/152 - Sea Day - Bridge lessons

Cruise day: 61/152

Ports days: 18
Sea days: 43
Countries: 6
Continents: 2
Ports: 11

Yes, we had a bridge lesson in the morning like normal.  But in the afternoon, we had a bridge lesson - or more correctly a bridge tour - a tour of the bridge on deck #6 forward.

Here is the view from the bridge - it is quite commanding.

The bridge is where all the navigation magic happens on the ship.  From here, they control everything on the ship.  This is a somewhat blurry (sorry about that - the ship and I were moving) photo of the main control station at the center of the bridge.

Two officers are always here overseeing the operation and navigation of the ship.  They can control direction and speed as well as monitor sea depth, radar targets, weather, time to destination, and all other aspects needed to safely navigate the ship from point to point.  Here is a view of one of the two radar screens. The screens, one for each pilot, are typically set to varying distance resolutions - one farther than the other, so any potential radar targets can be tracked and avoided.  Note the old school "STABILIZERS OUT" sign that they use as a visual to remind the incoming watch when stabilizers are deployed.  The Star as stabilizer "wings" that extend right around midship.  These "wings" help minimize the ship rocking and rolling and ensure a smoother ride for the passengers in less than smooth seas.

Radar can only see large objects above the water.  What happens if a container ship dumps a container and it is there, right below the surface?  Radar can't see that.  How do we avoid it?  This guy.

A third member of the bridge team is always on the lookout.  When something catches his eye, up come the binoculars for a closer look.  If it is a hazard, the pilots should have plenty of time to take evasive action and steer around the item.  Everyone has a set of binoculars to ensure a good view for all responsible parties.

Each watch team works a four-hour shift and then rests for eight hours. That means three full sets of bridge crew working in that 4-on/8-off rotation, 24-hours each day.

Monitors around the bridge display all pertinent information about the status of all systems and GPS location information.

An interesting aside - even in this day and age of computerized everything and global positioning technology, the crew is required to validate the system once every 24-hours with another system - however rudimentary.  We didn't get to photograph it, but in a cabinet, they have a sextant locked up.  They regularly take it outside, under the stars, and use a navigation tool that is over 450 years old to validate the high-tech systems.  How cool is that?

Here's a photo of the watertight door system.

Below the waterline, there are 14 separate watertight compartments on the Star.  Any of them could flood without hindering the operation of the ship.  The watertight system allows the crew to seal off each compartment, keeping all the others dry and safe.

On both the port and starboard side of the bridge, there are secondary full sets of controls and monitors.  The ship can be controlled from either side as well as an auxiliary bridge located above the main bridge.  Here are some photos of the controls and monitors on the side control areas.

Don't worry about that "Err" indication on the depth finder.  Anything over 2,000M of sea depth will show that, and at that depth, we sure arent' going to hit anything.

This shows the angle of the twin rudders.  As you can see, they are a 0-degree deflection, so we're going straight - not turning.

The propellers are running at 100%, so it is full-speed ahead.

Looking back to the main control area from the starboard side controls.

Engineer Arlona, getting a closer look at the side controls.

She was tempted to push that TAKE CONTROL button to move control over to the starboard controls and then go nuts with the propulsion system, but luckily, she thought better of it. 

A viewing window is included on the floor on each side wing.  This allows for a straight-down view of the side of the ship as the ship is docking.

Looking backward from the port wing - hey!  I can see our cabin from here!

Along with the high-tech, there is also old school.  Here is an analog clock on the right and a barometer on the left.

This is a recording barograph - another type of barometer that traces a line on graph paper to track changes in barometric pressure.

 

The library of manuals and certificates that document all aspects of ship operation is located at the back of the bridge.

The detailed emergency plan.

The updated count of all souls on the ship is maintained daily on a simple whiteboard.

Finally, there is a central monitor that displays a series of security camera views from throughout the ship.

It was a very cool tour and I certainly recommend taking one if you have never had the chance.  A bridge cadet conducted our tour and was very informative and knowledgeable.  He answered several questions including a discussion about how we had two local Chilean pilots come aboard in Punta Arenas and they stayed with us until after we rounded Cape Horn.  They guided navigation through the Chilean fjords. Because we required 24-hour pilot assistance, two came on and worked rotating shifts to cover the whole two days.  The cadet also explained that since our captain, Captain Olav has been sailing for over 60 years (we think the cadet was overly impressed - it's probably more like 40 years), when the pilot comes aboard, they typically just tell Olav to continue on since he knows all the ports at least as well as the pilot.  It's good to have that kind of reputation.

Another interesting tidbit is that at full speed - 20 knots, in an emergency, they can flip to full-reverse and also oppose the rudders to increase drag.  This can bring us from 20 knots to a dead stop in about 2.5 lengths of the ship. That equates to 575.75 meters or just under 1,900 feet.  That is a pretty impressive stop.

We came in out of points again in trivia today.  Two teams had perfect scores which was impressive.  Our swing-and-a-misses:

• What year was the Declaration of Independence signed?
• We over-thought it trying to be smart - it's 1776, just like you'd think
• How many countries are in the United Kingdom?
• We thought five, including Gibraltar - nope - four - Great Britain, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales
• What sea animal can clone itself?
• Jellyfish
• What is calcium carbonate better known as?
• Chalk

We ate, we drank.  That's not new.  Tomorrow, we have our last sea day in this nine-day sea day run.  On Thursday, we'll set foot on land for the first time in ten days.