10 days aboard a sailing ship Tecla10 days aboard a sailing ship Tecla

CPUT : 212002287 

My Exprience aboard the “Tecla”.

Life was foreign at first as the early hours; Three meals a day; Hard labour and sailing theory put us through our pace, all that mixed together with seasickness and loneliness made Ten days at sea feel like a month.

I was assigned to cabin 3 with my fellow merchant deck cadet Andre and we were put on the Twelve to Four watches with Two other cadets Mangaliso and Siyagin, together the work went alright and we had no real problems whilst on watch. Often during night watch we were asked about COLREGs and the general “rules of the road”.

We learnt alot during our watches at sea, that water can glow at night thanks to algae that alluminates through movement, a slight flicker hardly seen unless you focused; also that a simple fishing line in the water can provide alot of excitement, disappointment and mostly entertainment in ways land could never produce.

The crew Gatsy; Sam; Yett and Lucy were sailors open to talk yet hard of work, they consistantly work with a passion for the vessel they loved so much, this could even be seen by the comments written by previous attendees.They were hospitable and kind treating us often like little children with candies and chocolates, it helped alot , as this raised moral and bonding chances. All said i’d reconmend them for anyone with the money and a need of something real.

We celebrated a few birthdays aboard the vessel Clint’s; Mangaliso’s and Pamela’s the crew were so kind as to bake a Two cakes, other times they baked biscuits and the real treat was the freshly baked bread every morning, Gatsy and Lucy did most of the baking and Yett cooked.

It was a blast and a great bonding experience yet the true beauti behind this trip was that i found out the sea is the path for me, the sailor’s life is hard yet i didn’t think that at sea i thought how much this was for me, i found myself relaxed and even doing what i would do at home, draw or tabulate a guitar song, i felt at peace and am currently looking forward to my Two years of sea-time as a cadet.

What i have learnt aboard.

The lessons learnt aboard a vessel such as the sailing vessel the “Tecla” were not rooted to sailing vessels alone, they taught us all about the sea and wind, how these elements effected a sailing vessel and yet they had time to teach us about knots; drills; steering by compass and what a watch is and how to perform it.

We took down the weather and wind readings as well as true and magnetic course, filled these numbers into the log book along with the sea-swell and sea-wave heights. They showed us “their” bridge which was just the captain’s cabin with all the communication equipment (VHF,AIS,Radar,Etc…) as well as a Sextant.

Skills learnt aboard:

• ·Knots – Figure Eight; Clove hitch; Bow line; Stopper knot; Cow hitch; Reef knot
• ·Steering – By magnetic compass and by landmark (stars and shoreline)
• ·Drills – Fire drill; Man Over Board drill.
• ·Team work – Watch keeping, Waking up and Preparing of coffee for next watch.
• ·Cadet work – Sanding, painting(in this case it was oilling the wood), cleaning the                                             deck.

Fire Drill

In this drill we learnt about fire from Gatsy and how it can be stopped more effectively if the applicant has knowledge pertaining to fire and how it is formed, the Triangle of fire and the effective extinguishers to use. It was interesting as we were taught that fire is caused through Three factors: Heat; Fuel and Oxygen. Cut one of these off and the fire will die.

However Gatsy also taught us that there are different types of fires such as Solid(metal); Liquid(oil);  Gas(O2) and that if water is added to certain fires it will increase their furiousity. Therefore proper knowledge of the types of fire extinguishers aboard a vessel should be known and what type to use in which situation, this knowledge could save my life as alot of it was news to me.

Finally Sam taught us how to go into a fire if we had to search for a missing person, He showed us the importance of feeling the door with the back of your hand to see if it’s able to be opened,not just grabbing it and burning yourself , Sam then showed us the importance of opening the door slowly and having your body protected by the door, he then proceeded to showed us how we should check the walk ways and stairs before entering and using them as they could be damaged or missing.

He also taught us that we should enter a fire only in pairs always communicating, to demonstrate this Sam had a few cadets paired up and blind folded. Having them keep low and proceed as if they were in a fire looking for a missing person, having the cadets tap the areas they intended to go. Splitting a few teams and having them use their voices to find each other, stressing the fact that if your split from your fire buddy one person MUST stand still whilst the other moves to find them, both of you’ll communicating to find each other.

That fire drill was very informative.

Man Over Aboard Drill

In this drill we learnt that  should a man fall over aboard into the water there is a procedure to follow as to avoid panick as well as to insure effective rescue of the missing personal. Gatsy and Sam took us through the drill as we were split into groups, one cadet at the helm, a few to point out the M.O.B and the rest to assemble at the emergency muster point.

The cadets at the muster point were being identified by cabin number and name,then the rest whilst the cadets in charge of pointing out the M.O.B had to follow his position in the water and ensuring that they have sight of the M.O.B at all times. The cadet at the helm assisted the Captain Gatsy in the Williamson’s Turn which is the fastest way to steer the vessel round to the M.O.B.

This turn consists of a 60 degree turn to the opposite side of the M.O.B and then an alteration of course hard to the reciprocal turn, therefore steering the vessel on a complete 180 degree course of the initial course the M.O.B had fell aboard of.

The wildlife

The last topic I’d like to write about is the overall experience i got to have as a cadet aboard a sailing vessel, it was a once in a life time opportunity i got to have sailing as the true sailors of the past with the winds. During this journey i had the great privilege of seeing what many only see on the television.

I got to see the Ocean for her beauti and even a sunrise and many sunsets, these sunsets often accompanied by the Ocean’s wildlife. Whales proceeding under the amber burnt sky or the Dolphins swimming in pairs or in crowds by the bow playing in a dance only to be found with the motion of current beneath you and wind against you.Even once a menacing shark single yet it’s presence was felt.

I had an adventure and i learnt alot to do with my course, i can’t believe this type of life is out there, i had a hard time readjusting to waking up and not having to work, there peace in mind when your hands are busy.

CPUT : 212002287 

My Exprience aboard the “Tecla”.

Life was foreign at first as the early hours; Three meals a day; Hard labour and sailing theory put us through our pace, all that mixed together with seasickness and loneliness made Ten days at sea feel like a month.

I was assigned to cabin 3 with my fellow merchant deck cadet Andre and we were put on the Twelve to Four watches with Two other cadets Mangaliso and Siyagin, together the work went alright and we had no real problems whilst on watch. Often during night watch we were asked about COLREGs and the general “rules of the road”.

We learnt alot during our watches at sea, that water can glow at night thanks to algae that alluminates through movement, a slight flicker hardly seen unless you focused; also that a simple fishing line in the water can provide alot of excitement, disappointment and mostly entertainment in ways land could never produce.

The crew Gatsy; Sam; Yett and Lucy were sailors open to talk yet hard of work, they consistantly work with a passion for the vessel they loved so much, this could even be seen by the comments written by previous attendees.They were hospitable and kind treating us often like little children with candies and chocolates, it helped alot , as this raised moral and bonding chances. All said i’d reconmend them for anyone with the money and a need of something real.

We celebrated a few birthdays aboard the vessel Clint’s; Mangaliso’s and Pamela’s the crew were so kind as to bake a Two cakes, other times they baked biscuits and the real treat was the freshly baked bread every morning, Gatsy and Lucy did most of the baking and Yett cooked.

It was a blast and a great bonding experience yet the true beauti behind this trip was that i found out the sea is the path for me, the sailor’s life is hard yet i didn’t think that at sea i thought how much this was for me, i found myself relaxed and even doing what i would do at home, draw or tabulate a guitar song, i felt at peace and am currently looking forward to my Two years of sea-time as a cadet.

What i have learnt aboard.

The lessons learnt aboard a vessel such as the sailing vessel the “Tecla” were not rooted to sailing vessels alone, they taught us all about the sea and wind, how these elements effected a sailing vessel and yet they had time to teach us about knots; drills; steering by compass and what a watch is and how to perform it.

We took down the weather and wind readings as well as true and magnetic course, filled these numbers into the log book along with the sea-swell and sea-wave heights. They showed us “their” bridge which was just the captain’s cabin with all the communication equipment (VHF,AIS,Radar,Etc…) as well as a Sextant.

Skills learnt aboard:

• ·Knots – Figure Eight; Clove hitch; Bow line; Stopper knot; Cow hitch; Reef knot
• ·Steering – By magnetic compass and by landmark (stars and shoreline)
• ·Drills – Fire drill; Man Over Board drill.
• ·Team work – Watch keeping, Waking up and Preparing of coffee for next watch.
• ·Cadet work – Sanding, painting(in this case it was oilling the wood), cleaning the                                             deck.

Fire Drill

In this drill we learnt about fire from Gatsy and how it can be stopped more effectively if the applicant has knowledge pertaining to fire and how it is formed, the Triangle of fire and the effective extinguishers to use. It was interesting as we were taught that fire is caused through Three factors: Heat; Fuel and Oxygen. Cut one of these off and the fire will die.

However Gatsy also taught us that there are different types of fires such as Solid(metal); Liquid(oil);  Gas(O2) and that if water is added to certain fires it will increase their furiousity. Therefore proper knowledge of the types of fire extinguishers aboard a vessel should be known and what type to use in which situation, this knowledge could save my life as alot of it was news to me.

Finally Sam taught us how to go into a fire if we had to search for a missing person, He showed us the importance of feeling the door with the back of your hand to see if it’s able to be opened,not just grabbing it and burning yourself , Sam then showed us the importance of opening the door slowly and having your body protected by the door, he then proceeded to showed us how we should check the walk ways and stairs before entering and using them as they could be damaged or missing.

He also taught us that we should enter a fire only in pairs always communicating, to demonstrate this Sam had a few cadets paired up and blind folded. Having them keep low and proceed as if they were in a fire looking for a missing person, having the cadets tap the areas they intended to go. Splitting a few teams and having them use their voices to find each other, stressing the fact that if your split from your fire buddy one person MUST stand still whilst the other moves to find them, both of you’ll communicating to find each other.

That fire drill was very informative.

Man Over Aboard Drill

In this drill we learnt that  should a man fall over aboard into the water there is a procedure to follow as to avoid panick as well as to insure effective rescue of the missing personal. Gatsy and Sam took us through the drill as we were split into groups, one cadet at the helm, a few to point out the M.O.B and the rest to assemble at the emergency muster point.

The cadets at the muster point were being identified by cabin number and name,then the rest whilst the cadets in charge of pointing out the M.O.B had to follow his position in the water and ensuring that they have sight of the M.O.B at all times. The cadet at the helm assisted the Captain Gatsy in the Williamson’s Turn which is the fastest way to steer the vessel round to the M.O.B.

This turn consists of a 60 degree turn to the opposite side of the M.O.B and then an alteration of course hard to the reciprocal turn, therefore steering the vessel on a complete 180 degree course of the initial course the M.O.B had fell aboard of.

The wildlife

The last topic I’d like to write about is the overall experience i got to have as a cadet aboard a sailing vessel, it was a once in a life time opportunity i got to have sailing as the true sailors of the past with the winds. During this journey i had the great privilege of seeing what many only see on the television.

I got to see the Ocean for her beauti and even a sunrise and many sunsets, these sunsets often accompanied by the Ocean’s wildlife. Whales proceeding under the amber burnt sky or the Dolphins swimming in pairs or in crowds by the bow playing in a dance only to be found with the motion of current beneath you and wind against you.Even once a menacing shark single yet it’s presence was felt.

I had an adventure and i learnt alot to do with my course, i can’t believe this type of life is out there, i had a hard time readjusting to waking up and not having to work, there peace in mind when your hands are busy.