Previous ship handling experience?

[Akula4745]

I was just curious how many players have previous ship handling experience? It became obvious to me this past weekend when I was showing a friend the game I have become addicted to... and they were having all sorts of problems with the compass rose and basic ship handling knowledge - and I had not really considered the possibility of needing to learn those skills as well (in addition to the gameplay and basic targeting/tracking).

I was a licensed captain for 11 years - started out as a mate on charter boats out of Destin, Fl in the late 70s; ended up with a 100 ton license after about 3 years and then started dabbling with crew boats and supply ships in the oilfields of the Gulf of Mexico along with fishing... then along came a 500 ton ticket and constantly working out of the country (if you stayed out of the country for more than 9 months back then your income was tax free) - but it was the forever being gone which killed it for me... I wanted to watch Monday Night Football, order a pizza, get drunk with a woman, go bowling... in other words everything you couldn't do on a ship a bazillion miles from home. So I quit and went back to college in my late 30s.

So how many of you fine folks have a maritime skeleton in your closet too?

[runningdeer]

I navigated the Saint Croix river in my Alumicraft canoe once . I've never been on anything bigger than a canoe though .

Wow, a real Captain...thats pretty cool.

[Rockin Robbins]

In the mid to late 1970's I delivered sailing yachts up and down the coast of Florida to repair yards to clean and paint their bottoms and return them to their homes. On a couple of intercoastal trips with a sailboat drawing 6' 10" I got extensive experience navigating by sonar.

I still sail pretty often on the intercoastal waterway and the Atlantic Ocean on my brother's Catalina 25.

[Fish40]

Hey Akula, I'm thinking about SeaSchool for a Captain's license myself. My buddy has his about five years now, and he's been bugging me to get mine. He has a small charter business out of Mamaroneck, NY, fishing the Western Long Island Sound. I mate for him when I can, and we fish all over when he's not chartering. Canyon Tuna fishing is my favorite.

I've been on boats fishing now for over 25 years, but don't own my own Then again, after seeing the money he's spent on his boat (just went for a small fortune on a new Yamaha outboard, and new fuel tank installation) mabey I'll just stick to sailing on other's boats

When I tell my friend about SH4 and how you need to plot intercept courses, determine ranges and speeds ect.., he laughs and says I probrably know more about navigating than he did when he took the test!

[groomsie]

I was a surface warfare officer for 4 years + assorted other midshipman experiences with shiphandling (including a little time conning and sitting at the help of USS Gurnard (SSN-6??)). Most of my time was aboard USS Lake Champlain (CG-57), a Ticonderoga ("Aegis") cruiser, where I was qualified as Officer of the Deck (OOD) Underway. So, much of the plotting and such is stuff I've done before and I agree that experience is something that helps grasp certain aspects of a game like this.

A bigger part however--and anyone who has even driven a boat grasps this on some level--is the ability to "eyeball" a situation in close quarters, to grasp the relative motion aspect and determine if you are standing into real danger of collision. This is something I've thought about in maneuvering in on the surface where visibility may be low and things moving quickly, I can rely a bit on my gut as far as if I have bearing drift (and if it is in the direction I desire) and adjust course / speed that way a bit.

[DaveyJ576]

I spent three years aboard the USS Darter (SS-576) from 1984-1987. I was qualified as Helmsman/Planesman, Lookout, and Quartermaster of the Watch.

My second Navy career took me to MCM Crew Implicit from 2005 to 2008 as a Damage Controlman and my crew served on the Mine Countermeasures Ships Defender (MCM-2), Warrior (MCM-10), Dextrous (MCM-13), and Pioneer (MCM-9). I was in the Engineering Dept. and qualified as Main Machinery Room Operator, Propulsion Control Console Operator, Engineering Duty Officer, and Engineering Officer of the Watch.

I can say that my qualifications and experience as a helmsman and navigator help a lot in playing the game, but I don't believe that type of experience is necessary to enjoy it.

[Highbury]

Most of my experience has been sea trials on Zodiac Hurricanes. I worked in the old factory (now closed) in Richmond, BC. In the Navy I did do navigation and handling training on a YAG. That was the only "naval" vessel (which a YAG barely qualifies as) I have ever handled myself. Other then that alot of pleasure boat exp.

It does make a difference though. In SHIII I used to always back my sub into the pens. Watching some people I have gotten into the game has been painful at times.. as groomsie was saying, there is an ability to eyeball and more importantly, to anticipate needed. Most people are only used to controlling vehicles with much more motive friction then a boat, they expect stopping to happen shortly after throttling down. Lack of actual brakes + heave and swell just add to the confusion.

[Akula4745]

Originally Posted by runningdeer

Wow, a real Captain...thats pretty cool.

I think the cool thing was the freedom... great for a young man, but cannot imagine doing it now.

Originally Posted by Rockin Robbins

I still sail pretty often on the intercoastal waterway and the Atlantic Ocean on my brother's Catalina 25.

I figured as much from you, RR. Ever get down to Fort Pierce? Got a sister and Bro-in-law on south island (Hutchinson Island). I was just down there visiting the weekend before Memorial Day. Beautiful area down there... when I see water like that sometimes I almost miss the boating days.

Originally Posted by Fish40

Hey Akula, I'm thinking about SeaSchool for a Captain's license myself.

Hey Fish40 - if things are still the same as back in the day... a 100 ton license turns out to be a lot more valuable than a six pack license (You said small charter operation). Best I can recall the navigation questions were very basic - it was the Any Ocean test which was a bastardo!

Originally Posted by groomsie

A bigger part however--and anyone who has even driven a boat grasps this on some level--is the ability to "eyeball" a situation in close quarters, to grasp the relative motion aspect and determine if you are standing into real danger of collision. This is something I've thought about in maneuvering in on the surface where visibility may be low and things moving quickly, I can rely a bit on my gut as far as if I have bearing drift (and if it is in the direction I desire) and adjust course / speed that way a bit.

Originally Posted by Highbury

It does make a difference though. In SHIII I used to always back my sub into the pens. Watching some people I have gotten into the game has been painful at times.. as groomsie was saying, there is an ability to eyeball and more importantly, to anticipate needed. Most people are only used to controlling vehicles with much more motive friction then a boat, they expect stopping to happen shortly after throttling down. Lack of actual brakes + heave and swell just add to the confusion.

Yes... what they said! It is most decidedly an acquired set of skills. I find myself taking it all the way into the harbor too, Highbury.

[Rip]

Originally Posted by groomsie

I was a surface warfare officer for 4 years + assorted other midshipman experiences with shiphandling (including a little time conning and sitting at the help of USS Gurnard (SSN-6??)). Most of my time was aboard USS Lake Champlain (CG-57), a Ticonderoga ("Aegis") cruiser, where I was qualified as Officer of the Deck (OOD) Underway. So, much of the plotting and such is stuff I've done before and I agree that experience is something that helps grasp certain aspects of a game like this.

A bigger part however--and anyone who has even driven a boat grasps this on some level--is the ability to "eyeball" a situation in close quarters, to grasp the relative motion aspect and determine if you are standing into real danger of collision. This is something I've thought about in maneuvering in on the surface where visibility may be low and things moving quickly, I can rely a bit on my gut as far as if I have bearing drift (and if it is in the direction I desire) and adjust course / speed that way a bit.

USS Gurnard SSN-662, I had a short sting with her in the mid-eighties during the Pugent Sound overhaul. When were you invloved with her?

Rip

[coasterdigi]

About the closest I ever came to a real life ship handling experience was when I nearly sunk a pontoon boat in Ponce Inlet, FL after a wake from a commercial fishing vessel crashed over the bow. I had some VERY surprised passengers!

It was something I'd always thought about getting into, though. Of course, aviation was always my first love, so I chose to go to flight school, instead.

Now, I'm doing neither. Ain't life grand?

[Akula4745]

Originally Posted by coasterdigi

Now, I'm doing neither. Ain't life grand?

Well I'm a captain who ended up in IT... who would have imagined. LOL

[Rockin Robbins]

Originally Posted by Akula4745

I figured as much from you, RR. Ever get down to Fort Pierce? Got a sister and Bro-in-law on south island (Hutchinson Island). I was just down there visiting the weekend before Memorial Day. Beautiful area down there... when I see water like that sometimes I almost miss the boating days.

Yikes! What a small world. I have experience both with Ponce Inlet and Ft Pierce Inlets.

I was crew with Alfons Cieslak, an unreconstructed Norseman ancient seaman, delivering a 56' sloop to a boatyard south of Fort Pierce. Our mast was just about exactly 65' and that was the clearance of the highrise bridges along the intercoastal. To avoid hassle and delay we chose to go offshore....in January. Headed out Ponce Inlet to go south in about 20 knot winds and 15 to 20' seas. No problem for this boat. It was a bit brisk, but very doable. We flew south with a north-east wind.

Now Ft Pierce Inlet is dredged to 70 or 75 feet to accomodate nuclear submarines (don't ask). But between the jettys it is a darned narrow thing! We came into the inlet with standing 20' waves there, outgoing tide into the big wavefront. We put the mast spreaders in the water twice. About halfway through the gauntlet, in the big salon below a toolbox weighing about 300 pounds came loose and began charging back and forth looking for things to destroy.

Captain says "Steve, go below and square that away." So I'm standing on the companionway ladder watching the toolbox. "Blam! Blam! Blam!" Well, it's going to take out the ladder with me on it anyway, what do I do? I saw a piece of lumber that would reach the length of the salon and timing it so I would move just as the toolbox slammed into that bulkhead I jumped down, jammed the piece of lumber in place, stomped on it to secure it as best as I could, and got back topside before I tossed my cookies. I was standing on the ladder with my head outside the hatch when we dipped the spreaders for the second time. Right then I realized that I had the easy job tackling the runaway toolbox. He was a hell of a skipper. Never even got excited or raised his voice.

And then suddenly we were in the clear, motoring up the channel on smooth water. In the center of the channel at anchor in line ahead were about 20 of the local fishing fleet deciding whether they were going outside that day. After watching our antics, every one of them returned to the docks. Never could figure out why.

[coasterdigi]

Yikes! What a small world. I have experience both with Ponce Inlet and Ft Pierce Inlets.

Small world, indeed. RR, I hadn't even noticed where you are from. DeLand, eh? I've spent a bit of time there. I went to school at Embry Riddle which consists of a primarily male student body, so Stetson, which has a primarily female student body, attracted Riddle students like moths to a bug zapper.

Well I'm a captain who ended up in IT... who would have imagined. LOL

I hear you on that one. Somehow I wound up working in the theme park world, which as since landed me in the Northeast--a far cry from what I had originally intended.

...which leads me to some boating experience that I can't believe I forgot about! A few years back, I was working as in Ops supervisor at Six Flags Worlds of Adventure outside of Cleveland, and, among other things, was placed in charge of our twin 50-ton ferry boats. Over the winter, the park, in lieu of pulling the boats out of the soon to be frozen lake, had chosen to leave the boats in the water, relying on 3 or 4 little de-icing motors placed under each one.

Naturally, this strategy was slightly less than effective.

The freezing lake broke something, somewhere, and flooded the bilge of each boat with something like 50,000 gallons of water each. A couple of big pumps were able to get the great majority of water out, but there was still about 2" left that the pumps could not reach. Being as our maintenance staff was busy with other things, I'll give you one guess as to who got the enviable task of getting the last bit of water--one 5gal ShopVac full at a time--out of the boats.

[Highbury]

Originally Posted by Akula4745

I find myself taking it all the way into the harbor too, Highbury.

hehe I even do it from Kiel in OM. To me going port to port in SH is like starting a mission on the runway in a flight sim, it just feels better. Starting and finishing in the air is immersion destroying for me with flight.. same thing here

[Hitman]

A bigger part however--and anyone who has even driven a boat grasps this on some level--is the ability to "eyeball" a situation in close quarters, to grasp the relative motion aspect and determine if you are standing into real danger of collision. This is something I've thought about in maneuvering in on the surface where visibility may be low and things moving quickly, I can rely a bit on my gut as far as if I have bearing drift (and if it is in the direction I desire) and adjust course / speed that way a bit.

Yeah, I concur. In my experience with sailing ships in ship races -where we sometimes came really, really close when cutting the stern of another competitor- we used as main rule of thumb the constant bearing: If you are on a collision course and the other ship's bearing doesn't change, collision is assured. If the other ship is slowly drifting forward of the first bearing, you will pass cleanly abaft of its stern, if the bearing is dirfting backwards you will probably pass cleanly before his bow. (But this last one is a more dangerous situation )

My experience is limited to sailing ships, not much bigger than what RR has showed there, plus lightweigth race ships (No weight in the keel but just your body to counterbalance the strength of the wind).