Playing Catch Up.

 
tug boat insides

Sometimes I just don't know where the time goes....It's time to play a little catch up....Let's start with the basics....

Who:  I'm still Megan.  

What:  Well, I'm at work.  I'm outfitting a tug boat.

Where:  I'm on the Columbia River.

When:  I got here at the beginning of April and I'll probably be here until the beginning of June.

Why:  This boat is brand spanking new and is scheduled to be commissioned in June.  I'm here helping put the final touches on her.  I'm literally ordering everything that goes inside a vessel.  From sheets, towels, blankets to mooring lines, tow cable, sledge hammers to fire fighting equipment to televisions to printer paper and sharpies.

How:  I make lists upon lists upon lists.  Then I email everyone I know to ask them questions.  Once I have an idea about what I want / need I send a Purchase Request to my company.  They in turn issue a Purchase Order and items are shipped to me.  I receive the items and stow them in a big container.  Once the vessel is actually ready for things to be inside it I'll unload my container into the boat.

The Good The Bad The Ugly:  I'm very new to tug boats and I haven't ever done a project like this.  It's stretching me.  I'm learning tons.  It's pretty darn fun.  Unfortunately, I probably won't know what I didn't order until we need it.  The ugly?  I'm living in a Comfort Inn.  Yikes.

A Hawaii Morning By Tug

About a month ago I got to head out first thing in the morning on a tugboat from Honolulu.  It was an incredibly enjoyable morning.  First off, it was a gorgeous day.  We left before the sun rose and then got to watch it slowly light up Diamond Head and Waikiki.  It was fun to watch a crew I don't work with (and don't really know) complete tasks that are semi routine for me.  The subtle differences are always interesting from a professional point of view.  Coming back into the harbor in daylight was semi nostalgic.  There's something magical about Aloha Tower.

I was with a friend who is also a peer so, it was fun to get back in the car and discuss the evolution.

It was also kind of fun to see a lauhala basket sitting on the galley table.  Ahh...the subtle nuances of Hawaii...

All in all, a fun, scenic morning!

Flip through some pics at your leisure.

Resurrection Bay

When I last left you we were getting ready to cross the Gulf of Alaska.

We had careful timed our exit from the Inside Pass by hanging out in a couple small Alaskan towns waiting for the perfect weather.

We got lucky and made it straight across without having to duck into Prince William Sound to hide out from nasty weather.

When we got to the other side we had to head north into Resurrection Bay.  Seward sits at the head of the Bay.  Ironically, the Bay got his name when someone had to hide out from bad weather back in the day - when the storm had passed it was Easter Sunday.

We round the corner into Resurrection Bay and it was blowing 50-60 knots with steep chop.  We were bucking into it and trying to make our best time so we could dock in Seward during daylight hours.

I have honestly never taken so much spray on the wheelhouse windows in my whole career.  

I'm sure for the tugboat world this was a drop in the bucket but I was like, 'holy smokes'.  

Alaska is notorious for having fierce wind channel down through Bays and Passes.  Sometimes you'll hear the weather forecast and it will say something nuts like - 15 to 20 knots; 80 knots in Bays and Passes.  

I took a video so you could see!

Honestly, we were so lucky that we only had a few hours of the spray because by the time we were tied up we had a fair amount of ice accretion.  Accumulating ice due to freezing spray is one of the most dangerous things that can happen to a vessel at sea.  It makes a vessel very top heavy and destroys it's stability.  You can see in the video how iced up the railing is from about two hours of spray.  

Once in Seward we working on de-crewing the boat and then it was time to head home.

An eight day trip turned into thirty.  You seriously don't want to know what I found in my fridge when I got home *wink*!

Magical Rainbow Porpoises

There are these moments on the water where you look around and think, 'is anyone seeing what I'm seeing?!' and then you realize, 'nope...this is for me'.  These moments are pure magic.

On our way up the inside pass I had one of these moments.

Rainbow

It was drizzling and the sun was shining.  I was hunting for rainbows.  One cropped up and I immediately starting taking photos.  It stuck around a bit - so I started to try to get artsy.  Pictures of the wheelhouse combined with rainbow-y goodness outside.

Wheelhouse and Rainbow

We were in a fairly narrow waterway and the rainbow spanned the whole channel from Port to Starboard.

All of a sudden I noticed some splashes at the base of the rainbow on my Starboard side.  I start taking photos there.

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Then I realize it’s a pod of porpoises!  

I’m going crazy.  I’m snapping as many pictures as I can.  I know you can imagine this.

They zoomed over to the front of the tug and rode the bow wake for a few minutes and then zoomed off.

Dall's Porpoises in Bow Wake

I was on cloud nine.  

A pod of porpoises - came out of a rainbow - and rode my bow wake.

PURE MAGIC.

They looked like baby Orca’s.  After doing a bit of research I learned they are called Dall’s Porpoise - and their behaviour was spot on.  

I took a video right before they dug out.

 

Please, flip through the gallery to enjoy some Magical Rainbow-y Porpoise Goodness.

One side note:  the photos and video were taken with my iPhone.  Please excuse some of the slightly pixelated images!

Mettle Maker :: The things you think you can't do...

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Everyone has things they think they can't do - and then push comes to shove - suddenly these things that felt impossible are a thing of the past. 

I was very nervous about working on a tug boat. I was just certain there would be all these things I couldn't do. Mostly physical things - throwing around large hawsers, pulling big wires, climbing up the sides of barges.  

Here's the thing. My trip is almost over - and I did all those things.  

When I left on my trip my friend Baisey (you can look her up on Etsy!) made me a sign to hang on my wall that says:  'Say yes and Go!' .

I have to remind myself constantly, 'you're capable. you can do this. you've handled worse. you just need to try.'.  I have to remind myself constantly to say yes and Go! 

I have to remind myself constantly to go and do the things I can't.