Big Things, Small Things

I've had a hilarious epiphany the last few days. I moved to a smaller ship, from one of almost 300ft to one that is about 150ft long, and with a beam has decreased from 50ft to 25ft. So basically a ship that is half the size. Which is a huge change, cabins are smaller, amount …

Thoughts on Unmanned Vessels

Some people have asked me in the past whether all the advances in technology will eventually leave me without a job. With the invention of self driving cars, trucks, and ships I can see how some people could see a marine engineers job becoming more and more obsolete.  Predictions see unmanned vessels in the water …

Staying in Contact

The modern age of technology has changed the way that communication happens for people and in industry. We are always connected, via internet, text message, smart phone, smart watch, and that weird Amazon robot that listens to you all the time, among other things.  As of 2016, 76% of Canadians own a smart phone, and …

One Year of Sailing, Things I’ve Learned as a Woman at Sea

Its been a long year of sailing and new adventures. There were good days and bad, ones where I love my job and others where I cried and questioned what the hell I was doing here. But through it all I kept learning. I learned things Ishouldn't have to learn in this day and age, …

The Mighty Needler

At the moment I am currently halfway through my first trip on the Needler, a ship that has a reputation of making just about anyone seasick. There were one or two days of just generally not feeling 100% myself, but other than that no seasickness issues, thank god. This is largely in part to the …

Literary Truths

"Ain't no such thing as a calm or convenient emergency out on the blue." - Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch

What We Can Learn From The USS Fitzgerald

The events leading up to and surrounding the collision of the USS Fitzgerald have been in the news as of late with the release of the partially redacted report about the collision. While I have not read the article in its entirety (only about 80% or so) it brought a lot of thoughts and emotions …

First Drydock

Let me tell you about this amazing month that I've had in drydock. This is the first drydock that I have ever been on, and lucky enough for me it is on a ship that I spent a lot of time on as a cadet. It is an old, but beautiful ship so it was …

Still Here!

To everyone who reads this thrilling blog of my job and all that it entails I am very sorry that I haven't written any thing in awhile. My goal was to write an article every week and I was doing decent for awhile there. But I've been slacking lately because I'm in drydock right now …

Why a job always takes 1000 times longer than expected

I have a bad habit at work. I consistently underestimate the amount of time it takes to do a job. This is partly because I always assume my first idea will work flawlessly (unfortunately, untrue), that when I fabricate something for the job I'll be able to find everything required right away, and that nothing …