STCW Week (Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping)

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Last week we took our STCW course at the Maritime Professional Training (MPT) Center, and we now have all of the required courses completed to get a permanent and full-time position on a boat. Woohoo! Well, besides the medical examination that we're doing tomorrow, but apparently it's pretty easy. The course was a bit more intense than we had been expecting, but the instructors made it really easy for the entire class to pass. We had written tests every day except for on Friday, which is when we were on the fire field enduring basic fire fighting training, but the instructors pretty much gave the class all of the answers before each test. Basically it was fool proof. We had a diverse range of nationalities within the class so that kept things really interesting and hilarious at times. There was a Scot, an Irish chap, a Belgium lady, a woman from the Bahamas, and then Ross representing South Africa. Some of the students have been in the industry for a while and had heaps of good advice, and then some others were newbies like us.

On Monday, our instructor, Russ Keys, gave a lecture on personal survival techniques. This section covered emergency situations, abandoning ship, lifesaving appliances, what the heck to do when you're floating in a life raft in the middle of the ocean, and distress equipment. I must say that it's a good thing that the US Coast Guard made this class a requirement (even if it is fool proof), because so many emergencies could happen in the middle of no where on the ocean, and if you're working with people who have no idea how to react and just panic, your chances of survival are pretty dismal! On Tuesday, Russ taught us about personal safety and social responsibilities at sea, which included information on the chain of command aboard a vessel, safe working practices, and environmental responsibility. This also was a very benefical session since it went over a lot of the laws regarding working on a boat, and it was only half a day. In the afternoon we headed over to the Plantation Aquatic Complex, which happens to be right down the road from Rob and Joan's place. In the pool we practiced putting on a full body flotation device, jumping off a 10 foot diving board in it, pulling over a life raft, and boarding the lift raft. Although this might sound easy, it was not! Yanking on those massive suits that were way too big (even for Ross), and then having to climb up the ladder to the diving board and not topling over the side, was quite a mission. We must have been about 20 pounds heavier in those things. We had some fire fighters from the area teaching us, though, and they were awesome intstructors.

Wednesday was a long and full day, and all spent in the classroom. A woman who has been working in fire fighting for a while taught our class first aid and CPR. She kept it pretty fun and interesting, and her suggestions and knowledge were really appreciated since she has provided emergency aid to many people with life-threatening injuries or illnesses throughout the years. For lunch, because it was a nice day and we wanted to get outside, we headed over to the 15th Street Fisheries to see if we could spot any of the tarpon. Ross managed to spot a HUGE one while Claire was looking away briefly, but unfortuantely we were not able to spot it again! But the kingies (jack fish) were everywhere in that water. It was so fun watching them dart around, and a little boy bought some shrimp that he was tossing in and those fish were just going mad! That night, we headed to a boat launch shin dig at Bimini's restaurant and grill, but arrived at the tail end when things were winding down. Grace and Allysa, two American girls from our course, joined as well. It was a fun night, although we did meet a rather creepy captain who proved to be an example of exactly the sort of person we would NOT want to work for.

Thursday was long and in the classroom as well. It taught us the basics of fire fighting and prepared us for the hands-on training that we would be doing on Friday on the field. Before the Friday fire fighting session, the receptionists at MPT advised us to drink loads of water and not consume any alcohol because we would be loosing a lot of water in the massive fire fighting suits in that intense heat. These were wise words because the majority of Friday was spent in hot and sweaty conditions! Although apparently we've taken the course at a good time of year. Imagine having to put out a fire in 100 degree weather plus humidity in the middle of summer! That doesn't sound too appealing! Anyways, in the morning we practiced with the different types of fire extinguishers that are used for different types of fire. The chemical powder extinguisher is used on oil or gas fires, or any combustible items. For this drill, one of the fire fighters lit a pool of gasoline on fire, and we had to approach the pool in pairs with the extinguisher. We also used a CO2 extinguisher which is used on electrical fires since the gas does not conduct electricity. For this type, once the pin has been pulled, we had to slide the bottle on the ground towards the fire to avoid getting shocked from the static electricity.

In the afternoon came the fun (and rather terrifying) part. The class was divided into 2 groups. One group fought a fire in a metal container first, while the other one went into a dark room and performed a "search and rescue" and maze drill first. We ended up being in the first group to fight the fire, luckily, because it was a pretty disorienting and overwhelming drill that we were happy to get done with as soon as possible. We went in groups of 3 wearing the intense suits (boots, overall pants, jacket, hood, oxygen mask, helmet, and backpack with oxygen tank), up a ladder and into a pitch black room full of smoke on hands and knees. We had to hold on to the hose in complete darkness, unable to see or hear much of anything besides the faint light one of the instructors was holding in front of us, and our own breathing in the oxygen mask. Then we had to crawl down a staircase, still unable to see or hear much of anything, and into a room where the fire was located. Using the hose and blasting the water in an "O" shape around the fire, we had to put the thing out. After that was complete, we crawled back up the stairs, out the door, and down the ladder. Believe me it's not nearly as easy as it sounds and it gave us a huge appreciation for all the work that the fire fighters do to save people's lives!

After that part was over (thank goodness), we headed to a large building to do the search and rescue. For this, we also went in groups of three on hands and knees into a pitch black room. We followed one after another in a line with the leader holding onto the right wall with their right hand, the second person holding onto the leader's left foot with their right hand, and the third person holding onto the second person's left foot. The point is for the chain to form a line across a room to find the missing person in a fire, and for the leader to never let go of the wall because then you can't find your way out. For this drill, we had a dummy we had to find. Claire went in first and ended up being the leader. Her group ended up finding the dummy fairly quickly, and so did Ross's. Ross's oxygen tank ended up running out, however, so it's a good thing there wasn't a fire going on in this activity! It was a tiring, smelly, and rewarding day, and the group was more than happy to have the entire week over.

We had some really cool people in our group who we've been hanging out with over the past few days. One guy we met named Doug is actually a captain of a number of yachts including a 90 foot one that's going to be heading to the Bahamas, the Caribbean, and up to the North East. He said he's really interested in hiring us as a couple for that boat, and although it's smaller sized, it will give us good experience in running all parts of the boat. Doug said he'd get in touch with us on Monday about the positions, so fingers crossed (hold thumbs!) that it all works out! We've had mixed reviews from people in the yachting industry regarding getting on a boat together as a couple, but we're going to tough it out and not back down until we find one!

It was a busy weekend as well. We went to a braai on Friday night at Allyssa's South African friend Courtney's house, and then on Saturday night we went to another braai at a girl in our class named Nicole's house. Both nights were fun and we met a lot of interesting and nice people involved in boating. The house we were at on Saturday had a great screened, outdoor lounge area with a parrot, and it was really soothing listening to the wind rustling through the palm trees from there. It brought Ross right back home to Durban! Nicole and her friend Casey were saying that they play beach volleyball on Fridays down at the Fort Lauderdale beach, so we are definitely going to be joining them for that!

So a full week was followed by a busy weekend. Tomorrow we'll be completing our ENG1 and then it's yacht time, baby! Thanks again for reading and stay tuned for some more stories next week!

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Comments

[Dany]

Cool
Wow - ok so when I come to visit you guys I now know that I will be in safe hands :):) You've done so much training. That's great guys!!