Maine Diaries: An engine in doubt
Each spring students from
Maine Maritime Academy
set sail on their training ship the State of Maine
for a two-month cruise. One student, Paul Kemp*, has
agreed to share his experience.
June 3-We have reached the halfway point here on our little journey, and suffice it to say we are all pretty tired. With one port down, we have 15 days at sea this coming month with 9 port days and two holidays. And the state in which we find our engine room is frightening as once again we battle a mechanical difficulty and attempt to baby our engine in hopes of making it back to Maine without a need for a very long and costly tow home.
Our main sea strainer appears to be frozen, which is forcing us to pull the crucial sea water into the boat by means of a single strainer that is already half clogged with seaweed and whatever else happened to be sucked in during our trip down south. We all expect Newfoundland to go by without a hitch but my suspicion is that Baltimore may be a different story.
As hard as Greenpeace tries, that bay is still a cesspool of garbage, sediment, and whatever else the numerous chemical and production plants along the waterways feel is necessary to dump into the bay. With any luck I will be proven wrong, but I fear that a single trip into Baltimore may force us to stay in Baltimore.
As we steam north with the Southern Cross falling below our horizon at night, we are left with an unsettling realization that the hours and days spent doing required maintenance on this ship over the last eight months has had no effect on the overall performance of this boat the two months out of the year we actually need it. Something needs to be done or next year’s cruise might be a simple tow around Penobscot Bay for the 60 days starting in May.
Previous posts:
May 5
May 7
May 9
May 10
May 12
May 13
May 17
May 18
May 19
May 21
May 23
May 26
May 28
June 2
*Paul Kemp is a pseudonym. The student has asked that his name be withheld out of respect for those with whom he is sailing.
June 3-We have reached the halfway point here on our little journey, and suffice it to say we are all pretty tired. With one port down, we have 15 days at sea this coming month with 9 port days and two holidays. And the state in which we find our engine room is frightening as once again we battle a mechanical difficulty and attempt to baby our engine in hopes of making it back to Maine without a need for a very long and costly tow home.
Our main sea strainer appears to be frozen, which is forcing us to pull the crucial sea water into the boat by means of a single strainer that is already half clogged with seaweed and whatever else happened to be sucked in during our trip down south. We all expect Newfoundland to go by without a hitch but my suspicion is that Baltimore may be a different story.
As hard as Greenpeace tries, that bay is still a cesspool of garbage, sediment, and whatever else the numerous chemical and production plants along the waterways feel is necessary to dump into the bay. With any luck I will be proven wrong, but I fear that a single trip into Baltimore may force us to stay in Baltimore.
As we steam north with the Southern Cross falling below our horizon at night, we are left with an unsettling realization that the hours and days spent doing required maintenance on this ship over the last eight months has had no effect on the overall performance of this boat the two months out of the year we actually need it. Something needs to be done or next year’s cruise might be a simple tow around Penobscot Bay for the 60 days starting in May.
Previous posts:
May 5
May 7
May 9
May 10
May 12
May 13
May 17
May 18
May 19
May 21
May 23
May 26
May 28
June 2
*Paul Kemp is a pseudonym. The student has asked that his name be withheld out of respect for those with whom he is sailing.
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