Merchant Navy

[iacabu]

So I've been successful in my application for the Deck Officer Training Scheme with a Jan/Feb 14 start at Fleetwood Nautical College. I was hoping to start this as a thread for all those who have been/still are in the MN, just to share experiences during training, on the job and coping with time away from family etc.

Over to you...

[iacabu]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

roryfizz said:

Hi there!

I started September intake down here at Warsash! Its been the a great decision for sure!

How old are you/how long since doing maths? As I last did maths at GCSEs and i'm 22 now and some practice before would have been a good idea. Mostly getting familiar with re-arranging formulas ect!

If you have any questions fire away and i'll try!

Rory

I'll be near enough 25 once I've started, March birthday, so around 6 years since doing any maths. I will definitely shout up with any questions thanks.

Crossflow Kid said:

I've pre-ordered Captain Phillips on Blu-Ray.
You can borrow that when I'm done if you like?

This looks a good film, I think I'll have to buy it myself.

tony954 said:

I was 16 when I joined as a deck boy and left 5 years later as an AB.Best years of my life but I think it's different now,smaller crew stricter laws on drinking although not such a bad thing really.

If you don't mind being away from home then you will be fine but you will have better means of communication with home then we did,crackling radio phone call, was all we had.

Go for it you will see the world and enjoy,if I could go back just for one trip then I would just to see how things have changed since my time at sea.

I think I'll cope fine at sea, I'm not sure my girlfriend will do quite as easily. Hopefully I'll have access to Skype or similar to make the longer trips during training a little easier.

DJFish said:

I went to Fleetwood about 20 years ago.
The walk to the tram stop takes about 10 mins, there's an off-license there where I suggest you buy some fortified wine or similar (in our day it was Thunderbirds), neck that and leave the bottle on the roof of the tram stop as you can't take alcohol on the tram, that way you'll be half cut by the time you get to Blackpool and it'll save you a fortune in the long run.
Never wear your uniform to the pub, you'll get filled in.


To be serious for a second, one of my fellow trainees from back in the day is now a lecturer there, I'll try to come up with some useful advice later!
There's actually a pretty good Forum for decky learners, I'll try and find the link....

Thanks, I've been looking through as many threads as I can on that forum, although it's not as active as I'd like it to be.

hidetheelephants said:

I'd have said avoid boozing in Fleetwood completely as it's a stehole, but the alternative is Blackpool and that's worse!

I don't actually drink (or at least very rarely) so don't need to worry about that side of things, although I only live 4 miles from the college so know the places to go! Sounds like I'll be at an advantage during the college phases as they sound very strict.

ArtVandelay said:

I used to be an ETO in the merchant navy, though I'm also a qualified OOW in engineering and as such did an engineering cadetship

I didn't go to Fleetwood, I went to South Tyneside college. As a trainee deck ornament...sorry officer, you'll do plenty of long trips away from home during training, more so than an engineer would. Crossing the equator will lead to you having your head shaved and food thrown on you so you've got that to look forward to too.

Time away can be difficult, it's why I left my last job as I was doing 12-15 weeks away from home at a time, missed a few Christmases and birthdays in a row.

As a career it's a superb choice, money is good, you can get your tax back and you only work half the year usually. A lot of modern vessels have internet access (I'm on a new ship right now in Denmark) so keeping in touch with loved ones shouldn't be difficult.

I'm from the wrong side of the oil and water divide to offer advice on your training mind

From the sounds of it could be up to 4 months away on some trips, would have preferred shorter but needs must to get qualified and then can be choosey.

I've heard about this head shaving thing...what's it all about?

MercuryRises said:

It's a grand life in the Merch.

Well, It's not bad, the money is good, the leave is good and if you're lucky you get to go to some interesting places (if you're unlucky like me, you get stuck in fking Aberdeen)

Unfortunately there's not a lot more I can tell you, I trained at Warsash as an Engineer, I don't know a lot about your side of things, other than that Deck Officers seem to spend an inordinate amount of time drinking coffee and looking out the window (Scratching their arses too), and always have a faint smell of masturbation and shame


Stick with it mate, it seems like a long slog at the start but it's worth it in the end. Even if you end up in Aberdeen.

As much as I'd enjoy the trips around the world, being in the North Sea means being closer to home and hopefully shorter trips so not all bad.

And I'd rather be staring out into sea than into this fking computer screen at work!!

Gorilla Boy said:

If you see a shaven headed, bearded bloke with a bibby shirt on say hello. Im in phase 3 of the FD engineering course (the proper one ) at Fleetwood

Deckside is the right choice, by all accounts the easier life in comparison to engineering

Ill be happy to impart advice for sea life from my limited experience (ive done 4 months on two ships so far)

It would be nice to meet a PH'er at college for sure!

Gaspowered said:

It's always going to be a personnel choice to either become an engineer or a window licker.... sorry deck officer. It's all about what interests you, not whether it's easy or not. There's certainly advantages and disadvantages to both. However, I'm biased as I'm an engineer. It's interesting to note that a few years ago, there was a phase where companies were training duel cadets, ie both deck and engine. Around 80% of those either part of the way through training or once qualified chose to be engineers.

Part of me kind of thinks maybe I should have gone for Engineering (namely shorter sea time required to qualify but I couldn't justify the choice of a lifetime over an extra 6 months at sea, more job opportunities it seems and more money? Correct me if I'm wrong) but I know in my heart it's the deck side of things that interest me more.


I do have a couple of mates who qualified in the last couple of years but I don't see them much to ask about it all; I need to make an effort to before I start college I think. I know they both seem to be doing exceptionally well wage wise, which I don't want to give me false hope of amazing wages straight out of college, though I know they will be decent.

[iacabu]

MercuryRises said:

But there's no way I'd change to the Deck department in a million years, I couldn't spend all day looking out the window and doing chart corrections

Can anybody actually describe a days work on deck? Obviously looking where you're going is a big part but what are the day to day tasks?

[iacabu]

The Ferrero Rocher bit sounds good at least

Thanks for the the detailed info...as much as some of it sounds like you're taking the ps, I'm sure it's all true!

Edit: censored just in case

Edited by iacabu on Friday 29th November 16:11

[iacabu]

DJFish said:

Oh by the way, as a trainee you'll be expected to learn all of that whilst working your nuts off on deck, cleaning, scaling, painting carrying heavy things to & fro etc.....

Don't expect to be up on the bridge wings with a sextant & a martini for a good few years.

My honest advice, do every job you're given to the best of your ability, no matter how stty, crack on, grin & bear it & you'll be fine.
You may not get on with everyone but you can learn something from everyone.

After 3 years bored out of my mind in an office (coming from delivery job) I'll be quite happy doing some manual work for a while. I have read that they like you to experience the crap jobs before you go ordering others to do them.

Kenty said:

I was in the Merchant Navy for 11 years, a few years ago now though. I loved every minute ( except getting up for watches! ) I joined as Junior Engineer and finished as Second.
I worked for a big company, Shell, and was treated really well by fellow shipmates and the company. Dealing with long times from home can be hard but don' t wish your time away, accept your going for 5-6 months and when payoff arrives earlier enjoy the fact your off home early!
Go ashore as much as possible, see as much as you can, learn from old hands and don't bagoff anywhere.
I still hanker after the life but it wasn't for me when my first child was due, keeps eyes out for alternative jobs to settle down once kids on the way. Pilot work is best option so I'm told for deckies .

I hope to get time ashore but I'm not expecting it after reading up, it seems officers get less time ashore as processes speed up.

I'm a bit concerned about having a child in this job myself (few years yet I hope) but we'll sail under that bridge when we come to it

[iacabu]

kapiteinlangzaam said:

iacabu said:

DJFish said:

Oh by the way, as a trainee you'll be expected to learn all of that whilst working your nuts off on deck, cleaning, scaling, painting carrying heavy things to & fro etc.....

Don't expect to be up on the bridge wings with a sextant & a martini for a good few years.

My honest advice, do every job you're given to the best of your ability, no matter how stty, crack on, grin & bear it & you'll be fine.
You may not get on with everyone but you can learn something from everyone.

After 3 years bored out of my mind in an office (coming from delivery job) I'll be quite happy doing some manual work for a while. I have read that they like you to experience the crap jobs before you go ordering others to do them.

Trust me, after 4 months of scaling paint off a rusty deck, you will take back that comment

haha probably...I'll make sure to update

[iacabu]

ENG 1 on Wednesday afternoon, following which I'll be in a position to hand my notice in

Just need to figure out how to pay £440 per month accommodation for 5 months, on top of my current debt, while I get paid £650! A call to student finance will be made shortly I think.

[iacabu]

It could well be £500, I have been told both figures by the same Training Officer. Either way I wish I didn't have to pay it. It's only for a few months.

On a brighter note, ENG1 passed yesterday so good to go.

Edited by iacabu on Thursday 12th December 14:12

[iacabu]

Well I can now confirm my sponsoring company is Foreland Shipping. I'm not sure if every Bibby cadet goes with them or not but looks an interesting start for me.

Also, can anyone recommend any stationery for college (and beyond). Specifically chartwork/navigation equipment (i.e dividers, parallel rulers)

Thanks

[iacabu]

hidetheelephants said:

Do Foreland still run the Point boats for the MoD? If so you'll be getting familiar with Marchwood.

According to Wikipedia, yes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreland_Shipping
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point_class_sealift_s...

[iacabu]

Gorilla Boy said:

iacabu said:

Well I can now confirm my sponsoring company is Foreland Shipping. I'm not sure if every Bibby cadet goes with them or not but looks an interesting start for me.

Also, can anyone recommend any stationery for college (and beyond). Specifically chartwork/navigation equipment (i.e dividers, parallel rulers)

Thanks

Welcome to the team, im sponsored by foreland too and i can confirm you will be on one of the point class ro-ro's.

Might even be on one of them with me, gimme a PM if you have any questions

PM'd. Cheers.

[iacabu]

ArtVandelay said:

Thanks. I can only find a couple of pics off their website.

Got my uniform through recently...the shirts are awful, to say the least! The thinnest material known to man and about the size of a tent.

[iacabu]

Gorilla Boy said:

iacabu said:

Well I can now confirm my sponsoring company is Foreland Shipping. I'm not sure if every Bibby cadet goes with them or not but looks an interesting start for me.

Also, can anyone recommend any stationery for college (and beyond). Specifically chartwork/navigation equipment (i.e dividers, parallel rulers)

Thanks

Welcome to the team, im sponsored by foreland too and i can confirm you will be on one of the point class ro-ro's.

Might even be on one of them with me, gimme a PM if you have any questions

Well second day of college is going smoothly. Will have to try and say hi at some point if you're around

[iacabu]

Gorilla Boy said:

iacabu said:

Well second day of college is going smoothly. Will have to try and say hi at some point if you're around

How're you finding it dude? Im in all week doing a first aid course after finishing my first lot of exams today

It's going great so far, thanks. CDC this week so off to Wales tomorrow morning until Friday. You'll probably spot my car in the car park now.

Good luck with your exams!

[iacabu]

Can anyone who has been on a Foreland ship please tell me if they have gyms on board?

[iacabu]

That's a good point about deck work but I'll still be looking to make time for the gym to keep it up until I'm back home.

Don't know what ship yet and I don't expect I will until just before I go

[iacabu]

Finally got some info about my first sea phase... Looks like I'll be joining Hurst Point on 23rd July!

[iacabu]

So yeah, I'm still here. Change of destination of the ship or something so waiting to hear the new plans but it's possibly Hartland Point

[iacabu]

Just thought I'd give this an update. I'm not far off from being half way through my course already! It's sailed by rather quickly.

Did 104 days on the Hartland Point and 16 days on the NS Iona. That first time watching the land disappear knowing you'll be away for a few months was quite surreal.

Enjoyed it on the whole...lots of work and of course a few hard days. Gone through plenty of st so far, but it will all be worth it come December 2016...fingers crossed!

Few random pics....

Joining day!


Southbound through the Suez


Nice hair do! Just crossed the line


But the beaches made it worth it


Sunday drive


Aberdeen

[iacabu]

So here I am sat in Manchester airport waiting for a flight to Cyprus to join my first ship as a qualified OOW.

Feeling pretty happy, aside from the 3 months of work ahead of me, of course. I'm just looking forward to payday after 3 years of cadet wages