Visit on the Bridge
I enjoyed yet another gorgeous sunset on the "fantail" which is the very back of the ship. Last week, a friend of mine and I had a nice conversation with one of the civil mariners named Anthony. He told us if we came up to the bridge at 1900, he would show us around. Of course, we were excited since the Bridge is one of the few "off limits" places on the Mercy. As luck would have it, since that day, they have called Flight Quarters every evening. During Flight Quarters, the Helo is either flying or being refueled and unauthorized personnel are not allowed to be outside except for the very back of the ship. We certainly could not walk across the flight deck to climb up to the Bridge!
Finally, this evening, after sunset, we realized we had not heard the, now familiar, Flight Quarters announcement! We walked to the other end of this huge 900 ft ship and climbed up to the flight deck, passed the helo which is bolted down and climbed up another set of stairs to the Bridge level.
We saw an albatross flying right by the American flag and it made me feel like I was on Noah's Arc! I figured if we saw a bird, we MUST be near land! (Yes, about 120 miles away! No wonder the bird was staying with us... it was a good place to rest while he hunted fish!)
We walked up to the red line on the floor, which nobody is allowed to cross, and waved at those inside the bridge. Anthony was in there and came out and waved us in! The Navigator on duty was kind enough to give us a great tour of the bridge and answer all of our questions. The technology is terrific with a screen that shows our position and the depth of water all around us. We are currently in water 15,000 - 17,000 feet deep! WOW! He showed us our route to Hawaii from Guam and explained that because of the curvature of the Earth, the shortest route there is NOT a straight line! We saw the radar which would show any clouds, ships, land, etc in our vicinity.... there were only a few clouds.
Even though they use all of this amazing technology, by law, they must still use a paper map and plot out the route. This is a checks and balance system to assure the electronics are correct. The men on the bridge work in 4 hour shifts with 8 hours in between. There are 3 on the bridge at all times. One navigates, one steers the ship and one is a look out.
As the sunlight was vanishing and we said our goodbyes to our new Mariner friends and walked back across the red line, we saw our albatross still gliding along in the wind with the Mercy. He must sense what we already know.... the Mercy is a great place to be!
Finally, this evening, after sunset, we realized we had not heard the, now familiar, Flight Quarters announcement! We walked to the other end of this huge 900 ft ship and climbed up to the flight deck, passed the helo which is bolted down and climbed up another set of stairs to the Bridge level.
We saw an albatross flying right by the American flag and it made me feel like I was on Noah's Arc! I figured if we saw a bird, we MUST be near land! (Yes, about 120 miles away! No wonder the bird was staying with us... it was a good place to rest while he hunted fish!)
We walked up to the red line on the floor, which nobody is allowed to cross, and waved at those inside the bridge. Anthony was in there and came out and waved us in! The Navigator on duty was kind enough to give us a great tour of the bridge and answer all of our questions. The technology is terrific with a screen that shows our position and the depth of water all around us. We are currently in water 15,000 - 17,000 feet deep! WOW! He showed us our route to Hawaii from Guam and explained that because of the curvature of the Earth, the shortest route there is NOT a straight line! We saw the radar which would show any clouds, ships, land, etc in our vicinity.... there were only a few clouds.
Even though they use all of this amazing technology, by law, they must still use a paper map and plot out the route. This is a checks and balance system to assure the electronics are correct. The men on the bridge work in 4 hour shifts with 8 hours in between. There are 3 on the bridge at all times. One navigates, one steers the ship and one is a look out.
As the sunlight was vanishing and we said our goodbyes to our new Mariner friends and walked back across the red line, we saw our albatross still gliding along in the wind with the Mercy. He must sense what we already know.... the Mercy is a great place to be!
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