Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Charlie Mike*

*Continue the mission.

Plowing steadily through my online Six Pack License course, finished and passed tests for the Rules of the Road Modules, and completed the Deck Safety and Environmental Modules, too. Either later today or tomorrow I shall hit the rest of the Deck modules and pass those tests too. The last portion of the course is Plotting/Navigation. I am stressing about that last part because it cannot be performed on the computer but rather on a chart.

Chart work is not difficult in real life because you can use all the tools available like the Mk One/Mod 0 eyeball and look out side for all the info you need. But in a book, they give you minimal info and expect you to use math. All you can do is potentially fail a test, but in the real navigational world, a failure is if you hit something hard and sink. Easily avoidable if you change course quickly...

Naw, it's having to move back and forth from the computer to the dining room table where the charts and tools will be set up for the actual performance of the charting tasks. So my worry?  It's laziness, to be sure!

I hope to have this course done in the next few days so I can do all the other stuff, like prepare for the proctored final, getting a Gubmint ID, paying for a urinalysis and fingerprints (Again!) and then getting  my boating resume together. You have to have 360 days of on the water experience, 90 of which in the past three years.

Oh, I have the time! It goes back to when you are 15 years of age. Including Naval Sea Time? Years... At least I have the four months in the Pacific from last year which is the bulk of the 90 days for the past three years requirement! The Coast Guard guys doing the application review should have an easy time with my stuff.

After I knock out this course I will seek to increase my qualifications by adding towing endorsements and of course the Sailing tickets. To what end, who knows?

Off to the gym!

Have a nice afternoon!



Heh. As for my history of assignments; I kept all the originals from my service record. The Navy got the copies wrapped in my actual service record.

2 comments:

Buck said...

The Navy keeps detailed records of your sea time? Who'd a thunk it? (Referring to the GenPop, of course. I'm sure you Squidly types think about that ALL the time!)

Keep at it!

Barco Sin Vela II said...

Thanks, Buck.

Yes, we real sailors think getting back to sea only to want to return to land. Just one of those things. Kind of like a cat wanting to go out until they realize it's crappy out there and the cat wants back in...