You be the Judge

Depth Perception 

So how do we best judge distance?  As humans, our eyes are placed in the front of our heads.  That allows us to use information derived from the different projection of viewed objects onto each retina to judge depth. By using two images of the same scene obtained from slightly different angles, it is possible to triangulate the distance to an object with a high degree of accuracy. Our brain from experience, does this naturally but needs help and training in translating those distances into useful information.

So how do we do that?

Using familiar objects with known lengths can help you train your brain to describe distances.

Let's start with short distances.  How long is a Ford F150 pickup (standard cab)?  Looking up the specifications, this truck is about eighteen feet long.  Ok, use a pickup in the parking lot for a guide.  Look down the length and let your brain record this distance.  Now look beyond the truck and imagine twice the length.  Your mind is now projecting thirty six feet.  A third projection gives you fifty four feet.  

Divide this truck in half and now we have nine feet.  Another half, and you are looking at  four and a half feet.

For longer distances, use your barges.  Higman barges are either fifty four or fifty feet wide.  Look from the port side to the starboard side.  Again use your mind to visualize fifty feet.  When you are breasted up, you can visualize one hundred feet.   

For further distances, again use Higman barges that are approximately three hundred feet long.

It takes practice to get it right.  At short distances, your accuracy can be within a half a foot.  Keep trying until you get it right.  Your Wheelman will thank you. 

2011 Flag Captains

This year we continue our Flag Captain Program.  The Higman Management Group assessed each Captain along with his vessel for the following:

• Performance as Measure by Incident Record
• Communication Skills
• Training & Drill Record
• Personal Observations of Management Personnel

In 2010, the Flag Captain status was awarded to six Captains.  This year there were twenty four Captains nominated for the award in the early rounds.  Seven nominees were ultimately selected for the 2011 Flag Captain Award:

• Arthur Willey - M/V Aransas Pass
• Dwayne Richardson - M/V Gretchen T
• Roy Lunson - M/V Alliance
• Wallace Rogers - M/V Decatur
• James Campbell Jr. - M/V Sandy Point
• Jerry Casagrand - M/V Saint Charles
• Michael Maneely - M/V Baffin Bay

Congratulations to these seven Captains and their crews!

Here to Help You Live Your Life Better!

Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

Wellness:

As always, Higman Marine offers employees a place to get help with health and wellness issues.  Each employee is provided up to 3 counseling sessions for help with:

• Managing stress
• Handling relationships issues
• Balancing work and life
• Quitting tobacco, alcohol or drug use
• Caring for children or aging parents
• Exploring career development options
• Dealing with conflict or violence
• Working through grief and loss issues
• Controlling depression and anxieties

For these confidential services simply call 1-800-523-5668 or log on to www.magellanhealth.com/member. 

If after speaking with one of their clinicians you decide you would benefit to see a counselor face-to-face, you will be provided with a referral. 

From the Wheelhouse 

By Captain Terry Busby - M/V Sabine Pass

I would like to add to Captain Mike Maneely's view from his February 23, 2011 article "Make sure the rounds in your engine room and on your barges count!".  Vessels that are equipped with the mechanical Shaft Seals should inspect the 1/2'' nipples used to connect the vent tube for CORROSION where they screws into the top of shaft seal.

  

We found that the nipples on the Sabine Pass were heavily rusted to the point of splitting.  They had to be replace after only being in service for four years. whas no mercy on black iron steel. We replaced ours with brass pipe nipples.

  

Also, I would like to mention that boats with the mechanical shaft seals, should check their sump pumps at lease once a month to make sure they work.  We simply use our water hose in the engine room for this. You just put enough water in sump well until sump pump kicks on automatically.  You can also pick the float up by hand to start sump pump.

  

Small details go a long way in keeping your engine room running smooth. 

Nav Zone

A proper mooring

When mooring, it is important to consider what you are mooring to. Look at the piling or the dock; do they look rotten, have they been torn up before, are they falling over?

If you answer yes to any of these, you need to report it to your scheduler.  Our marine contracts require the customer to provide a safe safe moorings. 

USCG Navigation General Questions

Both International and Inland....A white buoy with a blue band is _______________.  

a. an isolated danger mark

b. a hydrographic data collection buoy

c.  a mooring buoy

c.  marking a restricted are

a.  Yellow

b.  White

c.  Blue

d.  Any color except red or green

International ....The value of sixty nautical miles per degree of geodetic latitude is most correct at __________.   

a.  the equator

b.  latitude 45

c.  the poles

d.  all latitudes

International....A position obtained by applying only your vessel's course and speed to a known position is a ________.  

a.  dead-reckoning position

b.  fix

c.  probable position

d.   running fix

International.... If the radio signal ground wave extends out for less distance than the minimum skywave distance, there is an area in which no signal is received. This is called the ______. 

a.  skip zone

b.  blackout zone

c.  diffraction zone

d.  shadow zone 

Stern Shots   

 Shots from our Wheelman's Seminars

Nautical Trivia