Time to prepare.

It is in the mid-80's today in Channelview and it is time for you to return to the boat from time off.

A regular crew change? Maybe, but will you be prepared if your tow is sent up North during the next few days or weeks.  The low temperatures forecast from Baton Rouge and looking north are presently in the low 50's.  A couple of more weeks and we could see temperatures in the 40's and 30's.

Do you have the right clothing packed for the next 20 days?

  

Do you have several approved space heaters aboard that will be used if extreme temperatures are encountered? Have they been recently tested?

Do you have one or two approved dehumidifiers onboard to deal with interior moisture build-up? With the boat closed up during very cold days, high inside humidity build-up can make the interior clammy and uncomfortable. Have they been tested for this season?

Have you ordered enough de-icer to keep decks ice and snow free. Do you have a snow shovel?

Are there floor mats positioned inside the doorways so snow and ice are not tracked inside the house. Slipping hazards abound in freezing weather.

Winter scene on the M/V BAFFIN BAY tow

Here are some operational checks that we have published before:

With the ongoing installations of ROSE POINT ECS on Higman vessels, the TNL will highlight operational tips to help you use the software. Consult with your RP ECS manual and the training video to round out your knowledge. 

If you have a software tip or shortcut you find useful, let us know!

Crazy Mouse Syndrome

Keyspan Serial/USB convertor

Every once and awhile Windows reads GPS data and thinks it is "mouse input" and results in erratic mouse movement.  This condition is occasionally encountered in Microsoft Windows 7 when connecting a serial GPS device to a serial port/USB convertor. 

The following steps will cure the "crazy mouse" syndrome :

• Shut down the computer.
• Unplug the Keyspan USB/Serial converter from computer by pulling USB plug from the back of the Rose Point Keyboaord computer.
• Restart computer and plug back the the USB/Serial converter.

This should fix the problem.

Properties Panel

The Properties panel, located on the upper right hand side of your screen can be used to describe details of about anything found on the chart.

While using Vector Charts (raster charts do no have the detail):

• Click on "Properties"
• Click on "Chart" to get chart details
• Click on "Object" to get to get details on docks, moorings, pipline crossings, etc. 

USCG Deck Safety 

When using a buoy as an aid to navigation which of the following should be considered?

a. The buoy should be considered to always be in the charted location.
b. If the light is flashing, the buoy should be considered to be in the charted location.
c. The buoy may not be in the charted position.
d. The buoy should be considered to be in the charted position if it has been freshly painted.

A buoy having red and green horizontal bands would have a light characteristic of __________.

a. interrupted quick flashing
b. composite group flashing
c. Morse (A)
d. quick flashing

You are approaching a swing bridge at night. You will know that the bridge is open for river traffic when __________.

a. the fixed, green light starts to flash
b. the amber light changes to green
c. the red light is extinguished
d. the red light changes to green

You are approaching a multiple-span bridge at night. The main navigational channel span will be indicated by __________.

a. quick flashing red or green aid to navigation
b. a steady blue light in the center of the span
c. 3 white lights in a vertical line in the center of the span
d. a flashing green light in the center of the span

When approaching a preferred-channel buoy, the best channel is NOT indicated by the __________.

a. light characteristic
b. color of the uppermost band
c. shape of an unlighted buoy
d. color of the light

Stern Shots 

Chad Wilson works the port main engine on the M/V POTOMAC.

Capt. Mike Taylor of the M/V ERIK SALEN says he is too old and it is too hot to be suited out at Fire Fighting School.

The September 2012 Deckhand Class work on line handling.

Port Capt. Brian Brown, center, teaches the finer points of line handling.

 

For the past several years, Higman tows have traveled form the Gulf Coast to just North of Lockport, IL on the Illinois River.  That section of the waterway was completed in 1900 and is known as the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal.

The Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, historically known as the Chicago Drainage Canal, is the only shipping link between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River system, by way of the Illinois and Des Plaines Rivers. The canal also carries Chicago's treated sewage into the Des Plaines River. Before completion of the canal, the sewage in the Chicago River flowed into Lake Michigan, the city's drinking water supply.

Early Chicago sewage systems discharged directly into Lake Michigan or into the Chicago River, which itself flowed into the lake. The city's water supply also came from the lake, through water intake cribs located two miles offshore. There were fears that sewage could infiltrate the water supply, leading to typhoid fever, cholera and dysentery. During a tremendous storm in 1885, the rainfall washed refuse from the river far out into the lake (although reports of a 1885 cholera epidemic are untrue), spurring a panic that a future similar storm would cause a huge epidemic in Chicago. The only reason for the storm not causing such a catastrophic event was because the weather was cooler than normal. The Chicago Sanitary District was created by the Illinois legislature in 1889 in response to this close call.

 

The JULIET was the first vessel to travel the new waterway on  Jan 20, 1900.

In addition, the canal was built to supplement and ultimately replace the older and smaller Illinois and Michigan Canal (built 1848) as a conduit to the Mississippi River system. In 1871, the old canal had been deepened in an attempt to reverse the river and improve shipping but the reversal of the river only lasted one season. The I&M canal was also badly polluted as a result of unrestricted dumping from city sewers and industries, such as the stockyards.