Steering ticket

Today on a seismic ship no one could steer as fine a course as required hour after hour to satisfy the peculiarities required , and even the automatic steering that most of us were brought up with , such today would be considered off the Ark. computers control the Automatc steering and the helmsman is just adjusting the computer to suit the weather and sea conditions , more than half a degree of deviation from the course required could result in the loss of hours of survey , which means huge monetary losses . Speed is also a big factor and is usually 4 knots over the ground this to is computer driven . JS

Hi John S.
The steering Cert. was required for the EDH Certificate Exam.,
in 1953

Cheers
Brian

#5... was just his preference , probably in his company rule book it said that the Auto was to be engaged so many miles clear of the land , different masters different quirks , some went rigidly by the book , others not so , however every book of rules the company put out was mainly for their own protection so at any court of enquiry they could turn round and say they took every precaution as regards advice etc. if one went rigidly by a shore persons line of thinking most ships would never leave the berth. Have seen ships delayed because the radar was not working , and yet years previous had to have the masters permission to turn on. Safety manuals only appeared on ships when they had to by law, it was a good number for someone who produced them and kept them up to date sitting in an office ashore , and in some cases never been on a ship in his life. Cheers JS
PS that 10 minute Smoko would be the time of the collision , nothing in the Safety Manual about that ! That goes against the shipowners interests and would require an extra watchkeeper. As the common expression goes Safety is ok as long as it doesn’t cost money. At sea , seamen take charge of their own safety if they have any sense , and rarely need some ponce breathing down their neck telling their granny how to suck eggs. JS.

Curious about the “ Steering ticket” I quit the MN in about 1961 as a 2nd Mate i was never aware of any qualification needed to steer the ship, and I never worked on a ship with “ Iron Mike” we always had a man on the wheel on every ship i sailed on.

I did my 10 hours on a passenger ship, ARANDA , Shaw Saville , never got a ticket and was never asked for one on future ships
just did the wheel and never asked for a ticket. Funny thing is I suppose was at night passengers were dancing or whatever not realizing that some mug
that had never been on the wheel before was now in charge of their lives and probably would have panicked had someone told them . of course there was never any danger but it was a funny thought at the time. an enjoyable time was helmsman on a big BP tanker in the canals of the oil berths in Holland that was fun, still ,no one wanted a steering ticket so really they were nothing just that you had to learn the basics of being on deck and the wheel was a big part of that , imagine telling your watch mate ,you had never been on the wheel before ,they would be be very pleased I'm sure. Merry Xmas to everyone.

As Brian said in a previous post, when sitting for an EDH certificate was part of the paperwork that was supposed to be produced. Believe also a lifeboat certificate was also required in most ports. A lot of self judgement was put in the hands of the examiners in those days , they were a breed of their own and proper professionals .JS.

When I took my EDH exam at South Shields I had to produce my steering ticket, lifeboat ticket and my discharge book to prove I had enough sea time in. Seem to remember it was a few days, maybe 5, ? Remember going to a bar at lunchtime and seeing the bar full of pint glasses already filled. I wondered why they've done that, then the doors opened and it was full of shipyard workers wanting a drink, they soon cleared the bar.
Regards Michael

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Originally Posted by Captain Kong

Hi John S.
The steering Cert. was required for the EDH Certificate Exam.,
in 1953

Cheers
Brian

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True Brian, I think it was important to any deck boy to get his steering ticket in his book, If you think back it gave you a feeling of progress on your part, It was your first achievement at sea, And dont anyone tell me they never showed it to there old man after returning home, I got mine aboard the Empress of Canada, I was elated Terry. :th_thth5952deef:

I was taking a ship through the Downs, #Dover, past Deal towards the Thames, for London.in 1990
Iron Mike on, There is a dogs leg at the North end, and approaching it was a ship south bound, We would both be at the Buoy at the same time.
I put the new AB on the wheel, and said ease her over to Starboard to give him a bit more sea room.,
He went Hard a Port right across the bows of the other ship. I dived on the "AB"[??]
and knocked him off the wheel and by this time we had crossed the channel and the other ships bows and I took a round turn round the port hand buoy, the other ship was blasting on his whistle , screaming on VHF. He just missed my Starboard quarter, I levelled her up as he passed down my starboard side/
I apologized on VHF for that,
The AB, I nearly battered him.
He said he didnt know what starboard meant, he had never ever been on the wheel before, He said it was his first trip and he had just done two weeks at Gravesend Sea School and got an ABs certificate. That is ridiculas.
I sacked him on arrival in London. and told the Office to send me a real AB.

If you have the academic ability you can get anything certificate these days and there was a logical reason for the time consuming system in the old days; the classroom could not teach you about mother nature, especially in her anger, you may theoretically know what a hurricane, typhoon, monsoon is, but until you've experienced them you will never appreciate their raw power, and the required 'seatime' twixt certificates, no matter what department you were in gave you that experience: managing a main engine and generators in a hurricane called for experience and courage, not something you could find on a drawing board, the same for the cook in the galley with all his hot pans and fiddles and still producing meals for all and sundry. For those of us on deck side, we could name all the parts of a derrick in the classroom, but that does not prepare you for a runaway derrick swinging its way across the deck with its trailing guys and preventers, and the taughtness of a backspring feeding round the bitts, that's why we had 'seatime' because those in charge knew that the classroom was no substitute for hands on, and you needed time at sea to appreciate the requirements of your chosen trade and hone your skills. Yes they have very good/excellent simulators these days, but until you've got a few thousand tonnes of steel beneath your feet you realise that no matter how good the simulator, it never gave you that buttock clenching moment when the law of physics takes control and you cannot switch off and start again.:th_thth5952deef::Sinking: