Maritime Carol

Before I up-skilled on bar crossings today, all I knew about them was that there was three kinds of bars - dangerous, very dangerous and very very dangerous - in other words, they're ALL dangerous.   Living on the Kaipara Harbour for sixteen years and being involved with Coastguard Kaipara, I know the Kaipara Bar is dangerous.  We all do - it's not called the Graveyard without a good reason. I crossed the Raglan Bar on a good day and the swells were huge.  I can imagine how rough it would get with adverse weather & tide. With the tragedy over the weekend and not being a bar crossing expert, I checked out MNZ's National Code of Practice for Bar Crossings.   There are the procedures: stow gear low, wear life-jackets, check weather, tide & bar conditions, batten down, avoid night crossings and ebb tide...etc However, at the end of the recommendations it states: "It is ultimately the skipper's responsibility to determine whether or not to cross a bar...

Attaining and keeping your Skipper's ticket is essential for a successful maritime career.   Its also true that learning doesn't stop because we have our Skipper's ticket. Here's five lessons I learnt - on my first trip: Before I'd even sat my Skipper's ticket I was asked to take a boat out to the Barrier if the owner (also in the class) didn't pass the exam.   Sure enough, he failed and I passed. Lesson 1 - NEVER let anyone ' use your Skipper's ticket' if they don't have one. So we depart Marsden Wharf on a Friday night for a 3 day fishing charter.   The fumes were terrible and we arrived at Nagles Cove at 2am. Lesson 2  - Check the maintenance is up to date & survey current.   After a couple of days, the weather turned bad and we were hold up in Whangaparapara. Lesson 3 - Check all listed safety equipment & spare parts are on board.  The ice started melting, the fish (& men) started to stink, ...

It's easy to become out of our depth, on the hardstand or in a cage. Often working alone, we forget that there are others with the same issues.  Here's five ways to reduce feelings of isolation: 1. Call your Mother.  If she's gone, call someone who supported you forever.  2. Plan a regular escape into someone else's world. 3. Help someone, volunteer and do something active. 4. Write a vision for the future - your future - starting today. 5. Change what needs changing and don't settle for less - you are worth it.