Sea-Fever blog

Back in 1777, Captain John Paul-Jones placed the above advertisement in the New Hampshire Gazette in an effort to recruit sailors for “The Ship Ranger.” Seems that the fledgling US Navy was experience recruiting challenges much in the same way that the world’s merchant fleet is experiencing today, but that’s a story for another post.

Any Gentlemen Volunteers who have a Mind to take an agreeable Voyage in this pleasant Season of the Year, may, by entering on board the above Ship Ranger, meet with every Civility they can possibly expect, and for a further Encouragement depend on the first Opportunity being embraced to reward each one agreeable to his Merit.

Jones almost makes it sound more like a vacation than the harsh realities of life aboard a revolutionary war ship.

The Ship Ranger is long gone but today another active US Navy war ship is in search of a able bodied seamen. According to the Strategy Page, The US Navy is Seeking Sailing Sailors. Candidates must;

• Be able to handle going up in the rigging.
• Have capability to give talks and presentations (to museum visitors).
• Not been in trouble for drinking in the past 36 months, or have had a drunken driving conviction in the past five years.
• Not have had financial debt or credit) problems in the past 36 months.
• Have had above average fitness reports in the last 36 months.
• Not have excessive, or questionable, tattoos.
• Be in good physical shape and not overweight.
• Have passed all physical fitness assessments in the past year, and have not failed more than one physical fitness test in the past four years.
• Lower ranking sailors (E-3 and below) must be unmarried.

Hmmm? No drinking, tattoos or wives! Sailors who can handle going up in the rigging? What happened to our Navy when I was off watch?

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Interesting adaptation of the poem which is the inspiration for our organization and this blog.

Can anyone on the interwebs identify what’s wrong with this reading? I’ll send a copy of my friend Randy Peffer’s great book Logs of the Dead Pirates Society to the first person who comments with the correct answer.

Make sure that you check out poetryanimation on YouTube for many other amazing virtual animated poetry readings.

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This morning while at Logan airport for an early flight to Bermuda I stopped by Borders and picked up Dan Pink’s new book, The Adventures of Johnny Bunko - The Last Career Guide You’ll Ever Need. I like the marketing campaign for this book is which pretty unique and intriguing; here’s a YouTube video.

Written in the popular Japanese manga style, The Adventures of Johnny Bunko is a quick and easy read and perfect for a short flight to Bermuda. Pink lays things out in six lessons:

1. There is no plan
2. Think strengths not weaknesses
3. It’s not about you
4. Persistence trumps talent
5. Make excellent mistakes
6. Leave an imprint

Okay, it’s not Good to Great or In Search of Excellence, but it is a fun book with some useful, if common sense, advice and the manga (cartoon) style is entertaining and engaging. While it clearly won’t be everyone’s taste, it does take a dry and much written about subject and presents it in a fresh and innovative fashion. Even if it doesn’t help you examine your career track, you can use it as a catalyst or inspiration for looking at things from a new and bigger perspective, just like Johnny ends up doing with his “Charger” shoes during Lesson 5.

Here’s a YouTube video of an excerpt of an interesting interview with Pink about the book.

I recommend this book for anyone interested in exploring an age old personal dilemma in a new way. It’s an easy, fun and quick read that just might set off a spark of new thinking. 

The Adventures of Johnny Bunko blog

Dan Pink’s blog and on Twitter 

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Episode 23 of Messing About In Ships has launched.

(43 minutes)

Download MP3: Messing About In Ships podcast episode 23 - May 15, 2008

Subscribe Via iTunes HERE

Shownotes: Messing About In Ships blog

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Have a presentation coming up? This short YouTube video will help to make it better or at least suck less.

Seriously, the guru of presentations is Garr Reynolds,  the blog master of the must read Presentation Zen. He recently published a book which is not surprisingly titled Presentation Zen (Amazon link). When you have a winner, stick with it.

Reynold’s was invited to speak at Google as part of their Authors@Google Series on March 21, 2008. From YouTube:

Presentation designer and internationally acclaimed communications expert Garr Reynolds, creator of the most popular Web site on presentation design and delivery on the net — presentationzen.com — shares his experience in a provocative mix of illumination, inspiration, education, and guidance that will change the way you think about making presentations with PowerPoint or Keynote.

Presentation Zen challenges the conventional wisdom of making “slide presentations” in today’s world and encourages you to think differently and more creatively about the preparation, design, and delivery of your presentations. Garr shares lessons and perspectives that draw upon practical advice from the fields of communication and business. Combining solid principles of design with the tenets of Zen simplicity, this book will help you along the path to simpler, more effective presentations.

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In his blog yesterday, Anil Dash posted about a Russia Soyuz spacecraft with three astronauts, including American Peggy Whitson, which missed it landing by a few hundred miles while returning from the International Space Station. He reports:

The eight people who greeted her didn’t quite understand that they had encountered a spaceship gone astray, and asked about the origins of her boat.

As if it wasn’t a good enough story already:

After the crash landing (termed a “ballistic reentry“) Anatoly Perminov, the chief of Russia’s Federal Space Agency referenced the naval tradition of having more women than men on board a ship as a “bad omen”:

“You know in Russia, there are certain bad omens about this sort of thing, but thank God that everything worked out successfully,” he said. “Of course in the future, we will work somehow to ensure that the number of women will not surpass” the number of men.

Challenged by a reporter, Perminov responded: “This isn’t discrimination. I’m just saying that when a majority (of the crew) is female, sometimes certain kinds of unsanctioned behaviour or something else occurs, that’s what I’m talking about.”

He did not elaborate. (link)

It seems that we are not the only country that has government leaders that say stupid stuff.

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It’s always tough to say good bye to old friends and that was the theme for CARRIER tonight. Lots of good byes to the shipmates, friends, relationships, careers and even USS Nimitz herself.

I’ve spent 10 hours over the past 5 consecutive evenings so captivated by the show that I was afraid to step away for a moment out of concern of missing something. That’s really crazy since I Tivo’d the entire series.

While I’m not a veteran or military man or naval history enthusiast, I do enjoy a good story and PBS delivered more than 5,000 of them over the 10 hours of CARRIER. We got an intimate view of the lives of a handful of sailors and a broader view of many more. It’s certainly easier now to appreciate what life is like aboard a United States aircraft carrier; frankly it’s not all that different than life anywhere else. Or is it?

I have spent the last decade of my professional life observing life at sea and promoting the opportunities to experience it. In my younger days I had the great fortune to live it first hand and have written about it on number of occasions. (Here, here, here and The Tabor Boy Project). I passionately believe in what the sea can do to change lives and after watching CARRIER I am even more convinced that it ain’t necessarily the size of the boat. Put any number of people in a confined space in an alien environment and chances are they will figure out the need to work together and support each other. Of course, shooting high performance aircraft off a moving and abbreviated strip adds a whole other level of complexity. But in the end, life at sea is a unique and powerful personal development experience.

Thanks to the amazing, charming, intelligent, funny, dedicated and hardworking crew of the USS Nimitz for giving us this incredible opportunity to peek into their lives and get a better understanding of the challenges of life aboard the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz. Also an even BIGGER THANKS to them for serving our country. Thanks to the filmakers who IMHO created something absolutely riveting. Thanks to PBS and all of the sponsors including the organization that I work for, Northeast Maritime Institute, for making this show possible.

I would typically never sit and watch so much television over the course of 5 days, but like many of the sailors leaving Nimitz after her deployment, I’m a bit melancholy wondering what I’m going to do tomorrow night.

Episode 9: “Get Home-itis”

A six-month absence places a heavy burden on relationships. The Navy holds seminars to counsel sailors on what to expect when they return home — and how to make the transition smooth. The “Tiger Cruise” ritual allows sailors to invite their family members aboard for the last leg of the deployment.

Episode 10: “Full Circle”

As the Nimitz makes its final transit from Hawaii to California, the sailors and Marines on board prepare to return to their homes and families. For those still on board, the “Tiger Cruise” provides a buffer, but there’s no such transition for those who fly home early from Hawaii. As the Nimitz returns to her home port of San Diego, sailors and Marines reflect on the deployment and take stock of what they’ve achieved. Was the mission accomplished? There are tearful, joyful reunions at the pier.

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You would be hardpressed to find more dramatic or suspenseful television than the Part 7 scene of landing planes on a pitching deck at night. It’s ironic that the most dangerous part of the mission is not fighting “terrorists” in Iraq but rather surviving mother nature on the way home. This is must see TV!

Up through part 7, a considerable amount of time is devoted to telling the story of the USS Nimitz as a well honed war machine with a diverse crew that successfully coexists under some challenging conditions and circumstances. Shared experiences like the pollywog/shellback ceremony creates camaraderie and common bonds among the crew. Then faith makes it way into the story in part 8 and a bright light shines on the rich diversity that is represented in the crew. This ship is an amazing floating community.

CARRIER does a great job of developing the story with each new episode having a solid foundation from what went ahead while still allowing room for surprises. IMHO this is the best reality TV by far!

Part 7 - Rites of Passage description

The last day in the Gulf is the last chance to drop bombs before the Nimitz heads home. The jets take off, laden with ordnance, and return hours later, still carrying the same bombs. As the Nimitz crosses the equator, the entire ship takes part in the Crossing the Line Ceremony, an ancient maritime ritual. In the middle of flight operations, a storm arises in the South Indian Ocean. The deck pitches violently, turning the already dangerous task of landing on the carrier into a nail-biting, heart-pounding drama.

Part 8 - True Believers description

This episode explores the many expressions of faith onboard the USS Nimitz: faith in self, faith in one’s shipmates, faith in the mission of the ship and the president’s call to arms. The major religious groups on board are Catholic and Protestant, but there also is a coven of Wiccans, as well as a Pentecostal group whose newest member is challenged by the duality of his beliefs and the temptations of liberty as the ship drops anchor in Perth, Australia.

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Tonight the tone was definitely much more serious. The gravity of the mission and the toll it takes on the men and women aboard comes through clearly. I have been really taken by the honesty and authenticity that CARRIER seems to present in telling the USS Nimitz’s many stories.

Questions about the connection between the 9/11 terrorist attacks and Iraq are addressed directly to the camera. “Why am I here?” One sailor states he’s “a faithful and loyal servant with questions.” A pilot explains the conflict of having an opinion and doing his job. Many recognize that this is a different type of war than that for which the Navy was built. 4th generation and asymmetrical warfare causes one pilot to state “It seems like aircraft carriers are not the way to fight wars today.”

The sight of a decrepit oil platform makes all the effort and resources deployed seem more than a little overkill and the search for terrorists has that needle in the haystack feel. “It’s not as much fun when we don’t drop bombs but maybe just flying over deters the bad guys on the ground. Fighting the terrorists is neverending.”

Life on the Nimitz can be a blur where the days of the week have no importance. Everyday is like the next. A pilot states, “I wouldn’t mind dropping bombs may sound demonic but that’s what I was trained to do.” But no bombs are dropped through episode 6 and you can begin to see and hear the stresses this causes to warriors in a war zone. Adrenaline to sheer boredom makes it all so challenging. Some feel it’s just “my job” while many others seriously question mission validity. There seems to be more sailors longing for home.

There is a sobering man overboard story that reminds us that life at sea can be dangerous even in times of peace.

As usual, the cinematography and music were amazing.

Part 5 - Show of Force description

The mission really kicks off when the Nimitz arrives in the Gulf. The conditions are extreme: flight deck personnel endure temperatures hovering around 120 degrees, while the pilots undertake grueling six-hour missions over Iraq. The F-18s are mounted with infrared cameras, enabling them to serve as the “eyes in the sky” to support the troops on the ground. Some of the pilots are frustrated that they’re not dropping bombs because, as they describe it, that’s what they’ve been trained to do. The aircraft carrier’s role and effectiveness in this particular war are questioned. Meanwhile, the strike group searches for terrorists on small dhows and intercepts cargo ships to search for weapons and bomb-making materials.

Part 6 Ground Hog Day description

After two months in the Gulf, one day starts to become indistinguishable from the next. The airwing still hasn’t dropped a single bomb, which is frustrating for some on board. The only relief comes from a port call in Bahrain, where some sailors relax by the pool, while others visit a mosque and learn about Muslim culture. The Princeton, one of the escort ships in the Nimitz strike group, loses a man overboard; an intense search to find the lost sailor ensues.

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PBS’ CARRIER demonstrates that real life stories are more powerful and captivating than fiction. The series second night built on the great foundation set the first. There are 5,000 sailors, 5,000 jobs and 5,000 stories aboard “4.5 acres of sovereign US territory” that is the USS NImitz.

Episode 3 - Super Secrets

In episode 3, we learn about all of different jobs and activities that make the ship run; from trash removal to nuclear engineering each sailor has a responsibility and duty to contribute to the mission. Each also has the duty and responsibility to act like mature adults while on shore leave but unfortunately not all can. With only 800 women aboard the Nimitz, it’s easy to see how social tensions and sexual problems could arise. Dating is highly discouraged; however, there is a remarkable scene involving the reporting of sexual indiscretions between 2 sailors that teeters on the edge of rape and which damages the reputations and destroys the naval career of both.

On a lighter note, an entertaining story within a story has been developing about the young videographer Christian Garzone (MySpace and Youtube pages) whose shipboard hobby is making films. He seems to be a well liked young man with a great sense of humor and strong camera presence which at times steals the show.

Episode 3 description:

The ship’s location and itinerary are classified. Details of how the nuclear reactor works are top secret. Many aspects of life on a nuclear aircraft carrier are hush-hush. Dating and sex aboard ship are strictly forbidden, but according to one sailor, with 5,000 people on board, relationships are “inevitable,” resulting in a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that applies to relationships as well as sexual orientation. When the Nimitz pulls into Hong Kong for a four-day port call, a scandal dramatically alters the lives of two sailors. As the ship departs, the crew learns their itinerary has changed. The captain announces that they are heading for Korea, but the crew can’t share this information with their families back home … because it’s a secret.

Episode 4 - Squared Away

Teamwork is absolutely essential for the ship to operate efficiently and effectively and there is an interesting discussion about rank and officers’ responsibility and accountability. One young woman talks about the challenge of rising faster than her peers but quickly acknowledges that’s she happier she’s being paid more.

Discipline is what is missing from the lives of so many enlisted sailors. Thankfully many find it aboard ship with the help of experienced sailors who play the role of mentors. Unfortunately, some don’t.

One young man angles to get out by playing the racist. One of the most amazing demonstrations of leadership thus far in the series takes place when an African American approaches him at the end of a drunken shore leave beach party and talks to him in a calm and collected fashion making a case for trying to learn from and accept different cultures. “One person can make a difference” he says and for a moment we think this might just work.

Episode 4 description:

Mentoring and camaraderie are what hold the ship together. But life on deployment is stressful for everyone aboard, and there can be considerable friction between enlisted personnel and their superiors. Port calls allow sailors to blow off steam, but they don’t relieve all the pressure. In Guam, a young sailor coming to terms with his upbringing can’t play by the rules and is forced out of the Navy. From Guam, the Nimitz sails through the Straits of Malacca, past Singapore to Kuala Lumpur, the last liberty call before the long haul to the Persian Gulf.

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that so many of the young people that have ended on the Nimitz come from tough family backgrounds. Early on an officer remarks that not too many aboard are graduates of Phillips Exeter Academy, an elite New England prep school. The Navy is a melting pot and its amazing that such a diverse group of individuals can live in such a challenging environment with so few serious problems and actually make this sophisticated war machine hum.

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I just finished watching the first 2 parts of PBS’s new series CARRIER and it was awesome. Even if you have no interest in military or naval matters, this show is definitely worth watching. The cinematography and music are fantastic. The individual and collective stories are fascinating. Among other things, its a great study of leadership.

Episode 1 - All Hands was a great stage setter. In it you get to meet a wide range sailors aboard the USS Nimitz, one of only ten nuclear powered aircraft carriers in the world. There are more than 5,000 residents that call the ship home and work and a large number are under the age of 21. It’s not too far away from being a floating high school with a serious mission.

Episode 1 description:

On a bright May morning, 5,000 sailors and Marines bid farewell to their loved ones before the mammoth USS Nimitz pulls out of Coronado, California, and sets a course for Hawaii and beyond. Among the men and women who live and work on board are an airman who describes the ship as a small town; a pilot who considers the ship a powerful instrument of diplomacy; a sailor who questions “why we’re fighting to defend someone else’s freedom when we barely have our own”; a cook who dishes out 15,000 meals a day; and an airman who has just learned that his girlfriend is pregnant.

Episode 2 Controlled Chaos tells the story of the complexity of running this floating city that also happens to be the most sophisticated war machine. There is so much activity happening on the flight deck that one sailor advises to keep your head on a swivel to look out for trouble that can come from any direction at anytime. While New York might be the city that never sleeps, the Nimitz is clearly a ship that doesn’t either.

A pilot of one of the $57 million aircraft that get catapulted off the end of the ship says that landing is like having sex during a car accident. Work hard, play harder is the flight squadrons’ mantra. Much of the support for these Top Guns comes from young enlisted airmen who get paid less than what their friends make back home at McDonalds. When asked, the Captain isn’t sure how they are able to extract such a high level of performance but offers they do it for each other.

Episode 2 description:

The men and women of the USS Nimitz live beneath the runway of a major airport. They sleep on the roof of a nuclear power plant. It’s a perilous environment. Their only bulwark against danger and chaos is to bond with their units on board the ship. The “Shooters,” who launch the jets, have a “Circle of Trust”; the Ordies (ordnance personnel) pride themselves on being a “mafia”; the F-18 squadrons — the Black Aces, the Hoboes and the Marine Red Devils — are tight fraternities.

I’m looking forward to tomorrow night.

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