crew q & a

Yesterday, we had a q & a with the captain and his crew. I tried to take good notes so that I could pass along all the info. to my blog readership:

Who is our Captain?

• His name is Captain Jeremy Kingston and he is from England. He is licensed to captain any vessel, of any tonnage, in any ocean.

How do we get food & how much do we store in advance?

• We store up foods that can only (or best) be bought in America, for example peanut butter & taco supplies. We pick up fresh fruits and vegetables at port. Our cereal, at the moment, is Brazilian. Our last loading will be in Hong Kong and that will get us to the end of the voyage.

Is there any danger of pirates?

• There have been no recorded incidents of pirates (since when?, my notes weren’t good here …!). Captain Jeremy’s quote: “To be honest, I have no idea what a pirate looks like …” There is a small danger of pirates as we approach Singapore and our primary strategy will be to increase our speed overnight. We’ll use all four engines then.

What would we do if a pirate boarded?

• To quote Monty Python, Captain Jeremy says: “run away run away”. The goal is to keep pirates from boarding in the first place! We have lookouts and, if pirates approached, we would start by spraying them with fire-hoses. Like police in a riot. Or we’d fill their boats with water and try to sink them. But, really, the thing we do is increase our speed. A small boat would have a very hard time coming alongside our wake. Captain Jeremy says: “I’d actually like to see them try. I’d stand on the bridge and laugh at them.”

How much fuel do we consume?

• About 85-90 tons of fuel per day. As mentioned before, we have 4 engines. We are currently running on only one engine, which uses about 60 tons of fuel per day.

How many crew do we have?

• Currently, 205 crew of 20 different nationalities. Most of the crew are from the Philippines. The crew have different contract lengths depending on their nationality. 4, 5, 6, 9 months variously. The officers work four months on, four months off. The crew has space on the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd decks where all of their cabins are. They have a crew gym, a crew bar, a crew mess, and there is also an officers’ dining room.

How much is the ship worth?:

• Smaller cruise ships like ours are not all that popular in the marketplace. And it all depends on the marketplace. The last time the sister ship sold, it went for $70-80 million. But, they probably cost about $200-250 million to build.

How much is a Captain paid?:

• At top of the industry, $150,000-$200,000 + quarter million dollar bonus after 5 years sailing troublefree. There are also incentives for such things as fuel efficiency. At the low end, a Captain may only make @ $40,000.

What are the difference between working for SAS and normal cruise-ships?.

• Cruise ship passengers are always complaining. About everything. We complain a lot too, said the hotel director, but we don’t ask for our money back. Cruise ships spend about $40/day/person for food. The hotel director wouldn’t tell us how much we spend, only to say “we don’t come anywhere near that”. [Other sources report that it’s $5/day/person.] The officers also claim to enjoy getting to know us over the course of the voyage. And they like spending long stretches at sea. On a cruise-ship, there is constant turnover of passengers and they mostly sail overnight to arrive in port the next day. And then overnight again for the next port.
  

What’s the food cycle?

• Every day is repeated 5 times on the ship (for a 20 day cycle), pending supply. Most ingredients for taco-day come from America and so were stocked up on in Fort Lauderdale. Barbecue (which also makes us very happy) is dependent upon the weather. Not only absence of rain but they need very calm seas. As we’ve learned, it can be completely sunny & completely rough. There should be another barbecue-day between Kobe & Honolulu.

Why do we need to conserve water for India?

• In every port, we stop taking on water as we near land. In most ports, we supplement our water with purchased water from the port. But, in India, we can’t get water supplied in port because it doesn’t meet health codes. It takes a lot of time & costs a lot of money to have water trucked in (it's literally like mineral bottled water), so we push to conserve while in India. Also, on water, the process is reverse osmosis with heavy chlorination.

Why is there no cold water from the tap?

• Water takes on the ambient temperature of the surroundings. At your home, in your pipes, the water comes in cold from the underground. The water here is held in a tank and we don’t chill it. It would be too expensive to chill.

Why isn’t the pasta labeled vegetarian?

• Well, the tomatoes & the lettuce aren’t marked vegetarian either … The hotel director expects that we’ll use some commonsense … [Actually, there was a rumor that the pasta was cooked in chicken broth, but the hotel director says this is not true.]

How much do we weigh?

• The ship weighs 12,400 metric tons empty and 40,833 metric tons fully loaded.

Why is it so cold on the ship?:

• The temperature is kept at 22 or 23 degrees celsius (72-73) in the public spaces. When you put a lot of people in a single place (like the union or the classrooms), the space heats up pretty quickly. It’s too expensive to lower and raise the temperature based on shipboard activity, so it is set at a stable (cold-to-some) temperature.

How often does the ship get painted?

• It is “dry-docked” every two years and “wet-docked” every year for painting. [The ship is conveniently orange & blue, by the way -- UVA colors).]
  

Where does the term “muster” come from (i.e. muster station, where we gather for our lifeboats):?

• They didn’t know. But since I’m a good librarian, the OED tells me:

1. Senses relating to the assembling or collecting together of persons, etc. The number of people or things assembled on a particular occasion; an assembly, a collection. First used in 1382: Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.): 1 Kings (Bodl. 959) v. 13 Kyng Salamon chees werkmen of al israel, & e mowstre [L. indictio] was retti thousendis of men.

2. An act of calling together soldiers, sailors, prisoners, etc.; an assembling of people for inspection, exercises, etc., or an act of counting or enlisting people into (esp. armed) service; a roll-call. Also (Austral.): a census (now hist.). First used in 1419: Ordin. War xiii, in T. Twiss Monumenta Juridica (1871) I. 463 That noman be so hardy to have other men at his mustrez, than tho that be with hym self withold for the same voiage.

What’s with all the crew safety drills?

• The crew is required by law to exercise safety drills every 7 days.

What’s the difference between M.V. and M.S. and S.S?:

• They are all titles for ships. M.V. is motor vessel; M.S. is motor ship. We are both of those and could be called either, but we go by M.V. generally (M.V. Explorer). S.S. is steam ship.

Is Captain Jeremy’s wife really a model?

• Yes. She is from the Philippines. [Kate describes her as a “beautiful … elegant … 12 year old".] Her name is Apple and she refers to Captain Jeremy as “Master” … no further comment …[although we all do kinda wonder what he calls her ...]
  

about the ship

According to the Voyager's Handbook (spring, 2007):

The MV Explorer was built in Germany as the world's fastest cruise ship and completed in 2001. She has a gross tonnage of 24,318, a length of 590 feet, breadth of 84 feet, draft of 24 feet, and a cruising speed of up to 32 knots. There are 418 cabins (256 outside and 122 inside) and six participant decks for a total of 918 berths.

The earliest incarnation of Semester at Sea started in 1963 with the creation of the University of the Seven Seas. Under the administration of Chapman College, it was renamed World Campus Afloat. The Institute for Shipboard Education was incorporated in 1976 and the program was renamed Semester at Sea. The University of Colorado-Boulder was then the academic sponser and the University of Pittsburgh took it on in 1981 for 25 years before its new home at UVA. In 1979, SAS students met Anwar Sadat, in 1981 students met Indira Ghandi, in 1988 Mikhail Gorbechev and Corazon Aquino, in 1982 Desmond Tutu sailed for the first time, in 1994 they met Nelson Mandela and in 2000, Fidel Castro. In 1994, SAS was the first ship of U.S. passengers to visit Vietnam after the U.S. embargo was lifted. This spring (yes, my voyage), Desmond Tutu will be sailing with us all 100 days.

Archbishop Tutu was here for the reunion voyage (last week), flew to India to accept the Ghandi Peace Prize, and will return to Nassau tomorrow for a fundraising dinner for ISE. He will then sail with our voyage for all 100 days. We confirmed today that the proper form of address is "Archbishop."

Another full day in libraryland. The Computer Lab Coordinator and I did an IT presentation for the faculty which was immediately followed up by much configuring of laptops for the course reserve folders & for the UVA proxy server. The good news is that all the configuration went incredibly well. All of the faculty who came to us are now connecting to the UVA databases. The computer lab set up walk-in hours for configurations and Sherri & I wondered if maybe the library should have done that too, but the faculty are clearly feeling comfortable walking up whenever. It's been pretty chaotic in both locations, so I'm not sure the formality of the walk-in hours serves much better purpose! I was a little concerned about stepping on Matt's toes (the computer lab guy, who is great!), but he seems very grateful for the help. The library & the computer lab are on opposites sides of a central area so there's a lot of collaboration which is working really well.

As always, there is much password confusion ... one, two, three passwords ... one for the Internet, one for the course reserves folders, one for the UVA proxy server. You'd really think there'd be a better way ... faculty are having a very hard time understanding what's what & why the passwords have to be different.

I was hoping to get out this afternoon/early evening, but too much laptop configuration. And Sherri & I had a 7:30 meeting tonight to meet our workstudy students. We have 5 students who all seem very nice & friendly & excited to be aboard. They are working a full day (9-5) tomorrow. Sherri & I are a little panicked about finding something for 5 workstudy students to do for 8 hours each when we still don't have a good handle on any kind of routine for ourselves. Some shelf-reading, some reserve processing, some scanning for course reserves for materials that faculty have brought with them, we'll show them how to help configure laptops. It's not that there is not enough to do, it's that we haven't had time to breathe to come up with a coherent plan for getting things done. Or training. I gotta say that I am SOOO glad I boarded with the Admin Team. If I had boarded with faculty/staff, I would have been sunk.

We "puttered around" in the ocean today. We had to pull out of port to let some cruise ships come in (they seem to be more important than we are) and I have a few photos but I'm too fried to go down to my cabin to get my camera. I'll put them up tomorrow. Just middle of sea photos. We're puttering again tomorrow. Puttering seems to be an official nautical term. I thought we were "anchoring" but we never did, we were moving the whole time. The weather was windy but pretty humid. So far, the motion doesn't bother me at all. I honestly didn't notice we were back in port until well after it turned out we had arrived.

I'm tired & working hard & sleeping hard. The excitement level here is insane. I can't imagine what it's going to be like when 700 students arrive on Sunday!

frequently asked questions

How long is the voyage?

100 days + orientation/training:
January 29th – I board with the Administrative Team in Ft. Lauderdale
January 31st – Faculty/Staff board in Nassau
February 4th – Students board in Nassau & we set sail
May 14th – Ship returns to San Diego
May 15th – I return to C-Ville

How many people are on the boat?

About 750. That number includes students, faculty and staff, “life-long learners” (adult passengers/continuing ed.), and officers & crew.

Is it called a boat?

Nope, it’s a ship and we’re going on a voyage, not a cruise.

Where’s Mauritius?

Southwest of India – see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mauritius. It’s an island.

Is the library really in the casino/bar?

Yup.



(Photo courtesy of Barbie, our summer voyage librarian & the first one of us to go)

Do you really have to crawl under the bar to get behind the circulation desk?

Yup.



(that’s Barbie)
Although some librarians have reported jumping over the bar instead.

Why don’t they just fix the bar to make a passageway or install a hinge-thing?

Because the Institute for Shipboard Education, who runs the program, doesn’t own the ship. They don’t like making alterations to the ship.

Is there a laundromat?

No, laundry is not self-serve. There is a service that you pay for. $5/bag.

How about housekeeping?

Yes, there is housekeeping, it’s like a hotel.

What’s the weather where you are going?

According to http://worldclimate.org average temperatures are:

nassau, bahamas ..... february ..... 69
san juan, puerto rico ..... february ..... 82
salvador, brazil ..... february ..... 79.5
cape town, south africa ..... march ..... 68
port louis, mauritius ..... march ..... 84
chennai, india ..... march ..... 91
penang, malaysia ..... april ..... 81
ho chi min city, vietnam ..... april ..... 83
hong kong ..... april ..... 71
beijing, china ..... april ..... 56
qindao, china ..... april ..... 50.9
kobe, japan ..... april ..... 58.1
honolulu, hawaii ..... may ..... 77

The ship is described as cold & dry.

Who’s taking care of your animals?

I have a great dog/cat/housesitter (Ashley) who my animals love & who has stayed with them many times before. I will, however, miss them very very much.

Who’s going to do your job?

One of my staff will become interim department head (Annette) and she will be fabulous & wonderful.

What does your staff think?

My staff (and my boss!) have been amazing & supportive and several of them also hope to go on this adventure. I very much hope they will also have the opportunity.

Do you really get your normal UVA salary?

Yes.

How did you get picked?

I responded to a call for volunteers. Quickly.

How much time do you spend in port?

Roughly 5-6 days in each location, though Hawaii for example, is just one day. About 55% of the trip is spent at sea & 45% in port.

How long does it take to cross the ocean?

Salvador, Brazil to Cape Town, South Africa is 9 days.
Kobe, Japan to Honolulu, Hawaii is 8 days.

Do you get seasick?

No, I'm usually ok. I went to Alaska a couple of years ago on a cruise & I was fine. And I've been on a number of other boats from time to time. They say sea-sickness is hard to avoid when the waters are rough, though, so we'll find out!

Do you have a roommate?

No, faculty & staff don’t have roommates (unless families are traveling together). Otherwise, only students have roommates.

Are you the only librarian?

No, the fall & spring voyages have an assistant librarian. Sherri Barnes is the assistant this voyage. She is the Humanities Collection Coordinator at UC Santa Barbara. Sherri & I serve together on the ACRL Women’s Studies Section & so we know each other a little. She is known for her project: Black American Feminisms: A Multidisciplinary Bibliography @ http://www.library.ucsb.edu/subjects/blackfeminism/ I’m looking forward to working with her! We’ll additionally have 5 or 6 workstudy students.

How many volumes does the library have?

About 9,000.

What’s in the collection?

The collection is largely an eclectic mix of titles requested over the years for course reserves. The classes taught aren’t necessarily the same from voyage to voyage. There are also ready-reference materials, travel guides, DVDs (both recreational & documentaries), and maps. UVA will focus on collection development as the voyages proceed. We are also providing access to the entire suite of electronic resources available through the UVA Library.

What are the working hours?

The library is open 0800-2300 all the days that the ship is at sea and is closed when the ship is at port. On previous voyages, one librarian has often worked 0800-1600 & the other 1600-2300, though there are also other models. Sherri & I haven’t figured that out yet. (You’ll notice I’m practicing my 24-hour time …)

How’s the Internet access?

Not good. It’s satellite & has been described as slow-dialup & is often unavailable when the seas are rough or when you are at port & the satellite signal is blocked by a larger ship.

Are you worried about Internet withdrawal?

Yes. Very very very much so. Though I have slow-dialup at my home in rural Virginia, so I’m hoping that’s some preparation … stay tuned …

Are you ready to go?

NO! ... but, I imagine I will be by January 29th. Wish me luck.