Castine Current
Line Handling 101: Hands On!
By CAPT. JoHN WoRTH
The best deckhand on any tug
1. shouldbethecaptain.
When a tug captain looks down
2. fromthetoastywarmwheelhouse
and watches the deckhand out
in the icy sea spray throw a six-
foot eye fifteen feet across the
span, and successfully lasso the
bitt on the other vessel, that
captain knows immediately that
the crew member is a boatman.
When a tug comes alongside a
3. shipmovingsixknotsoverlumpy
seas and the deckhand throws the
heaving line with accuracy 38
feet up the side of the ship, the
job of safely assisting the ship to
its berth is halfway done.
Evan Gaskin '15 making a perfect toss in Line Handling 101. Photo by J Worth.
We'vealknownthesetruthsforyears. needstheseskilsandonlygainstheseskils progresstoheavierones.
But it has been rewarding to read the
through practice, technique, and focus.
Now faculty and lab leaders set aside time in
notes many of my students from Tug
At Maine Maritime in 2005, we added this
each class so that we can teach the skil s.
and Barge operations, NS 471, write back after
training to several classes: Tug and Barge
over the years, Wayne Hamilton at Hamilton
graduation about their experiences as they
operations, Work Boat operations NS 342, and
Marine, headquartered in Searsport, has
manage line-handlers. I've heard many in the
Seamanship NS 241. We started with voluntary
generously helped with prizes. I've traded my
tug industry say that they wished they had
competitions, and offered prizes to the best
services running Hamilton's pilot boat Ciloway
more exposure to basic, but crucial, line-han-
line-handlers.
III to generate cash to buy prizes--float coats,
dling skil s.
Next we added "the playground." At the
hand-held radios-- at a discount.
In 2004, Capt. Bil Serba from Bouchard
Academy waterfront, around the corner from
Most of our men and women graduates wil
Towing and Transportation asked me if he
Tug Pentagoet's berth, waterfront crew installed
find themselves in control in the pilothouse
could come up to Maine Maritime Academy to
cleats and bitts. An outside stairway provided
fairly quickly. Before that day, though, they wil
show our students line-handling skil s. Capt.
another dimension to the practices--a heav-
have time on deck. With sharp skil s and men-
Serba, now retired, impressed our students
ing-line throwing wal . Capt. Doug Fournier
tal focus, they wil earn the respect of their cap-
immensely. They watched his every move as he
from Penobscot Bay Tractor Tug donated lines
tains as they put to use the hands-on skil s for
tossed an eye 20 feet, precisely, over and over
that we leave there for students to practice
which Maine Maritime Academy is wel known.
again. He convinced my students that a mariner
with year-round. We start with light lines and
Ultimately, they'l be better tug captains.
STUDENTS SEND HUNDREDS OF THANk-YOU NOTES TO ALUMNI
By JoRDAN DEHLINGER
onMarch17th,2015theMMAStudent fellowstudents,faculty,andstafftohandwrite
Mariner Society held the second annual
notes of gratitude. Acknowledgements of gifts
Thank You Day on campus. This year was
from alumni were placed in dedicated spaces in
very exciting because the day focused on the
the ABS Center, and the event took place inside
new ABS Center for Engineering, Science, and
the new building.
Research as wel as other gifts from alumni.
Students came to fil out their postcards be-
The student group used this day to make visible
tween classes, during lunch or at any free period.
the many generous gifts from alumni, industry,
At times there were lines at the tables because
and friends of the Academy and to encourage
students took the time to write personal messages
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MARINER / 2015 - ISSUE 2

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