Deep Sea Dreams Merchant Marine Blog

Now, I am not the smartest marine engineer, nor do I have any additional education or other courses which make me more qualified in any area of the work I have done. What I do have, perhaps from my Norwegian background, is a stubbornness and a desire to do a good job in whatever I attempt. I also like figuring out keys to the root problems regarding what ever endeavors I am facing. A few years ago, this cruise line hired an expert to determine why our specific projects were facing long delays and costs overruns. This man, well known...

This past year has been one hell of a ride for many.  From the impact of Covid on those who go to sea, to the those ashore, everyone has been affected and some of us even infected. It is a bit like that trip from hell we all have experienced, at least a few times.  Whether it was daily engine room mechanical failures, bad weather for days, a really poor feeder or perhaps a totally messed up command structure, in those times, we were glad to disembark. If we were fortunate and had a permanent job, we knew we would...

  One thing I was always amazed of, was how quick the weather could change at sea and it always lead me to thinking of one of my favorite sayings, “what a difference a day makes”.  Coming up from below and breathing in that fresh sea air often rejuvenated me, albeit briefly at times.   I am beginning to smell that salty air again. 2020 has been a hell of a year. No matter what you believe about it, Covid, has impacted all of us in how we travel, our work environment, what we have done at home and at the...

There isn’t much else that connects us to the sea than the music we travelled with and remember. If music was our only stimulus our senses were aware of, we could easily fall back to remembering many experiences of our life going to sea. The beat, the lyrics remind us of events, thoughts, and circumstances which have connected to our lives in ways, we don’t necessary clearly understand.  These days we can travel anywhere with hundreds of hours of music (and videos) right on our phone, slip on some buds, a headset or link to a blue tooth speaker and...