full ahead both engines!

Big day for tomorrow. I will be signing on another ship. This ship is tagged as special  purpose maintenance vessel . Another 4-point mooring ship for me. This will be going to be another chapter in my life as a merchant seaman.

What is 4-point mooring? Well, it is actually a vessel with 4 anchors on all ends and will act as a steady platform ,regarding to sea current,swell or any other elements that may be posed during the ship’s operation. 1000meters of wires at each winche act as anchor cables and a Delta Flipper anchor  at the end that contribute most of the holding power; since the cable is a wire, not anchor cables in the normal sense.
 

Laying all 4 anchor is a backbreaking task to the uninitiated and inexperienced. From my previous experiences, it is also quite perilous if safety factors are being overlooked. This is when theories and practice comes into picture and very essential in the process of laying all those anchors. Teamwork is very crucial and also one of the factors regarding the effectiveness of the layout.
 

To the unexperienced, theories are therefore needed and finding a fastest and safest way to lay  usually comes through experience. Very essential for the mate assisting the master in way of plotting the anchor positions and where to steer, as this is an ad hoc situation where planning can’t be done beforehand. Every anchoring operation is unique to itself. Even though we are anchoring at the same spot, the elements such as wind,sea and current plays an important role. The assistance of an automated plotting device such as hydropro are highly appreciated, makes it quicker and easier to make crucial decisions.

So far ,my previous record have been 1hour and 15 minutes for all 4 anchors laid and ship in position. I am looking forward to find easier and safer way to do it. Plus i hope that i will enjoy working onboard this one. To glory we steer!

After "my-near-death-sink-or-swim early-to-3rd quarter 2007", i was very pleased to see that god happily answered my prayers. Many things didn’t go as planned. My products failed to make an impact in the market, maybe of my inexperiences in the sales and marketing department.

Selling specific marine equipment, such as corrosion protection, anodes or impressed current cathodic protection is not as easy as selling peanuts. Unless,if i impress our prime minister that all land transport requires these devices and the G make them compulsory. Still,the vultures and every imaginable predators are there to ‘eat’ me alive.

After several attempts of sitting for chief mate orals exams failed, i am contented that i am going to become a second mate for life. so what? if that is the destiny, i will be prepared to dance to the music. I see that people who are lieutenant(rtd), are very proud of their rank, or a warrant officer(rtd). So what is wrong being a second mate? There are so many officers out there with major(rtd) or something else.

Finally , i coaxed my self to go for another attempt. Maybe 2007 would be different after all. For information, my passed written papers are from year 2000. That was 7 donkey years ago.If i am in a university,i would have taken the scroll in 2000.However, this is a professional qualification, not just another tertiary course. Most of my Master’s classmate have had their command as early as 2002. Well, that is their ‘rezeki’.

My ‘rezeki’ seems to change when i finally passed my Mate’s oral exam in 26 december. Finally, Zulfa is a Chief Mate.Thank God for that. Even though i have sailed as a Chief Mate for nearly 2 years on a Near-Coastal vessel. The picture was when i served onboard PV Kedah & Pahang (now KD Kedah(171) & KD Pahang(172). But now i am holding the Certificate of Competency as Chief Mate(Unlimited). Means that Master’s is just a step away(not that easy anyway).

I see that 2008 will bring new light for me. Hopefully, i will pass my Master’s orals exam in due time. The anticipation to see myself as a Master Mariner have been withheld for so long. I will therefore make my move. We’ll see again in about  6 months time. I am starting to seeing myself as Captain Zulfa Ahmad,MN;  Master Mariner in the near future. That was a promise i made to myself when i was a Cadet Officer. Angan-angan menjadi cita-cita.

p/s: The picture is KD Pahang when she was registered as a merchant ship, proudly flying the Malaysian merchant ship Red Ensign

Live it seems, will fade away

Drifting further every day

Getting lost within myself

Nothing matters no one else

I have lost the will to live

Simply nothing more to give

There is nothing more for me

Need the end to set me free

Things not what they used to be

Missing one inside of me

Deathly lost, this Can t be real

Cannot stand this hell I feel

Emptiness is filling me

To the point of agony

Growing darkness taking dawn

I was me, but now he 's gone

No one but me can save myself, but it's too late

No, I can't think, think why I should even try

Yesterday seems as though it never existed

Death Greets me warm, now I will just say goodbye

from metallica - ride the lightning

new topic today. about art and science. in the renaissance period, there are no distinct difference between an artist and a scientist. leonardo da vinci was an artist as well as a scientist. the perfect marriage of art and science does made the industrial revolution flourished and therefore we can see results up until today. leonardo’s work of art does contribute to the modern science with regards to medical science. the surgeon who made the re-discovery are very regretful due to the separation of art and science.

we know to this day that art and science work together in most ancient technologies such as medical, astronomical, navigation and a lot of unlisted vocations here. the stonemasons of yore are artists, which gave birth to new field of science such as architecture and civil engineering. regretfully, the art part was separated from the science part in most of these inventions.

as humans progressed, the science part are getting more advance and sometimes humans are not capable to run alongside the advances in technology. i have seen lots of occurences with regards to human inadequacy to run alongside advances of science.

let we go to one example. as things grow smarter, humans went the other way round. in malaysia, the number of fatal traffic accident does not reflect advances with better road and vehicles. why? let us see the human error factor. this was the most debated subjects in any marine accident investigation reports.

i have a close acquaintance who used to drive for about 12 years, on manual cars. since he can afford an automatic, he acquaired one. automatic transmission is a godsend to the masses. the problem was that he did tarnish his clean driving record after about 6 months driving the auto car. he ran into other car. since the auto gearbox have taken some chores out in the driving process, he became more complacent and less alert.

what does this show? if we can run a statistic on traffic accident, which will end up with more: auto or manual transmission.auto transmission does took some skills off the drivers: do they downshift when approaching a wet bend? do they downshift when going downhill? does they really knew the characteristics of their driving machine? understeer or oversteer? tail happy or nose happy cars? cornering lines?

i don’t think so. i might suggest compulsory to new drivers to drive at least 5 years in a manual transmission cars before upgrading to automatic transmission. this will give them better judgement and neccessary experience  when going downhill or approaching a fast bend or a decreasing radius corners(we can find these at most highway exits).

they have to learn the art of driving alongside the advances of science that go with it. i hope they don’t learn the advance of science the hard way; with regard to safety and restraint systems such as seat belts, airbags, door reinforcement bars,crumple zones and armco barriers.

art and science does go together. the science of better road and cars might only be applicable to people who are aware of it, but plenty are ignorant as well. and that makes the majority. the art is harder to implement not all are willing. unless we make a ruling of getting a driving licence as hard as gaining professional licence to drive ships and airplanes.

i think this is a perfect title which will coincide with "sleeping with the enemy". during the last 2 weeks, i have been driving up and down the klang valley and i found out  that i have been driving with other idiots drivers around me? who, in this sane world would let those idiotic drivers on the road and shorten their valued lives?

about indicating, it seems that is it non-existent as if the signal lights and stalk are only cost option accessories fitted to a car. is it so hard for them to indicate where they are going? does it need some forms to fill and passed to the authority just to indicate where you are going? indicating your intention might saves lives and also not endangering yours too.

road hogging, this is one thing that been hogging my mind all these while. does our "ordinan lalu lintas jalanraya 1951" are too inadequate about this issue( i don’t think multiple lane highways were there when these ordinance are in force). why does the parliament doesn’t amend and make it into an act?

there are type who hogs the overtaking lane as long as they think they are at the speed limit. wrong idea at all. the overtaking lane are to be used only when you are overtaking. let just say that it is a normal dual carriageway, you overtake only when the oncoming traffic is clear. put that into your head. now since there are more room to make roadways and for safer driving, multiple lane highway are offering more room for you to overtake= by taking away the oncoming traffic and put them somewhere else.

there are also type who "dreams" while driving at 60kmh overtaking a 55kmh vehicle on the second lane. this is more dangerous while they are preoccupied with other things: handphone, sms, babies, girlfriends/boyfriends,  finding pisang goreng stalls, etc. their are focussing on other things besides driving. these people are more dangerous because they are not alert at all to their surroundings.

also another type who drives permanently on the overtaking lane thinking they deserve it it with their rm300k cars. as long as they are paying more road tax than other people, these people think they deserve the rightmost lane because they paid so much for the cars and road tax. never assume rich people who can afford these things are equally educated as well. speaking of shallowness, it doesn’t have boundaries even when concerning household incomes figures.

another type who also think they can outrun  higher powered cars with their souped-up 1.3 hatch. this is very dangerous. most of them are serious tailgaters up until they ran out of space and ram the car in front. come on la, there are no replacement for displacement even though you got 2" exhaust pipes and road skimming skirting that looks like a lawn mower. pls do the DBKL some favour by using your road skimming skirting for more productive job such as really mowing the lawn or vacuuming the roadside.

wh
very sad day indeed. i thought the prancing lion was not as desirable as the emblem of mercedes benz or bmw. it have been there for the last 5 years until yesterday. damn idiots. all i found out was a blank space above the peugeot inscription.

those itchy hands, why don’t you just stick to nicking stars and roundel emblem. the prancing lion pose no value to u, unless it is a prancing horse. i swear that you will be hit into a coma by a peugeot, damn you!

as i browsed through my old notes, i found this poem in between those papers. already turned yellow . here it is the poem, i read to all of you.

sea fever by john masefield

i must go down to the seas again,to the lonely sea and the sky,
and all i ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,
and the wheel’s kick and the wind’s song and the white sails shaking,
and a grey mist on the seas face and a grey dawn breaking.

i must go down to the seas again,for the call of the running tide,
is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied,
and all i ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying
and the flung spray and the blown spume and the sea gulls crying.

i must go down to the seas again,to the vagrant gypsy life,
to the gull’s way and the whale’s way, where the wind’s like a whetted knife,
and all i ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow lover
and quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long tricks over.

what is this? my friend/schoolmate have tagged me (http://haziamyperspective.blogs.friendster.com) i have no ideala. anyway these are the rules

rules: people who are tagged should write a blog post of 6 weird things about them as well as state this rules clearly.in the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names.don’t forget to leave a comment that says ‘you are tagged’ in their comments and tell them to read their blog.

anyway , why not? i am weird? that was what most of my friends said. an eccentric ,but then i think other people just don’t admit that they are eccentrics as well.

1) i qoute the rules from the international convention on prevention of collisions at sea and laughed in my sleep. (my friends told me).

2) i will make sure i parked my car well within the box, no protrusion or entering other box.most malaysian can’ t park at all: have to revise the parking system or the examination system for new drivers.or eliminate the parking altogether(pls read no 5). maybe malaysians have started to think out of the box?

3) i normally do a perfect 3-point turn.most malaysians do 50-points turn, so i appear weird to them.

4) i do queue when going on a bus.weird? malaysian doesn’t know how to queue, so it means i am weird to them. they overtake everywhere,even in a toilet queue. kiasuness is another imported disease which affected lots of the local population.

5) i don’t double park my car in a congested road.malaysians always double park everywhere as if they owned the road,just to be near to their intended destinations. malaysia should start to create drive through banks,office,coffee shop,departmental store,goreng pisang/rojak/cendol stalls,  newspaper agents, everything la, including drive through house. so  making the  usage of the car to the maximum, from bedroom to the boardroom. since cars are so expensive here, why not use it to the maximum.

6) i signal and indicate my direction every 200 meters before a junction or any exit.malaysians doesn’t use the signals indicator at all. if it was a cost option, i think the signal light manufacturer will go bust  here. i wish i could read other people’s mind while they are driving.

this is the list of people that i have tagged

dazzledalie: http://crookedlittlemind.blogspot.com
nina          : http://jadeite.wordpress.com
kucai        : http://kucailiah.fotopages.com
muffster   : http://fuzzboks.blogs.friendster.com/rules_of_engagement
ijah amran :http://ijahamran.blogs.friendster.com/killing_time
amoi          :http://thedancingfingers.blogs.friendster.com/bila_jemari_menari

happy tagging!

a very interesting topic, being debated and discussed in my school’s forum. the current education status are being heavily discussed again. was it necessary to learn mathematics and science in english? the excuse was the two subjects was originated from that language. really? i thought the greeks came with the pythagoras theorem and a lot of other things that is based on the islamic era: algebra, the number zero, etc.

why don’t the two subject being taught in ancient greek or arab? we know that the europeans ‘mutated’ those knowledge and made them theirs. hence the terminology used in the modern world are from the language of the people who devised the modern method.

example are, all medical terms are in greek, botanical terms are in latin,  musical terms are in italian. the only terms devised by our people are : amuk or english spelling ; amok. that was our achievement in human civilisations.

so, why is it good to study those subjects when the people who teaches them are not proficient in english themselves. it is like  an elephant trying to teach a snake walk.(not really relevant).

actually,shallowness doesn’t show at only the lower level of society. regretfully,it  also appeared in the upper echelon of  state government executives. in a report, that was published widely, stated that the state is the most developed state in malaysia, taking also into account the federal amenities that lies in the state.that does not belong to the state and was initiated by the federal government. when we selected our political leaders, we don’t expect them to be that shallow. how about that?

does our geological conditions effect our peoples mentality? we know that the sea all around our nation are not that deep. the malacca straits are just around 28-30 meters at the deepest point. deep enough for a small canoe, but difficult navigation for a 330,000DWT very large crude oil carrier, with 26mtr draught. or is it the continental shelf on the other side, the east coast. maybe?

most civilisations are also sculpted by their surroundings. that is why we don’t wear heavy winter clothings here(unless you are a rap singer). that is also why we can’t just wear our baju melayu in reykyavik or vladivostok even in summer. therefore,
we must adapt. but then, when the world is changing, we must adapt too, but not blindly like those rap singer(in the dressing sense).

very intriguing title. there is a malay proverb giving an equivalent meaning. enggang sama enggang,pipit sama pipit or common ones: birds of the same feather flock together.

vessel with deep draught have limited under keel clearance. if she ventured into shallow waters, she might have grounded, the biggest nightmare in all the men in the sailing world.

my proverb is devised from nautical jargon, which i am familiar with. both vessel and the sea might evolve. either they evolve conversely or not, depends on the prevailing circumstances and conditions.a vessel and the harbour might be evenly matched. adequate under keel clearance and the vessel’s draught is just nice for the harbour. the relationship is good.

once the vessel increased in size, the harbour needs to be deepened also. because of the prevailing conditions, such as silting and fast movement of currents, the harbour entry might be limited again due to inadequate depth of water.

basically, human relationships are more like resembling a ship and a harbour. both might be well matched in the beginning. but when time goes by, so slowly, the harbour becomes shallower due to strong current carrying mud and silt .dredgers might be employed, but if the outside forces keep on acting upon the harbour, the battle might be lost.

in human, when another person becomes shallower, it is hard to bring the person back to the state it was before. stubbornness, ignorance and just plain foolishness adds up, in addition to that, third party interference. this is a main plague in a relationship.

if the harbour still not deep enough for the ship to enter, the ship might skip the harbour altogether. any other way, both parties lose. if that what it takes, both have to accept the reality. when applied to humans, go figure……….

life must go on. it that is the only way to move on, just do it. are u a ship or a harbour?