Cruise ships are different they're meant for people to be onboard and no not really. Its more like the crew onboard the ship would not let you onboard unless they knew who you were. We can have visitors and shit. Or atleast some ships they do, depends on the company and scale of work.

I was on a ship that went to Puerto Rico and the galley hand onboard would do six month hitches. He was from San Juan where we would dock so every other week or so when we would come in his family would come see him. Same with the chief mate when we got to Jacksonville, FL. Actually me and my buddy went to go visit his mom and twin brother one time in jacksonville (they waited for us outside the port gate) because we were going through the trainee program and we couldn't go home for like eight months I think it came to?

With this company the people don't stay out as long and we never tie up so its not really as necessary or likely. They're pretty cool about shit like that so if we were tied up in Morgan City, Louisianna like we were earlier this year not doing anything you could just talk to the security and the office and they'd probably check IDs and escourt em in. Because this company has its own security guards and gate guards. Never really thought about that though. They've also got their own private jet. I only got to fly on it once though when I first started, it was the first time I went to mexico. Shit threw me off. I have never flown on a private jet before.

I was gonna take my little brother to go see a ship like mine tied up in pensacola that my friend was working on (and tried to recruit me to) to show him what its like and what the ships look like but he's a 17 year old little shithead and doesn't care about anything yet. He wants to come out here when he's 18 though so he'll see it then I guess.
 
Edit: My old captain that just quit to go work somewhere else got fired from another company for letting the chief mate's family come and stay the weekend with him. Dude is a very good man, he never even told me that I just found out when I was taking a Helicopter Landing Operator course and happened to be in the class with a guy that worked with him.

Honestly I know I'm just talking and talking and no one else probably cares but this shit is honestly really interesting. And it sucks seeing TV shows like Whale Wars and Deadliest Catch because thats the amature side of the spectrum. They don't even show our half, really there are so many different sides to it. Cultures blending together, shiphandling, humor, drama its all there. The only person onboard that actually practices seamanship on those fishing vessels are the captains. And whale wars is fucking aweful. Oh my god they are so aweful.
 
Whale wars is a running joke in the industry because that captain is not a captain and all of those "officers" and "deckhands" are alot of inexperienced PEDA sympathizers that got nothing better to do than fuck with japanese fishermen trying to make a living. Yeah, you could say the shit is immoral but that is a political battle not some fat assholes personal vendetta. Actually, when I took a Fast Rescue Boat class: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lifeboat_(rescue)
 
The teacher (and I am 90% sure he isn't the only one) used a whale wars clip where they flipped and wrecked a FRC while trying to lower it into the water and use it. This clip is pretty famous if you look it up on youtubes "whale wars rescue boat" or "whale wars FRC" it should come right up. This is the most basic of seamanship practices and these fucking morons could not figure it out and almost killed themselves and damaged their vessel. If you watch it almost everything they do is wrong and stupid.
 
Btw I learned on the 15-25 ft ones but I could steer any of the single, jet, or duel stroke engine versions if I got an hour or two to look at it. Dude taught me how to pivot that fucker on a dime. Like I can litterally spin one of those things around 360 degrees its so awesome. And run it up against another boat and keep speed so you can jump from boat to boat (yes they actually let us do that shit). Fucking class was the best I ever took that shit was so fun.
 
Like I been saying though we've even been through four monsoons in a row outside of Madagascar (where we had that shellback cerimony with all the dudes dressing up funny if anyone remembers). I've had my chief mate (now captain) punch a copcar in South Africa while drunk as fuck and then argue with the guy about it like (who the fuck are you to tell me not to punch your copcar) and almost get locked up abroad over it. The captain that quit had to get dragged back to the ship because he was so drunk he couldn't walk and when he saw the people carrying him in mcdermott uniforms he was all fucked up asking them if he'd met them at the bar. When I first started a mexican welder died because he ran out of diabetic medication and didn't tell anyone because he didn't want to get sent home (he was providing for his family). I was actually there helping with the helicopter and my boss and some other guys had to carry him to the helicopter but he didn't make it to the hospital in time.
 
thats some real shit, not captain mcdouchebag and his crew of jolly good suicidal morons.

PMEX, the company we're working for right now in mexico. Its short for Petroleum Mexico, they're a government owned and operated organization that owns all of the natural gas resources in mexico and mexico's share of the gulf of mexico.

What you probably don't hear very often is mexico is actually filthy fucking rich when it comes to oil. They own and operate I'm going to guess hundreds of oil rigs because I was looking and counting them all when I was coming in a helicopter for the first time. Heres something I'm pretty sure none of you have ever heard. PMEX owns mexico. PMEX owns the government, the police, and the military. Guess what else? Pmex also owns the drug cartel, pmex is the drug cartel. That sick; indiscriminately killing behind the scenes group of mass murderers. The mexican people know that and alot of us have learned that through them but nobody can do shit about it or will do shit about it. We don't like the fact that we work for pmex but its work and we have to do it. Now the people that actually work for pmex that are pmex are just like you and me, trying to make a living. But the people that run that shit and own that shit, they got their hands in some dirt.

Right now in Veracruz and Alkamira(sp?) the police are all being fired by a section of the military because of their corruption. And the military has temporarily taken over. The mexicans tell me that theres supposed to be an election soon but from what I understand it doesn't really matter because they're elections are much worse then ours they either get to vote for cartel or cartel or they can go and vote independently for the cartel and see the cartel win the election.
 
Edit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_78o4RFwTM
 
This is the clip of the whale wars fuckup I was talking about. Nobody actually died that guy didn't know what he was talkin' about. We do this all the time with half the people and that boat doesn't swing.....at all....
 
Theres supposed to be a line coming off the bow of the small boat onto the ship to guide its bow in the same direction of the ship. To keep its heading into the seas. Its called a seapainter. They didn't use one because they're fucking dumb. Also, we never use a seapainter either and still don't have that problem. They're booming the boat up too fast to begin with and the guys holding the ropes are supposed to keep it still not pull on it.

ron 'cartel' paul 2012

ahem....*cough...and this is why I'm gonna be a 23 year old bosun
 
If theres anymore questions or people wanna talk about this extensively I could just post more in seperate topic I think I got a few more things I could mention. But you'd prolly have to ask questions to jog my memory because alot of this is routine stuff for me and its kind of like waking up or taking a piss to me. Sometimes I forget that other people don't know about this stuff.
 
Also please refrain from hotlinking the pmex thing to reddit or something along those lines. I don't care if you paraphrase it or whatever its just A) the cartel has a habit of finding and killing people that speak out about them even in the states (usually only mexicans though I don't think they'd bother with lil whitebread sailor boy) and B) I'm technically workin for PMEX right now and I don't wanna get fired or sent home for spillin they secrets. Although its not really a secret I'm sure you could find this shit if you looked for it.

And yes they could possibly do that. We're not allowed to take pictures out here with cameras because -------------------------------------------------------------- well lets just say they aren't as "clean and efficient" as we are.
 
 
Actually here you go: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PEMEX
 
its actually "Pemex" but that link pretty much says what I said in a more specific and polite manner. They're crooks. They're president is a crook. They sell stolen oil. Oil that belongs to the people.

yo that's some fucked up shit/that's cool that you trust us that much enough and i like learning about this stuff but maybe it's a bit too risky to talk about these things?? there's no definitive line in this but in general companies never like when you say anything about them and in some more unprotected/jobs that don't have unions you can just get fired just by mentioning a little about your personal work to somebody else inside the company or something along those lines. i might be making too broad of a generalization though so i guess it's up to one's consideration (obv).

you think that's bad? the libertarian mafia are gonna come and break my kneecaps

why? what did you do? ask them to be conservative?

nah serously what did you do?

yo that's some fucked up shit/that's cool that you trust us that much enough and i like learning about this stuff but maybe it's a bit too risky to talk about these things?? there's no definitive line in this but in general companies never like when you say anything about them and in some more unprotected/jobs that don't have unions you can just get fired just by mentioning a little about your personal work to somebody else inside the company or something along those lines. i might be making too broad of a generalization though so i guess it's up to one's consideration (obv).

You might be right but I work for my company thats working for them. We actually talk about this shit all the time and I'm pretty much posting it privately. I understand people could find this but I'd just delete the shit and deny it if I had to. I don't think it would ever come to that. I'm not posting to some news sourse or talking to any kind of reporter so its not like I'm publically defacing them. And like I said if you read the link it says the exact same shit on wikipedia. So all you'd have to do is google the name and find out. Plus its not really a company I'm talking about, Pemex is state owned and operated so its a sect of the mexican government I'm talking about.

also if they really wanted to fire me over that, oh well. I'm actually getting paid pretty low in this field and I could go anywhere else and make more money. The reason I don't is because I like the people here and they're gonna help me become an officer. Lol when I was home I had four different companies try to hire me; My friend in pensacola, Crowley when I went to school, the guy that originally interviewed me, and my boss who just quit. So its not like I'd be hurting and honestly it would be good to know if something like that could actually happen to me for voicing my opinion because then that means this job would not be worth my loyalty.
 
Edit: also we'll be done with pemex in a couple of weeks and moving on to other things anyways. We already got this contract with them and after that we're not working for them (for the time being). Like I've been saying I love the mexican people and even pemex (the people in it I know). One pemex guy actually took a picture of me working yesterday to use for some of their shit. He told me what it was but I was near a gantry crane and couldn't make out what he was saying. I think he did it because the mexicans on here admire and respect me. I talk to them in their language (the little bit I know) help them out whenever I can, I teach them about the states and they teach me about mexico. I can feel those dudes watching me when I walk around and work. At first its kind of humbling because I don't like people staring at my ass but I understand why they do it. I guess to them it a good sign, a young open minded american is hard to find nowadays and I don't think they've ever seen one like me.

but yeah like I said, no real evidence of what I'm saying. Word of mouth and wiki. I'm following their rules I'm not taking pictures, they never said shit about me talking about what I learn out here. Just like when I worked for the navy. I had a security clearance but it was for logistical information. Not against the fact that the US navy spends millions and millions of dollars on battle groups and subchasers in the yellow sea with some kind of mini cold-war with N. korea and china.
 
 
The medic that was onboard here last time before I was at home taught me that. He worked for a security company (a rival of blackwater) and would show me all kinds of pictures and tell me all kinds of shit I never heard. Like about how we never pulled out of iraq they just hired the same soldiers that were there leaving the military into those security companies and are still working over there right now. And a little bit more about the cartel problem (he's also a border agent sometimes). When I asked him if it was ok to share that information he pretty much said, "who the fuck am I? Can you prove anything I'm saying? No, but you should prolly keep it in mind ;)". Coolest cop I have ever met.

No he used to be in the military as a medic and worked for the security force as a medic. I've never met a cop that would specifically refuse patrol because he doesn't believe in how we handle alot of drug laws and doesn't want to be bothered with the shit. The guy personally is more into it for the fact that he can save lives and is putting himself through college to get a doctorate so he doesn't have to do that shit anymore.  Also even with the security force itself. Yes you can say their involvement in iraq is evil but that same security force is hired to do border work in mexico/arizona to fight the drug cartel and protect civilians and they do a good job of it.

Like I told you before dude, make no assumptions because you can't know everything. I still make no assumptions except one, the man I spoke to was a truly good person and believed in a greater good. You don't see very many people like that.
 
When I say he's a cop. The guy is a sheriff when he's at home, medic for ships sometimes, and medic for security companies. He liked being over here and the whole shipping experience but he was acting like it wasn't enough money. He was looking at going back to Kabul before I left so thats where he is I guess? I think he wished he could do something "innocent" like what I do, but I think he's got his mind set on some particular goals and needs more money to accomplish that.

oh no PMCs shoot them snake

are you being serious about the sex change thing or are you just yanking my chain?

i'm yanking your chain

konix still posts here as a certain user who enjoys being a snarky dick....................................

k'nex

so xonix didn't get a sex change? she just changed names and became a snarcky dick and instead was always a woman?

ok fair enough, mystery solved, I would say, time for the next one.... but i can't be arsed.