There's not much to tell about last week. We arrived on Sunday, unpacked and went to the bar ( though not necessarily in that order). In the mornings we have a delightful thing called muster, which involves standing outside in our uniform at 8:30 every weekday morning for the first four weeks, hurrah...
The rest of last week was filled with lots of introductory lectures and being told to not do this, but make sure you do that, remember this and don't forget to bring that. Lots of common sense things and a fun chat from our local friendly PCSO about the many things that cadets in the past have gotten up to, that didn't exactly further their careers.
The week was getting pretty tedious by the end, but thankfully on Friday it was time for something completely different: How Not To Be Seen - Paintballing Edition. The entire phase all went into the forest for a day, and proceeded to shoot anything and everything that moved, occasionally including each other. The day was really good fun, involving lots of different game types like capture the flag, bridge assault, and fort assault which ended in a nice big bang after you flicked some switches in the right order inside a bunker. Smoke and frag grenades certainly add an extra dimension of fun, just make sure you don't fall on your frag grenades like I did, resulting in your pockets being filled with lots of brown pellets!
At the weekend the watersports centre really excelled themselves with taster sessions for: keelboating, kayaking, dinghy sailing and jet skiing. Naturally I just had to give them a go. Jet skiing was definitely a highlight, and I will definitely be looking at doing a PWC (Personal Water Craft) course soon; probably shortly after pay day :)
Thankfully proper lectures started today (although muster is still unfortunately in existence). Today we had Ship Stability, followed by Celestial Navigation, Lunch, and Tides. It was nice to finally get my teeth into some maths again after a 4 year hiatus, even if it was basically just formula transposition.
See if you can manage this.
A ship's displacement is equal to its underwater volume x water density
displacement = underwater volume x water density
If a box shaped barge has a length of 50m, a beam (width) of 8m, and a draft (depth underwater) of 2m, what is its displacement in salt water? Salt water density is 1025kg/m3 or 1.025t/m3
A ship's displacement is 615t. Its length is 40m and it's beam is 6m, calculate its draft in salt water.
Answers will be posted next time :)
Monday, 16 September 2013
Friday, 6 September 2013
Not long now
Hello people. I'm finally about to start at Warsash Maritime Academy on Monday. It's been a strange 12 months or so what with deciding upon a new and completely different career. It felt so strange to have not even finished my degree before having an alternative career lined up. Motivating myself to practise for my Final Recital suddenly became very difficult, and it all seemed so irrelevant. Anyway, that's all done and I'm glad I did work hard for it, otherwise I would have been extremely disappointed in myself.
I also played in my first and last professional orchestra concert a couple of weeks ago with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. It was a truly fantastic experience, and a great way to leave the music industry on a high note (or low in the case of the double bass...). Now that that's behind me I can really focus on my future ahead and I just can't wait to get started.
I'm in the process of packing at the moment. It's tricky because I just moved out of London to go back home for a week, and so I have to unpack everything and wash it, then pack it all up again to move down to Warsash without forgetting anything. I now have to decide really just how much I need as I can't get a lift and have to take the train. Somehow I don't think I'll be needing the hammock, but questions like how much watersports kit to bring down are a bit trickier. Will I need the drysuit or just a couple of layers? It's all in piles on the spare bed, but I have a feeling none of it will get packed until Saturday night just before I go to bed and spend the whole night staring at the ceiling, not sleeping.
I'm puppy-sitting for my sister today, which means that I can't really do much or go out, but I also can't go upstairs and leave him on his own. So I can't really do much that's actually useful, hence the blog post :p I've already had three play fights today and his 'mummy' isn't due back for another 4 hours. I'm not sure how I'll keep him occupied. I hope he likes watching Family Guy because I think that's what I'll do for a bit.
Adios
I also played in my first and last professional orchestra concert a couple of weeks ago with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. It was a truly fantastic experience, and a great way to leave the music industry on a high note (or low in the case of the double bass...). Now that that's behind me I can really focus on my future ahead and I just can't wait to get started.
I'm in the process of packing at the moment. It's tricky because I just moved out of London to go back home for a week, and so I have to unpack everything and wash it, then pack it all up again to move down to Warsash without forgetting anything. I now have to decide really just how much I need as I can't get a lift and have to take the train. Somehow I don't think I'll be needing the hammock, but questions like how much watersports kit to bring down are a bit trickier. Will I need the drysuit or just a couple of layers? It's all in piles on the spare bed, but I have a feeling none of it will get packed until Saturday night just before I go to bed and spend the whole night staring at the ceiling, not sleeping.
I'm puppy-sitting for my sister today, which means that I can't really do much or go out, but I also can't go upstairs and leave him on his own. So I can't really do much that's actually useful, hence the blog post :p I've already had three play fights today and his 'mummy' isn't due back for another 4 hours. I'm not sure how I'll keep him occupied. I hope he likes watching Family Guy because I think that's what I'll do for a bit.
Adios
Thursday, 15 August 2013
BBC Prom
Hello chaps and chappesses,
Just a quick post to say that I'll be playing in the Proms on Saturday with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment at 19:30. We had the first rehearsal today and it's sounding brilliant. Do come along if you're in London, or tune into Radio 3 if not.
If you're popping along, read the "Promming on the day for £5" instructions as pre-sold tickets have sold out.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/proms/whats-on/2013/august-17/14630
Friday, 9 August 2013
Apply Now...
So you want to be an Officer Cadet? Good on you. There are a few things you'll need to know first, though. First of all, it's no use applying to a college for a place; that's not how it works. Instead, what you do is find yourself a sponsor company, and they will decide which college you go to. You can of course tell them you have a preference, but ultimately they're paying the fees and so they get to say where you go.
Secondly, competition is fierce, extremely fierce. As an example, Oxbridge have about 5 applicants per place, my current university has about 8-10 applicants per place and is considered one of the hardest institutions to get into. The companies and training organisations that I applied to, have between 25 and 30 applicants per place! This is quite understandable when you consider that the course is fully sponsored, meaning you don't have to rack up a student debt paying 9k/year for tuition. However, as nice as this is, it does make your task a little harder. You need to stick out from the crowd, show that you're different from the other 29 people going for your place.
To stick out from the crowd, you can't just rely on decent grades. Of course they help, but you're not going to be the only one with good grades. What you really need to do is show that you know what you're letting yourself in for, that you really want to do it, and you're not going to drop out the first time you have to clean a rubbish room (yep, room full of rubbish). The sponsor companies are going to be spending a lot of money on training you, so they want to make sure you're going to stick it out.
If you were in Sea Cadets, Scouts or anything of that nature, then this is your moment to shine. Life at sea is difficult and challenging. Clubs like Sea Cadets and Scouts will be excellent preparation for this, as they will give you opportunities to overcome challenges and obstacles, develop teamwork and leadership skills, and show determination and tenacity. If you were in the Sea Cadets for 6 or 7 years, they'll have more confidence that you'll complete an entire cadetship than someone who did it for a year and then gave up. Dedicated participation in a sport or sports will also help for the same reasons. Becoming competitive and skilled at a sport requires years of dedication and determination, and will be sure to help you on your way. Be sure to have evidence of achievements: team photos and records of competitions, or photos from Scout expeditions or trips on a tall ship with Sea Cadets. Without evidence it's just words.
You also need to do some research. The easiest way to start this is by asking any family or friends you may have that are or were in the Merchant Navy. They are best placed to be able to give you personal and honest advice. They'll also be guaranteed to have some great stories! If like me you don't have any family in the MN (and didn't know about friends in the MN before applying), then you're going to have to look elsewhere. A good place to start looking is the Merchant Navy Training Board website, and the Careers at Sea website. This is full of useful information about the Merchant Navy and the career you could be about to embark upon. Read up on the different roles (deck, engine, or electro technical), courses (HNC/HND or Foundation Degree), and the many different areas you could end up working in (cruise, bulk cargo, container, tankers, offshore, and the rest). You should then watch the videos (this is my favourite because the music is hilarious, although this one is probably more informative...), read the 'life at sea' stories from cadets and officers, and even play the games! I don't think there's anything on that site that I didn't read.
Open Days are a great way of getting to know a bit more about the industry. Plus, you'll find a lot of sponsor companies will have representatives there, and so you can get some inside info on what they're looking for, or why you might not have received a reply to an application etc. Open days are also good fun, as the colleges often put on a events like fire-fighting demonstrations and sometimes the local coastguard does an exercise demonstration as well! The main colleges are Warsash Maritime Academy (Southampton area), Fleetwood Nautical Campus (Blackpool area), South Shields Marine School (Newcastle area), and City of Glasgow College (Take-a-guess area). Between these four, there should be an Open Day near you in the not too distant future.
I found reading blogs from current cadets and officers really helped me grasp what it was that I was thinking of doing. One of my particular favourites is The Mariner. He has a shiny brand-new website with handily organised posts, including a whole section dedicated to training and what to expect. I highly recommend you read it, not least because it's a lot more interesting than mine! He also has some really fantastic pictures and videos, especially from his time in the Antarctic. This is my favourite. Another good blog to read, especially for the girls looking for a role model is Salt and Cider. Some cracking stories and pictures again.
Perhaps the greatest research tool of all though, is the forum Officercadet.com. It's full of really great questions, answers and advice from aspiring cadets, current cadets, serving and retired officers. You can ask questions and get answers with relative anonymity as long as you don't use your name as a username. Without the help I had from some of the members, I seriously doubt that I would be as fortunate as I am in having a place from Maersk - my first choice of sponsor company. A word of advice though, use the search function before you dive straight in and ask a question that's already been answered. Feel free to say hello though, and if you do have a question that you can't find the answer to, post away and there will be someone along very quickly to answer it.
All this research now starts to become useful. The whole point of it is to gain an idea of what life at sea is really like. This is exactly what a sponsor company is looking for: someone who knows what they're letting themselves in for. Now we can use your newly acquired knowledge to tailor your CV.
You'll have to wait for CV tips as this post is already way too long. Ta ta for now!
Secondly, competition is fierce, extremely fierce. As an example, Oxbridge have about 5 applicants per place, my current university has about 8-10 applicants per place and is considered one of the hardest institutions to get into. The companies and training organisations that I applied to, have between 25 and 30 applicants per place! This is quite understandable when you consider that the course is fully sponsored, meaning you don't have to rack up a student debt paying 9k/year for tuition. However, as nice as this is, it does make your task a little harder. You need to stick out from the crowd, show that you're different from the other 29 people going for your place.
To stick out from the crowd, you can't just rely on decent grades. Of course they help, but you're not going to be the only one with good grades. What you really need to do is show that you know what you're letting yourself in for, that you really want to do it, and you're not going to drop out the first time you have to clean a rubbish room (yep, room full of rubbish). The sponsor companies are going to be spending a lot of money on training you, so they want to make sure you're going to stick it out.
If you were in Sea Cadets, Scouts or anything of that nature, then this is your moment to shine. Life at sea is difficult and challenging. Clubs like Sea Cadets and Scouts will be excellent preparation for this, as they will give you opportunities to overcome challenges and obstacles, develop teamwork and leadership skills, and show determination and tenacity. If you were in the Sea Cadets for 6 or 7 years, they'll have more confidence that you'll complete an entire cadetship than someone who did it for a year and then gave up. Dedicated participation in a sport or sports will also help for the same reasons. Becoming competitive and skilled at a sport requires years of dedication and determination, and will be sure to help you on your way. Be sure to have evidence of achievements: team photos and records of competitions, or photos from Scout expeditions or trips on a tall ship with Sea Cadets. Without evidence it's just words.
You also need to do some research. The easiest way to start this is by asking any family or friends you may have that are or were in the Merchant Navy. They are best placed to be able to give you personal and honest advice. They'll also be guaranteed to have some great stories! If like me you don't have any family in the MN (and didn't know about friends in the MN before applying), then you're going to have to look elsewhere. A good place to start looking is the Merchant Navy Training Board website, and the Careers at Sea website. This is full of useful information about the Merchant Navy and the career you could be about to embark upon. Read up on the different roles (deck, engine, or electro technical), courses (HNC/HND or Foundation Degree), and the many different areas you could end up working in (cruise, bulk cargo, container, tankers, offshore, and the rest). You should then watch the videos (this is my favourite because the music is hilarious, although this one is probably more informative...), read the 'life at sea' stories from cadets and officers, and even play the games! I don't think there's anything on that site that I didn't read.
Open Days are a great way of getting to know a bit more about the industry. Plus, you'll find a lot of sponsor companies will have representatives there, and so you can get some inside info on what they're looking for, or why you might not have received a reply to an application etc. Open days are also good fun, as the colleges often put on a events like fire-fighting demonstrations and sometimes the local coastguard does an exercise demonstration as well! The main colleges are Warsash Maritime Academy (Southampton area), Fleetwood Nautical Campus (Blackpool area), South Shields Marine School (Newcastle area), and City of Glasgow College (Take-a-guess area). Between these four, there should be an Open Day near you in the not too distant future.
I found reading blogs from current cadets and officers really helped me grasp what it was that I was thinking of doing. One of my particular favourites is The Mariner. He has a shiny brand-new website with handily organised posts, including a whole section dedicated to training and what to expect. I highly recommend you read it, not least because it's a lot more interesting than mine! He also has some really fantastic pictures and videos, especially from his time in the Antarctic. This is my favourite. Another good blog to read, especially for the girls looking for a role model is Salt and Cider. Some cracking stories and pictures again.
Perhaps the greatest research tool of all though, is the forum Officercadet.com. It's full of really great questions, answers and advice from aspiring cadets, current cadets, serving and retired officers. You can ask questions and get answers with relative anonymity as long as you don't use your name as a username. Without the help I had from some of the members, I seriously doubt that I would be as fortunate as I am in having a place from Maersk - my first choice of sponsor company. A word of advice though, use the search function before you dive straight in and ask a question that's already been answered. Feel free to say hello though, and if you do have a question that you can't find the answer to, post away and there will be someone along very quickly to answer it.
All this research now starts to become useful. The whole point of it is to gain an idea of what life at sea is really like. This is exactly what a sponsor company is looking for: someone who knows what they're letting themselves in for. Now we can use your newly acquired knowledge to tailor your CV.
You'll have to wait for CV tips as this post is already way too long. Ta ta for now!
Wednesday, 19 June 2013
Adventures in the Netherlands
I had a week in Holland a couple of weeks ago, and I thought I might share a few photos with you. I took the ferry across, and even managed to get up onto the bridge for 20 minutes to have a chat with the 2nd Officer and the Master which was great.
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| Stena Britannica |
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| Maersk Tukang |
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| Looking back at Harwich and Felixstowe |
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| Harwich Haven Pilot Boat passing our stern |
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| Harwich Haven Pilot Boat passing on our starboard side |
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| Me and the 2nd Officer on the bridge |
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| Phone GPS doesn't work very well 20 metres above sea level. This was taken an hour after departure. The whole trip is about 6 hours long |
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| Mooring Operations |
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| Note the mooring line going under the raised section of deck |
The following pictures are from the National Maritime Museum in Rotterdam. It's well worth a visit if you get the chance. Entry is only 7,50€.
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| The Mataro model dates from the early 15th Century and is the oldest ship model in Western Europe. It is believed to originate from a chapel in the village of Mataro on the caost of Barcelona. Careful scientific investigation of this world-famous object has yielded a wealth of insight into Western European shipbuiling in the late middle ages. |
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| Emma Maersk |
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| Maersk Inverness |
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| Model of the monument to Merchant Seafarers lost in World War Two |
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| The actual monument |
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| I can't actually remember the title or subject of this painting, I just thought it was worth sharing |
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| I must confess a slight love of tall ships |
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| The pirate exhibition had Lego pirates on the ship models. Absolute genius |
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| More cut-throat pirates |
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| Maersk head office for Rotterdam. Unfortunately I didn't have an appointment... |
My friend's Aunt and Uncle have a 35' steel ketch in Zeeland, so naturally a day out on the water was called for
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| My friend's Uncle bought this boat as just a steel hull and built everything apart from the rigging himself from scratch |
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| There are lots of these bridges all over Holland. Even fairly major roads and one or two railway bridges were like this, although I'm not sure the rail bridge lifts anymore |
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| The wind in the morning was pathetic, but by the afternoon we had a good steady blow, and spent the rest of the day with a 30 degree heel |
Eventually it was time to come home. The ferry trip back was very sedate. Unfortunately I missed out on getting a bridge visit as I left it a bit too late and we were approaching land again. I managed to finish my book instead though: The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter. It's well worth a read if you find a copy.
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| Maersk Saigon |
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| Cosco Excellence |
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Saturday, 25 May 2013
Hello and Welcome
I'll start by telling you a little bit about myself and what I'm doing.
I'm currently a final year music student at a music college in London. I've been playing the double bass for around 15 years. About a year or so ago I made the decision that life as a professional musician is not for me. While I still really love playing music, especially orchestral and chamber music, the sacrifices that have to be made are a bit too much for me. All my life I've been told that music is a career for those who are so passionately driven that they couldn't even possibly contemplate doing anything else. I used to think that that was me, but I eventually realised that I can do other things and that not doing music isn't a failure. The impression that those who don't do music, or teach instead of playing in an orchestra, are failures of some kind is a big problem in the music industry; it took me a long time to get over that. If enough people are interested I'll do another post on my thoughts on music as a career in general, the ups and downs, and the reasons people do or don't do it.
So what am I going to do instead? Well you might have guessed from my pseudonym that I'm joining the Merchant Navy. I haven't officially started yet, but come September I will be a Deck Officer Cadet. For those of you who don't know what the Merchant Navy is, then remove all thoughts of the Royal Navy from your head, and instead think: shipping. The Merchant Navy is the collective term for British merchant vessels. This basically means any commercial ship such as: container ships, oil/chemical/gas tankers, ferries, cruise ships, offshore oil rig support vessels, tugs, sightseeing boats, arctic research ships, and many more types of ship, too numerous to name here.
I discovered the Merchant Navy through sailing. I started sailing at university, and found myself really loving it. I did a lot of Team Racing with the university club and some teaching at another sailing club to earn a bit of spending money. I really enjoy the Seamanship aspects of sailing. Seamanship can be briefly described as the attitude that sailors have. It's the ability to do something safely, quickly and calmly, no matter what the conditions. It's being able to use the right tool at the right time such as which knot to tie, or not relying on a GPS for navigation. I spent quite a lot of time looking at tall ships, good looking sailing yachts and the like online when I discovered a link to the Merchant Navy Training Board website. After reading that it wasn't too late to start a career at sea I instantly started looking at applying. I knew immediately that I wanted to be a Deck Officer as, while I do find engines interesting, I particularly enjoy the Seamanship aspects of sailing, and so there was only one choice. I'll talk about the application process in more detail in another post (I meant to keep this one short but that's not going so well...) but after many applications, lots of waiting, and a very exciting letter, I have a place!
For the next 3 years I will be studying to obtain my Certificate of Competency: Deck Officer Of the Watch Unlimited. This studying will be taking place both on land and at sea. There are 5 phases, 3 land and 2 sea, in a sandwich arrangement. The land phases will be spent studying at Warsash Maritime Academy, while the sea phases will be spent onboard the ships of A.P. Moller & Maersk, or just Maersk for short. I'll explain more about the training in another post, and you'll be hearing my first hand experiences on here as I go. When I qualify I will be an Officer Of the Watch and will basically be driving those huge, massive ships you see out at sea! It's really a very exciting prospect and I can't wait to start. September just can't come quickly enough.
I'll leave you with an explanation of the name of the blog. One of my favourite nautical pieces is a piece called Four Sea Interludes by Benjamin Britten. It's a suite of interludes from his opera Peter Grimes. Since my blog posts will be like interludes from my training I thought the name appropriately nautical and musical to reflect my interests. Oh and hopefully I will be going to sea more than four times...
I'm currently a final year music student at a music college in London. I've been playing the double bass for around 15 years. About a year or so ago I made the decision that life as a professional musician is not for me. While I still really love playing music, especially orchestral and chamber music, the sacrifices that have to be made are a bit too much for me. All my life I've been told that music is a career for those who are so passionately driven that they couldn't even possibly contemplate doing anything else. I used to think that that was me, but I eventually realised that I can do other things and that not doing music isn't a failure. The impression that those who don't do music, or teach instead of playing in an orchestra, are failures of some kind is a big problem in the music industry; it took me a long time to get over that. If enough people are interested I'll do another post on my thoughts on music as a career in general, the ups and downs, and the reasons people do or don't do it.
So what am I going to do instead? Well you might have guessed from my pseudonym that I'm joining the Merchant Navy. I haven't officially started yet, but come September I will be a Deck Officer Cadet. For those of you who don't know what the Merchant Navy is, then remove all thoughts of the Royal Navy from your head, and instead think: shipping. The Merchant Navy is the collective term for British merchant vessels. This basically means any commercial ship such as: container ships, oil/chemical/gas tankers, ferries, cruise ships, offshore oil rig support vessels, tugs, sightseeing boats, arctic research ships, and many more types of ship, too numerous to name here.
I discovered the Merchant Navy through sailing. I started sailing at university, and found myself really loving it. I did a lot of Team Racing with the university club and some teaching at another sailing club to earn a bit of spending money. I really enjoy the Seamanship aspects of sailing. Seamanship can be briefly described as the attitude that sailors have. It's the ability to do something safely, quickly and calmly, no matter what the conditions. It's being able to use the right tool at the right time such as which knot to tie, or not relying on a GPS for navigation. I spent quite a lot of time looking at tall ships, good looking sailing yachts and the like online when I discovered a link to the Merchant Navy Training Board website. After reading that it wasn't too late to start a career at sea I instantly started looking at applying. I knew immediately that I wanted to be a Deck Officer as, while I do find engines interesting, I particularly enjoy the Seamanship aspects of sailing, and so there was only one choice. I'll talk about the application process in more detail in another post (I meant to keep this one short but that's not going so well...) but after many applications, lots of waiting, and a very exciting letter, I have a place!
For the next 3 years I will be studying to obtain my Certificate of Competency: Deck Officer Of the Watch Unlimited. This studying will be taking place both on land and at sea. There are 5 phases, 3 land and 2 sea, in a sandwich arrangement. The land phases will be spent studying at Warsash Maritime Academy, while the sea phases will be spent onboard the ships of A.P. Moller & Maersk, or just Maersk for short. I'll explain more about the training in another post, and you'll be hearing my first hand experiences on here as I go. When I qualify I will be an Officer Of the Watch and will basically be driving those huge, massive ships you see out at sea! It's really a very exciting prospect and I can't wait to start. September just can't come quickly enough.
I'll leave you with an explanation of the name of the blog. One of my favourite nautical pieces is a piece called Four Sea Interludes by Benjamin Britten. It's a suite of interludes from his opera Peter Grimes. Since my blog posts will be like interludes from my training I thought the name appropriately nautical and musical to reflect my interests. Oh and hopefully I will be going to sea more than four times...
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