tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7948387925751404787.post6022193182202023399..comments2023-07-12T06:28:46.060-04:00Comments on US Coast Guard Prevention Blog: Rivermen’s LingoCoast Guardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15240905169868727682noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7948387925751404787.post-23642958135244722362009-10-26T17:52:14.322-04:002009-10-26T17:52:14.322-04:00A few points, if I may:
1. "If one uses the...A few points, if I may:<br /><br />1. "If one uses the term “bridge” on the rivers, the rivermen will be looking for a structure that spans a waterway, such as a highway or railway bridge." <br />- Are you kidding? Does the USCG really have this much contempt for "rivermen" as you call these people?<br /><br />2. "A “contract” is usually reserved for deep-draft vessels, when a mariner signs a contract to serve on a vessel for a specified period of time."<br /> - The term "contract" has not been used for many, many years on blue water or any other vessels. You might as well have said "signing articles". I wonder if anyone in the USCG even knows what that means.<br /><br />3. "On the coast, mariners do not use the term wheel, unless occasionally referring to the helm. Coastal mariners call the fan-like devices that move the vessel along by lift created when the angled blades turn in the water as the “propellers” or “screws.”" <br /> - Oh really, I think someone forgot to tell the mariners on the "coast" this. And which coast do you mean; east, west, gulf?<br /><br />4. As for your unique terms section: Acorn float - hasn't been used in 50 years or more; After watch/forward watch - don't tell the tugboat guys they can't use a "towboat" term; Bull roaster - really?; Chasin' frogs - again, really?; Clorox bottle raise - I spoke to several contemporaries in the industry and no one has ever heard this term.<br /><br />Do you wonder why few if any people read this blog? Above is why. I have only been in this wonderful industry 15 years and am now a shoreside manager, but I am still amazed at how Mariners are sometimes treated.<br /><br />Modern Merchant Mariners are not stupid, hicks, nor uneducated; stop treating them like they are. And guess what? Some of us even graduated from college! That's right; some even hold Master's degrees. What's next, some of us move out of our trailers and into a "brick house"?<br /><br />As long as Merchant Mariners continue to allow the stereotypical views held of us to be propagated by our "partners" in the industry (that means you USCG), we will continue to be viewed this way. Again, the above is a perfect example. <br /><br />I understand this was a reprint of an article, I’ve read it several times before. But that actually makes it more difficult for me to understand why it was posted in this blog. I was glad when this blog was spread around more freely several months ago. But this is just too much; sometimes not posting something for filler is better than the opposite.<br /><br />RCSAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com