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 Change                                                                                   (posted 1/25/12)

Sometimes change is for the better, sometimes it’s not. But one thing is
for sure, change in life is not a choice, it’s inevitable. I’ve been officiating
wedding ceremonies for almost 10 years now, and I’ve seen many major
changes in the wedding industry. DJ’s went from spinning records, to CD’s
and mp3 files. Photographers were going through roll after roll of film not
being able to see their work until they got the film developed. Now with digital photography, that has all changed. Brides of today are quite different today
than they were in the past. They’re able to find venders and services, and
look at wedding venues by way of the internet, using their laptops or
smartphones. You can Google just about anything these days and get
information almost instantly. Technology is always changing, but from a
business point of view, it’s adapting to these changes that will make the
difference between success and failure. I’m basically still “old school”.
I don’t own a cell phone and I don’t use a debit card. But I recently
purchased an iPad and I’ve started using it in my wedding ceremonies,
and the responses that I’ve been getting from brides and grooms has been
amazing. Change can be exhilarating for some, and discomforting for
others, but the fact is, it is necessary in our world.

As Bob Dylan once sang: 
                         
                                    “You better start swimmin'
                                      Or you'll sink like a stone
                                For the times they are a-changin'.”

Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes                 (posted 9/30/10) 

Everytime I listen to this classic Jimmy Buffet song, it reminds me so much of my 40 year career in the Merchant Marines with all my travelling and meeting of so many different people. Check out the lyrics....

I took off for a weekend last month
Just to try and recall the whole year
All of the faces and all of the places
Wonderin where they all disappeared
I didn't ponder the question too long
I was hungry and went out for a bite
Ran into a chum with a bottle of rum
And we wound up drinkin all night

Chorus:
Its these changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes
Nothing remains quite the same
With all of our running and all of our cunning
If we couldn't laugh we would all go insane

Reading departure signs in some big airport
Reminds me of the places Ive been
Visions of good times that brought so much pleasure
Makes me want to go back again
If it suddenly ended tomorrow
I could somehow adjust to the fall
Good times and riches and son of a bitches
I’ve seen more than I can recall

(Chorus)

I think about Paris when I’m high on red wine
I wish I could jump on a plane
So many nights I just dream of the ocean
God, I wish I was sailin again
Oh, yesterday's over my shoulder
So I can't look back for too long
There's just too much to see waiting in front of me
And I know that I just can't go wrong

(Chorus)

Keeping Fit                                                                             (posted 1/15/10) 

                                  

I've found one of the biggest challenges of retired life is keeping fit and staying healthy. After all, you can't really enjoy retirement without your health. I try to work out at least 3 times a week, watch my diet, and get regular check-ups with my doctors. Its a long cold winter living in Massachusetts and it's so easy to let yourself go. But golf season will be here before we know it and I want to be ready. Plus, I need to be able to fit in my Captain's uniform for those Spring weddings that I've booked.

Captain Richard Phillips                                                      (posted 12/09/09) 

I recently had the pleasure of meeting Capt. Richard Phillips at the New England Sea Services 31st Annual Holiday Ball honoring the U.S. Merchant Marine, held at Anthony's Pier 4 in Boston. Capt. Phillips, Master of the MV Maersk Alabama, was thrust into the international spotlight when four pirates attacked his ship in the Indian Ocean off Somalia on April 8, 2009. The Maersk Alabama crew of 19 thwarted a takeover, but the pirates took Phillips hostage on a lifeboat. He was rescued April 12 by a team of Navy Seals and the USS Bainbridge.

The Boys of the Bronx                                                     (posted 11/30/09) 

                              

Last month I returned to the place where my maritime career began, Pennyfield Avenue in the Bronx, New York, the home of SUNY Maritime College. I attended the 40th reunion of the Class of 1969. It was great reminiscing with my classmates and participating in all the festivities which culminated with a wonderful dinner cruise around Manhattan Island.

Atlantis                                                                                       (posted 8/1/09)

                    

After spending nearly half my life on board Atlantis Research Vessels, I thought it may be nice to spend a few days at the other Atlantis; the Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island in the Bahamas. My wife and I spent a wonderful vacation there with so much to do. There's water slides, river rides, snorkeling, swimming pools, and beautiful white sandy beaches. There's an amazing aquarium called "The Dig", and a Dolphin Cay where you can actually swim with the dolphins. There's a huge casino and plenty of great restaurants. Check it out at Atlantis.com

Retired                                                                                       (posted 5/15/09)

How does it feel to be retired?

I feel like I just sank a 50 foot putt to win the U.S. Open......in a sudden death playoff.

Yes, after 40 years of going to sea, I decided enough is enough, and I rang up FWE (Finished With Engines). Will I miss it? Maybe a little. I know I’ll miss some of

the great people I’ve had the pleasure to work with and the great ports I’ve visited over the years. Already I miss some of my close shipmates that I’ve considered as my 2^nd family while I was away from home.

Some people measure the success of their careers by their accomplishments. I like to look at things a little differently. I measure my success by what didn’t happen.

Here’s my list of non-events that never happened during my sea-going career:

I never had a collision with another ship, never hit a bridge or an iceberg, or a whale, never went aground or spilled any significant amount of oil into the ocean or into a harbor. My ship was never boarded by pirates or terrorists, never had a bomb scare, or a stowaway on board. I was always able to steer clear of major hurricanes; never had to deal with a "perfect storm", and never was hit by a "rogue wave". Never had a major fire or explosion on board, never had to call a “Mayday”, never had to abandon ship, never had anyone fall overboard. The safety of my crew was always my main concern. We had our share of injuries & illneses, but nothing major; no one ever died on my watch. Never failed a Coast Guard Exam, or  Coast Guard Inspection, in fact, my license was never cited by the Coast Guard for any violation. It’s nice when the U.S. Coast Guard doesn’t remember your name.

I guess you can say I had a pretty boring career, or maybe I was just a bit lucky. But don’t get me wrong; it almost always seemed that there was never a dull moment. Life on board for the ship’s captain can be very stressful at times, and that part I won’t be missing.

So what will I be doing in my retirement? Anything I want, I guess. Of course I’ll be able to perform a lot more wedding ceremonies and I’ll surely be spending more time with my grandsons Jack & Jay, maybe book a tee time now and then, and go for long rides on my lawnmower. Nothing too stressful, I guarantee it. I guess the biggest decision I’ll have to make will be whether to use my six iron, or my hybrid five.

                                     

                                               Jack & Jay

The Pirates of Somalia                                                        (posted 4/21/09)

Welcome home Captain Richard Phillips and the crew of the Maersk Alabama

following their amazing recent ordeal off the coast of Somalia. And congratulations to the U.S. Navy Seals that brought this situation to a quick end with 3 precision shots.

Piracy off the Somali coast has been a threat to international shipping since the beginning of Somalia's civil war in the early 1990s. Finally it has been brought into public attention.

I’ve been asked many time during my career, “are there really still pirates out there?” My answer is “you bet there are.” But they’re nothing like the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' and cute little Johnny Depp. Somalia's pirates tote AK-47's and RPG rockets, chew the narcotic shrub qat, use satellite cell phones for their negotiations, and are just about the only people in strife-ravaged Somalia these days who have a regular job. Somalia's pirates have shown an amazing ability to board underway vessels in the dark, which is like trying to climb a wet, oily six-story building moving at 15.5 miles per hour with ropes and ladders.

The Straits of Malacca between Singapore and Indonesia used to be the world's leading haunt of pirates, the 20th Century's version of the fabled Spanish Main. No more. Now it's the waters off the Horn of Africa and the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula.

So what is fueling this rampant increase in piracy? Money. Shipping and insurance companies have been routinely paying ransoms of millions of dollars, dropping sack-loads of cash from airplanes into the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden. They make it easy for the pirates, so why wouldn’t these criminals continue to seize vessels, take hostages, and demand huge ransoms.

Thanks to Captain Phillips and his courageous crew, I think we’ll be seeing some major changes in the waters off of East Africa.

               That was then.....                             This is now.....

The Today Show                                                                (posted 11/08/08)

On October 18th the NBC Today Show came on board Atlantis and Host Ann Curry made a dive to the bottom of the Sea of Cortez on Alvin. It was a very exciting day for me and my crew.

The Catch of the Day                                                         (posted 9/11/07)

A 25 pound albacore tuna recently caught off the coast of Oregon. Life is good.

The Boston Marine Society                                               (posted 1/9/07)

I’m proud to have recently been admitted to membership into the Boston Marine Society, the oldest association of sea captains in the world.

Back in the days when men “went down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters”, seafaring was a dangerous business; storms, pirates, uncharted seas and war took a heavy toll. Facing these common dangers, a group of Boston sea captains, formed "a loving and friendly Society called The Fellowship Club." Membership was limited to those who then, or in the past had commanded vessels. In 1754, this Fellowship Club received a charter from the Royal Governor and according to the charter the purposes of the Society were to "make navigation more safe" and to relieve members and their families in poverty or other "adverse accidents in life." In 1809 the Society changed its name officially to the Boston Marine Society.

Today, into its third century of activity, the Boston Marine Society has remained true to it’s original charter. Distressed mariners and their families continue to receive support from the Society, and the safety of navigation remains an active concern. Having had several homes, the first at the original Sun Tavern in Boston, the Society’s present residence is in the former Shawmut Bank building at the Charlestown Navy Yard, now part of the Boston National Historical Park. The items on display there, so generously donated by its members, and carefully preserved by the Society, reveal not only the history of a distinguished institution but also help tell the story of one of America's oldest and most important ports. Feel free to stop by for a visit when you’re in the area. Exhibit hours are Monday thru Friday from 9:30 AM to 3:30 PM. And be sure to check their web site at: www.bostonmarinesociety.org

I am so proud of my two handsome grandsons, Jack and Jay, and they give me so much pleasure spending time with them. Now that I've retired, I look forward to hanging out with these 2 guys as much as I can. Here's a recent photo of my 2 little guys that we took prior to going inside to color Easter eggs.

Technology                                                                           (posted 08/30/06)

Everyday, I can’t help but be amazed on the strides we’ve made in the field of technology. Twenty years ago, before the days of cell phones, Ipods, emails, and the Internet, mariners that went to sea were pretty much isolated from the outside world. That wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, but what a difference between then and now.

In the old days, and that wasn’t too long ago, our main connection to the outside world was by way of the U.S. Postal Service, back when you could send a letter with a 22 cent stamp. You could make a phone call by satellite, but for $3.00 per minute, you couldn’t afford to just chit-chat. There was always the marine operator, but the whole world could listen in, so who needed that.

Last year, my ship Atlantis installed an Internet access tool called HiSeasNet (see photo below). Wow, this changed everything. We now have Internet access out at sea. This amazing piece of equipment puts us back in touch with the real world on a daily basis. We now get the latest news, weather, sports, and email almost instantly, thousands of miles out at sea.

This has really made a significant difference in my Nautical Vows JP services. Now, as people check out my web site and email me while I’m away at sea, I can send them an answer without any delay. I can honestly say that without access to the Internet out at sea, I probably wouldn’t be able to operate my Nautical Vows business.

Thank you, technology.

The HiSeasNet dome antenna on board Atlantis

My Favorite Place                                                                                (posted 3/8/06)

People ask me all the time:  “Where’s the most interesting place that you’ve ever visited?”

I usually hesitate a bit before answering that question since I’ve been to so many interesting ports during my 40 years of going to sea. My job has taken me to intriguing, isolated islands, majestic mountains, pristine beaches, lush tropical rain forests, and areas of huge icebergs broken off from massive glaciers. So, with all that traveling, how can I realistically pick just one “favorite place”?

Well, my favorite place is not really a port at all. In fact, you can’t get there by boat, by jet plane, by train, or by car. You can’t walk or swim there. The sun never shines there. There is no air, no clouds, and no weather. Very few people have ever been to this place, and it’s unlikely that anybody will ever see it, as I saw it, again. Yet life thrives there, and since there is no sunlight, there is no photosynthesis. Life survives there by a process known as chemosynthesis.

Are you beginning to figure it out yet? Well here it is:

On April 22, 1988, I had the unique opportunity to make a dive on the mini-research submarine “Alvin” to a place 8500 feet below the surface of the ocean; a place known by marine scientists as “Rose Garden”. Located in the Eastern Pacific Ocean about 250 miles east of the Galapagos Islands, scientists first discovered “Rose Garden” on an expedition led by Dr. Bob Ballard in 1977. It was during this historical expedition when scientists first discovered the super-heated geothermal vents that were supporting amazing new life-forms, never before known or seen.

As “Alvin” descended to the seafloor on my dive, and the Pilot turned on the floodlights, I looked out my small viewing port and was astonished to see with my own eyes these gigantic red tubeworms, foot-long giant clams, mussels, crabs, and bizarre looking fish, surviving only on chemicals produced by these hot water vents. I realized how fortunate I was to experience this once in a lifetime opportunity that so few people will ever get a chance to see.

Recently, scientists returned on an expedition to “Rose Garden”, and were surprised to discover it had all gone away. They speculate that some time after 1990, there was a seafloor eruption that may have overrun it with lava—like Pompeii after Mount Vesuvius erupted. But the hot vents were still there, and new life was popping up all over again.

So, even though my visit only lasted a couple of hours, and what I saw is no longer there, I’d have to say that “Rose Garden” was my all time favorite place.

My return from the deep sea - April 22, 1988

The Green Flash                                                                                    (posted 2/11/06)

One of the most fascinating atmospheric phenomenon’s that you will everobserve is the event known as the “Green Flash”. It is seen rarely by the naked eye, primarily because it requires specific conditions to occur, but also because it requires the observer to know what to look for. Despite the name, there really is no "flash" at all; the event only lasts for about a fraction of a second to maybe, at the longest,
a few seconds.

So what actually is this elusive “Green Flash”?

When the atmospheric conditions are right, at the last moment of the setting Sun, its upper edge or limb blazes with an emerald green color for a few seconds before disappearing below the horizon. It can also occur at sunrise, but this is even more challenging, since you’ll need to be looking exactly where you predict the sun will come up.

The ocean is the ideal place for observing the “Green Flash”, best on an evening with only a few scattered clouds, out far enough to have less effect from pollution and a clear view of the horizon uncluttered by foreground objects. Very few people have actually had the opportunity to see this "flash" and thus, many are skeptical that such a phenomenon really even exists. But after seeing it on many occasions, I can testify, it’s real and it’s spectacular.

What’s even more elusive than observing the “Green Flash”, is photographing it.

The photo below was taken at sunset off the coast of Oregon in 1985. 

Someday if I'm really lucky, I'll get to see a "Green Flash" of the moon.

The Seven Seas                                                                       (posted 1/7/06)

You may have heard the expression "sailing the seven seas", but have you ever wondered where these "seven seas" actually were located?

Well, I did a little research and here's what I found: 

To the ancients mariners, "seven" often meant "many" and before the fifteenth century, when the world was thought to be flat, the many seas of the world were:

• the Red Sea
• the Mediterranean Sea
• the Persian Gulf
• the Black Sea
• the Adriatic Sea
• the Caspian Sea
• the Indian Ocean

As you can tell these bodies of water are all within the part of the world that were most familiar to the mariners.

Now that the world is round, (or at least we think it is) here's a list that I consider to be the "seven seas" that I've sailed during my sea-going career:

• the Caribbean Sea
• the Mediterranean Sea
• the North Sea
• the Sargasso Sea
• the Norwegian Sea
• the Tasman Sea
• the Sea of Japan

Not to mention the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and the Gulfs of Mexico, Alaska, California, Panama, and Tehuantepec. Oh, and then there's all the Staits, Sounds,
and Bays.

So now that we have the "seven seas" figured out, have you ever wondered where the "four corners of the world" are?