Volume 2 of my Cruise ship Pranks Series.
Fog Watch
Every summer, without fail, dozens of bright-eyed young people join the ranks of cruise ships for their first contract. They join the ranks of "Shippies."
The old shippies are a humorous lot. They've been through it all, seen it all, and they like to share the love with the unindoctrinated.
So there are a few pranks commonly played on newbies. One of which is called Fog Watch. Fog Watch is most hilarious when executed in the Caribbean. The bright-eyed new sailor is called up to the bridge, to face several stern-faced officers. They dress up the newbie in a windbreaker and life jacket and give him/her a flashlight and walkie-talkie. They then escort said newbie to the bow of the ship, where he/she is dropped off and told to watch for fog. If he/she spots any, he/she must radio the bridge immediately and signal with the flashlight (which is visible from the bow to the bridge).
Well. As you can imagine there isn't much fog in the Caribbean. Beside that, current electronic arrays on ships make fog obsolete. Truly. And beside, what the heck is fog going to do to a ship?????
Meanwhile, on the bridge, everyone from the newbie's department has joined the officers on the bridge and everyone is having a good laugh.
The newbie is left down on the bow for an hour, sometimes two or three, on a "Shift" - basically until it's not funny anymore, then newbie is called up to the bridge, debriefed and everyone moves down to the OB (Officer's Bar), or the PO (Petty Officer's Bar) to drink off the humor/embarrassment. (I took my water bottle and hung out in the bar with my friends.)
Fog Watch
Every summer, without fail, dozens of bright-eyed young people join the ranks of cruise ships for their first contract. They join the ranks of "Shippies."
The old shippies are a humorous lot. They've been through it all, seen it all, and they like to share the love with the unindoctrinated.
So there are a few pranks commonly played on newbies. One of which is called Fog Watch. Fog Watch is most hilarious when executed in the Caribbean. The bright-eyed new sailor is called up to the bridge, to face several stern-faced officers. They dress up the newbie in a windbreaker and life jacket and give him/her a flashlight and walkie-talkie. They then escort said newbie to the bow of the ship, where he/she is dropped off and told to watch for fog. If he/she spots any, he/she must radio the bridge immediately and signal with the flashlight (which is visible from the bow to the bridge).
Well. As you can imagine there isn't much fog in the Caribbean. Beside that, current electronic arrays on ships make fog obsolete. Truly. And beside, what the heck is fog going to do to a ship?????
Meanwhile, on the bridge, everyone from the newbie's department has joined the officers on the bridge and everyone is having a good laugh.
The newbie is left down on the bow for an hour, sometimes two or three, on a "Shift" - basically until it's not funny anymore, then newbie is called up to the bridge, debriefed and everyone moves down to the OB (Officer's Bar), or the PO (Petty Officer's Bar) to drink off the humor/embarrassment. (I took my water bottle and hung out in the bar with my friends.)
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