We were very excited last night when we returned to our stateroom to find a much coveted invitation from the Captain to visit him and his crew on the bridge at 9.30 this morning. This tour is not offered to many passengers so we felt very privileged to be invited to see the operational hub of the ship.
This is the first time I have ever been on the bridge of a ship as large as the Dawn Princess so I found the whole experience very interesting. We were briefed by the third officer, Tom, on all the high tech GPS and radar equipment used to monitor the ships position and the main steering console which has the tiniest joystick I have ever seen to adjust the ship’s position if needed.
A bank of radio transceivers monitor other ship’s movements and are on alert for distress signals from other craft. Safety onboard is also maintained from the bridge area with alarm monitors for fire, electricity generation, water tightness and closed circuit monitoring of all areas of the ship.
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| Posing with the captain |
After the briefing Captain Mc Bain generously posed for photos for each of the tour participants.
There was also a rack of flags of each country which are raised when in port in that country as well as flags to indicate when the pilot is onboard, and to warn other vessels when fuel is being taken onboard.
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| View back along the ship from the captain's balcony |
In direct contrast to the latest technology on the bridge, I decided to attend the enrichment lecture entitled ‘William Bligh - tyrant or hero’ which was given by Wallace Cray, the pilot brought on board to guide us through the Barrier Reef - now that we are passed the reef he says he has lots of time on his hands. The theatre was full and he managed to inject humour into what could have been a very dry talk. I actually came away with a new respect and appreciation of this former Governor of NSW - I guess my view in the past had been coloured by Hollywood directors rather than facts.
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