Vicksburg Bridges At Sunrise

[@Riverman_st]

Hello captain, Kyle) You answer my questions, thank you! I am from Russia, I work on the Lena River (Siberia). We work for 7 months without leaving the ship and are at home for 5 months. On ships, as a rule, there are from 2 to 4 members of the command staff, including the captain. 3 enlisted personnel, a cook and one sailor. Vessels are divided into groups, from small to large. We work in mixed mode, that is, the captain of the vessel is also the chief engineer (has two degrees). The chief mate is also the first assistant mechanic. Deck crew (helmswomen and motor mechanics at the same time). The cook also cooks three times a day. The Lena River completely freezes in winter (it is covered with a thick layer of ice up to 2 m and is unsuitable for navigation). During the winter lay-up, ships sit in the backwaters for 5 months; they are usually prepared for navigation and undergo repairs. Navigation begins in April or May and lasts approximately 7 months. We drive barges by towing or pushing, the river bed is very winding, the current reaches 15 m/s. Soil - stones, rocks, cobblestones. Water levels at the beginning of navigation reach 8 meters, and by the end of navigation the water drops to 1.5 m. There are no new ships, we work on ships built during the USSR in Hungary. I really like the work, but looking at you, I want us to start updating the fleet in Russia too (build one hundred new and modern ones, and create a rotating work schedule of 30 days at work and 15-30 at home, this is very convenient.

[@jfz4759]

Very interesting to read! I would like to hear more! I'm a European inland captain, I work on the Rhine and Danube and its canals/tributaries. Most locks are only 12m wide and 190m long, the largest ships are 186m long and 11.45m wide, it's not an easy job, and we have to transit 62 locks to go from the Rhine, over the Main (tributary) and main-Danube canal to the Danube. The Danube in Germany is very shallow, in summer less than 1m deep, much more shallow than the Rhine and lower Danube and the canal. There are also convoys of up to 6 barges (270x23m in total) on the Rhine and up to 15 barges (420x34m) on the lower Danube. Many captains own their vessel and live on board with their whole family, including wife and children. But we have a crane such that we can take our car with us and bring/ pick up the kids from boarding school in the weekends. Many vessels are over 60 years old, ships last way longer than trucks or trains when properly maintained. They are also upgraded very well, so the wheelhouse equipment is very modern, even the American towboats use European river pilots and swing meters (made by radio Zeeland) because of our high quality standard. How big are the vessels operating on the Lena river? Are they the same as the river-sea ships on the Volga and Don river? Or are they larger with shallower draft? I've seen some videos of the passenger vessel А. Матросов on the Yenisei river, it still has the low (300) rpm SKL engines from the former GDR, Germany. There are still some ships sailing with such old engines here, they are very reliable. Maybe one day I would like to make a journey over the Russian rivers, especially the Yenisei and the Lena river, they seem so wide and natural, that's also why I like the lower Danube so much, there are not so many cities and industrial sites along the Danube than along the Rhine. The opening Rhine- main-Danube canal in 1992 was really a dream come true for us western European captains, ever since we could go to the beautiful daube river. If you want you can also send me some video's, I always find them really interesting and I speak a little Russian too

[@marktwained]

Very neat information. I have learned a lot from river pilots the world over. Thank you. 👍🏻

[@marktwained]

Very neat information, my Russian river brother. 👍🏻

[@Riverman_st]

@@jfz4759 Good afternoon captain! I'm the one from Russia, can I have your telegram?

[@ВладимирПавлов-л4ь]

​@@jfz4759Приветствую, коллега! Как я уже сказал капитану Кайлу : "морское судовождение - это наука, речное судовождение - это искусство". Я тоже из Сибири, работаю на реке Обь и еë притоках. Ходим от Алтайских гор до Полярного Урала. На наших судах, в основном, тоже двигатели SKL. Но они уже выработали свой ресурс и их заменяют китайскими или российскими. Мне очень нравятся 8NVD-36.Они мурлыкают, как кошки😊 Приходилось работать и с 8NVD-48A-2U. О них только лучшие воспоминания. Как Leica - красиво и надëжно 👍

[@cajunnathan4586]

Love your choice of music while passing through the dangerous bridge. Go Super Pilot

[@richardwesthafer3769]

Thank you for the video Captain Kyle.Glad to see you back at the helm

[@chancevonfreund9145]

Fantastic view of the Bridge a River! Thanks Cap. 🌉

[@TwoAcresandaMule]

Love the music.

[@MichaelHolloway]

really enjoyed the experience! thanks for posting.

[@douglasbergmann6161]

Beautiful!

[@rjay49]

Hey Capt again a great video, also shows what you do (and yes I speak from experience) is not easy and the concentration you showed is why you are good at your job, thanks for a great video

[@justinyork1395]

Excellent job making it look easy

[@marktwained]

Thank you. There’s no video of my first times making Vicksburg. I remember… well. Haha 👍🏻

[@Ricky-pi9kk]

Nice Job Cap...We heard The Mabel Ethridge smoked Cairo Hwy Bridge this morning😮...

[@marktwained]

Dang

[@ImUrHuckleberry33]

Lovely view… your choice of music enhanced the viewer’s experience. What a fabulous job you have..

[@ZHolifield]

A little sideways action is always fun first thing in the morning,

[@danubebim7110]

A captain from Serbia was on the Mississippi in 1960 and transferred his experience to the Danube, since then barges began to be used, until then they were tugboats. I work as a captain with 6-9 barges and that's the most you can drive from Budapest to the Black Sea in Romania. So far, I haven't had the opportunity to hear from colleagues from other rivers outside Europe

[@marktwained]

@@danubebim7110 very interesting.

[@danubebim7110]

@@marktwained When the water drops, as it is now, for example, there are several sectors where we can only pass with one or two barges, so we come back and all that. In Mississippi, I don't think that's the case.

[@marktwained]

@@danubebim7110 I want to come see your river.

[@danubebim7110]

@@marktwained Last year, I worked on a cruise ship for a short time, there were a lot of tourists from America. In 10 days, the entire Danube can reach the mouth of the Black Sea. You would have a nice experience

[@boatmanboatman7448]

Thank you Captain Kyle

[@Riverman_st]

Hello captain) Please tell us how many assistants (officers) you have? Is there a steering wheel, who is just starting to get experience? I am your subscriber from Russia (Siberia)

[@marktwained]

One officer (wheelhouse) per six hour watch. One engine room, bigger boat may have two engine room. Two to four deck crew per watch. More barges, more deck crew. One cook, making three meals each day. All usually work 30 days on, and 15-30 days off….generally.

[@scottjones6608]

Do you ever travel the illinois river it's right in my backyard. So many Eagles and wildlife.

[@marktwained]

Rarely nowadays, but that is where I started my river journey. 👍🏻

[@scottjones6608]

Naples illinois. Great views great video

[@wacocove]

How do you keep that big ol' long beast where you want it when you are parked on the side of the river?

[@marktwained]

Reverse propulsion against bank southbound, forward against bank northbound.

[@Riverman_st]

Hello captain) Please tell us how many assistants (officers) you have? Is there a steering wheel, who is just starting to get experience?

[@beckyumphrey2626]

That was pretty awesome all.choreographed up. :) Hope all is well your way and.surgery.recovery is on track.

[@marktwained]

I just set up camera and hit play. That’s how I experienced it, music and all. 👍🏻

[@marktwained]

Glad you enjoyed. Thank you

[@raybrdjr]

How long have the technology of predictors been in use to steer tugs ?

[@marktwained]

I started seeing e-charts (very basic), back in 2003. They didn’t have “predictor”, but gave direction of slide, and at what speed of slide. Along with swing meter, I could kinda get an idea of predictive location, even before the little boat on screen. They were unreliable and usually because of operator or installation. When I came back in 2009, after being off river 5 years, there were three different brands, and it was readily used in training at Seaman’s Church training classes.

[@marktwained]

Because of the way and time I was taught, I’m a radar first look over charting. Pilots nowadays rarely tune a radar correctly. I can tell what pilot’s abilities by his instrument settings, usually.

[@MrSuzuki1187]

If I'm goint downstream with an 8 knot current facing navigating the Vicksburg Bridges, I would want Kyle to be my pilot. No one can do this with such competence ans precision as Kyle.

[@marktwained]

I appreciate the confidence and compliment. Thank you. Although I consider myself top notch wheelman, there are definitely many I would put in same category. I say quite often that I a fan of quite many of my peers. I had great teachers throughout my career.

[@willcojak9650]

The Longest Day!

[@billslaggie572]

Captain Kyle…when do you expect to be back in gods country (north of lock #6?)

[@mack8488]

Wouldnt like to do this by radar only🥵...

[@marktwained]

The radar is my main, trusted tool. 👍🏻

[@mack8488]

@@marktwained i saw it in your video 🙂....but would you do this in a thick fog.....?

[@kens.3729]

Now who has a View like this at their Job, Day In and Day Out ? 🤔 If you Answered, Captain Kyle, you would be Correct. 👍 This View almost Doesn’t seem Fair. 😬👍

[@danubebim7110]

What are the dimensions of barges on the Mississippi, and what is the average draft?

[@jfz4759]

The standard barges are about 60 meters long and 10.5 meters wide, their draft varies, but is adapted to the, even during low waters, guaranteed fairway depth of 3m, but just like here in Europe on the Danube during high waters the draft can be higher. But that's a significant difference from what we are used to, instead of adapting the draft to the current river stage, the limiting factor on the Mississippi is available fairway width, they have to reduce the number of barges (normally up to 60, hence also the 10.000 hp towboats) but not so much their draft like we have to do on the Rhine and Danube. And they can have towboats with much larger propeller diameters without having to worry about low river stages.

[@danubebim7110]

@@jfz4759 Thank you for the information, except for the number of barges, everything is the same as on the Danube.

[@capbubba]

Charlie don’t surf😉😉😉

[@RRRIBEYE]

🤣

[@walterfarley9230]

Big deal

[@JudeSpurlin-pg7ri]

Way cool!