Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Jason Pastrick | NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (April 1, 2017) -- Sailors assigned to Pre-Commissioning Unit Gerald...... read more read more
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First division deck department Sailors successfully lowered the 30,000-pound port anchor chain for the first time during a Sea and Anchor detail inside the ship’s forecastle. The demonstration gave deck department Sailors the necessary hands-on training in anchor operations.
“From an operational point of view, having the crew fully exercise their gear for the first time on the port side was essential in making sure everything was ready for builder’s trials and future delivery, ” said Lt. Cmdr. Edward Quinones, deck department’s First Lieutenant.”
The anchor demonstration consisted of checking equipment and practicing Sea and Anchor detail procedures and phraseology. Equipment such as the wildcat, the bridge crane, and chain stoppers were also tested during the demonstration.
“I think this is a big deal to give the training and familiarize Sailors with the phraseology,” said Petty Officer 2nd Class Shavanda Stephens, first division’s leading petty officer. “It may not seem big then, but when they get back there and do it again, they’ll remember the first time, play the steps again in their head, and remember the phraseology.”
Quinones said that deck department has so many junior Sailors that it’s important to have hands on training like the anchoring demonstration.
“We do training every week since we’ve done an operational turnover,” said Quinones. “We exercise it every week on Thursdays to reinforce the lessons learned and continue to grow and build off of that.”
The anchor was lowered when Sailors removed the chain stoppers on the port anchor chain. Sailors inside the forecastle then communicated with engineers inside the windlass to disengage the chain. The windlass allows the anchor to be walked out or lowered. As the anchor is lowered the wildcat acts as the chain’s brake system and engages the chain throughout the evolution. Once the anchor reaches the water’s edge, the windlass is engaged and raises the chain back up and the stoppers are then placed back on the chain.
“Overall the department did really well, quite well actually, when you consider that they had never operated the gear. So from an organization point of view it was a fantastic opportunity,” said Quinones.
| Date Taken: | 09.21.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 12.15.2016 19:06 |
| Story ID: | 217945 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 78 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Anchor Away: Sailors Test Ship’s Anchor Chain, by PO1 Kristopher Ruiz, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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