Losing a good camera

Sum total, these cameras have trekked with me through twenty-eight states, nineteen countries, four continents two hemispheres and tens of thousands of nautical miles over the course of nearly nine years. 

They've climbed on two active volcanos, crossed the isthmus of Panama, landed on the most remote island in the world, transited the Pacific (by ship), worked on a three masted barque and driven the Extra Terrestrial Highway. 

Sad to see the 40D go, but after 71,000 pictures I can't say it's been anything but a good run. 

Here's to a good 70,000 with the next camera!

Draco Dwarf vi

Emily, the other of the two remaining engineers from the original crew, was just now making her way into the control booth as the Chief Engineer was quickly cycling through the ships video camera system. Starring in disbelief at the large number of dancing red lights on the bilge flooding panel across the control booth from her she quickly turned and checked the switch boards behind her to see what generator the ship was running off of.

“Well, there doesn’t seem to be any additional flooding throughout the rest of the ship,” offered up the nervous Chief Engineer.

“What does that mean? What’s going on down there anyway? And why would there be flooding anywhere else?” she demanded angrily.

“You can never be too sure. . . “

“You haven’t even been down there yet, have you!” She hollered as Captain Younger opened the door behind her and walked into the booth.

Seeing the two of them in there arguing and the bilge alarm panel lit up confirmed the Captain’s suspicion that this was not what he had hoped it was. This isn’t what I intended at all. This is way to early, he briefly thought as he turned to Emily.

“Where is Lawrence?” asked the Captain.

“He’s out there, I think. I’m sure,” she replied.

“How bad is it?” he asked, in the calmest manner he could manage.

“From the looks of the panel? It’s bad,” she said.

“Have you been down there yet? Have you talked to Lawrence yet?”

“I haven’t been down there yet, but I’m on my way now,” she finished as she started towards the door.

Draco Dwarf v

“What’s going on down here?” asked Lawrence, in the most serious of tones.

“The port shaft seal failed and the water is pouring in,” said George as he motioned over to it with his hands.

“What’d you grab here?” the oakum, he thought answering his own question. “Listen we have an emergency shaft seal,” the white valve on the bulkhead above the cooling system.

I know,” assured George again motioning over to the port shaft seal with his hands.

A cold sinking feeling stuck Lawrence as he glanced over and suddenly realized that extent of the damage to the emergency shaft seal. What the hell did he do? Why the hell didn’t he wake us up? What the hell are we going to do now? “That’s a horrible idea,” he said deadpan as he looked again at the canvas bag full of oakum that George was holding.”

“What else do you suggest we do?” asked George in a very uneasy voice.

“What? Aside from pray? Just put that stuff down and go start the starboard engine. That’s what you need to do,” replied a very angry Lawrence.

Looking up through the grating of the deck for the second level of the engine room, Lawrence saw Captain Younger running towards the control booth. I hope that guy can get the other main up and running quickly, he thought as he scrambled through the ankle deep water that was now covering the lower level of the engine room. There was a workbench with some tool chests near the forward bulkhead on the second level and he knew just was he needed as he made his way through the lower level and up the warm steel ladder to the second level and continued forward towards the machinist work area.

Draco Dwarf iv

“What’s happening down there again?”

“George called up about three minutes ago and started talking about water in the bilges or something. That’s when I called you.”

“How much water is he talking about?”

"He never said. He killed the port engine and told me something about a shaft seal and to get the crew up because he. . . “

“Wait, what!? The shaft seal, which one?” asked the increasingly concerned Captain.

“It was the port shaft seal. That’s right the port.”

“We were running on the port engine right?” asked the Captain as he quickly began to realize just how much the bridge was pitching and rolling. “We are D.I.W. aren’t we?”

“um. . . “

"Dammit! You stay up here and keep shouting over the intercom until someone tells you to stop!” Yelled the Captain as he rushed out the door and down the ladder to the decks below.

            George was in the middle of trying to drag a bag full of oakum and some caulking irons over to the port shaft seal in what would’ve been a vain attempt at stopping the leak when help arrived. The water was now washing around just above the grated deck plates on the lower level of the engine room when the new chief engineer made his way into the empty control booth and Lawrence, one of the few remaining engineers from the previous crew, found his way to George’s location.

Draco Dwarf iii

“We are taking on water, and quickly. Just wake up the crew and get ‘em down here!” He slammed the phone down onto the receiver as he nervously looked around the control booth.

Countless dials, gauges switches, buttons and controls surrounded George as he sat there nervously thinking for a moment. I gotta’ stop the main, I need to get that plugged up somehow, he thought as he continued to look around for the answers. Acting on impulse and nearly independently of his mind he raced over to the emergency stops and killed the port diesel engine. The engine room grew quieter and suddenly the loud roar of the engine died off. Thank GOD that’s done!

“Listen, I just shut down the port engine,” he conveyed calmly over the crackly phone up to the bridge.

“You did what?” Why would you do that, it was our only propulsion,” assured the still confused watch stander up on the bridge.

“Listen, the water was coming from the port shaft seal and I needed to stop the shaft in order to fix the problem. Is the crew up yet?

“Whoah! I just got… I just spoke to the Captain and let him kno…”

Cutting the voice on the bridge off, “You haven’t got the crew up yet? I needed more people down here five minutes ago.”

“I know, I’m going to get them up now.”

“I need them down here A.S.A.P.!” Yelled George as he again slammed the phone back onto the receiver.

            The rapid clanging of the bell on the bridge over the intercom followed by the ominous “Now there is flooding in the engine room. Flooding in the engine room,” was enough to wake the crew at that odd hour of the night. Lights in staterooms, quarters and all the spaces below decks began to flicker on in rapid succession as the ship suddenly came to life. Captain Younger quickly made his way up the ladder to the bridge and tried to assess the situation.