Voyage Start

Week 1

Wow…..I learned that the standard forms and questions asked of new students at MMA certainly do not fit a retiree on Social Security, Medicare and Supplemental Insurance.  Thank goodness for "Google" the Internet and help from the IT office, I finally did find out the address for Medicare….it is in Maryland for those who need to know.  

Anyway, ordering books online at Amazon proved very easy…but yikes, expensive when they come from the UK.  Print the Syllabus, read the assignments and ……this is a big AND; learn the intricacies of "CANVAS" which is what is being used for this course.

Corresponding with Professor Schatz elicited a response that he would be George if I would be Larry!  That makes it much easier although I told him that my Mother would probably not approve of a student calling his teach by a first name!

After a few opening remarks and postings it became evident that the ensuing discussions were very, very rewarding.  They stimulate my past experiences and the current events I see every day and as the threads get longer there is an enormous amount of information about the current discussion topic.  Input is valuable for sure!

How it started….

50 years ago in June of 1964, I set out from Maine Maritime Academy to make my way as a Third Mate in the U.S. Merchant Marine. I had my License, Merchant Mariners Document, and an education!  Little else and certainly no money.  My first ship was the USNS Mission Buenaventura, which was a T-2 tanker of 10,000 HP.  I got the job because it was a tanker going to the Persian Gulf to load Navy Special Fuel oil for the Government.  (Heated cargo to 120 degrees)  No air conditioning in those days. I stayed at sea for 13 months and came home to study, sit for my 2nd Mates License, get married and after 60 days I was again back on a tanker but this time running from the Gulf of Mexico to the East Coast.  6 months later I was sailing on a temporary Chief Mates License, having never sailed 2nd mate.
It was Vietnam and there was a real shortage of officers.  Lots of ships and lots of government cargoes over the next few years leading to my Master's License in 1970 and my first Captains job in 1971.

I retired in 1993 and started my own business, Wade Marine Services, as a consultant.  I worked a lot for the Government on the various ships of the Ready Reserve Force.  In early 1995 I was involved with surveying the conversion of the USNS Harkness to a training vessel for MMA.  This eventually led to the USNS Tanner being converted and I was involved with the conversion from day one to delivery.  In December of 1996 I was appointed the Captain and sailed the ship to Castine in May of 1997.  I spent the next 15 years as Ship Captain and Adjunct Professor at MMA, a position I enjoyed very much.  In April of 2011, I retired and turned over the Helm to another MMA grad, Capt. Les Eadie. Retirement has been extremely busy but as time went on I thought about furthering my education.  I had been involved with Webinars and such and always intrigued by technology and communications.  In fact I taught a "Blackboard" on line course at MMA for almost 5 years, which allowed me to travel and be involved with committees while still being involved with my students.  A win, win.

When I saw the the Loeb Sullivan School of International Business and Logistics was offering their first on line degree I inquired and applied.  Money is tight and I have to budget but I am looking forward to the challenge.  (Retirement = get up in the morning with nothing to do.  Go to bed at night with it only half done.  Plus lousy pay!)  

I am now about a month into the course and will continue with these musings of the experience as I work towards the degree milestone in honor of my 50th year graduating from MMA.

In order to be a successful Mariner at sea it required an enormous sacrifice from my wife and family.  They have been and continue to be my teammates and share with me their love and support.  They deserve a huge THANK YOU as I embark on this new Voyage.