Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1895-12-13
MEN ON THE BRIDGE.
Division of Duty Among omcer' VI
an Ocean Liner
(New York Sun


The transatlantic traveller no"auass
rarely meets any of the executive o'hcefs
of the ship on which he crosses, e~o'p'
the CAPTAIN and the first officer. Inc @"P-
tain is becoming less and less sociai
figure ON all the vessels. The passeh-
GERS see him at his table in the saloon,
when the weather is fine, and they meet
him on deck occasionally when he Is iooh-
ing over the ship. AT other times nc
is generally out OF sight, except "hen
he NAV appear on the bridge In rousn
ar foeyy weather he may be seen there
nearly always, but he might as wei DC
on another vessel, 50 far as actual CON
tact with the passengers Is cohcefns~
The chief officer is seen most OF All
nv the Messengers. He has almost no.
thing TO do with the navigation OF the
shin He is about the deck constantly
When not on deck he Is inspecting va
r,ous parts OF the vessel. His cniel
business Is to look after the daily WORK
of the crew. He takes an observation
on the bridge with the other ofiicers every
day at twenty minutes before noon, pue'
with that exception, is rarely seen there.
The other officers are seen only when one
looks i'm al the bridge. In the newer
ships their quarters are placed above
the shade deck This Is notably ,the
case on the st. Louis and St Paul. NOT
only do they do their work entirely OUT
of contact with the passengers, but their
meals also are served In special mess
ROOM on the shade deck
on all the large steamships there
are a captain, chief officer, three Sc
cond officers, one third. and one fourth
officer. The second officers are known
as senior second, junior second, and ex-
second officer is the navigation or the
shin under the captains direction. Each
of these officers stands a four-hours
watch on the bridge. The third ana
fourth officers stand watch OF six hours
alternating with each other. There are,
therefore, always a second and third
or fourth officer on watch on the bridge.
The duties at sea are entirely different
from the duties on entering or leaving
port In the case Of the latter every
officer Is on duty, and the work Is so sub
divided that a ship glides up to her pier
or leaves II without confusion, ana al
most as IL there were no one giving di-
rections constantly by means OF two dis
tinct systems Of telegraph TO various
parts of the vessel. on leaving port the
chief officer is stationed on the forward
deck, where he can be seen by the cap
tain on the bridge. BY a wave OF the
hand the captain indicates just what he
wants done. The senior second officer is
on the after-deck.
Orders to him are transmitted by
docking telegraph The junior second
officer is with the senior officer. aft,
assisting in the work there. The extra
second is stationed on the bridge with
the captain He has charge OF the en-
gine-room telegraphs. He transmits the
captains orders when TO stop or go at
half speed or TO reverse or any OF the
often swiftly changing orders which IL
Is necessary to send TO the engine-room at
the time of docking or leaving port. The
third officer has charge of the forward
gangway until II is pulled ashore when
the ship is leaving. and then he hastens
to the bridge, where he has charge Of
the docking telegraph, and of sending
signals TO the second officers, who are
on duty aft The fourth officer remains
at the after gangway until IL Is pulled
Always, and then he hastens to the dock
ing telegraph. aft.
When the ship is clear and really starts
on the voyage a new set Of duties begins
and lasts until the pilot is dropped and
sea routine begins. The chief officer is
busy about the deck seeing that the yes
sci is in shipshape. The matches are
made fast, the ropes are made taut, the
ratings are lashed, and the entire ship
Is made snug. The senior second officer
IS in charge of the ship forward. Any
thing special that needs attention he
looks after The junior second has
charge of the storage OF all the baggage
The extra second remains on the bridge
attending to the engine telegraph. The
third officer IS also on the bridge His
special work is TO attend to the whistle
and to send signals aft by the docking
telegraph when signals are to be made,
and the flag on the taffral Is to be dip
ped. The fourth officer is also stationed
on the bridge and his work before the
pilot is dropped is 10 pass the steering
orders to the quartermaster at the wheel
and to note al the Incidents Of leaving
port in the log book. These entries usual
ly consist of notes Of the time
of passing certain landmarks.
The pilot dismissed. sea routine Is
taken up promptly. To the chief officer
belong the duty of inspection and Of exc
cutive management The senior second
officer stands his watch every day from
Il. NJ. TO =. NJ. and from A. NJ to
8 A. NJ. The junior second is on watch
from noon to =. NJ. and from midnight
TO A. NJ. The extra second Is on watch
from A. NJ to noon. and from 8 T. NJ
until midnight. The third and fourth
officers are on alternate watches from s
W Il U ClOCh anu lTOii Il 10 D o CLOCK. In
addition to this watch the third officer
has charge Of all the flags and signals
by night and day. and he also keeps the
compass-book. The fourth officer has
charge Of the condition of the boats. in
addition 10 his work on the bridge.
When the vessel is in port there is
another routine. The chief officer has
supervision Of all the work that Is going
on. The senior second has general charge
OF the ships stores The Junior
second has charge Of loading the forward
holds and the care OF the baggage and
its stowage. The extra second looks after
the fire connections and the ships
glasses and other instruments. He also
has charge Of receiving the mails. The
third and fourth officers make them
selves useful in assisting the higher
officers In looking after details. with
the exception Of the captain, the work
OF the officers is nearly as arduous and
almost as full Of responsibility in port
as at sea.
WOuld- Re Trn EaIs