Scraping, and Priming, and Painting... Oh My!

An “average” day is hardly average at all in the life of a cadet. Daily watch assignment, class, practical instruction, and inspection are the run-of-the-mill aboard the Empire State VI these days, piled on top of routine work to maintain the safety and appearance of the ship. Cadets are gaining practical experience – and perspective – of the rigors of life at sea by keeping their ship clean and safe despite the challenges of what would be “normal” to us on land, such as balancing food on the galley (kitchen) table while simultaneously being tossed by the ship’s endless rocking and rolling.

Cadets are learning exactly what it means to be responsible and accountable for their behavior, working in team units to build on learning experiences for themselves and their shipmates. One of the most important activities with which they’ve been involved in recent days is painting – an essential maintenance activity to the safety of the ship. Ships are made of steel and steel rusts in the presence of water; add salt to that mixture and it rusts all the quicker.

Cadet teams are assigned specific areas of the ship to paint, learning how preparation, temperature and humidity, and a little extra elbow grease can go a long way at sea. A complicated equation of chipping, scraping, cleaning, brushing, sanding, priming, and painting ensures teamwork and leadership to complete the task on time and rust-free. Working together ensures quick (and loud!) work by both deck students and engineers alike. Even if painting isn’t exactly the most exciting job aboard ship, cadets realize it still needs to be done. The cadets are starting to prove to be excellent managers and motivators of each other whether it is for painting, standing watch, or working in the engine room.

Even in my own career, some of my earliest leadership lessons came from painting: at first being a good follower and, later, leader to my team. Later still, I can see now how painting even prepared me to manage my resources with safety and attention to detail in mind for my ship and Captain. Once the cadets are finished painting, they rush off to class, stand watch, or squeeze in a few hours of study time before lights out.

It’s just another day at sea.

All for now,
Mike