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| Pictures and descriptions
below are by the grace of the Master of our voyage, Captain Ioannis Papanikolaou
It's his decision to allow these tours and to him I'm eternally grateful. |
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Folks asking questions The Chief Officer answering questions about a console and it's procedures. He also conveyed a very deep pride in his ship, especially systems and the human influence. I was surprised with the intelligent questions the passengers had, they were really curious about the ship. There is no rush, no effort to "move along".
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| Why was there vibration in the dining room last night, fairly intense for a few minutes? |
Paraphase: "There was a computer indication that the shaft water level, for cooling, was abnormal. The computer automaticaly adjusted the prop pitch to adjust to relieve stress. The reading was wrong and it took us a few minutes to reset the alert. That's the reason we're on the bridge. The computers are great, but you need us here!." |
| How does this ship remain so stable in moderate seas? |
Paraphase: "The ship has stabilizers, these are not unlike ailerons on an aircraft, except that they are very large and below the waterline aft. They are of course computer controlled, but we can adjust manually based on our needs. Our ships have the latest design, which makes the pitch and roll minor, especially at cruise speeds, 18-23 knts, regardless of sea state. |
| The ship has autopilot slaved to the GPS and other navigation
aids. Do you just steer the ship this way at sea? |
Paraphase: "Yes and no. Generally we run the course on computer, and the navigator is always checking manually. However, as is the situation today, we're moving off of the direct line to our next waypoint to take the sea 45 degree across the bow. This will make for a more comfortable ride, and we'll adjust later as we get closer to our destination." |
| Let's say, despite your 3 mile alert zone for any object,
there is a collision, how well will Galaxy survive? |
Paraphase: "The ship was built in five modules. These five modules, assembled in the hall, were transfered to the assembly dock and joined together. Each module is completely water tight from the keel to the top deck. So, all we do is completely seal each module as is required. Plus we have extensive measures to employ before that becomes neccessary." |
| How does Galaxy dock so effortlessly? How is this done? |
Paraphase: "First of all, we have 12,000 hp total thruster power, so that equils 12 tugs. The Captain is on the wing bridge with the thruster controls in his hands talking to the officers positioned at various monitering postitions. He has total control and information. Literally he's moving this massive ship with his hand. It's done slowly and carefully. The passengers never notice we're docking." |
| Feedback? Greg Miller, www.millerweb.com - greg@millerweb.com |