Dry land. Still feels like it's moving around a bit, but dry.
Category Work Lotusphere 2009
So you've seen the drought in blog entries (connectivity - no laptop use on the ship) and on my first work day back from the "long way home from Lotusphere" trip, I am thrilled to be home. Three weeks is too long to be on the road, yet somehow I've managed to do it three times in the last year.
My adventure was not without drama - mostly of the high seas kind - but was a memorable experience on all fronts. I had the opportunity to see first hand the camaraderie aboard a US Navy vessel, witness the professionalism and respect of our service men and women as well as that of a dozen other countries, experience the challenges of life at sea, and come home with memories - including about 200 pictures and some video I shot from the BlackBerry.
The initial goal of my trip - a coaching and mentoring role - was de-emphasized by the technical components of the project not being up to par when I arrived...but all was definitely not lost, as I as able to take that time to interview key officers and analyze collaboration needs for my reports. I worked closely with my team member Matt McCabe, who works on government policy, and we were successful in our overall goals according to the Commodore and our teams back home.
I boarded the USS Nashville in Rota, Spain, which is a beautiful gem near Cadiz. I stayed in a 4-star hotel for one night before boarding (for $88 US), then spent a week on board as we sailed to Dakar, Senegal. The first two nights and second day were high seas - 8-10 foot waves - and this particular vessel being a "flat bottom boat" made the left-right motion significant. Walking the p-ways was challenging that day, and dining was comical with chairs sliding across the room. No wonder the tables have vinyl covers!
The sleeping quarters were about what I expected, for a 4-man stateroom on the officers' deck. This photo is from the "back of the room", which was about 12x10 overall. Mine was the bottom right bunk from this angle.
Venturing outside was something I would have none of on Friday (high seas day) but enjoyed on a regular basis the rest of the trip. I was able to catch some spectacular sunsets this way:
As we came into Dakar, as is custom, the officers - from the US and all the participating countries in Africa Partnership Station - "manned the rails". This time-honored tradition is tedious but is a sign of a professional Navy:
Unfortunately, the seas picked up as we were preparing to dock. The local tugboat captains didn't quite have the skill to bring in a 590-ft-long ship and our Captain made the tough decision to leave port and anchor 5 miles out to sea for another try the following day. Hearing this was quite disconcerting as my flight was that night. How would I make it? Oh no worries, this was in fact an amphibious landing vessel, capable of lowering the back of the ship (think pick-up truck) until the stern filled with 8 feet of water, then taking the LCU (landing craft unit) to shore. Kind of a ship-in-a-ship. Well they did that twice then the seas were a bit too choppy for a third run.
So, I had the pleasure of climbing down a rope ladder from the side of the ship to a waiting (and very bouncy) 11-meter rib boat, and taking that the 5 miles to shore. Got some great video of that experience, which I'll see about getting on YouTube. But I did take one last photo from the rib, my farewell to the USS Nashville, who will be decommissioned after a 40-year run at the end of this mission. She was good to me, that's all I can say!
So now I'll be back to some more regular, more Lotus-centric postings. There's a lot to talk about from Lotusphere, and we have some great free stuff to explain to more than the 1000 or so people who hit The Great Code Giveaway this year.
Thanks or sticking with me in the "dry spell" here - it's great to be back!
So you've seen the drought in blog entries (connectivity - no laptop use on the ship) and on my first work day back from the "long way home from Lotusphere" trip, I am thrilled to be home. Three weeks is too long to be on the road, yet somehow I've managed to do it three times in the last year.
My adventure was not without drama - mostly of the high seas kind - but was a memorable experience on all fronts. I had the opportunity to see first hand the camaraderie aboard a US Navy vessel, witness the professionalism and respect of our service men and women as well as that of a dozen other countries, experience the challenges of life at sea, and come home with memories - including about 200 pictures and some video I shot from the BlackBerry.
The initial goal of my trip - a coaching and mentoring role - was de-emphasized by the technical components of the project not being up to par when I arrived...but all was definitely not lost, as I as able to take that time to interview key officers and analyze collaboration needs for my reports. I worked closely with my team member Matt McCabe, who works on government policy, and we were successful in our overall goals according to the Commodore and our teams back home.
I boarded the USS Nashville in Rota, Spain, which is a beautiful gem near Cadiz. I stayed in a 4-star hotel for one night before boarding (for $88 US), then spent a week on board as we sailed to Dakar, Senegal. The first two nights and second day were high seas - 8-10 foot waves - and this particular vessel being a "flat bottom boat" made the left-right motion significant. Walking the p-ways was challenging that day, and dining was comical with chairs sliding across the room. No wonder the tables have vinyl covers!
The sleeping quarters were about what I expected, for a 4-man stateroom on the officers' deck. This photo is from the "back of the room", which was about 12x10 overall. Mine was the bottom right bunk from this angle.
Venturing outside was something I would have none of on Friday (high seas day) but enjoyed on a regular basis the rest of the trip. I was able to catch some spectacular sunsets this way:
As we came into Dakar, as is custom, the officers - from the US and all the participating countries in Africa Partnership Station - "manned the rails". This time-honored tradition is tedious but is a sign of a professional Navy:
Unfortunately, the seas picked up as we were preparing to dock. The local tugboat captains didn't quite have the skill to bring in a 590-ft-long ship and our Captain made the tough decision to leave port and anchor 5 miles out to sea for another try the following day. Hearing this was quite disconcerting as my flight was that night. How would I make it? Oh no worries, this was in fact an amphibious landing vessel, capable of lowering the back of the ship (think pick-up truck) until the stern filled with 8 feet of water, then taking the LCU (landing craft unit) to shore. Kind of a ship-in-a-ship. Well they did that twice then the seas were a bit too choppy for a third run.
So, I had the pleasure of climbing down a rope ladder from the side of the ship to a waiting (and very bouncy) 11-meter rib boat, and taking that the 5 miles to shore. Got some great video of that experience, which I'll see about getting on YouTube. But I did take one last photo from the rib, my farewell to the USS Nashville, who will be decommissioned after a 40-year run at the end of this mission. She was good to me, that's all I can say!
So now I'll be back to some more regular, more Lotus-centric postings. There's a lot to talk about from Lotusphere, and we have some great free stuff to explain to more than the 1000 or so people who hit The Great Code Giveaway this year.
Thanks or sticking with me in the "dry spell" here - it's great to be back!
Comments
Posted by Srinivas Kotaru At 09:00:03 PM On 02/10/2009 | - Website - |