Russia 2019 (40) ON BOARD - Ship Ahoy Info

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Ahoy is a traditional greeting for hailing other sailors, but was originally a Viking battle cry.

Also, today was the wheelhouse tour. This is where the captain and his nautical crew safely navigate our ship from port to port. This area is not ordinarily open to guests. As we headed up to the top deck we passed some of the crew members.

...and life raft service pods. Each life raft holds 20 people. 

Vadim led the presentation. We learned the longship Akun was built in Germany in 1991, registered in Russia, and refurbished in 2014. Akun (the nephew of the Viking / Varangian ruler Rurik) was among the signatories of the 944 Rus' Kievan-Byzantine Treaty. This is the earliest written source of Old Russian Law involving trade treaties, criminal law regulations, inheritance issues, maritime law, and more.

The ship is 423 feet long and 56 feet wide with a draft of 10 feet. Tonnage is 5,600 fully loaded with passengers and supplies. The crew numbers 115 peeps. Top speed is 14 knots / 26 kph / 16 mph.

The captain was not there for our talk, but is well qualified. He studied six years and has 27 years of navigation experience. He has captained this ship for seven seasons and has never had an accident. Several other officers were on duty and offered a few facts.

Windows ran across the entire front and sides of the wheelhouse for excellent surveillance. See the shore ahead.

Here's one radar screen. There were several other radar and GPS devices as well. We saw MANY other longships cruising our same route to or from Moscow and Saint Petersburg, so this was reassuring.

Almost everything is computerized and digitized. The little half-circle steering wheel in the middle here takes the place of the big wood vertical wheel you see in pirate movies.

Lots of buttons, dials, indicators, lights, and levers.

Paper maps were there to back up and double check things, in case electronics go awry.

Other ship facts:

- Three engines with 6 main and 6 minor cylinders each

- Engines are hybrid for energy efficiency.

- Holds 240 tons of potable water and up to 260 tons of waste water.

- Waste water is filtered, tested, and directed into the river.

- The Volga-Baltic Canal is the hardest area to navigate.

- There is an autopilot.

- Licensed to go anywhere in Russia and Siberia.

- One refueling stop in Yaroslavl (240 tons).

- No brig on board.

- Ship life expectancy is 40 years.

- The river waters are about a half-meter below average this year.

- The ship is dry-docked over winter for two months of preparation for the next season.

- During that time the captain vacations...usually in Thailand, Rome, or Barcelona.

- Total of 100 crew, with 27 working the nautical side.

- The nautical crew works 4 hrs on and 8 hours off duty.

I hope I have this right, as notes were sketchy on the technical stuff.