The watchman has a very serious responsibility, despite the measly pay. The watchman constantly looks for anything out of the ordinary.  On a wooden boat, there is one thing in particular that you want to find quickly: fire. Of course, there are many systems on the boat to check for fire, and they work well—sometimes, I found out, annoyingly tripping false alarms in the pilot house and engine room.  Then, the watchman, or the engineer on watch (whoever is quickest), keeps pushing the button to suppress the alarm when it malfunctions, until it gets fixed. I will tell you this: I watched carefully for any sign of fire. I made sure that nothing was blocking devices that needed free-flowing air, and I used all of my senses on my tours of the boat.  Having a son who is a firefighter in his spare (!) time has taught me that fire doubles every minute.  I take that seriously. A watchman also looks for other out-of-the-ordinary things—water leaking, a broken glass, a security problem, a passenger needing assistance.

There are two watchmen each 10 PM to 6 AM watch.  While one is walking the circuit, the other is in the pilot house if the boat is in motion, or on the bow, providing security if the boat is stopped. (If we were landing or locking, ordinarily the watchman would assist with the lines, etc., but I didn’t have the strength to handle that—I did on occasion provide another set of eyes for the captain when needed).

This is when it gets really fun.  Did you get where I got to spend my time?  The watchman is IN THE PILOT HOUSE. Coast Guard regulations these days make it very difficult for people to get into the pilot house without a very good reason, and although Bela had gotten permission for me to be there once, I did not expect to be there again. Now, I was getting PAID to be there! My fellow bartenders were making jokes: how much was I paying the company to do this job?? I was walking around, grinning like a pig in mud.  I had no problem staying up all night, and I am NOT a night person.  I was so utterly fascinated with being in the pilot house that sleeping was not an issue—even when I did get the chance, I was ready to get up early and do it again.

Besides walking the circuit at night and providing security when we were docked, I had some other duties.  When we passed under some low obstacles (bridges, power lines), I lowered the smokestack, radar and radio antennas, then raised them again.  This involved climbing up on the pilot house roof, and also carefully watching the stack’s rate of ascent and descent (although it is on a counterweight, it can be affected by wind, and can get away from you!).  We were in new territory on the Black Warrior River, and I was constantly scrambling around, as the charts were not very accurate. I loved it—especially getting up on the roof! A watchman must also be able to read the body language of the pilot—is he getting a bit nervous? He might stand up. No extraneous conversation, thank you.  What is going on with the boat—is he looking out the window at the wing bridge as you round a point, and muttering about the stern clearing?  He might decide to run out on the bridge to see the stern, so get out of the way. But when things are clear, and there is plenty of water under the boat, he will take lots of time to tell you all about what he is doing, and why. I can’t tell you how much I learned this past week about how the boat works.  I’d seen how things looked from engineering; now I saw how it looked from the pilot house.  This was a total picture. I cannot thank the following people enough for giving me this opportunity: First Mate Johnny Speed, Captain Mike Swiegert, Captain Finley Frasier, Captain Gabe Chengary, and Second Mate Dave Hardesty. And Watchman Mike Cameron, thank you for patiently teaching me the job.

Some other duties of the watchman: remove any bugs that get into the pilothouse. I caught two large winged bugs, both, I think, grasshoppers, and flung them out the door.  Can you imagine being the pilot, and lining up the boat for a pass under a bridge when you’re not certain of the clearance, and a huge bug hits your head? Convince people that it might not be a good idea to stand under the broomstick handle tied to the highest point on the boat as a gauge of how low some of those bridges really are—especially when a train unexpectedly appears on that bridge, and you know that will bow the bridge in the middle. Talk the pilot into eating a piece of chocolate birthday cake you saw in the crew mess, because you really want one, and it would be impolite to eat one in front of him. Keep the other watchman happy, because he has been doing his job for over twenty years, and you will be there one week. Pick up a breakfast tray from the galley at 5 AM, and have a discussion with the galley about whether it is 5 AM or 4 AM, as we were switching time zones overnight (it was 4). Find ashtrays for the trip pilots who smoke on the wing bridges, only to have them sail off the first time anyone walks out there (good idea, poor outcome). The best: watch the sun rise, every day, over a peaceful boat, when you know you are living the most wonderful dream you have ever dreamed.