Bridge Tour of the MV Explorer!

A couple days ago I went on a tour of the bridge of the MV Explorer! The 'bridge' is the command center, where they steer the ship from! Normally students aren't allowed to see the bridge, but the tours let us see how the ship works.



There is always one or two crew members whose job it is to look out at the ocean with binoculars, all the time. There is a lot of fancy electronic equipment that lets the MV Explorer crew see ships in the distance, but sometimes machines don't work, so there is always one person using their eyes to make sure we are safe!

This is the view from the bridge!



While we were up on the bridge the ship was on auto pilot so no one was actually steering! This is what the steering wheel looks like.



Below is a picture of the nautical flags. They all mean different things. Also, when we arrive in a different country we are required by law to hoist the flag of the country we are arriving in!



Finally, they let us try on a Captain's hat! What do you think? Do you think I could be a Captain one day?



Tomorrow we arrive in our final port, Morocco! I am very excited but also sad that it is the last stop on Semester at Sea before we disembark the ship. I can't wait to tell you about my adventures in Morocco in a couple days!