Figure 1 - USCGC MELLON Somewhere off the Coast of Mexico

Why would anyone choose to sail a ship in Flight Simulator 2002? It is a flight simulator after all, not a boating simulator. I have asked myself this question a number of times. Then I think of all the wonderful things the online community has contributed to Flight Simulator. Thanks to few hard-working and in many cases, ingenious people, we have a large number of add-ons to choose from.

Although Microsoft did build in automated ATC to FS2002, it makes no accommodation for having other users provide Air Traffic Control services for pilots. And although in the factory version, you can fly online with other pilots, you can now fly online with hundreds of pilots from all over the world. There are also numerous scenery files and add-on aircraft available on this site as well as others that adds to the sense of fun and community that Flight Simulator provides.

I have found some wonderful add-ons that allow me to be a UFO, a hot air balloon pilot, an hang-glider pilot, a sky-diver, a SAM missle, and a Ford or Jaguar automobile. These add-ons are not intended for use with Flight Simulator, but the add to the enjoyment. Flying into the ranch and taking the car for a spin, certainly made the Cessna Bobcat a more enjoyable and entertaining download.

Figure 2 - Panama City off the starboard side

In the VUSCG, we have had a lot of fun using our helicopters to stop drug traffickers in their high-speed boats or preventing a pick-up truck full of TNT from reaching a nuclear reactor. It takes some degree of skill and practice to fly a helicopter in front of a moving automobile or speedboat.

In other word, it is this creativity and fun that creates the community. There are certainly quite a few add-ons and scenery that should have no place in Flight Simulator, but add to the overall sense of fun and community nonetheless.

It is in this spirit that I began my adventures on the high seas.

The Virtual United States Coast Guard has recently opened its Surface Fleet Training program, and begun training its members to operate boats and ships in the online environment in a way that will avoid causing headaches to the kind people providing air traffic control services online.

As a graduate of this program, and a Commander of District 13 for the VUSCG, I decided my crew in the Pacific Northwest (Seatttle) needed a break from the cold, damp and dreary weather. Over the summer, the VUSCG sailed a cutter up the coast from Seattle to Alaska. Since the cutter can carry one of our Coast Guard HH-65 Dauphin Helicopters, we took it along, and our pilots took turns flying it around the great state of Alaska.

Figure 3 - Approaching the Locks

During a four week period, we flew missions for search and rescue, public relations and plain old fun. We finally made our way to the Barrow, Alaska, where we attempted to fly to the U.S. East Coast via the North Pole. By the way, here is a tip, you cannot fly over the poles in FS2002. I wish we had known that before we tried. We ran into an invisible wall and flew sideways across Canada. But it's autumn, and winter is approaching faster than we care, so we loaded up a 378 foot High Endurance Cutter and departed to the south. We were on our way to Jamaica.

Now, in the real world, shifts would be run to navigate the ship along its journey. Thanks to the miracles of autopilot we have ships that can sail down the coast with little assistance from the crew. Departing at 6:00 PM Pacific Time from Astoria, Oregon, we sailed down the coast. By 9:00 A.M. the next morning, we were just off the coast of Los Angeles and headed for the Baja region of Mexico. It took all day, 24 hours to sail down the Mexican West Coast. Not that we noticed. We were far enough out to sea that we could not sea land in any direction. We relied on our GPS and maps to tell us where we were.

When we left Seattle the temperature was 58 degrees. I knew warmer weather lay ahead. By 11:00 A.M. the third day, we were making our way to the Panama Canal. Did you know you can find the canal in FS2002?

Figure 4 - Tanker off the port side

Because we were entering from the Pacific side of Panama, we would enter at Panama City. The temperature as we entered the harbor at Panama City was 78 degrees, with a light breeze and scattered clouds. This is the weather we were looking for. Although it is normally quite expensive to transit the canal, we were there on official business for the Coast Guard, so the fee was waived.

The skyline of Panama City was passing to our starboard as we made our way to the first set of locks. Each lock consists of two channels with two to three chambers each. The locks serve to raise or lower the ship to enter the next section of the canal. The locks are visible from a distance as you sail through the canal. Another tidbit of useful information: You will need to slew through the locks. That's right. The canal does not actually operate, and Flight Simulator sees it as concrete, and your ship will take a beating if you sail over it. If you like getting hung up while you witness a shower of sparks and grinding steel worthy of a Pittsburgh Steel Mill, feel free to try to sail across, but I recommend you Slew through the locks.

Figure 5 - Ferry Boat Passengers waved and took photos

The canal is made up of three sets of locks that gently transition ships between the two oceans. But the canal is not entirely man-made. The central section of the canal is made from a large lake. It takes careful navigation to make sure you exit the lake on the correct arm.

Believe it or not, when you pass through the canal you will encounter commercial shipping traffic. Not only did Bill Gates and his crew take the time to make sure the Panama Canal is in the scenery, they went the extra mile and placed a few ships in the waterways. I came across three ships on my journey. There was a ferry/cruise ship, a cargo/intermodal ship, and an oil tanker. Since we were the overtaking traffic, we passed to the starboard side of the traffic after sounding our horn and announcing our intentions.

If you have not yet taken the time to fly around in the Caribbean, please take time to do so. The scenery is beautiful, and you will see luxury cruise ships at some of the various ports. I believe St. Thomas, V.I. has a couple docked near the airport.

Back to Panama. After passing through the lake, there is one last set of locks to transit, and then you enter the Atlantic Side harbor. There is a narrow sea wall with a narrow opening at the eastern-most portion of the harbor. Luckily, Bill and friends didn't put a large tanker in the opening, so it was easy sailing to the waters of the Atlantic and the Carribean. From Panama, it is a relatively short journey to Kingston, Jamaica. We sailed into Kingston, and were piloted to the port. After a few days ashore, the crew returned to the cutter.

Figure 6 - Saying goodbye to Panama and the canal

We are working on the plans for our next voyage, maybe we will sail to Hawaii, or on to Japan. Still a lot of planning to do. In the meantime, we will sail smaller boats in the waters around Seattle, and fly our helicopters to the imagined strains of steel drums, the smell of coconut oil-soaked bikini babes as we remember our last journey to the warm waters of Jamaica.

Brian Smith
brnsmth@mo-net.com

CG3001
District Commander for D13
Virtual United States Coast Guard
www.vuscg.org