Barges and young captains

[pabrides]

I went to the mall the other day then decided to spend some time watching boat traffic at the nearby dock (if you can really call it that).  There was a large barge, about 250 feet long, offloading sand by the truckload.  The dump Trucks drove aboard a front ramp where a loader scooped the dirty stuff into them.  They started at the bow and were working their way aft when I noted something weird... she was shipping water - the stern was awash.   There were perhaps three olympic pool sized piles of sand to be removed, and as the tide continued to fall I noted that the bow had not settled; she was aground... bottomed out.  However, the stern was still afloat and settling with the tide.  I was told the captain was in town shopping as mariners with worried faces scampered around the vessel trying to evaluate the predicament.  I dont know what finally happened because I had to leave for home, but I assume she's ok... I have not heard anything in the news.   If the channel was much deeper than where the bow stood Im sure they needed the pumps.  They told me the captain was under 30 years old - and probably a relative of the owner; that's the only way these nincompoops get the good jobs- you have to know someone... a competent captain would cost too much for these greedy boat owners. In unfamiliar waters a competent captain would have stayed with his ship instead of shopping ashore for a massage parlor.