Maritime Day! Weather gets rough and plans are in the forecast to load
Today is Maritime Day as proclaimed by the President of the United States! We received a statement through our union email newsletter which relayed the editorial by President Bush of his proclamation. Primarily, the day is to honor past and present mariners who served in wars and continue to deliver commercial goods upon the waterways of the United States and abroad.
Citizens and “communities” all over the United States were asked to fly their American flags as well as for all US Flagged vessels to fly their Ensigns in support of this monumentous (sic) occasion.
We are currently in the middle of an intense low pressure system as low clouds are blowing through our region with gusts upwards of 30-35 knots
(34-39mph) and bringing rain with thunder and lightning with it. Earlier today, the thunder and lightning hampered our ability to conduct routine work due to the dangerous conditions as the Captain ordered the decks to be off limits until the weather subsided. However, within an hour, the electrical storm blew through and the rest of the afternoon was spent out on deck.
Third Mate Travis had snapped some incredible pictures, I was told, from the safe confines of the Bridge, while on Watch and could testify to the wonderful display of activity from the storm! Word of storms in other parts of America with flooding, hail, and even tornadoes such as in parts of Southern California are unheard of, typically. Usually, the rainy season ends by the first week of May in MOST of California and thunderstorms involving the threat of tornadoes is quite rare, almost to the point most citizens there would never expect such a phenomenon to happen. Please be careful no matter where you live!
Moving on..word has it, that we might head in to port, tomorrow, Friday. Another ship is alongside the same berth we plan to receive cargo at, therefore, we are next in queue. Anything can change, though, as the time required for that ship to conduct its cargo operation may extend due to the weather or equipment breakdowns.
In the meantime, I was told of my intended due date off. As it stands, it looks promising for the first week of June. Scheduling changes so much as I’ve reported time and time again, that I don’t really ever know for certain when I leave; sometimes the captain may say that I have a plane ready for the following day. A couple of crewmembers have had to endure over two and a half weeks of extended stay before there relieving crewmembers are due by this weekend. Mentally, you have to set your mind to think “day-to-day” and not let the uncertainties of the future affect your psyche.
Have a great day, folks!
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