Awaiting a Berth
In Port: Hess Terminal, Tampa.
The ship is sitting idle alongside the receiving terminal awaiting a “berth”, or dock space at the next discharge facility. This “shift, or movement to another dock should already have occurred by the time you read this journal entry.
Nonetheless, another ship in our intended dock is the reason for such a delay. This other ship is continuing to discharge its cargo load and has delays, for whatever reason, which force us to stay put. It’s common that ships vie for same dock space as well; their schedules may conflict with each other. Obviously, the ship currently at the dock has the say as to what transpires; yet, this pattern creates a domino effect, which, in some cases, can cause other ships to anchor outside of the bay for days if not weeks.
In the meantime, I’ve managed to make a trip ashore! This morning, I ventured out, bound for a local Walmart along with the pumpman, Charles. There, I picked up some necessities for the ship, and made an appointment for a haircut! “A Haircut”, you ask?! But of course…some Walmart locations have hair salons within the store and all the stylists are certified. I received coaching from my wife as I made a quick call to inquire what I would need to tell the stylist of what style and what clipper number shall be used and to blend “up top”. A nice cut for all of fourteen dollars!
Afterwards, Charles and I walked a couple of blocks to the local Applebee’s at which time we ordered a couple of drinks and a lunch. I ensured our time away from the ship was safe as I made a call back to the ship and spoke to Mike, the Chief Mate asking what time the “sailing board” was set for, as his reply invoked a change in schedule from the already set, sixteen-hundred hours to twenty-hundred.
The restaurant had its fair share of business on a start of a work week and the televisions at various strategic locations within had clips of replay tape of sports events from the weekend and the latest in unremarkable news. Applebee’s offers a nice display of their own to interest the average customer, by showcasing some memorabilia from historical periods of American culture; an appealing sight for the eyes as there seems to be something for just about anyone who happens to stop by the establishment.
Peeking at my watch and amazed how the time was flying by, I gestured to Charles to make a call for a yellow cab. After a long and apprehensive wait, the taxi arrived and the driver, a young Moroccan man, gave a quick honk of the horn before proudly transporting us off towards the ship, as he instinctively weaved in and out of traffic. I was allowed just enough time to rest up as my watch read fourteen hundred-thirty or “two thirty” in the afternoon, an hour or so before I am to assume the duty of Watch Officer at sixteen hundred.
Once assuming the watch, I found out that a lot of the crew had apparently followed suit of my adventures, as half the crew went ashore during this opportune time, as well. In a few hours however, we shall resume normal cargo operations at the Kinder Morgan receiving facility.
Enjoy your day, folks!
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