The Merchant Marine Express

This past Tampa call enabled the crew to go ashore a bit. I even bear witness to a few hours of evening entertainment in nearby Ybor City.

Saturday night was bustling with all walks of life, young and old. Crowds walked along the boulevard on 7th Avenue and weirdoes were intertwined with the weary. Not too much concern however, as there was a definite presence of law enforcement to keep stability.

I particularly enjoyed seeing some of vast makes of motorcycles as they were lined up along the main street. A few of the bikes had fancy lighting that glowed as their owners peeked into neighboring pubs and cafes. Some owners sat proudly nearby, as well just to see the reaction of passerby’s.

The short delay during our undocking evolution was due to the weather as a strong gust of wind was enough to order yet another tug for assist purposes. Crowley insists that two tractor tugs are required during every docking and undocking, and the port of Tampa adds to that requirement whenever weather poses a challenge.

We managed to give the Hess facility more gasoline than usual and also provide Kinder-Morgan with more jet fuel. I’m certain that the demand for jet was in response to the usage from airports as the Spring break crowds were in force, and for the approaching Easter holiday.

Currently, the seas and winds are from off our bow, from the West yet the weather forecast predicts the wind to shift towards the North later in the day which means that seas will shift to a near beam sea. Most onboard will frown from rolling and will choose pitching if there was such a choice.

Fire and Boat drills are expected this morning and the weekly time change of one hour will come by evening time.

Lake Charles arrival is expected by late into the night, Wednesday.

Enjoy your Tuesday!

Tags: Chemical Explorer