Getting Accustomed to Sea Life
Hello Folks, the ship has managed to depart for Sea as we are currently underway and transiting the Atlantic Ocean ! It’s been a smooth transition from not having to work for months, on end, to working a schedule which involves getting up early for Watch.
Although my first day aboard, was an extended twenty hour work day, I was able to make up for lost sleep as my day ended at midnight-my cozy stateroom is pitch black and ideal for short sleep periods. Too, my Watch while underway is broken into the standard four hour “eight-to-twelve” routine as my sleep patterns has not entirely been disrupted due to the work hours.
Departing Norfolk , the un-docking routine while supervising the deck gang on the Stern went fairly well. The AB’s knew what to do, as the thick mooring lines were placed upon the working winches and heaved-in using these large hydraulic apparatus’, allowing for this ship eventually to majestically float away. Only a specially trained group of mariners can set this ship free during this period of choreographed movement of arms legs and bodies intertwined- each person instinctively managing to work together in harmony. This is talent, folks!
This complicated and cumbersome task is not without its dangers, you see. A leg could get wrapped, unknowingly around a line and dragged over the side into the water; an arm sprained or broken just by the sheer force that a line under strain may exhibit. But the job went smooth, however, and all hands were able to eventually adjust to the natural and accepted movements by which this mass of steel felt comfortable. It would have to be accepted, however, for this ship would have the mercy of the sea underneath, and manage to scurry along on its surface with it powerful engine turning its large propeller.
We are traveling empty as our “load out” schedule will commence while overseas. Our intentions are for a small load at this first port, and then discharge at the second port The ship has its bulbous bow currently protruding at an angle which doesn’t allow for its best efficiency, yet, the Mate was observed filling some ballast tanks today in an effort to try and lower the bow. I was shown the process upon which to ballast as it is a deck officers responsibility to ballast or de-ballast the ship using seawater. A couple of large valves required sixty-plus turns to open or close, and boy was it a chore! With temperatures nearing one-hundred plus degrees in the engine room, the effort seemed supernatural as we were challenged with the combination of the manual labor required and the sweat which is brought on as it drenched our clothing within minutes.
The weather has yet to allow any sympathy for her traveling companions as the temperatures still hover above eighty-five with eighty percent humidity by daylight. Distant lightning prancing among the grouped cumulus clouds off the horizon at night sets a spectacular show for us, and the clear, yet darkened sky dotted with bright stars fills the remaining expanse of the night sky. With no other ships around, we are looking forward to anything to capture our attention, really.
Have a great day!
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