back online....

in

The internet has been down for two days.  I'm not lying when I say this has felt like the end of the world.  I think I'm addicted to checking my e-mail.  It is pretty insane to think how far we've come.  Considering that we're a moving vessel....say on a trip from Djibouti to Fujairah....and we can just blog away.  When I was a cadet (7 years has flown by!) I remember two ABs getting into a fist fight on the pier because one thought the other was taking too long at the pay phone.  E-mail was shared by the entire ships crew.  Captains would scold you if your e-mail was too long or contained any attachments.  Now I'm uploading photos onto my personal website!  It does feel ridiculous to be attached to something as nebulous as satellite fleet broadband.  I'm going to keep this short and sweet because I'm exhausted.  We are sailing without a Steward or a Chief Cook and I cooked dinner (that's a story for a different day).  Special shout out to Won Duk Kim (or is that Yummy Duck Kim Chee?!) for the mad oriental cooking skills!  I made shoyu chicken and it was a hit!

*I did not proofread this post....please forgive me....

*socks and undies* a human interest piece...

in

I got the call to come back to work a little earlier than I expected.  It was a mad rush to get packed up and finish my errands.  I have certain ammenities that I won't compromise on.  What I would do if I ran out of Tom's of Maine toothpaste?!  My shipmates tease me profusely for having such heavy luggage but, I bet their rooms don't have twinkly lights!  Who do they come to when they want dryer sheets or shout?  I might also be the only person onboard who has a swifter sweeper.  When I'm getting ready to come back to work I have tons of little lists full of trivial items that I convince myself are show stoppers.  Packing for this last rotation was one of my all time favorite 'packing nights'.  One of my long lost Hilo girlfriends jumped in and saved the day!  She went and got take out Thai food and she vetted every item before I put it in my suitcase.  I actually had fun!  I don't think I've ever referred to a packing night as fun.  When she got to my bags of socks and undies she looked at me and said, 'really, Megan?!  really?'  Usually, at some point, I have to take things out of my bags but, on the socks and undies I held fast....I don't like laundry!  Running out of socks is terrible (not to mention undies)!  When I throw in a load of laundry out here I have to make sure that I am 100% available.  I have to be there at the exact time the wash cycle ends so that I can transfer over my load.  Then I have to be there at the exact time the dryer cycle ends (if not early in case some eager beaver thinks my clothes are dry enough).  If I'm not there to personally transfer the load of laundry then I can't be certain someones grubby paws haven't touched my socks and undies.  I habitually majorly overpack in the sock and undie department. Sitting at breakfast this morning some of my shipmates were bemoaning the fact that because the water is still out in the laundry rooms they were running out of socks and boxers (I don't think they'd appreciate me calling them undies).  I had to sit back and smirk...my bags are too heavy, huh?!  Heh heh heh.  My sock and undie bags are still half full (literally)!

potable water is soooo overrated.

in

Before I begin my rant I'd like to state for the record that while it may appear that I'm complaining I'm actually just 'venting'.  I also understand that my 'venting' is childish and selfish.  These temporary inconveniences are simply the tell tale signs of productivity and forward motion.

We are currently at a lay berth in Fujairah where our potable water system is receiving a major overhaul.  The interior of our fresh water piping is severely corroded.  This has led to rusty discolored water and very low water pressure.

The large black hose shown in the photos is being run up through the pipe trunk and is our temporary water source.  The water has been secured to one side of the vessel at a time.  For the last two days the water has been secured to the starboard side (that iswhere I live).  No big deal...I mean, who needs to flush their toilet?!

This huge task is being completed by a large amount of TCN's.  TCN is a term used in the middle east for foreign workers.  I believe it stands for Third Country National.  The majority of the workforce in Middle Eastern countries hail from India, Pakistan and the Phillipines.

One cool thing about the TCN's is that they eat really good food!  Sometimes if they are here for an extended period of time they'll supply their own cook.  He'll cook alongside our own stewards department.  This is good for us because we'll get to sample some amazing curries!  Because this is a relatively short job (and since we're pierside) they have been sending someone on food runs.  They love to share their food and get excited when you want to try new things....it's usually waaay to spicey for me!  They thought me taking photos was pretty cool.

Last night I washed my hair in the laundry room sink and this morning I brushed my teeth and washed my face in one of the QMEDs room (since he lives on the port side).  My Mantra has been "attitude:  the difference between adventure and ordeal".  I have to say though, the mantra is getting stale.  I'd really just like to flush my toilet!  I think I did a good job keeping the ranting to a minimum....

Fujairah

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Here's a little bit about Fujairah (Fuj).... When you approach Fuj the radar is cluttered with hundreds of vessels.  At a quick glance it is easy to notice that almost all of the anchored vessels are tankers.  Within the anchorage limit there are various designations - they are lettered A,B,C, etc.  For the most part B (bravo) is the busiest because this is where vessels do dangerous liquids transfers.  Fujairah is one of the cheapest bunkering ports in the world (for my non-nautie friends...bunkering means taking on fuel - for ourselves).  It is sometimes much more cost effective for vessels (especially large ones) to go out of their way (i.e. burning fuel) to receive bunkers here.  This is sheer speculation however, I would say that of the vessels not briefly stopping in Fuj for bunkers 85%  are spot chartered and are simply waiting for cargo orders.  Fujairah is very strategicaly located - vessels can quickly head into the Persian Gulf, cross the Indian Ocean, head down into the Gulf of Adean and up the Red Sea, etc.

The air quality here is awful.  The haze is thick and slightly discolored.  Think L.A. at its worst!

When you enter the Fujairah basin there are at least 100 supply boats rafted up just waiting to make a run to the outer anchorage.  On a scale of one to ten Fujairah gets a one in the picturesque port category.  Beautiful port it is not.

The Seaman's Center is within the port limits and it is one of my favorite places to get a diet 7-up.

I've officially been trying to post photos for an hour.  I'm going to chalk it up to a poopy satellite connection (it would probably be more accurate to say it is due to sharing a poopy satellite connection with 20 other people) and give up.  Maybe tomorrow.

Jebel Ali

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Goood Mooorning Jebel Ali!  Thank you for such a beautiful sunrise this morning!

Fish piles galore!  The birds and dolphins were  having a feast!  My watch partners were laughing at me because I got super excited and yelled out 'Holy smokes!  It's a Marine Wildlife Frenzy!!!'  My shipmates have been teasing me all morning about my wildlife enthusiasm....

We were in prime fishing boat real estate.

I really liked these fishing boats were because they were a little different from the traditional Dhow hull.  They were playing with eachother...racing eachother to fishing traps.  It kind of reminded me of Singapore and the junks through the Straits of Malacca.

I figured I better add this photo as well.  We  had so many delays entering Jebel Ali (which is pretty much the norm) that well...it wasn't morning anymore

And now...for the rest of the story...

in

Last night I laid in bed stewing about yesterdays blog entry.  I was able to chat with a buddy from school on facebook.  He offered me some really great suggestions for how to fix my steering light vibration issues.  I pride myself on being an honest person.  Since honesty is mostly the best policy.  I've decided to lay all my cards on the table.  I haven't been proactive about fixing the steering light because I hate it.  I hate it because I hate being on the forward mast.  I hate being on the forward mast because I might fall.  Wouldn't that suck?!  If anyone onboard this ship was going to fall off the forward mast it would for sure be me.  I get up there and I look around and I think 'Wow, it's really pretty and peaceful up here...'  that thought is quickly followed by 'Oh crap!  How on earth am I going to get down?!'.  Once I have that thought I can barely use my channel locks.  All I can think about is how I'm going to position my feet to most safely step off the platform onto the ladder.  Then everything else feels completely overwhelming....the wing nuts are too tight for me to unscrew....the channel locks are the wrong tool - I should have brought the vice grips....WD-40 never works!  Why can't they supply PB Blaster in the Middle East?!  If I had PB Blaster these things would come right off....it's not the vibration this must be caused by a short - those freakin' engineers!  Why can't they take a look at this?!....finally I get all the nuts off and the bulb changed.....and then I screw the stripped wing nuts right back in without making any modifications and think 'Who the hell needs a steering light anyways?!  Steering lights are for pansy's!'  Then, because I know the bridge is watching me with binoculars and that my standby is staring up at me from below I play it cool like I'm not ready to wet my pants.  I clip my harness as close to the ladder as possible and I tip toe to the edge of the platform.  I get both hands on the ladder with a death grip and edge my right leg till I feel the rung.  Then I follow with the left .  Then I wrap my arms around the ladder as tight as I can and unhook my harness.  This part sucks the most because I know that I have to just climb down.  Inevitably when we enter port the helmsman will ask for the steering light I'm usually like 'do you really need the light?!  It's dim anyways....can't you see the mast?!  I can totally see the mast!  OK fine....here you go'.  At this point I start scheming to figure out who I can coerce into going up the forward mast for me.  Now you know the rest of the story.... So, my buddy also told me that I shouldn't start so many sentences with 'so'.  (I did that one just to spite him)  heh heh.  This blog has made me very aware of how atrocious my grammar is.

Deck Sports

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Today's deck sports consisted of me talking the Third Mate into changing some bulbs for me.  This is poor form on my behalf.  However, he was pretty excited to climb the forward mast so it was a win win situation.  The trade was he changed the bulbs and I played paparazzi to give him some good facebook fodder! This particular light is our steering light.  It is used as a mark for the Helmsman so he can judge swing / rate of turn when making a course change or as a tool to pick out the mast against a brightly lit backdrop (city lights).  This is a blue light and not actually considered a navigation light.  The steering light is my nemesis.  The vibration of the forward mast makes the bulbs burn out like clockwork because the filaments shake loose.  It burns out almost every other week.  When I stand on the platform he is standing on I can't actually reach the bulb.  I have to stand on the ladder and rest on the guard.  I HATE it.   Thank goodness there are people out there willing to trade mast climbing for facebook photos!

she swears like a sailor....

in

So the Captain has notified the Officers that he is offended by foul language and would appreciate it if we would modify our language when we are in his presence.  I have personally been spoken to twice about my potty mouth.  I think I might be out of control.  Of course swearing has now become a way for us raunchy sailors to band together and stick it to the man in an underground cult-like fashion.  Swearing is officially the new 'it'.  We are now dredging up as many alternatives we can find that aren't strictly swearing but are nothing if not more vulgar than a casual f-bomb.  People are quick to point out when you swear....a bridge conversation today went like this:  'Oh S@*#!  I forgot my hourly position!  Whoopsies!'  'Hey, Watch your language!'  'What?!  There's nothing wrong with Whoopsie!'  Which quickly reduced me to fits of giggles because I didn't even realize I had said a bad word!  My Grandmother always said that there was nothing worse than seeing a swear word in the written form.  Because it meant that you truly had no class.  So, I realize I'm walking a fine line in writing about my little problem with foul language.

Mad On's...

in

Today was ballast water exchange day.  This is one of my favorite days.  I was on a ship once where we would go and lay out in the water....and then once the pumps were secure we'd hop into the man holes for a quick dip.  The water would feel great but after a few minutes I'd be so tweaked out about the potential sea snakes that I'd get back out and lay on the deck in 6 inches of water.

So, we exchange ballast water to prevent marine organisms from migrating to areas where they can potentially become invasive species.  The best example of this is zebra mussels.  However, there are numerous other examples.  Because we've just left Djibouti to go back into the Persian Gulf we exchange our water.  There are two methods to do this...completely emptying your tanks and then re-filling them.....or letting them overflow to displace all the water that was in the tank.  We usually have to do the overflow method because emptying our tanks completely causes too much stress on our hull (we are rarely completely empty of cargo when we leave Djibouti...so there are some cargo tanks full).

I was particularly happy that today was ballast water exchange day.  I think it brings out the kid in all of us.  Who didn't love water day at school?  Slipin' slide?  If the teacher said bring extra clothes to school the next day you knew something good was going to happen.

So let me digress....

I have a Chief Mate who says 'Megan, you won't survive out here if you don't learn how to get rid of those Mad-Ons!'.  I realize that gender equality is something that we as a society have strived for.  However, there are certain undeniable truths.  First and foremost female brains are quite complicated.  After sailing for a few years I've realized exactly how much more complicated my thought process is compared to my fellow shipmates.  I would like to state for the record that I know men are capable of feeling and processing deep emotion.  However, it does seem like they are a little better at discerning when deep emotion is warranted.  It is also distinctly possible that I am overly dramatic at times.  I've been working on not keeping mad on's.

I also have a Bosun who says 'Megan!  There is NO crying on tankers!'.  I have to agree...nothing is more disgusting then seeing someone cry on the deck of a tanker.  I have a personal crying policy...remind me to elaborate later.

My dear friend told me to make sure that this doesn't turn into a personal journal...there is a point to this long winded ramble I promise....bear with me....

Okay, so since I'm not supposed to keep mad-on's and I can't cry on deck....and since I am a very emotional creature....I require tools to keep myself in check.  It was very fortuitous that today was ballast water day because I got to put on my happy feet (one of my favorite tools)!

Hot pink rubber boots with white polka dots!  Hells-yeah!

 

Marine Debris

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I think every sailor agrees that throwing garbage over the side can turn an otherwise ho-hum day into the best day ever.  If you are a true shipmate and you have something 'big' going over the side you notify your friends so they can be present for the splash.  The bigger the splash the better.   Sometimes if I'm feeling like I need some stress control I'll look for something that I can chuck over the side.  Every now and then we have competitions to see who can huck things the farthest.  It is really fun when things catch air and glide.  But, I personally think a big splash is the most satisfying. 

If I'm really in need of stress management I look for things to take a crow bar to.  Like drums.....you gotta poke holes in them before you throw them over....so that they sink better.  That is almost as good as weedwacking the yard.

I'm sure people wonder how we manage our garbage....we basically can throw anything over the side when we are in open sea....except plastic of course.  I'm a plastic nazi after seeing the albatross carcasses on Midway.

I was throwing paper over the side.  I tried to document the splash.  It was really fun.  Definitely the highlight of my day.  This happened yesterday but I didn't finish the blog so they never got posted....they were too good to pass up.

This blog is not intended for the environmentally devout. 

This post is dedicated to my Auntie who things that Marine Debris would be a beautiful name for a girl.  I kinda agree....it definitely rolls off the tongue.  Minus the whole plastic island thing.

Getting in the groove

in

 I came up to the bridge this morning and there was bad news.  I don't know how it is possible for bad news to generate overnight but it does.  There is usually some kind of nasty-gram in the inbox.  Anyway, I heard the bad news and then was all  'oh, sorry!  Can't talk about this any longer!  I have to go take pictures of the sunrise!'   I took photos all day!  My camera is like a little happy pill.  I had big plans for today's post..... I guess it will have to wait for tomorrow because, well, I spent my whole evening looking at website themes.  My eyes are now bugging out of my head from staring at the computer screen for 2 hours straight.