17th-23th of May 2021

Ok, so remember how I said” how cool to have a few discharge harbors cargo?” well it happened that it took us 3 small days to arrive at the entrance of the Humber River we were quite happy because all along we had good currents and we could even arrive at anchor earlier. That was a good thing for us because actually, the harbor was not ready for us so we could start “counting our time” at anchorage. On paper it was a good plan. In the reality, it did not happen that way.

The day before we arrived we got an email from the agent saying that they had done new surveys on the river and that the depth chart had slightly changed. It is indeed common that on such a river with moving sand banks that there are changes in depth; it happens. The only thing is that it wasn’t really in our favor! Haha It was already two weeks that we were receiving the updates of the chartered depth from the agent and of course, leaving Kokkola, we planned the whole stowage of the cargo holds in such way that it would be good for Goole after discharging in Greenore. It was a great puzzle for the captain – but he likes challenges so that was fine-. So it resulted in the ship being too deep to enter as planned.

It is interesting to see the fact that as a cargo ship, you want to take « as much cargo as possible »; because, it is often the income of the ship; let’s say the freight is payed on the tonnage we carry most of the times. So according to the information we had from our final destination (which was the tricky one with the Humber river and the maximum drafts the ship could have to enter), we made a stowage plan. For that you take in account the fuel you have onboard and the consumption you will make of it, and also going from fresh water to sea water ( in which you will be floating « higher » – meaning slightly less draft- because of the density of the water!). So when you have a perfect plan to start your notice of readiness as soon as you drop anchor so that the demiurge can also start as soon as possible….

Well it is quite irritating to have a whole perfect plan falling out because of a river survey. We had to wait for a bigger tide to proceed towards Goole. In that case, I am not 100% sure but, it means that the time cannot start counting because the ship cannot enter. So we have to patiently wait at anchor. Of course, you know captain H. Now…. Lots of phone calls to see if we can arrange to discharge two trucks in a port closer to sea and then proceed; but nope. Not possible. Pity; but no choice.

It seemed like a full week at anchor just laying there.

Oh and. Of course, to top it up, we were at the deep sea anchorage. Let’s say that the network connection wasn’t the best and as we were further off the coast, the view wasn’t exceptional either. Too much current to do a swim call and the weather was not great for deck jobs. The AB’s were needle gunnuning and painting hatch cover number 6 between showers and I managed to do a bit of greasing on deck until « extreme wind gale force 9 to 10 » was announced on the radio….. We wanted to change anchorage position to go more inland to be more sheltered….. you know the funny thing is that we needed a pilot to go to that anchorage. But in bad weather the pilot cannot board so we are allowed to proceed without pilotage… Strange don’t you think? Good weather pilotage compulsory; heavy heather, pilotage not compulsory. Well; we waited for more wind and for the pilot boarding position to change and asked again to change anchorage position. Luckily our request was approved.

There was our manoeuvre of the week!! Yeah! « What did you do this week? -Oh I heaved up anchor and dropped it again 1 hour later » haha. I am glad we did it because there was a loooot of wind. Network coverage was slightly better, but at least we were more sheltered.

At the end of the week, we could finally proceed towards Goole with enough water under the keel. A pilot was organized in the middle of the night. Great. Friday 11 PM. Again, just a phone call to the agent asking to push it to the next tide as there was no hurry to arrive. The discharging would only start on Monday so no need to wake up everyone so early on a « weekend » – ha! As if we had weekends….- but true. At anchor only one person is up: the officer of the watch so that the ABs can proceed with maintenance jobs during the day. It is more efficient.

So off we were in the early afternoon to Goole. 4-5 hours on the river before entering the tiny locks and tiny harbour of Goole. We had two Pilots onboard: a « real one » and a trainee. They were nice. The older one had sailed quite a long time as captain and wanted to spend more time with his family so became a pilot. He was originally from Portugal. And wanted to study theology when he had the chance to become a chaplain for seafarers. Or for prisoners. Because of the loneliness. I thought it was very nice and interesting talking with him.I like it when people want to give their time to accompany other people and make sur ether have someone that can listen well.

Underway, L. and I had some fun lowering the foremast to make a few checks: hoisting cable, search light, and navigation lights. It was fun. At one point we had to reach a light that was too high so I ended up climbing on the mast and just sitting on it. Crazy. Any opportunity is there to make a job fun right?

The pilots told captain H. That they had never seen such a happy crew. I just think we are normal. This is how we do it here. But oh gosh, I then thought that the other ships are probably all sad and boring people if they think that we are happy! The good thing is that happiness is driven by happiness right? So when you see someone smiling and laughing it is natural to want and smile too. Don’t you think? The opposite is also true. This is why it is very important to my eyes to try to not bring the atmosphere down. Being negative can be so easy, trust me! I know a whole bunch about that! But being happy is way more fun so. The choice is easily made; even though it does require efforts and maintenance too like our fore mast! ;).

The entrance of Goole was a tight manoeuvre that captain H. Nailed perfectly. I found a new purpose to the ship’s phone: making time lapses. Of course I made one entering! A short quay but perfectly fitted for us. Ready to -finally-discharge Monday morning!

It was nice to enjoy a good long sleep on Sunday with apple tart and a nice long walk on Sunday afternoon. I couldn’t resist taking pictures of all the flowers on our way and to light the day by swinging like a child on a random tree found in the field. Spring is a beautiful season – when it is not raining!. It was long that I hadn’t really seen trees and grass and the view from the bridge on the river Humber was just stunning with the sunset! A perfect way to end the week. Hopefully next week will be dry and we will have a nice next destination.

Take care!

Xxx Sopietje