Tag: cargo vessel

7th term, week 2 🤩

7th term, week 2 🤩

30th of May to 5th of June 2022

Hello, my friends! there we are!! Still sailing towards the sun! except that, for the moment there is not so much sun…. We are still along the Dutch coast… That is probably the reason, right? haha

Did I tell you I brought my sextant on board? Yes, I did! It is funny I have actually never really practised with a sextant. I think I always wanted to have one but was never really confident enough to get myself one! Then I have a friend who sells second-hand sextants and I jumped on the occasion! This is the first time I have one onboard ad that I have the time to practice playing around without having guests or trainees or day trips going around. Do you see what I mean? great! So I also took my books from school…. I honestly had to read them again and try to understand them again! yes indeed…. It has been a while and probably when you have someone teaching you and answering your questions on the spot then it makes it all way easier right? It did not feel the same at all this time. And I kept on thinking about my friends sailing on Wylde Swan who each have a sextant of their own too and sail around the ocean only on the sextant. Then I thought, wait a minute. in school I was also not too bad with those calculations so… I might as well give it a try for fun, right?

So there I was with my school book and playing around with my sextant adjusting the mirrors and practising taking heights. I had to reread a few chapters a few times again to try to understand what I was doing. I was hoping that there would be good moments for me to measure the height at the culmination and before and after and then try to draw my position on paper.

Well, it was actually quite exciting and nice to measure the sun a few times a day. It gives you something to look forward to. Not that I am bored onboard or do not have anything to do of course, but just something different to do.

In a few eye blinks we were sailing past Dover and when I woke up for my watch we could spot the beautiful white cliffs! Every time, they are just an amazing sight! Any land you spot from the sea is an amazing sight anyways….

And just like that, we were sailing towards the French coast and Ouessant. Still in the nice sailing rhythm of finding time to make a short workout and skip for 20 minutes on deck in the afternoon.

I was hoping I would not have to report to Ouessant traffic… Last time Captain H. wanted me to report in French but I hate doing that because I do not know the words really in French. And also, I know, it might seem stupid, but everyone is usually looking at me and I feel like blushing and searching even more for my words. Yes, you get it. ever is nautical for me goes in English and not in any other language! haha. Well eventually in Dutch, that could also do sometimes. English is for me the working language and somehow when people speak another language on the VHF for example, I do listen and understand, but during mooring operations, I can be quite selective in hearing! 😉

I love longer sailings. It is something I actually miss from my previous ships. Of course with tall ships, our speed is less so it takes more time to reach the next harbour right? But also when crossing the Atlantic we have a couple of weeks if not more, at sea without seeing the land. This gives lots of time to be in a routine and to catch up on books, sleep, workouts, on anything actually. The routines are great. The main difference is that nowadays I have internet onboard, which I did not have when I was on the sailing vessels so of course, I had to occupy my time with more things when I was off watch. Now I find myself easily scrolling on social media or binge-watching Netflix and not moving forward with things that are on my task list.

Do you give yourself task lists when you are home or at sea? Well, I do things like sorting all pictures on my phone, sorting the files on my laptop, writing my blogs, and posting the blogs….. The only thing I manage to do when I am onboard is to actually post on my social media! I manage to post every day a story or a picture about my life at sea but when I am at home there is no way I can find or make time for that!! somehow it just doesn’t work and I forget about it. Anyways.

Checking the vessel while sailing in the Biscay!
Checking the vessel while sailing in the Biscay!

I made a few pictures ahead to use for the next few days so that I always have something ready. Then I just need to find a caption and take time to post. Yes, it does actually take time to write the caption and post it. maybe I should also prepare that ahead…. and just have to copy and paste.

Ok so enough talking about social media. back to the ship’s life and long days at sea. During this short bit of ocean crossing, I was really hoping to see some wildlife: dolphins and whales…. but the only thing I saw was kelp. yep. algae. You might find it strange but it is one thing I notice, to be honest! coming out from the Baltic Sea it is strange to see algae again! And I like it! I am no expert though in which type of algae and if it is normal to see these ones so high up or not. When I was on Europa I remember the guide we had with us onboard were marine biologists and they specialized in such things. 

It is always time for a good swim call according to Sophie!
It is always time for a good swim call according to Sophie!

In the Biscay, we stopped the vessel for a swim call! I love swimming in the sea and I find it even greater to swim in the ocean when there is nothing around and where the closest sea is 5000m under your feet!! I find it so exciting! it gives a feeling of freedom. Before I was always worried that sharks would come around and think I am a seal and just eat me alive…. Now I think that the Biscay is probably way too cold for sharks… right? I would never swim near ascension island for example. It is full of sharks there. And in warmer waters, I would always stick closer o the ship thinking that in case something happened then I would be able to put my whole body on the hull and pretend I am part of the ship and therefore way bigger than the shark so he would not be interested in eating me. I bet you are now thinking I watched too many horror movies right?

That is one of the highlights I always have in the Biscay: double bonus when it is sunny and no swell and we get to swim if we are not in a hurry.

When arriving in Ferrol was also very nice! It was a few days we were at sea only but it seemed like an exciting adventure and when preparing the pilot ladder the crew was all happy on deck smiling and jumping around as if we were finally arriving at a safe space after dreadfully long days on the ocean. Or maybe it was just the pretty surroundings like in a fairy tail: a natural channel, castles and forts protecting the entrance to the river… Or again, it could be that we were arriving on a Saturday morning and that they were only going to discharge on Monday morning so we were all looking ahead to a free and calm weekend in Spain. This meant shore leave in the city and a long walk up the surrounding hills.

MV Ruyter alongside in Ferrol, Spain
MV Ruyter alongside in Ferrol, Spain
a Chief officer happy to by alongside in Spain!
a Chief officer happy to by alongside in Spain!

I must admit it was really nice to be back in the sunshine. We were lucky enough to go in that early but as per harbour authorities, we were not allowed to do any commercial activity or maintenance for the vessel when alongside or they would charge us the whole weekend fee. so yep. Win-win for us, not really for the ship right? But sometimes it is nice to just follow the flow… and enjoy a relaxing weekend. The next few days will be busy, better charge our batteries!

See you next week! 🙂

Sophietje

6th term, week 8 ⚓️✌🏻

21st till 27th of March 2022

Hello there my friends! It is 8 weeks since I am onboard and I should soon start receiving emails for me going home! maybe at the end of this week? or maybe at the end of next week, who knows! it will all depend on the harbours we will be sailing to of course! always the same story, right?

On the 21st, Captain H. drove home with Duschi the dog and the new captain was onboard. It is always strange to change crew members. Especially when it is a captain with whom you work well and things are smooth. The new captain was still a big mystery to me. Eventually, we slowly got to know each other. But the first days are always awkward: asking what he expects from me and how he likes to see things onboard is the first step. It seems strange to ask but usually, people come and say « oh just do like you normally do » but then everything seems wrong or modified etc…. I usually like to ask ahead now what they expect and how they see it rather than having to change things around after I have spent time making them. It is also a nice moment to ask how the new captain works and to have the first batch of information on how he wants it to be. Every captain is different and has different ideas, and ways of doing. And of course as chief Officer, I need to adapt to the captain. it usually doe not dork the other way around…. unfortunately.

Saying goodbye to captain H. Crew changes are always sad
Saying goodbye to captain H. Crew changes are always sad

I showed him how I did my voyage planning and asked if he wanted to see more information in it; I showed him how I entered things in the logbooks and the same asked if he had some particulars he wanted me to always right down. At least we could start first and see further later.

He seemed like a young fun person. A smoker. But that is not so much of a problem for me as long as doors are open and smokers do their thing on the lee side, right? but then later in the week, he said he was going to stop smoking… like what??? no, please! not on my watch!! haha. They say people who stop smoking at sea become irritable and in a bad mood! well, at least that started off well as a joke right?

Discharging paper reels in Terneuzen
Discharging paper reels in Terneuzen

We stayed in Terneuzen for a couple of days discharging the paper reels; in the afternoon or early evening, we sailed out to Zeebrugge where we would load wood pulp to Rauma, Finland again. But first, we had our new autopilot trials to do. This took a little more time than planned but it ended up all well.

Almost finished with discharging! chief officer Sophie presenting the last reels on a selfie
Chief officer with ear cuffs and thumbs up because she is ballasting
picking up all the timber laid to protect the cargo from the tanktop
picking up all the timber laid to protect the cargo from the tanktop

Loading the wood pulp went extremely fast as they were loading 16 packages by 16 packages! 

A big paper reel used to cut paper to protect the tanktop and the woodpile cargo
Loading the first woodpulp cargo in the fore part of the hold
A huge crane for a small vessel.... loading wood pulp in Zeebrugge
A huge crane for a small vessel…. loading wood pulp in Zeebrugge

There is a funny story to tell about the loading. For sensitive cargo such as wood pulp, there are two options. If the tanktop is painted then there is no need to display a layer of paper on the tanktop as a protective layer for the wood pulp. As our tanktop is not painted, we need to roll out the paper before the loading starts. In Sweden, the stevedores do it themselves and roll the paper out following the loading. In the Netherlands, the crew has to have it all prepared before they start loading. And of course, we prepare it when the hatches are closed and as soon as they start they do not want us to be in the hold anymore for safety reasons. The problem is that as soon as there are more hatches open the wind blows in and all the paper is torn apart and blowing away. It is quite annoying to know that we have spent time unrolling it and taping it the best we could and it is never enough. The funny part is that this time the paper was not on time. There had been a miscommunication and after a few phone calls, it was agreed that we would still display the paper in the hold. So they came with a huge roll of paper. Such a paper roll we had just transported. A 2-ton roll. I was a bit confused. Luckily the foreman told me it was not good paper and with the forklift, he rolled out the paper and made smaller rolls by hand….. way handier. because my crane was not capable of lifting it entirely in the hold of course. It was just a funny moment to see two persons rolling out a huge paper roll to cut smaller pieces as protection for the wood pulp.

The gaps between the grade are a bit big.... it will matter for the last tier and for the airbags in between
Still loading wood pulp

They also had a crew to do the lashing and the airbags. I tried my best to be on top of things there, to show the captain I was at ease on deck. But of course, I did not know him yet and sometimes there are miscommunications when people do not know each other and need to adapt to new working colleagues. I probably overlashed the wood pulp to not have bad surprises arriving in Finland of course. When other people, not from the ship, do the lashing, you cannot always blame it on them because I am supposed to always double-check what and how they are lashing the cargo right? And in any situation, the captain is always ended up responsible, and I did not want him to start with such a bad idea of me either. first impressions are always important, right?

This could actually be another full subject: how we first meet people and what remains of these first impressions over time. I have the feeling that first impressions are often the ones that remain the longest. that it is difficult to change one’s opinion on various matters. but I am maybe wrong.

Leaving Belgium was nice. It is always nice to go back to sea after a few days in the harbour, especially when there is a lot of tide, and some work to check the mooring lines to make sure the vessel is not hanging in them at low tide… I must admit that this is something I like very much about the baltic sea… there is such a minimal tide that it is often not even applicable! I also like that most of the quays are at our height too and not made for huge vessels. You have no idea how difficult it can be to have a safe mean of coming off and onboard ( the mighty gangway of course) when the quay is not fitted for our type of vessel and when there is a huge tidal difference that you have to move the heavy gangway every couple of hours and adjust it again.

Hatches closed and ready for departure!
Hatches closed and ready for departure!

We were now sailing away to Finland: Rauma.

Do you know a nice story? When we left the Belgian port there was a tug boat; most probably checking the fire pumps of course, but the nice thing is that it seemed like they were making the water spray to greet us and wish us fair winds as we were departing… I know, I know, I probably still have a mindset on big events for tall ships, where the tugs were actually welcoming us and saying good-by with all fire pumps on during the sail-in and sail-out parade. haha.

A tug boat trying the fire hydrants, making like a party upon your departure!
A tug boat trying the fire hydrants, making like a party upon your departure!

It had been a while since I was not in Rauma. It was nice to know we had a couple of days sailing before arriving. I start to know by heart the schedule: depending on where we are in the Netherlands, it is around 12 or 24 hours to the Kiel channel then 8 hours on the Channel and 2,5-3 days to Finland. This would give me some time to prepare for my handover.

This time we are welcoming a new crew member as an officer onboard and it is important to spend some time preparing anything my reliever would need and to make sure to have time to do a good safety familiarization and go over the administration of the ship. It will be a huge handover so I have to be organized right?

So off I go to prepare all that!

xxx

Sophietje

6th term, week 6 ⚓️✌🏻

7th till 13th of March 2022

Here we arrived in Brake in the morning. This is perfect because it gives us time to prepare for discharging: we need to take all the timber lashing for the deck cargo and the tarpaulins off. This takes quite some time – but luckily less than when we make them tight! haha!

Ruyter underway on the Weser river to Brake with timber cargo on deck
Ruyter underway on the Weser river to Brake with timber cargo on deck

We took the afternoon to roll all the lashings and the tarpaulins that were no more in use. We would then store them the next day in the lashing store as we had time to do it during the discharging. Only a part of our cargo would go to Brake and the other part to Bremen. Obviously, the deck cargo and the top part of the cargo that was in the hold were for the first harbour and the rest for the second harbour. Just saying. It can be logical for some but not for others. When we load, first the second harbour comes in first then the second. We also need to make sure that we can keep a nice trim once we are partially discharged. Often that can be slightly corrected with a part of the ballast already in….

Ruyter alongside in Brake, lashings still need to be taken off
Ruyter alongside in Brake, lashings still need to be taken off

Anyways. Tuesday Morning I woke up early to be on deck as they started discharging in the morning. I did not have to open hatches yet as there was still cargo on top of it. Also, We would first have to take the bottom tarpaulins off before being able to reach the speed locks. After an hour or a little more, I woke the deck crew up to help me with the tarpaulins. We needed to fold them nicely and neatly and store them again. It is not difficult to do but it is faster with a few people of course. And if there is a bit of wind then the sail just blows away very easily. Also, we do not want the crane to wait on us for discharging, so we have to always be a little bit ahead of time and clean up, to be ready to open as soon as possible for the discharge to go as smoothly as possible. Remember? It is always all about money and time and time and money… I work for the ship, so I have to make sure that I do everything in my power to not have the ship lose money…. Let’s say I am here to make the ship win money by transporting cargo in name of the company right?

The discharge of the deck cargo has started early in the morning
The discharge of the deck cargo has started early in the morning
the crane is taking two timber packages at the time
the crane is taking two timber packages at the time

Well, then this is what I also try to do then! Haha. So here we are myself and the ABs and the trainee, folding the tarpaulins on deck and waiting in the beautiful sun. It was not so cold and there was no pressure, just good moments and a lot of laughing. I like days like that. I like to be working outside. I like laughter and a good atmosphere. We were happy. Probably still enjoying as much as we could before the hard work would come when putting back the chains and the slings. In the lashing store haha.

The Weser river is marvelous with the sun rising. Amazing colours!
The Weser river is marvelous with the sun rising. Amazing colours!

It was a 2 hours sail to Bremen and we wanted to make sure that we would sail before the end of the afternoon to not have so much night work for nothing.

Here the crane is discharging three packages at the time; we are already in the hold
Here the crane is discharging three packages at the time; we are already in the hold

The morning gang from Brake was quite a fast crew. They discharged most of the packages before they left for their crew change. If not all of them. We were ready with our hatches closed when the other crew arrived. The problem was that all our slings were still ashore and we needed them to give them back to us with their crane.

Also. They probably did not really like each other between morning and afternoon crew because they had left all the timber ashore directly on the floor with our slings around them still; and not in an organised manner at all! It was a pure mess and the forklifts could not access some of the packs of timber without moving others around it was difficult because they were directly on the ground without space for them to insert the fork and lift them…

Besides that, 8 people were watching two forklifts work…. And those were not the best: as we were all waiting on the hatches looking at them, they were moving around packages that were already without slings while we were waiting and waiting….

Our engine was even on already!

After one hour, Trust me, I told the captain I would go out and scream at them a little hoping would accelerate the pace. Luckily it did. I do not always like screaming, but sometimes you do need to. Otherwise, nothing happens. And unfortunately, as a woman, I need to scream a little harder otherwise the men ashore just look at me and laugh. So there I was…. from the top of the hatches telling the shore team to speed up; telling them it was one hour already that we were waiting and that our engine was on and that we were waiting on them and that nothing was happening. They were all a bit confused. In reality, it did not happen exactly like that… a couple of them started staring at me and laughing -probably thinking I was crazy- so I threw in a few rude words that touched their ego…. And then it started moving a bit faster too.

I was laughing because of captain H.: he was telling me by VHF to tell them that even his grandmother of 98 was faster than them!

Oh well, that was a good laugh. 20 minutes later we were finally casting off our lines and sailing in direction of Bremen further on the river.

The next morning we discharged the rest of the timber and that lasted the full day.

The last tier on the tanktop needs to be discharged then we will start under hatch 1
The last tier on the tanktop needs to be discharged then we will start under hatch 1

While the ABs were collecting all the slings as they came and directly putting them in the lashing store, we would after that have to put the chains in and the « timber job » would be closed till…..next time.

The nice thing is that we managed to repaint the lashing store on that voyage and make it nice again. All the slings were stored in the lashing store and non in the bow thruster room. I must say I was very happy about it. We made smaller packages of slings: by 10, they were way lighter and easier to handle of course than by packs of 25….. and we could also squeeze them more easily in small corners which was perfect. I was quite proud of the result. The lashing store is slowly getting organised, finally! And we even have an extra shelf there as an extension of the deck store in the aft; this way we can keep only the things we use regularly at hand reach and once in a while get things out from the forecastle or the lashing store.

The next trip was loading would pulp in Brake again…. 

In the late evening we sailed back to Brake and the next morning we loaded wood pulp. I was just hoping we would not get the same afternoon shore crew back…. You know…. Those on which I said rude things to get them to work faster …. And surprise yes! It was the same team! Like « oepsies ». Well, the good thing is that there was not the whole team again; just the crane driver. And you know what? I was not ashamed… we were a bit in our right to scream at them to go faster because they were wasting our time and that was not correct….

Anyways. Loading wood pulp took a little longer than planned as their crane broke down for a couple of hours…. We were sailing back to the icy area: Kotka! I sometimes find it funny to see how cargo goes from one place to another: close to Kotka there is a wood pulp factory; why on earth do we bring wood pulp back there? Of course, there are different qualities and different trees to make cellulose. Usually, the one we load in Belgium or The Netherlands comes from Brazil and is made of Eucalyptus.

We have been lucky with beautiful sunsets and sunrises this week!
Ruyter underway again, in the sun!

In the evening we completed loading and sailed up to the Kiel Channel again… And yes, Kiel Channel on a Sunday; of course. Lucky not at night, but it is usually either one or the other! Haha.

We have been lucky with beautiful sunsets and sunrises this week!

And there was our week gone!

The highlight was my manoeuvring! Yes, you heard it! In Bremen, I manoeuvred the vessel to put her alongside! I was so happy and proud it made my day! You will hear more from me about that every time I manoeuvre! I just love that!

Anyways…. I wish you a great Sunday and see you on the other side of the Kiel Canal tomorrow!

XXXX Sophie