29th of November- till departure!

So Nope… we did not make it to The Netherlands before the weekend as you can see…. But just after! We passed by Vlissingen on Monday afternoon and headed to the locks in Terneuzen where we had to wait quite a long time for our turn as there was congestion again. Those locks are terrible… I do not know why we always have to wait so long… I mean there are a lot of ships coming in and out of course, and it is the big lock so fits something like 6 vessels our size together with river ships, and of course, vessels go in and out so it is a constant back and forth. The moment you miss a schedule in the lock you have to wait your turn for two hours. And the thing is that is it always a bit rainy or very rainy weather there!. This time the skies were not so promising and were very dark but surrounded by rays of sunshine. It was quite pretty to look at because it was enhancing all the colours around.

We tried to make it a fine time on the foredeck with S. Our Trainee and B. An AB that was going home a few weeks after I would. And of course, with deckhands, we never know if they come back on board or how the rotation will be or not. We try to make a fun time on deck for good memories. I always believe that if you are not happy to do something it shows also in your work and your surroundings. But if you say « oh well, we can still make it a fun time ! » then things become lighter and nicer too. Have you ever tried it?

I am still trying sometimes. I must admit that it does not always come naturally. There is something I do not like to do of course. Like, be in the rain or the middle of the night doing work alone…. But it can also be just like cleaning windows inside you know? So I am not perfect. There I said it. Sometimes I do have to work hard on myself to make that shift in my head to make moments a nice one. I guess it is normal. Some weeks are easier than others for that. For sure it is just a different perspective. But it is simply thinking like « oh cool that is new, let’s do this » and just saying yes to everything that needs to be done, and just doing it with a smile and a positive attitude. I know I know..; easy to say, right? But not always easy to do… that is all about life. I guess. Again, I am just a Sophie and I do not know much.

Anyways. We were moored in Terneuzen. And cargo operations would only start… later. We did not know when yet when we would start discharging. I was planned for a flight in a couple of days too. A date for filching home! Nice! 🙂

At least it gave me some time to prepare the cabin for my reliever: a little bit every day so that I would not be last minute. I hate to be last minute. Of course, there are always working clothes etc to put away before I leave, which is sometimes tricky because I like to store then clean of course but when I am still outside doing cargo operations and all well…

Anyhow. We started discharging on the 1st in the morning. It was still rainy and windy. A barge came alongside us and the grab on shore was picking the sand from our vessel to put in the barge. I wonder where they were going after us… And I wonder what the sand would be used for. It was really thin. Probably to make glass? It could be.

The grab was quite a big one and the discharge was very fast. I think in 6 hours more or less the hold was empty and we came sweeping for the last bits here and there for completion.

Our next port of call was Amsterdam, where I was supposed to sign off and just hop into a train to Schiphol… But of course, you can imagine that because we had a delay in discharge, we also had a delay in arriving in Amsterdam…. So my flight was rescheduled. Even three times: a new day, new flight details. Luckily this is all arranged by the office and with seamen’s tickets, it is not a problem to change last minute.

There was a loooot of wind outside in the North Sea. And even though we were not sailing far (nothing is far in the Netherlands) it was not a nice trip at all to go with 40 knots of wind in the nose in the North Sea in ballast conditions. The winds would decrease later though… and maybe we could find a gap to be as short as possible out at sea. We also had a timer going on. Not only for my flight but also for loading in Amsterdam and receiving provisions.

The next day we had an early morning wake-up to get the gangways onboard and prepare for the locks. Captain H. Had decided we would not directly go to sea because it was not so safe and not comfortable for anyone. Very necessary. But we could not be delayed any further so he decided we would go through the inshore waters via Rotterdam and then, as the wind was decreased a lot, we would only have a small few hours at sea before entering the Channel in Ijmuiden leading us to Amsterdam.

I was relieved about that because I think over this whole term we had so much bad weather with so much wind and heavy seas that it was just tiring just thinking of it. And you know as I was saying earlier to try to stay positive in every situation to make it better, well…. yes. This had limits. Last days at sea and a horrible heavy wether day. So when he said we would go through inshore water, throw the rivers and 5 locks all day long, well I thought it was pretty cool!

I had never done it. And I know it would be a long day for us, but even more for him as he had to stay on the bridge navigating and manoeuvring all the time. Although I do know he loves it, it is still nonetheless a long day for him too. I tried to make it a great day and make each lock a happy moment lock and every time, then back to the bridge, enjoyed every moment and supported the captain bringing him coffee etc. Well you know, the funny thing was that every time we wherein the fore deck for being in the locks it started raining! And overtimes we were on the bridge it was dry and sunny! Yep! But it did not matter. It was way better than if we had been at sea. It took us probably way longer than expected because for a couple of locks we had to wait for our turn or for the bridge to open ( yes we are not a river ship so we cannot go below bridges…. I mean not those. 😉 ) But in the end, it did not matter: it was better than the heavy weather.

We had 4 hours only out at sea and the winds were better. It was not too bad at all. And we arrived early morning in Amsterdam. Pretty cool actually! I love that city!

And there I was, my last half-day onboard leaving the ship from Amsterdam from a small taxi boast to bring me ashore then a taxi to immigration then the airport!

There I was almost 10 weeks onboard and going home for two months!

Happy and sad always to leave the ship. It is a nice feeling to go home because I like to see my family, have sleep-ins and not work you know…. Like in having a few days off, you know. But then I am always leaving nice people behind that I shall miss and maybe never see again. There is a time for everything. I had a lot of things waiting for me back home and especially quite some sailboats to sew to be sent before Christmas and some time in the Navy to do too! And of course, lots of happy moments to be looking forward to with Christmas, new year’s eve and friends and family visiting!

Anyways! I wish you lovely holidays and I cannot wait to see you soon in February! 2 months is nothing right?

Cheerios!!! Sophie

XXX