Tag: sailing around the world

5th term, week 10 🌊❤️

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.

Pilot boat alongside in front of Vlissingen

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?

Team deck! Happy, ready and present for all tasks!

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! 🙂

Ruyter alongside in Terneuzen

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.

Discharging the sand in Terneuzen, from one vessel to another

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.

How many mooring lines do you count on the ship astern of us?

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!

Looking at the heavy weather waiting for us in the locks in Terneuzen
Happy chief officer in the first lock of the voyage to Amsterdam… still 5 to go!
Passing so many narrow bridges on our way to Amsterdam via the inland traffic

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.

On our way to Amsterdam via Dordrecht and Rotterdam

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!

Ruyter moored in Amsterdam, ready to load whilst I leave the vessel and wave back to captain H.
Fair well my Friends! see you two months!

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

Cheerios!!! Sophie

XXX

5th term, week 9 🌊❤️

22nd – 28th of November 2021

Hello all! Will this be my last week onboard? We are not sure yet! Maybe we still make it for the weekend in The Netherlands, but honestly, I do not think so! For the first time, I might start a week 10 onboard while I am under contract!! As a trainee, I had 13 weeks to do and stayed a little longer but…. For the past 2 years, I was always home within 9 weeks. There is always a first for everything right? 😉

And here we are in Uusikaupunki in Finland. I am slowly figuring out that in Finland it is almost always nice weather when we are there. Or at least the lights, the skies and the colours are always so amazing! Sunrises and sunsets are so beautiful! I think I would not mind having a holiday house here in these areas somewhere in between the trees and the snow and where I would be able to go for long daily walks in the snow and have a small wooden house with a beautiful bay wind to enjoy the sunsets with a fireplace and a warm drink on the couch with a woollen blanket… Well yes, pretty much that picture! But yes that is daydreaming because it is now just cold enough but there is no snow yet and no ice in the water so it is just my imagination…. But I mean it is still very pretty.

Pilot boat has just dropped off the Pilot onboard
Alongside in uusikaupunki and enjoying the beautiful skies

Ok now having said that, the next day we were there it was snowing very hard so probably God up there heard my dream request haha; or it is just winter coming. I like to believe it is both. So yes Quite a bit of snow in the morning but then it finally cleared up and we could start discharging. The crane was there and the trucks started coming too. What I like about this harbour, is that it is just « easy ». That quay is easy, the foreman is not difficult, he is also following the weather forecast and tries to work with you with planning and possibilities and shares his forecast with you to compare. I like that. In some harbours, trust me, the foreman and stevedores do not care at all what they are doing and if you close because of rain they get upset and start shouting at you so you really have to learn how to shout back!

Discharging operations in Uusikaupunki

Well that being said, we had our first snow in Uusikaupunki, which I thought was pretty exciting!

Oh, the other exciting thing I had was a friend in the water with me all morning! Yes as I was doing so deck jobs there was a seal in the water on the port side. It was staring at me and I was staring back and was trying to talk to him and make sounds… it was pretty cool. But of course, the moment I wanted to take a good picture, he was gone. Do you ever have that too? The moment you want to immortalise a moment, then it is gone and only belongs in your head?

Well, then I continued doing my deck jobs of course. 

Then I got distracted a second time with climbing up the aft mast to check if all was in good order still…. And as you know my history with climbing masts and working at heights. I probably stayed there a couple of minutes more than necessary just to enjoy the fresh air and the view!

Overview from the monkey deck on the cargo operations
The chief officer says it is all going smoothly

Ok, the cargo deck is probably – for sure- not as pretty as a tall ship’s wooden deck, right? But I got to appreciate it, knowing all the time the ABs spent scraping off the old paint, grinding sand and repainting very nicely the hatches. And also the various colours you can see: the shore crane, the cargo, etc…. Well you know it is just appreciation of all the small things around 🙂 I just think it is cool. And I hope you enjoy it too haha!

Once the cargo discharge was complete we sailed to Dalsbruk through the inshore waters of Finland! That was actually a pretty cool trip. All the way we had a pilot on board and halfway changed for another. It was a pity that it was during the night because of course it was pitch dark and you could only see the buoys around. And it was a lot of bearings too. I guess the Finnish pilots know these routes and shortcuts like the back of their hands but for us, it was pretty interesting. Also to know that even though you are taking pilots all the way which costs quite a bit, taking the inside water is way shorter so fewer miles and less fuel burnt so, in the end, it compensates well. Just a pity it was all by night. I think I would have very much enjoyed seeing the scenery!

Anyways. Dalsbruk was a very small harbour. It is known in the summer as it is full of sailing vessels. The quayside for the cargo ships was very short and we barely made it ;-). We did but it was short let’s say: so sticking out forward and backwards. It was the first time that they were going to load wet sand on such a vessel as ours. And also the first time they were having a ship transporting it back to The Netherlands. Interesting… Second time in this term that we are a « first-timer ».

Alongside in Dalsbruk for the first time, hatches open ready to load sand
The quay was very short and we had to walk a bit to read the drafts!

The nice thing with wet sand is that the cargo hold also did not need to be dry which saved us some crazy mopping work. It was very clean though, as usual. We loaded like we load fertiliser or other types of stones or sand. 4 piles of approximately 750 tons each and a little more closer to the aft. The grab could barely reach aft and forward… Actually, he was probably a little lazy to move his machine… but in the end, he had to because we complained that he was just throwing the cargo in the hold… which was not good for two reasons: heavy weight falling on the tank top (it damages the steel) and wrong positioning of the cargo in the hold (stability issues). Instead of having specific piles and amounts of weight, we would have a splattered area of sand. In the end, it was all good. It is also nice to be in such a small harbour: easy people, no extra safety measures like in some ports where we almost have to call in to be accompanied to check our drafts otherwise we get problems…

They load with a grab
The sand is slightly wet and very dense

Here, they were pretty chatty and asking me where I was coming from and telling us what we could do in Dalsbruk and inviting us to come back in the summer when it was « the place to be » from all of the places in Finland… of course? You know, when we are doing some cargo operations, we do not go off in town. We also wait until either the operations stop for the night to have a beer. And for sure when it was a busy earlier day and night well, to be honest, we do not want to go to town so late haha. Or maybe I am just getting old.

Happy AB B. greasing the crane together with the guys!

That evening, I had one of the best sunsets ever. I do not know why the lights are so pretty and the colours so orange-red and almost purple every single time during sunsets in Finland. I always tend to take a lot of different pictures of them because the moment vanishes so fast and every couple of minutes it seems different and prettier. Do you get what I mean by that?

Finland has the best sunsets! I was here deballasting, hense the ear protection I kept
The sunset was exceptional!

Anyways during the night we finished loading and headed the next morning out with the Pilot onboard. They are only two pilots for that area which seems very little to me. What if one is on holiday or sick? What if more vessels come in? It is really that you have to wait your turn and pick the good timing.

On our way southwest the weather was still pretty windy outside; but luckily not as much as the previous voyages. A couple of big waves here and there and some rain of course. Sometimes sunshine which is nice because it reminds you that behind all the greyness there is still some blue sky somewhere… and indeed I saw a couple of really big and beautiful rainbows on the way. 

off we go sailing!
heavy weather on the way, but found the view still pretty with the lights on deck!

That is enjoyable at sea because there is no interference so you can sometimes see both ends of the rainbow!. Although it never fits in the picture it is nice to see in real-time and to just enjoy the moment. As usual right? 😉

Finally a ray of sunshine!

We passed the Kiel Channel again and headed towards the North Sea where there was still quite some swell left from earlier stronger winds. We rolled quite a bit but nothing dramatic or unbearable. Rain, drizzle, sunshine, clouds, big waves and rolls. Yep normal North Sea weather in winter times… Oh well, I prefer when it is all shiny and bright. Sometimes it reminds me that in the past years I would spend winter in the Caribbean with lovely warm and sunny weather. I guess my skin should be covered up a bit more right? Fewer wrinkles, less sun damage, less whatever… I do miss the sun kisses highlights in my hair and the light tan tough….

We were all ready to arrive in The Netherlands the next morning. With a new beginning of the week that was not showing great help weather-wise: a lot of wind and rain. Of course. Just for my last trip right?

Oh well, lets see next week!

Xxx

Sophie

5th term, week 8 🌊❤️

15th – 21st of November 2021

Sunday, in the middle of the night we arrived at our berthing place in Szczecin. It was quite dark where we were and there was just a quayside with enough space for two vessels our size to be moored. I had never been. In this part of the harbour yet. A small bridge was ahead of us where only smaller river ships could pass beneath. Clearly, this was the end of the end and the city could not be seen from where we were. I could only distinguish some cranes behind the shed where the wood pulp would be stored.

What a view on the vessel discharging in Stettin!

We were far from the city centre, that was quite clear. Anyways We would not have time to go there this time as they were discharging 24h here and there was no rain forecasted.

Chief officer making sure all is going according to plan
Climbing up high in the aft mast to check the condition of the equipment

The discharging went quite smoothly. We were planning to start on Monday after lunch which gave us time in the morning to take away the lashings and the airbags without pressure or hurry. The crane was a small crane that could take only three packages at the same time but it went quite fast nonetheless. The thing is that with smaller cranes, they are often faster and more agile than bigger ones. It is really a matter of perception: less cargo but more times, or more cargo but fewer times… In the end, it took us less than a day to discharge it all and I ended up waking up captain H. two hours after he had gone to bed; so that he could call the agent and get a pilot organized. We had still 4 hours on the channel to go and then not even a day to sail to Kaliningrad and if we were lucky with this time, we could have the early morning convey in Russia and at least be at the waiting Berth if the winds were to increase too much – as expected later in the week… And for once, for once, the Gods were with us till we arrived at our loading berth in Kaliningrad! Can you imagine? Arrived spot on time at the pilot boarding station, clearance with immigration went very smoothly, draft survey and cargo hold accepted without any problem and we started loading very easily and the weather was so far grey, but not rainy…..

The last cargo till completion

Normally arriving in Russia is always a hassle because Immigration comes on board with 2 to 3 officers and they are never so kind to you. This time he was a normal human! 😉 They did not do any cabin check, but the compulsory face check did happen and all the crew had to be awake for that. Because we knew that in advance we also mixed around the watched so that everyone could benefit from a good rest. The ABs and the trainee would be doing constant gangway watch in Russia. They were prepared to be cold too. They took a small heater out and a bucket to sit on by the gangway but luckily they were also out of the wind so it was not as cold as one month ago when we were loading here; or even as two years ago during my internship where we were already reaching the 0° Celsius…

In this loading port, It always takes a bit of time for them to prepare the belt and the cargo and have the scale ready for loading. They say 45 minutes but I believe the tendency is slightly less than the double…. We are always ready and we need to wait quite some time before they move the crane and position it above the hatch we want them to start, and then again quite sometime before the actual first cargo is in the hold. It is a pity because we lose quite some time like that and Sometimes I wonder how they do not make it more efficient. They know we are there, and ready so why not prepare ahead if the weather is clear? I am sure they have their reasons I am not aware of of course.

Loading took really long due to the weather conditions: rain

This time I do not think it would have made a big difference though, but as we are depending on conveys to sail in and out of the harbour, we have to shots a day and if we are delayed 12 hours because we started loading one hour later well it can sometimes be a bit frustrating…. This harbour is not the best place to be for the crew: we are not allowed to go ashore really, we need to do constant 24-hour gangway watch, it is often quite cold weather and windy, there is no network and 4g (I mean there is but it is extremely expensive so we are all on flight mode!) and the buildings and silos act slightly as an opaque screen on our satellite internet which lowers the quality of our connection…. Of course, we can survive a few days without a good internet connection, right? I mean, on the sailing vessels, we would not have any internet for weeks during our long crossings and it was fine. We would socialize and read books (ok watch movies too… 😉 but not Netflix as it was not available of course!)

This is how soya bean is loaded

This time it was all going fine and we were hoping to be out on time before the storm and have a nice weekend in Uusikaupunki before discharge would start the week after. It was only 2 days sailing to Finland, but Russian surveyors can be very very difficult on the weather during loading. To avoid any difficulties and discussions, with the finest drizzle hatches are closed immediately. A drop is a drop and in this case, there is no discussion on how big or how wet the drop is. no risk is taken ship side. And…. On our first night, we had a very fine drizzle almost the whole night which meant we almost did not load. A few times on my watch I hesitated to open. I did for half an hour but no one could be found on the shoreside, or by the crane. Also, the surveyor was not there (he usually stays all day in his car in front of our gangway). I was waving whistling ( loud, with two fingers in my mouth right? Not the birds while you do in a forest on a walk… 😉 ), shouting. But decided to close again. As it started raining slightly again. I am sure they were checking me out with binoculars thinking I was just a crazy woman on deck… Or maybe they were just sitting behind their radar screens and deciding they were not going to load anyways because of what was still to come ahead… At least I tried, and it was noted in the logbook; not that it would make a big difference in the end!

Intermittent loading: hatches open and closed according to the rain…. finally one hatch open! so we can proceed with loading!

For almost two days we sat there counting drops while only half the cargo was in the hold. And then of course the wind was picking up. The same wind we were hoping to avoid while sailing out and to be in time out at sea. In Westerly winds, the harbour closes for vessels like us as soon as the speed hits 16 m/s which is a 7 Beaufort. It was 7 already and it would keep increasing to 10 even later. There was not much we could then wait for the rain to pass and the wind to die – in case we completed the loading. Sailor’s life. Sometimes it is also about waiting and being patient right?

Well, let’s say that to complete the waiting, they decided that there was too much wind to load even. It was dry. But too much wind. Oh well. Captain H. Said I just needed to wait for them to come to the ship and decide that we could open. It feels a bit strange. Usually, I would say that it is the opposite. That we ( the vessel) decide if we can load or not. But of course, there is more involved to that too. They have their inspectors and they want to make sure that the cargo is good. And we do not want to mess with Russians either. The good thing is that it makes easy watches…. But it feels a bit like a loss of energy to be just awake and waiting during the watches at night. You can do a few small jobs but not like during the daytime. Luckily they came during my night watch for me to open up! I was glad – although the wind had not decreased in my opinion…. Haha And finally finally we continued the loading process. We still had 900t to go so with a bit of luck it would be completed by the morning and with even more luck we would be able to sail out with the morning convey! For sure the wind would have decreased by then just enough to open the harbour again.

This is how soya bean looks like: crushed nuts
Loading selfie!

And Yes! We were lucky; it is how it happened. Completion at 6:30 am then draft survey and then waiting again. For papers, for the agent, for immigration to come onboard. I think in this country only the pilots are there on time, or even early… hahaha they must be paid for the time they spend on board haha. I mean, of course, I do not know and I hope they would not get offended reading this; the past Russian pilots we had onboard were pretty ok and nice people.

Big ships and small ships, this is Leonie, on the left, a sister ship from Ruyter, waiting for our berth

Saturday afternoon we were finally sailing out of Kaliningrad, wind in the nose – of course, for a change!- and heading to Uusikaupunki in Finland. It was a 2-day sail normally; but with strong wind, we do not manage to reach the double digits in speed. And this time we were slightly below average but still made it on time to the pilot station in Finland.

Sunset in Svettly (Kaliningrad, Russia)

The crossing went well; not so much heavy weather as expected, a bit of a nervous ship when sailing out on my watch but then it because easier. It seems like a good thing in the Baltic: when the wind drops, the horrible swell also decreases almost immediately. Because the swell in that area can be terrible really. The other thing I do not really like when sailing up North like that is that the heading of the ship is not so nice to catch the satellite for good internet onboard…. Oh no, do not judge me! After years without internet and after 5 days in Russia when you do not want to have any 4g network and a very bad internet connection, trust me, you are really looking forward to having some speed internet on your night watches too!! Or just for the ship of course ;-). Ok I might be slightly exaggerating, but it is true; on that course, it is not as stable because our mast is in the way. It is the way it is. It is not a long trip anyways and I pick up drawing a bit more instead. I have a tablet with a pen and I am trying to get more drawing skills. It has been so long since I have not really done « art » and I really like it and wish I’d be better at it. I believe the only way is to practice then and because I am always travelling, having a tablet on which I can draw is really awesome!

And the rain continued still at sea!

Oh! A great thing when sailing up north is the water temperature! We are getting close to Finnish winter temperatures here! During my night watch at sea, it was -2°C and I had hazel, snow, and drizzle. I had it all! Soon we will have to take care to ballast -5 minutes the tanks to avoid any damage. The air is getting colder and ice is slowly making its way on deck. But ok that is one thing. What I wanted to say is that the water temperature is really cold! Outside of course but also the ship’s wanter! The tank is of course located very low in the aft of the ship and is directly against the hull so it is cold – very cold- when it goes through the piping system to my shower! But wow it is so powerful in the morning. I must say it wakes you up! Brrahh! 😉 I try to train myself again to stay a little longer like count till 60 on each side of the body and breathe slowly. It is really great! I hope it will help me not get too cold on deck and not get sick either ( just the sniffy nose you know…); we shall see!

Anyways, We are arriving Monday after much time so I wish you a good Sunday at sea and oh! Saturday was A. Our engineer’s birthday! We had chocolate cake. And a very nice meal. It was nice 🙂

Ok, see you next week my friends!

Xxx Sopietje