Tag: sailing

INTERNSHIP ~ Week 5 🚢 ⚓️✌🏻

INTERNSHIP ~ Week 5 🚢 ⚓️✌🏻

Oh. My. God. This week went SO fast. I have no idea where it went!

We are underway to Ireland 🇮🇪 with a cargo hold full of Soja bean meel…. as you can see, the ship was filled by a sort of grain blower in the hold… it is pretty funny to see.

The trainee checking out the loading process

It took us a bit long to load in Kaliningrad because of the weather. As it is sensitive, the hatches were closed as soon as there were drops of rain…. so on gangway watch we spent time counting drops… part of the job.. I guess! ☔️

Only a few hatched open to be fast in case of rain

The last days in Russia 🇷🇺 were pretty long waiting for customs and clearance to come onboard and when they finally did they were 13 searching the vessel ! Its Crazy.

Svetly harbour by night

We had to go through a facecheck again and the officer looked at me and my seamans’s book: « so… you are French? » … well yes! 🤔 I was glad he could at read! But just wondered why he doubted I knew I was French haha! 😂

I am glad we are now underway. It is good to go sailing and leave the craziness of harbour behind get some rythm and rest: homework 📚 of course but also sleep 💤…. It is pretty interesting to see the vessel going through 30knots of wind and I then remember how it can also be fun on a sailing vessel ⛵️ but again pretty wet.. I will not be complaining for the few big waves that hig the vessel…. I still slept like a baby! 🌊

Big waves on the bow

The sunset this evening by the south Orkney islands was amazing 🙌🏻. The sky and clouds offered impressive colours! Thank you 🌎 ♥️. This is a good reminder that life can also just « be » sometimes ;).

Calm seas through the Orkneys

This is my last week before being on the dark side of age… I wish i could still postpone it for a bit. 😆 once again it will happen on a ship. I wish sometimes I could stop time. And just transport myself towards the people I want to be with … hmmhmh … 💭 😆 Hopefully no buckets of water or firehoses this time 😉 🚿

A trainee that needs to concentrate on her school reports…

No worries, I am happy onboard and the crew I share my days with are really fun. I am glad I have met them! 🙂 even though I do miss my family and loved ones at home and over the pond(s) ♥️⚓️ 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦🐕 🐈 🦜 please know that I do not forget you. Ever. And I do care about you deeply!

♥️ xxx 😃 @ Kirkwall

INTERNSHIP ~ Week 4. 🚢 ⚓️✌🏻

INTERNSHIP ~ Week 4. 🚢 ⚓️✌🏻

We are still in Russia 🇷🇺! Probably only for the next couple of days…. we will soon be loading and heading to Ireland 🇮🇪:)

Are you sure youet the trainee do it? 😉

This week was another week in drydock with again some new stuff: playing on the main engine 🙌🏻 or hide and seek in the double bottom tanks… (kidding… ~ i was just checking out 😉 )

Checking double bottom ballast water tanks

The ship is nicely and freshly painted: all nice and shiny but we now still have quite some work on deck to do to make it shiny there too ;).

The drydock crew in Kaliningrad

We had the chance to go to town again which was nice but studies came over rolling as a tough reminder that I am a student again and trying to fit a full two years study in 6 month 💪🏻 well…. can be a bit of pressure when you are a Sophie! 📚

A future officer checking the hull in drydock

I had my first tough challenge in the middle of the week: cumulation of not enough sleep, a bit of pressure and the hard feeling of beeing a “cadet” or just a trainee when i am so used to being responsible and running things… it is not always easy to hear people telling you they are being patient explaining you things that you already know and that they are your superior… Yes 😑… kind reminder to myself that when I cannot be a normal 200% and just a 50% then people apparently start worrying 🙇🏻‍♀️when I just need to be me and let me be…

I am now missing one happy picture in my daily challenge (because of the challenging day) but I am now back on track. People actually care and that make me happy to see. Thank you ♥️.

Ruyter in drydock

Drydock 👩🏻‍🔧is now over and lets get the fun going again : soya bean meel and sailing, back into normal ship routine, I wonder what is coming up this week! 🤪

Happy trainee

Make space. Here i come! @ Калининград

INTERNSHIP ~ Week 3 🚢 ⚓️✌🏻

INTERNSHIP ~ Week 3 🚢 ⚓️✌🏻

One week in Russia 🇷🇺 already! As you can notice I am never too far from tall ships…

STV Sedov moored ahead of us on our waiting berth in Kaliningrad

Here in Kaliningrad not only we were moored astern of Sedov but, other tall ships are everywhere to be seen …. 😉

Ruyter is out of the water now and ready for a huge sand blast. Pretty cool for her to get a lift but for us, a closed ventilation is not so nice… but we still do the jobs! 😉

A good team work for changing the rubbers of the hatches on sunny days and overhauling generators and oil seperators on rainy days… 🌧 it is still pretty cool onboard!

We had the chance to go downtown and found a few cool spots! World heritage cathedral and old unused buildings from the soviet time…. its either poor or rich which makes a funny combination when all mixed together … no real harmony ~say my architecture eyes 👀 ~ but still nice to walk quite a bit! 🙂

No need to say that all the shipyard workers are coming to « check the female crew out » that we kind of had to say the captain was our father and the engineer our brother to warn them 😆… its pretty funny. They are offering us appointments in beauty salons for our black oily nails… well sorry we are not the type wearing guess sweatpants, long fake nails, gucci socks and huge sunglasses and half a centimeter make up on the face… but thank you for the offer! 😉
👄 💅🏻vs🔩🛠⚙️

A lot of learning in the engine room this week and was really surprised to realize I knew way more than what I thought… and the captain seems pretty happy about that! Apparently some come onboard and do not know how to hold a screwdriver…!! 😮

So happy that not even at week 3 out of my 13 weeks internship, he offered me the chief officer’s position if I wanted… 🙂 like wow! What on earth is happening here????!!! What have I done here? Super surprised and also a bit proud…. i must say! Well i am really looking forward to do more here!
Even though i miss quite some people and the dogs back home too! i am thinking of special people I havent seen or heard from in too long.♥️
I am almost done of the mini Reese peanut butter cups I had and i am trying to save them till my birthday but i guess I’ll have to find some new ones soon…⚓️

@ Калининград