Tag: sailing

INTERNSHIP ~ Week 2. 🚢 ⚓️ ✌🏻

INTERNSHIP ~ Week 2. 🚢 ⚓️ ✌🏻

And then flew by the second week onboard…
I am soooo gratefull for one of the best surprises this week…

After a heavy rolling night with a good northerly 7bft in the german bight, I woke up for a nice calm kieler kanal. I love this channel for the people cycling along 🚴‍♀️ and the smell of grass and countryside. It just makes me happy.

Calm day on the Kiel Channel

I was already wondering who I’d see in Holteneau when I saw some of my precious friends and previous collegues of mine pass by while sailing on Hendrika Barthelds, alsonkn the channel! They came back to shake hands with me! ♥️ it made my day.

Collegues and friends from my sailing world meeting uo in the kiel channel

Still quite a few firsts with my first time in Poland 🇵🇱 (Gdynia) to discharge our nice and heavy steel coils… no more heavy rolling for a while… 🙏 Unfortunatly- I knew it before hand though- there are no times off in harbour to go sight seeing…. so my view for the day was pretty much the quayside and the cranes loading other vessels 😂 !

My view when I cannot go ashore

The funny thing is that as we had an annual survey and as I had experience/ was the officer awake (hum hum trainee ~ excuse me!) I had to do a few things for the surveyor ! But I am just new onboard haha and not 100% familiar with all emergency systems yet of course! But happily it went pretty smoothly which made me content of myself! 💪🏻;)

Alongside in Poland

And another a first to Russia 🇷🇺! Where we will be staying in Kaliningrad for approx 10 days… I hope that we will get some time to go out one evening to the city! I really would like to experience some…. vodka! 🤪

We also have to do a strict gangway watch here… and I was glad to end up my freezing cold watch (ok not freezing but still felt like it..) 🥶 with my first russian sunrise 🌅

Early sunrise while the trainee (me) is on gangway watch

We had immigration and customs 🛃 onboard (normal) and they were not very friendly it felt like we were the bad guys in a prison… a bit strange to not be alowed to get out of your cabin, holding your seamans book till they facecheck you, check your room and the dog 🐕 sniffs everywhere… I hope I didnt forget to declare anything! 🥴funny enough the lady with the dog and the drugs stopped and asked me if i spoke russian (LOL ~ of course…. not!) and asked me about a laundry soap tablet and my multivitamines!! 😂 errrre- are you sure you are looking for what you are supposed to search for?!

Xxx♥️⚓️ @ Nord Ostsee Kanal Fähre Fischerhütte

INTERNSHIP ~ Week 1. 🚢 ⚓️ ✌🏻

INTERNSHIP ~ Week 1. 🚢 ⚓️ ✌🏻

As you can see this has been a new week full of firsts! I am off discovering a whole new world and everyday of this week has been full of nice encountries! Someone seems so be checkin on me from up there… 😇

Last sunday I was off for three months with my sailing bag but almost no sailing item in it for a change. Instead: study books 📚 , quite a bit of fear of leaving my comfort zone and a lot of absolutlynoideawhereiamgoing feeling. 😱… Now you see the picture, right?

A Happy New Trainee

Landing in Spain and joining a small cargo vessel for my next three months of internship. Yep… there i was; and guess what? I totally survived this first coming week!🎉

Early morning sunrise in harbour with the forward hatches open

First of all, I was super well welcommed by the officers. We are 7 onboard and we are two girls!! 💪🏻 🙌🏻 They are also young and it seems that they are very kind and great fun to be around! Upon arrival I discovered a huuuuuuuuuuuge cabin waiting for me (no pictures, I didn’t want to get some jealous here… 😉 ) and a nice schedule enabling me to get into my study books and all the assignments that I need to get done to get school out of the way asap 🤓… I keep on saying “this will be my last study” but it seems I always get back to it as there are so many interesting things the world can offer!

My first cargo: loading steel coils in Santander

I survived my first discharging and my first loading, my first biscay crossing in just over 24hrs in the most straightest line ever… I am glad to be back at sea and point France 🇫🇷 out on the coast, enjoy the sunrises and sunsets again and all the beautiful amazing colours and stars ⭐️ life at sea has to offer.

View from the porthole in my cabin

After my first day, I realized how much I enjoyed it and my first titanic version of dolphins 🐬 on the bow of a cargo ship reminds my how just the sound of the waves is also nice.

Dolphins playing on the bow: always nice!

I started a small challenge that a few friends of mine picked up with me…. to remind myself how beautiful small things can be and how having fun is important in your job, take an honest fun and smily selfie a day… 📷 🙂 you are the only one that can make your day nice fun and enjoyable! Just highlight those moments! And replay them once in a while! 🙂

Thank you mom and dad for being the best ♥️ oh and Imiss our black and white furry zoo too.. 😘

G O I N G. H O M E.

G O I N G. H O M E.

My last week onboard Europa came as fast as i thought it would and I turned the page last week already. I do not know yet when I will join again. In september I am starting my all ships course with anninternship onboard a cargo vessel for three month. Hopefully after that I will be back! Who knows!?

It has been such a great life experience. Again and again I keep on learning how to live with others in such small community.

Leaving a great few days sailing ⛵️ with a great friend in lovely danish waters 🇩🇰 behind to finally soon put my bag down.

Between 30knots wind, swimcalls 🏊‍♀️ in freezing cold water (i really enjoy that!), unlimited fish buffet, full day sailing and nice walks… quite a few challenging moments, as usual, of course otherwise life would be so boring right 🤪 ?

It turns out I actually also do like small boat sailing too! And someone said it “suited” me! In that case…. 😂 I still wouldnt mind dropping all those challenges for some time, together with my bag and having nothing even close to sophielike happening to me!

A last sunset in harbour

thank you all for reading me these past weeks! I am going home to rest now :)✌🏻 ⚓️ ♥️

Heading to the airport!