Week Three Over

Another week gone, and still as busy as ever. I did manage to have a short break yesterday afternoon as Debbie drove all the way from Devon to come and see me which was wonderful. The little angel and the little man came with her to. We had a very pleasant lunch before wondering into town. Beth was as chirpy as ever, even though she had a rotten cold. When she first saw me she smiled and reached out for a cuddle.

During lunch the little man decided to have a snooze (lucky for some) but he must have been having nice dreams as he kept smiling. He certainly seems a lot happier than when I was home, hopefully he will be as cheerful as Beth.

It felt strange going ashore as it is the first time I had been ashore for a few weeks and I realised that things had been so busy onboard I hadn?t been outside for about two weeks (bar the Harbour fire exercise on Friday). It was good to get some proper fresh air though. I really miss the older ships where you were able to open your porthole to let the sea air in or the old open bridge wings. Saying that when it is blowing a whooly and tipping down with rain, the enclosed bridge wings are very pleasant.

It will be interesting to see what this week brings as FOST have put in hidden serials for the other ship?s, however they failed to warn us. So when signals started coming in for multiple replenishments tomorrow night we were somewhat surprised. I had a chat with the duty bods and they have agreed that it would be useful to keep the station tanker in the loop. Hopefully we should get a better heads up next time.

I am hoping that things should start to get easier from now on as we have an extra third mate onboard so the second mate will go daywork and be able to give me a hand. You never know I may even find time to sit down for fifteen minutes at lunchtime and read my book for a bit.

Well not a lot else to write about tonight and anyway we have got an early start tomorrow to get us out and back into areas for another week of FOSTing.

Mind, Body and Spirit

I really can’t believe it has only been two weeks since I joined this ship.  The days seem to go by in a flash and it seems an eon ago that I was home in Devon with Debbie and the little ones.  When I found out I was coming here I knew it would be hard work but I thought at least we should be in my home port most weekends.  The thought of being able to see Debbie and the little ones gave me something to look forward to.  As always though things change and were not going into my home port for another few weeks so I don’t know when I will get a chance to see them again.  I think I will try and find some where with WiFi next weekend because at least then I might get to see them with Skype.

 

Things have been very busy this end so I find very little time to read my book let alone go down the gym.  I had promised myself I would go down at least every other day but I have only managed to get down there three times so far.  Mind you after a 12 – 15 hour day I have very little energy left to do anything.  I am sure as I settle in on here and we get into a steady routine with our programme things should become a lot easier and I will hopefully get down there more.  I just don’t want to pile on the pounds after doing so well last leave in shedding them.

 

Well second Sunday on a trot at sea, I do miss my Sunday routine from home of going to the Church in the morning and then stopping at the Green Dragon on the way home.  It doesn’t help that I am feeling a little spiritually empty at the moment.  I know he is all around us, you only have to look out of the window at sea to see the majesty of creation.  It is just that I am very bad at putting aside a little bit of time each week for a little bit of quite reflection.  I really should make more of an effort to find a quiet time each week.

 

 

War, Mars Bars and the Night Sky

It is Thursday and it has been another long day with hardly a moment to take stock.  Well being Thursday it has been that time of the week when we all put on our silly clothes and play War.  The same script every week but it is the first time the ship has done it for a while so we still have a bit to put in place.  I found it frustrating as Navigator and Ops I was split between the Ops Room and Bridge but at least I got to watch the planes fly at bridge wing level which is always fun.  It just gets me that in the 21^st Century we still use a Perspex board and chinagraph pencil to track incoming raids.  Why can’t we have nice computer systems with pretty pictures like the navy.  At least now the war is over and we have repulsed the badies (they are now fleeing across the Tamar and back into Cornwall) we can shred all the signals.  Until Saturday that is when they start coming back in ready for next Thursdays War.  I just can’t believe I have another four months of Thursday Wars, mind you we did get a Mars Bar with action snacks so that makes up for it in some respects (I know, I am easily pleased aren’t I).

 

That’s our week of silly exerciseing all over now and a busy few day’s ahead.  Why is it that when you agree a plan, prepare all the charts and start to think you are going to have a quiet day it all changes.  Yes I was finally getting ahead everything had been arranged and drawn up for a boat transfer when the old man changes his mind and decides he wants to do it in a different port 200 miles away. So I have now got another set of charts to draw up and anchorages to plan.  Nothing ever changes.

 

I can’t really complain though as the sky is breathtaking.  It is a wonderfully clear night in the Channel and the stars are breathtaking, it is if someone has taken a piece of black cloth and sprinkled silver dust every where.  As there is no background light the night sky is always that much brighter at sea with a fine covering of stars that you can rarely see from land between all the brighter stars.  I just wonder what is up there and if there is anyone looking down on us.

Still Broken

Well we are still alongside undergoing repairs. Conducting basin trails tomorrow and then to sea. Assuming we are all mended and it was a very large bang the other night that resonated through the ship so whether we will be mended is another thing. Mind you at least by breaking down it has given us all breathing space to crack on and get work out the way. For once I have managed to get a fair bit achieved today. I have still got an awful lot to do before I can stop getting up at silly o?clock to start at six. Hopefully in a few weeks I will be on top of things and with our programme being as it is I should be able to get into a nice routine. The main thing is that by 8 tonight I had crossed of lots of jobs so I am now sitting here typing my blog with a cold can of strongbow and a chunk of cheese. No good for my diet but who cares.

Now we are down south I did get a better phone signal so I tried my Skype again and got to see Debbie, Beth and William (who was asleep). It was still jerky but at least I got to see them. Next plan is to sign up for pay as you go mobile broadband and see if that is any better. Will need to get ashore first so maybe I will do that in a couple of weeks.

I have still got my joining blues, but they are slowly wearing off. I always find the first three weeks the hardest, trying to get back into the routines. I miss home something chronic but at least things are really busy this end, so time passes really quickly. I think that is the problem with being at sea, is that we constantly wish our lives away. Whilst onboard we count down to our pay of date and when we get on leave we count down how few precious days we have left before we head away again.

Saying that we do see some wonderful sights. I will always remember standing on the bridge wing one night with Debbie up in the Arctic Circle watching the Northern Lights (Sorry chickened out of trying to spell the Aurora Borealis) the sky was fantastic. Another fond memory from many years ago was standing on the same bridge ring transiting the read Red Sea watching a school of about 100 dolphins. This was at night so we couldn?t see the dolphins but we could hear them jumping out the water. Also due to the bioluminesnce they left long trails of light in the water. It was an amazing sight as the ship was surrounded by streaks of light under the water, it is so hard to describe but I will never forget it.

Anyway I transgress, as usual, yep we are still broken but maybe we will sail tomorrow.

Night Sailings and breakdowns.

We brought our sailing forward to Saturday night and left in the dark.  I always have a love/hate relationship with night time pilotages.  Although it is pretty seeing all the lights I sometimes find myself starved of visual references to assess where we are on our track.  Anyway as my first night  pilotage for a while it all went smoothley and we got out of the Clyde in one piece.

 

I had finally got down of the bridge and settled into my chair with a good book when it all went down hill.  There was a noticable ‘Bang’ followed by the inevtiable ‘Machienary Breakdown’ pipe.  As always we had set sail and then broken down.  We had an intresting few hours drifting without propulsion a few miles of Arran whilst the clankys ran around down below with big spanners trying to mend the engines.  I had just got to a good bit in my book as well so I was a bit miffed.  Anyway we got underway again briefly then it all happened again at 0200.  So back up to the bridge for a bit.  I thought that by coming back to sea I would be able to get a full nights sleep after weeks of getting up for night feeds, no such luck.  Saying that I would prefer to be home doing the night feeds rather than standing on the bridge here.

 

We  are now on our way again and should be back into port tomorrow to carry out a few repairs.  I am hoping that wherever we end up we have a decent phone signal so I can skype Debbie and see her and the two little ones.  Things have changed so much over the years.  I remember first coming to sea and waiting weeks for a mail drop or the chance to get ashore for a phone call.  Now we have instant (most of the time) emails, mobiles phones so we can talk miles off the coast and video calling.

 

 

 

 

Why Do Things Always Change?

I was finally starting to feel settled in today. Slowly getting on top of things with my next few days work all planned out when surprise, surprise everything changes. I suppose I should be used to it by now but it is so frustrating when you have to repeat work time and time again. At least it keeps me on my feet and makes the day pass more quickly. It is just having to draw and re draw charts that really does my head in. The sooner we all go fully electronic and rid ourselves of paper charts the better I think.

Although I moan about the change of programme sailing early will at least give me all of Sunday to crack on with work reasonably undisturbed as we will be on passage. More importantly hopefully I will get a better phone signal where we are going so I can give the webcam another go and hope fully see Debbie and the two little ones.

However, in answer to the question 'Why do things always change' - Well to make life intresting I suppose.

Week One - well halfway

I am now halfway through my first week onboard and I am slowly settling in.  We have moved from the South Coast to Scotland and surprisingly, and rather disappointingly there is no snow here.  Anyway I am slowly getting my feet under the table and, as always there is a lot of information to digest.  I am certainly going to have my work cut out over the next few weeks trying to digest all the info and getting things how I like them.  At least being FOST tanker once we get into the routines time should pass quickly and more importantly we will be at sea rather than alongside.. 

 

Well I am another year older today, although I don’t feel it.  I am currently sitting here munching my way through a lovely box of Thornton’s that Debbie got me.  I had intended to make them last but they may not even see next week at this rate.  In fact if I hide them in the fridge I might be able to stop munching on them.

 

At least I managed to get to see Debbie and the little ones today on Skype.  The phone signal is pretty crummy up here but it still worked and I got a big smile off Beth.  I do miss the three of them and I don’t envy Debbie having to try and cope with them as William seems to want feeding every hour so she is getting no sleep.  It does worry me as sleep deprivation is horrible and when there is no respite for Debbie, it can’t be easy.  I will just have to make sure she gets a good rest in May when I get home.  Mind you the Doctor said that boys start to settle sooner so hopefully in a few more weeks he will start to go through the night better.

 

It will be my first planning meeting onboard tomorrow.  I had a fright yesterday when I thought I had deleted the shortcast, but thankfully we managed to retrieve it.  We have got an awful lot crammed in next week so hopefully the planning meeting will go nice a smoothly as everyone should be to stunned to say anything.  Mind you no doubt it will change before I get to print it.  At least doing the meeting will help me get more of a grip of things, and it can only get easier.

 

I am looking forward to the summer as we have a holiday booked.  We didn’t get away last year so it will make a nice change.  I know it is only going to be in the UK but trying to go abroad with the little ones so small would be difficult.

 

Anyway enough of my ramblings for one day, I will have to sit down and write something less rambly in the next day or so.

 

Back to Work

Tonight is my last night of freedom before heading back to work tomorrow. So I am sitting here relaxing with a nice cup of coffee with a hint of malt whiskey. It is going to be a bit of a shock to the system going back but hopefully I will settle in quite quickly. I am a bit worried about Debbie and the little ones. Beth is still going through the night and is still chirpy so she shouldn't be to much of a handful but the little man is still very restless, waking up every couple of hours. It is going to be hardwork with the two of them but hopefully in a few weeks he should start to sleep for longer.

Hopefully it sounds like the ship's programme will be very busy so the time will hopefully pass quickly. Then home in May for a summer leave. It will be nice to be home that time of year as I should be able to get a lot done in the garden and the weather should be good for camping on the moors. Well only four months and then I will be back home with Debbie and the little ones.