21/06/07 SMT = GMT - 7. E Santa Barbara Channel

Been a busy day today. Had an emergency steering drill in the morning to comply with the US regulations. We'll be picking up pilot at 0400 in the morning on the 22nd. Coming to the US is always a pain in the posterior. The number of rules and regulations in this country stretch the ship's human resources to the breaking point. In addition to doing your own jobs, everyone is expected to carry out many other tasks in order for the ship to be able to comply with their requirements. Plus we've got the Lloyds surveyor coming in the morning for the annual survey. No rest for the wicked. We've just got news that our route is going to be changed. So this may be the first and last time that I touch LA. We'll be going into layby after discharging at Shanghai and Ningbo further orders. I'm sure our charteres MISC, won't allow the ship to sit back on it's ass for long, considering that they're paying 25,000USD for it. I hope they give us news of the new route in sufficient time so that I can order the new charts and plan out the courses.

17 June 2007, 0230 SMT (SMT = GMT - 9) Position: SE of the Aleutian Trench

Still enroute to Los Angeles. We crossed the date line yesterday and retarded a day. I am the master of time! Right now I'm on watch: 12 to 4. No traffic. Bored out of my skull. Got some songs playing on the bridge computer and a talkative filipino lookout man for company. He's also the one who will take the helm in case of any emergency.

Mid ocean watches are invariably boring because there's not a soul aorund for hundreds of miles. In the daytime I catch up on paperwork and do chart corrections during the watch. At night its not possible to work because the bridge is pitch dark, interspersed with the dim glow of the various instruments and the lamp over the chart table. During these four hours of watch I'll be plotting the ship's position hourly, ensuring that she maintains course, observe the radar for any targets and maintain a GMDSS (Global Maritime Distress and Safety Systems) watch, among other things. It may sound likea lot but its really not that much of work. Of course when there's traffic, its a totally different ball game and you're going crazy trying to manage all these different aspects of a navigational watch and trying to avoid hitting a stupid fishing trawler that is hell bent on kissing your bow.

We've got an annual survey coming up in LA so everyone's very busy preparing for it. I finished taking a complete inventory of the medical locker and got the hospital cleaned (took me three bloody days). Tomorrow (no Sundays for sailors), I plan on carrying out a safety area inspection of the engine room and start an invenotry of the stationery locker. I've also got monthly maintenance work on the radar and GMDSS batteries looming nigh and will also have to figure out a way to schedule a safety meeting in between. By then we'll be in LA and it'll be back to hectic 6-on-6-off port watches. Got a new captain joining there so he's gonna be all charged with life and want everybody to do double duty on the voyage back to Shanghai. Maybe someday I'll actually start using the gym that this ship has and try and offset the effects of Mr. Hedges.

Update

13th June 2007, 1730 SMT (UTC+10 hrs). Location - Strait of Tsugaru Kaikyo, North of Honshu. It's been a hectic time since I've joined and I've got blisters on my feet. My whole body aches from all the physical exertion that I had become unused to over the past year. But I'm finally beginning to settle down and get the hang of things. Still haven't found the time to unpack, must really do so one of these days. Note to self - You've been wearing the same clothes for over a week pig! Afternoon watch was quite interesting. The strait of Tsugaru Kaikyo is approximately 10 miles wide and has a lot of fishing vessels and ferries. Was in a bit of a spot because I had about ten odd fishing boats crossing from the stbd bow and a bulk carrier coming down from right ahead. Anyway, it all sorted itself out and I earned my pay once more. From now on the traffic will get lesser and lesser until we reach Los Angeles. We've also been advancing the ship's clocks by one hour every night so everyone is running low on sleep. Time is a luxury, but I guess it is just as well. When you drop onto your bed, dead tired at the end of the day (or the beginning of the day, in my case), you just fall off to sleep without fretting about how much you're missing home.

Winch Trouble!

Stations over. Went well. Took a little long but I don't mind that. The important thing is nobody got hurt and there wasn't any chaos. The reason why it took so long is because one of the winches was not working. We have 6 ropes to tie up and unfortunately the port side winch was busted so we had to heave up all 6 ropes with just one winch. To compound the problem we went port side alongside so all the ropes had to be passed from the port side to the starboard side winch.

Just glad its over. Had a bit of a moment when the Chinese mooring gang got sick of us taking so long and refused to pass our last spring. But, like I said all's well that ends well!

FYI: A mooring winch is what we use to heave up the ropes to tie the ship.

Day One

1905 hrs LT. Just sailed out from Shanghai. We're headed for anchorage. Will be sailing out tomorrow morning. Had a very hectic day. So busy that I didn't even get time to eat dinner. Was at departure stations forward. Major Pain! Only one winch is working and we've got to handle all 6 lines with that. I'll go up now and try to figure out what messages have to be sent to office. Wow! I never worked so hard in the last year, but I'm glad I still have the capacity to do it.

Soldier Side

They were crying when their sons left
All young men must go
He's come so far to find the truth
He's never going home

- System of a Down

The last day and all the tears and last minute embraces interspersed with frenzied packing. The hollowness at the pit of my stomach that refuses to be filled no matter how much of the delicious 'going-away' food that Ava has made, I eat.

Partings are always sorrowful and leave you so empty. Two souls trying to cling on and telling each other that it's OK and that it's 'for the better, really'.

These next few months are going to be very trying for the both of us. Dealing with the loneliness, yet trying to work (and play) normally. My heart goes out to all the men and women that go away (be it the army, or the navy, or a foreign business posting) and the strong, silent partners that are left behind.

I'm feeling too miserable to continue writing. I think I'll turn to the inflight movie for some solace. Baby, I miss you.