Day 30

2 October, 2003

Cold, slow improvement in sea.

The whole crew (and I go along out of curiosity) meet in the crews rec. room, to watch a required video on piracy prevention. Poorly produced, of a quality of some of the movies we had to watch in drivers ed in the sixties, but just boring and not bad enough to be campy. Each crew member signs off, clearing the owners with the insurers that they have had training as to piracy prevention. The crews rec. room (as opposed to the serious, unused quality of the officers rec. room) is the first place I see a sign of carnal existence. A big calendar with beautiful naked women. These guys are on this tin can for a year!

Watch a pod of regular, flipper type dolphins race curiously around the ship. The Chief Officer has pointed out we travel about ten knots an hour too fast for dolphins to become attached as they can with some ships, and swim along for some time. It is dramatically beautiful out, but here in the fifth week, I am ready to be home. I can tell, I am too tempted to try talking to flipper! A sure sign... of something. It became a little surreal, when I spotted a white ball of a perfect size for flipper to balance on his nose, floating in the ocean nearby. Oh, I get it, this lot are escapees from Marine World and they brought their one favorite possession... I should... go home... soon... I think.

Inquired as to why the deck where one officially enters the ship, where the ship’s office is, is labeled H/C Top deck. H/C stands for “hatch coaming”. A coaming is a rim that keeps water out of hatches, cockpits and such. This deck is on top of the hatch, and serves in the watertightness of the vessel. As opposed to the main deck on top of the freeboard which runs around the ship on the outside of the hatch coaming. Oh well, you might have to be there, but basically it means water should not be able to get below! We have a high freeboard which is good for putting off lazy pirates, but it does mean the wind likes to try and have her way with us a little more.

Clocks go ahead an hour (again).

Previous/Next