Goodbye Land

We left anchorage early this morning, and are now in the Pacific sailing for Japan.  Its going to be about 25 days until we get there which I think is a rather long period of time to go without seeing land.  Its definitely going to be interesting.  Today we changed to refrigerant in the provisions cooling system, and tomorrow we’re going to be changing the tefrigerant in the HVAC system, which is going to be a significantly more formidable task.  I’ll update as things occur.

Through the Panama Canal

We went through the Panama Canal today.  It was remarkable.  I am currently not able to upload pictures which is unfortunate, because there are a few that I would really like to share.  The Queen Elizabeth went through the canal right before us, and it was cool to see.  We have a lot of new guys aboard now, which is interesting.  The new Captain is on board and has relieved the old captain who disembarked today.  For the first time on this trip, I'm slightly sad; I'm sad to see the guys go.  I'mm going to miss them.  We have to take on a lot of HFO before we get going across the Pacific, and we'll be doing that at anchorage.  We'll probably be departing sometime tomorrow afternoon or evening, and it definitely is going to be interesting going for such an extended period of time away from land.  I'm excited though.

Arrival in Panama

Pasha barge carrier

The entrance to the Canal is that way

Throwback to cargo operations in Freeport

Sunset

Grant and I arrived in Panama early this morning.  We took on enough fuel to cross the canal in a ship to ship transfer and are waiting to cross.  We're supposed to start crossing at around 4 A.M.  and we'll be finished some time in the evening.  On the other side we'll be taking on enough fuel to cross the Pacific, and our new captain will board.  A lot of new guys boarded the ship this morning, and most of the guys disembarking are getting off tonight.

Quick Update

We’re scheduled to arrive in Panama tomorrow night, and 9 guys are dismebarking there.  A new captain is signing on, snd it should be interesting to see how the dynamic of the ship changes as a result.  Everyone on the ship is in good spirits right now.  The ship is rolling a little more  now that we’ve passed Cuba which is fun.

2nd Attempt

I tried to post a couple days ago, but the shipboard internet was insufficient.  I’m writing another post and hoping this time I would be able to post it.  It probably won’t work.  We passed Cuba yesterday, and are on our way to Panama.  We should arrive there the 24th, and it should be interesting.

Freeport

steering gear

Grant wanted to go in the sewage treatment unit

sea-chest filter (we get fresh fish from this)

at sea

Main Engine

We got into port in Freeport today  A few days ago we left Houston but had to wait at anchor here for a couple days waiting for a birth  We've finally arrived at our last American port before going to Panama  It took longer than expected but we're here  The crew are all very frustrated with how long the process has taken and everyone really wants to get to sea  Grant and I have been busy the past few days  We cleaned one of the sea-chest filters which was very interesting and today we were able to watch the start up of the main engine  I hung out on the bridge during a night watch while we went from Houston to Freeport and it was eerie slightly discomforting and existential to stare out into the pitch black  I wonder what its going to be like in the middle of the Pacific  Everyone keeps telling me that being on ship is like being in prison and I've been wrestling with how I should take this sentiment but I'll wait and hopefully develop a fuller understanding of their opinions and the implications which follow before drawing any conclusions  Grant and I did a bunch of other interesting stuff that I'm currently failing to remember  You might be asking why I haven't used any punctuation ponder  

Today was a very eventful day.  We started opening a fuel oil tank (that was supposed to be empty) when HFO started pouring out.  After the engineers all insisted the tank was empty, they did a sounding of it, and it was not.  We opened three fuel oil tanks, but only the one caused mishap.  We made gaskets for the manhole covers to replace the old ones, but The most entertaining part of the day was watching the crew bust Grant’s chops.  I wish I could write the stuff they were saying, but none of it is blog appropriate.  I’ll just say though, they knowv.  Grant was hysterical (laughing not crying don’t worry), and it was all in good spirits in case you were worried.  Don’t be surprised if the next blog post has no punctuation.

Still in port

So we moved about 10 minutes and are now in another Houston area port.  The next port is supposed to be Freeport and then Panama, but I’ve been wrong like 5 times before on this so we’ll see.  We had a firedrill and an abandon ship drill infront of some inspectors, and we greased the steering gear a couple days ago.  Today we opened a couple lube oil tanks for the auxiliary engines to inspect them.  They were rusty inside; the engineers were not pleased.  We also were involved in an inspection of the cylinder oil pumps for the main engine, so we were able to look inside the cylinders.  The second engineer pointed out some cold end corrosion which is fun.  Tomorrow we’re going to open a couple fuel tanks; HFO is very exciting.  Thats all for now; I’ll post soon.  Hopefully, I’ll be at sea then.

Pirate Grant

A face of sheer determination

and utter confusion

Today was an eventful day.  In the morning, Grant attempted to seize control of the vessel, but quickly found himself overwhelmed by the controls at the helm and gave up. 








In the afternoon today, we got to observe what happens in the engine room during maneuvering with a pilot, the engineers all just stand there, and assisted with shutting down the main engine.  Then we changed a filter in a cooling water system, and Grant was asked to dump a bucket of water into a hole that went to the bilge.  He succeeded, in getting almost none of it in the hole.  I laughed.  We're in the second port that we're filling up at now.  Its about an hour south of Houston, and we're going to be here for a day or two before leaving for Panama (so probably more like four days because or regulatory bodies). 

Back in Houston

Two days ago we left Houston, and now we're back.  The tanks had to be cleaned before we could pick up more cargo.  Yesterday, the 3rd mate showed us around in the morning and the 3rd engineer showed us around in the afternoon in order to help us become more familiar with the vessel.  We spent this morning reading manuals and other documents, again intended to help us familiarize ourselves with the vessel, but this afternoon we assisted in cleaning a shell and tube type heat exchanger that is part of the ship's nitrogen generation plant.  It was fun.  Then we were able to observe maneuvering into port from the bridge.  It was very cool watching the pilot take command and tugs push the ship into the dock. 

Grant

We were only at sea two days and Grant has already befriended a volleyball... Can't wait to see what he's like halfway across the Pacific. 

We are taking on cargo here, then going to another port a little further south to take on cargo, then we will start for Panama. 

Grant and I got onboard today.  After we arrived in houston the 28th, we were put in a hotel and were waiting until we got a call this morning that we were boarding.  We have been hold up in our cabins all day while the ship undergoes inspections and the officers want us out of the way.  We are scheduled to leave port tonight at 9 and return to port in South Texas in a couple days.