ODYSSEY 2005

10 Nov - at sea.

We have settled back into routine which makes life very bearable, your days are planned and hopefully that plan can be followed.

We lost one young crew member in Colombo, in all probability he will turn up at the port agents when all his money has run out, some things never change.

The weather is still hot but the nights bring a slight chill which is a portend of things to come.

11 Nov – at sea

I wasn’t going to write anything today but at first light we spotted debris in the water. Nothing large, bits of painted wood, some foam rubber, part of a carey raft (must have been old), some clothing and the smell of oil was quite strong. There were also plastic containers and vegetables bobbing around. Something nasty had happened here within the past 24/48 hours max. We checked with all marine radio stations but no ship had reported either in trouble or had been reported missing. So, it’s just another of those invisible ladies that vanish from the planet every day. We did follow the trail against the current for a few hours but there was nothing to be found.

We are now back to our course and heading for Aden once there the long haul sections will be over it will become a series of shorter hops to the destination.
Spent the afternoon doing some painting – just white on the superstructure, I don’t mind painting it’s quite relaxing.

Tonight we are having dinner on deck (not quite to cruise ship standard but good all the same) soon the weather will start to get too cold for such frivolity so we decided to enjoy the warm sunsets while we can.

Sam our ancient Japanese cook has spent all afternoon in the galley ‘Doing Stuff’, I have no idea what we are getting but the smells wafting from the galley scuttle are rather enticing.

Nov 12 – at sea

This morning I can play the smart arse – you see as I had to be on watch at midnight I didn’t drink too much at the great dinner Sam produced. Six courses in all and it was all top notch tucker, in a five star restaurant you would have paid a squillion for it and got very small portions – believe me these portions were not small. Others are now paying for, shall we say, a slight over indulgence??

I left them still at it at 2345 and along with the other five in my watch we went on duty. I could still hear them mucking about at 0200 then it gradually went silent. Buggerlugs relieved me at 0800 and I went straight to my bunk, breakfast was not required as I had enjoyed a snack (3 eggs, sausage, bacon crammed into a well buttered bread roll, with lashings of tomato sauce) at 0600

When I went to lunch they were all sitting around looking very sorry for themselves and a bit green around the gills – naturally I ordered the most revolting meal just to see them squirm.

There are a few more ships around now as we are getting close to the gulf. I still have that annoying nagging cough, it’s just a tickle but persistent – Sam is making me up a special tea which I have promised to try tonight, evidently it’s good for this sort of thing.

Today Lenny, my bridge messenger, turns 21, that means another party tonight. Oh well, might as well enjoy things while they last.

I do get a chuckle out of the fact that the BAG is larger than many warships, yet in those everybody is running around in uniform saluting, yes sir, no sir, three bags full sir, Daily Orders, Ship’s Standing Orders, Queens Regulations and Admiralty Instructions (I had nine years of it with the RN &RANR) here officers and crew look the same, there are no standing orders, stuff happens as it happens, we have a working watch system and it works well – getting dressed up means putting on a shirt.

Having said that, Clive, Buggerlugs and I will be wearing appropriate uniforms when we are in the gulf – you need to look as kosher as possible, with all going on there. One of the ABs is quite the dab hand at making and mending clothes and both Buggerlugs and I need taps for epaulettes stitched onto white shirts, We have white uniform shorts but they are not what you would call ‘the latest fashion’. There are dozens of officer’s caps in the gash locker, so we are OK there.

Nov 14 - Arabian Sea

Well we got Aden out of the way and tomorrow we will be in Djibouti for fuel and some other small items of cargo. At one stage, with current, we logged 21.3 knots for just over 12 hours, that’s really flying for this old lady.

Aden is a mess. I guess it always was but when the Brits were there it was kept in quite good order, clean and tidy and all the amenities like phones and taxis worked plus it was not a dangerous place to wander around. Now it’s nothing more than a dirty red, dusty, muggy, fly blown hell hole. You don’t wander around and the natives are definitely quietly hostile. Nothing works, if something breaks down it stays that way.

Things will get interesting once we head into the Red Sea. The place is swarming with warships all grimly determined to keep the peace and catch the bad guys. Mainly they are Brits Yanks and Aussies, what a vaudeville turn that is.

The Brits I can handle because, when required, I can out Brit the best of them. I just love putting some of the worse ones firmly in their place … bonza stuff that. Another trick it to call bridge to bridge to see if they know what the cricket score is – let’s face it, you must be a (British) good guy if you are a cricket fan and thus entitled to all courtesy.

The Yanks are just as easy to deal with as their ships ‘aint got no booze’ (how’s that for correct diction?). So, if we get boarded we will ensure that we are all sitting around enjoying some cool scotch and sodas (or whatever is your fancy) soon the only searching being done by the boarders (ave age I would assume around 21) will be for the bottom of a glass or six. Actually it will, in a way, be no fun at all as this ship is quite legal and our cargo well documented and we have official port clearance from out last port. The Form 5 (Jack will know what that is) may not quite be up to date with correct names, but apart from that we are as pure as the new driven snow. When with the Ducks we got challenged a few times by the grey funnel line ships, yet always got out of it … somehow.

The Aussies could be a problem as their ships are awash with booze and they ain't too keen on people with plum in the mouth accents – still we do have a lot of Heineken beer onboard and I know Aussie waries don’t carry it.

I will send this to Angela tomorrow – I would have sent it direct to Carole but from Djibouti but it’s best not to be sending stuff to the USA as it is bound to get intercepted and read by many prying eyes. Nobody seems the slightest bit interested in stuff to Australia - well, unless the Djibouti port agent speaks with forked tongue.

Actually I will be glad to get through Suez and away from Port Said, then I will be back in my old stamping grounds – OK so it’s been 35 years or so – time, as I have discovered, is only important to those trying to make money from it, or those afraid of it.

I trust everybody is playing nicely together. How is the group cruise going? Is the site still flourishing or is there a touch of stagnation? – if so fix it … don’t make me come back there.

More from either Suez or (if it gets dodgy) from Valletta as we run non-stop straight from Port Said to Valletta. From there it will be on to Marseille. After that we are waiting to hear if a stop at Gibraltar is on the cards for an upload or if we will run through to Hamburg. I would like to visit Gibraltar it has good memories for me from when I was a very young midshipman. One day I will tell you the story of how a belisha (not sure of the spelling) beacon ended up in the wardroom

Soon the weather will start getting cold; it’s been a lot of years since I’ve experienced that. Still I have a brand new overcoat (never worn) and some good kid gloves so am prepared.

More later.

Harry