Its been a while since I have blogged lots have happened while I was away..Got married, went sailing and is now learning to cook (which will be an ongoing process) and now decided to get back to blogging..
Sailing is the last thing on earth I thought I would do and that too in an oil tanker . But here I am married to a shippie and sailed happily ever after. :)
It’s a different life in a ship altogether. I had no clue what I was up against until I experienced it myself. I did know about sea sickness. But on the day I arrived, the ship was tied alongside so obviously it wasn’t moving and I was under the impression I wasn’t going to vomit after all (Yippee !!! ), until the ship started moving and unfortunately the engine had to be stopped due to some technical issues. Oh well I thought they just stopped to make sure everything is all right until I found myself moving in see-saw motion (By the way when ship is moving in see-saw motion its called "rolling" ) and I was not able to stand straight in one place . Then I heard sounds from the drawing room and I found things were falling down (Yes I just watched my husband’s laptop fall and break!!!). At that point I had no clue what to do sitting alone in my bedroom just moving along the flow and then I had this funny feeling in my stomach and the next thing I know is I ran to the wash room and found myself experiencing what is called sea sickness. But for the first time I felt good after throwing up because I felt like I could handle the rolling even though my head felt heavy. The first few lessons I learnt here to keep all things in safe locations so they don’t fall off and break due to irregular movements of the ship due to rough weather and in exceptional cases when they have to stop the ship in the middle of the ocean for engine repairs or bad weather.
About the people working here I would like to quote William Petty “Every seaman is not only a navigator,but a merchant and also a soldier.” I had to quote this beacuse I was thinking to myself how many of us working in a bank or restaurants or schools really know how to put off fire or in that case use a fire extinguisher . Are we really aware of safety standards at our work place or schools or home or do we really care how safe the environment is for our collegaues or freinds . I am sure I never thought about it, because we take it for granted that someone is appointed to take care of the emergency situation like fire,theft, accidents etc. But seamen do not have the luxury to take things for granted so they are trained to protect themselves and the lives of their collegues in times of emergency. They are very disciplined and have a clear idea of what is expected of them. Of course they do know how to have fun and enjoy every moment of the time they take off. The chit chats at the dining table is fun, informative and energetic. They think very fondly about their home and family and take every opportunity to be in touch with them because they miss them and do not take life or family for granted.
Many of my friends and family ask me about my experinces so I thought I would share it on my blog as well. These are most common ones.
I had many friends and relatives ask me about how food was stored in the ship especially when the journey lasts for 15 to 20 days . Well there are definitely huge cold storage rooms for meat, vegetables & fruits and dairy products separately and of course its replenished when the ship arrives at a port accordingly.
Some ask me about the places I visited.. I had the opportuniy to visit some beautiful countries in this journey ..NewZealand ,China, Singapore, Gibraltar, Italy and briefly France.. One of my favourite journey was at the time of crossing the Suez Canal where I could see Egypt from my cabin window. It felt great when I could see houses and people on both sides as against in mid sea where there is only water and nothing else.
I'd like to clarify a commom misconception people have (including me before me being aware of shipping life) as regards a shippie that he gets to visit all countries when the ship arrives in port. But the truth is they have more work when arrive on port. They get busy with inspections done by port, disscharging or taking cargo etc . Yes after they are done with their work and if time permits they go out. And also most shipping companies have zero tolerance on alcohol. If an employee is found to have taken alcohol while on contract is sacked without any notice ( This happens in the company where my husband works). Chances of being caught are high because when a person goes out there is alcohol test done when he comes back to the ship.
Some days were really horrible for me like the time we were crossing Somalia. To add to my worry there was news that the pirates hijacked a ship exactly a week before we were crossing. However priacy precautions and watch is done while crossing that area. Well we crossed it without any problems. Thank god for that !!!
To sum up I had a wonderful experience to be able to sail through the Red Sea and Mediterrianian Sea and many other seas and oceans between New Zeland and Europe , to travel through different time zones every two or three days, to travel through different climatic conditions, or to be in a situation where ship stopped a few days mid sea waiting for Typhoon Parma to clear our path is out of the ordinary experience and understand a life offshore was truly a rich and learning exprience I will cherish all my life. Hats off to seamen because its not every persons cup of tea!!!
See you with more post later...
