This Is How We Tramp

Richmond, Ca, was a cluster.

The longshoremen wanted a gangway put down onto the dock in addition to the sidewalk up the giant loading ramp on the stern, so that meant we needed two gangway watchstanders at a time, which means I stood my watch, did my fire round, then went to bed at 0100, then I was called back out at 0330 and I worked until the following midnight.

Because the longshoremen.

They also filed a grievance against the ship b/c we did stores. Apparently taking perishable food aboard by crane forward the gangway, where we take on supplies, instead of waiting until midnight when they were done with cargo on the stern cargo ramp, violated their contract in some way.  

They refused to allow us to do it even during lunch when they were off work for an hour. Make it make sense.

I recall the Oakland longshoremen being equivalent in speed, competence, and attitude to the longshoremen in Pakistan.  Worse than the poor and starving Sri Lankans or annoying Egyptians.  And yet, just down the road in Long Beach they're pretty decent.  

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After "burning on STCW," the maritime verbiage for "exceeding the legal recommendations for work without rest," it took me two sleeps to get caught back up.  Physically I was good after one sleep, but the cotton in my head took the second sleep to pick out.

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Liners have a set route and the predictability of their fixed schedule is really nice.  A ship of the line runs like a clock and there are very few surprises.  There's a lot to be said for predictability.

While it's great to be bored at sea, it seems that I prefer tramps.

Tramp ships don't know where they're going, or when. It's never simple or straightforward. No one aboard is quite prepared for the weird situations that arise.  Currently we're pinned offshore near San Diego by weather, and we can't go into port until the wind abates.  

The port we're going into has a very narrow fairway in and the approach must be precise. With swells on the stern and 50 knot winds on the beam, this giant box is not exactly... Navigably precise.

So, we're either going to anchor somewhere or lay hove to and drift offshore.  TBD.

The schedule is turning out to be interesting.  After we manage to do what must be done in this port, we have to be back in Tacoma... In mid January.  I don't know what that means except that we're going to slow bell it north, go to anchor somewhere, drift aimlessly... That's a LOT of time to kill.

Then we're off to the great white Asian north... Korea.  The destination port has 25-ft tides and the cargo can only be run 2 hours at a time.  So cargo is going to take weeks.  

And the high there today was 26 degrees, the low 12 degrees.  And no... That's not Celsius.  

I am very glad I brought two sets of wool base layers!  And multiple sets of wool socks!

From there we make our way back to this tiny little, narrow-hipped port we're currently unable to enter because of the howling winds and heaving seas.

Only three ports in over a month!  That's kind of incredible... Even for a tramp.  

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When I got up to the bridge to make coffee and assume the watch last night, the old man and the mate on watch were out on the bridge wing with binoculars looking down at our gangway area.

I made my coffee then came over to see what was going on.  I saw a launch alongside, but before I could fathom what the operation was, the mate exclaimed, "Holy shit!"

The departing captain - a man who spent 15 years on a Russian freighter in the Bering Sea before coming to the US and joining our merchant fleet - misjudged the swells while boarding the launch and fell 10 feet to its deck, breaking his leg.

I didn't see it, neither did the captain who was also looking at the launch in relationship to the boat, but the chief mate and sailors at the gangway were as dumbfounded as the mate on watch up on the bridge.  

So the departing captain had a breathalyzer and an ambulance waiting for him at the dock when the launch got him ashore.

Have I mentioned this is a dry ship? Night and day different than previous ships I’ve been on.  Being drunk will get you fired.  Having alcohol aboard will get you fired.  The energy is so different as to be a different job, altogether... Another point for my new union contract.

The chief mate had incident reports already underway before the launch determined it too dangerous to attempt to get the broken-legged Captain's luggage from the gangway.

I think the old man had at least a hundred phone calls since last night.

The third mate printed out a half dozen interweb photos of people jumping off boats and ships and had placed them in inconspicuous locations around the ship by the time I assumed the watch this morning.

He'd also requested a clarification (in post-it note form) for the logbook whether the log should refer to the incident as "a failed leap of faith" or a "gross miscalculation of judgement."

It's Christmas morning and my phone has been busy with texts and messages - a very different experience at sea for me.  Usually, I'm buried in busy-work or large projects... Anchor watch is 10 minutes of walking and 2 minutes of work at the top of every hour and then standing by with a radio for the rest of the time.  Spending it texting with friends and family is quite civilized.

We had cold cuts for lunch... Which would be cause for anger in other circumstances... Except the cook asked if I wanted 2 lobsters tonight for dinner, or 3... Apparently, we have too many of them.

Merry Christmas.