Today I leave Spain for Italy. Not sure how much internet access I will have from here on out so this may be my last post for a while.
Last night Miro and I went out for tapas and wine. He tried to take me to this place where they offer wine tastings, but unfortunately, they are now closed until Oct 13! We wandered around and found a little place that offered what they called "pinchos" which are a type of tapa I guess. It's essentially a piece of bread topped with different things - meats, cheeses, fruits, etc. I had one with sausage and grilled green peppers, one with a dry salami, one with grilled chicken and peppers, one with some sort of fried cheese/potato/pepper deal and one with soft cheese, walnuts, raisins and a drizzle of some sauce (awesome). We also got a bottle of wine to share. They we walked to another little wine bar and had a glass of some really good red. As we were heading outside to a table, some of Miro's friends from another boat in port here walked up so we sat and chatted with them for a while.
When we returned to Shadow, I expected Neil to be back (since he was due in at 6:30) but he still hadn't arrived. Dan said that Will had been waiting for him at the airport since about 5 when we went to drop off the captain for his flight out. Neil finally showed up around 10 PM. We caught up about the tank briefly and then I went to bed.
I got to listen to most of the Giants game through my iPhone!! Unfortunately, I probably will be cut off from that until I get back - not sure if I will have internet access in Italy and I doubt there are many wi-fi cafes open at 4am when the game would be on here. Just one more win and we're in!!
I know I've said it before, but I'm glad this part of my trip is over. I did have some good times, made some new friends but the hassle of that tank just wasn't really worth it! I feel like I failed at what I was supposed to do, which was essentially prevent any major disasters but disasters kept happening. All in all, I didn't wreak havock on the livestock so I guess that was a small victory. And I got paid to be in Europe on a luxury yacht so I guess that's better than not getting paid to do nothing in California. I can't wait to get home and I hope that Giants baseball is still going strong by Oct 14th!!
Ciao for now!
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
No, that's not where I'm working, but it looks cool.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Last Day
Well, today is my last day of work on the boat. Neil will return this evening to a clean, well fed, running, happy tank. After diligently babysitting the RO unit for 3 days, Dan finally answered my prayers and took me out in the tender to get ocean water to fill the tank. I had (half jokingly) put that as an option for replacing the water lost from the incident on Monday and everyone kind of laughed it off. Dan came around yesterday before lunch to see how things were going and when he saw how slowly the water was being made, he said he'd ask if we could take the tender to collect water.
After lunch we loaded up three 20 gallon trashcans and a five gallon salt bucket into the tender a headed about one mile offshore. We rinsed the big buckets, filled them as much as we could while still being able to drag them on board, then took turns using the 5 gallon bucket to top them up. On the way back to the boat we were forced to go slowly because of all the extra weight in the boat but that helped to prevent too much spillage. Once back, we dropped a submersible pump into one of the buckets, ran a long hose all the way to the reservoir and started filling it up. I, or course, tested the water for basic water quality parameters (Nitrite, nitrate, ammonia, pH, temp and salinity) but we really had no way of knowing if any other toxins might have been in the water. It took us 3 trips out to get enough water to fill the tank. We got it all up and running though!!
When we were done cleaning up from our adventures, we donned wetsuits and jumped in a bright pink, 2-man kayak and went for a cruise to the beach. About halfway out my paddle snapped in half - I guess I'm just too strong for my own good, or the thing was crazy corroded from the inside out. Luckily, we were passing John and Sandy in another kayak on their way in. They gave us a good paddle since they didn't have as far to go. Dan and I continued on and landed on the beach, hung out for a bit, decided we were starving and shoved off again. He got in and I pushed him out and he started paddling like crazy to get out of the surf, I thought he was going to just take off without me but I caught him and jumped in. It was alot of fun and hard work!
After dinner Dan and I walked down to the bar and I bought him his first beer since he passed out in a doorway in Sitges last weekend to say thanks for all the help today and this past month. If he hadn't been around I think I would have destroyed everything.
As I said, Neil gets back tonight and I leave the boat tomorrow at noon. I will arrive in Pisa at 4:45 and hopefully someone will be there to pick me up. Hopefully we recognize each other! Miro and I are going to get some wine and tapas tonight so I can sample the local cuisine before leaving Spain.
I'm glad my job is over, I've made some friends (and probably some enemies),I've seen some cool stuff, done some cool things and eaten some great food. I can't wait to get home.
After lunch we loaded up three 20 gallon trashcans and a five gallon salt bucket into the tender a headed about one mile offshore. We rinsed the big buckets, filled them as much as we could while still being able to drag them on board, then took turns using the 5 gallon bucket to top them up. On the way back to the boat we were forced to go slowly because of all the extra weight in the boat but that helped to prevent too much spillage. Once back, we dropped a submersible pump into one of the buckets, ran a long hose all the way to the reservoir and started filling it up. I, or course, tested the water for basic water quality parameters (Nitrite, nitrate, ammonia, pH, temp and salinity) but we really had no way of knowing if any other toxins might have been in the water. It took us 3 trips out to get enough water to fill the tank. We got it all up and running though!!
When we were done cleaning up from our adventures, we donned wetsuits and jumped in a bright pink, 2-man kayak and went for a cruise to the beach. About halfway out my paddle snapped in half - I guess I'm just too strong for my own good, or the thing was crazy corroded from the inside out. Luckily, we were passing John and Sandy in another kayak on their way in. They gave us a good paddle since they didn't have as far to go. Dan and I continued on and landed on the beach, hung out for a bit, decided we were starving and shoved off again. He got in and I pushed him out and he started paddling like crazy to get out of the surf, I thought he was going to just take off without me but I caught him and jumped in. It was alot of fun and hard work!
After dinner Dan and I walked down to the bar and I bought him his first beer since he passed out in a doorway in Sitges last weekend to say thanks for all the help today and this past month. If he hadn't been around I think I would have destroyed everything.
As I said, Neil gets back tonight and I leave the boat tomorrow at noon. I will arrive in Pisa at 4:45 and hopefully someone will be there to pick me up. Hopefully we recognize each other! Miro and I are going to get some wine and tapas tonight so I can sample the local cuisine before leaving Spain.
I'm glad my job is over, I've made some friends (and probably some enemies),I've seen some cool stuff, done some cool things and eaten some great food. I can't wait to get home.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Time Flies...
...when you're in crisis management mode. Monday I got in the tank to clean and do a water change. You have to drain some water out then close the valves, shut off the pumps and get in the tank to clean twice a week. Monday, after doing EVERYTHING the way I always do it, I realized about halfway through the dive that the water level had gotten lower while I was in the tank. I pulled myself out of that tiny hatch so quickly and dropped my weight belts as I sprinted across the deck and down the stairs to the pump room. Sure enough, the reservoir was overflowing like crazy. I turned the pump back on to get the water out of the reservoir but at that point I had already lost a good portion of the water.
I have to make the RO water now since we are in port and I can't just pump in this nasty-ass marina water. The RO unit takes a long time to do it's job - about 30 hours to make enough for a water change. On top of that, add the fact that I'm paranoid as hell about that hose coming off again, this was not shaping up to be a great day. And I was only supposed to have 3 days left. (Turns out it's 4 since Neil's flight to Barcelona was canceled for today due to labor strikes all over Spain - awesome). So I did what I could to keep the fish alive in an isolated tank. There is 1 pump running to just circulate water but there is no heater/chiller, and no filtration. The main concerns are lack of oxygen in the water and a drop in temp - funny, the first crisis was a spike in the temp (actually, none of this has been funny).
By the time I went to bed Monday, I had nowhere near enough water to get the system going again. I placed a small powerhead pump in the top of the tank and left the top hatch open so that there would be some oxygen exchange happening. Since I had no problems during the day with the RO unit, I decided to let it run through the night but alerted some of the guys on Odyssey to just check in there every once in a while to make sure there wasn't water gushing everywhere.
A small knock on my door woke me on Monday morning. Matt was there to tell me that water was pouring out everywhere and the pump room was flooded. It was 2:00 AM. I scrambled over there but all I could really do was just vacuum up the mess. Of course, after about 10 minutes of vacuuming the vacuum overheated and I had to stop. I went back to bed.
Tuesday I sat in the small, dark, stinky pump room ALL DAY just babysitting the damn thing so that if it busted open again, I could stop it right away. Nothing happened. Though after about 24 combined hours of water RO water, I still didn't have enough to fill the tank and reservoir enough to run the pumps. I turned off the RO unit last night - I wasn't going to deal with that again and I started making water at 7 AM this morning. I'm praying that by midnight or so I should have enough to start the tank up. I now have an oxygen tank that the engineers use for welding acting as an airstone to pump O2 into the tank. Luckily the temp hasn't dropped at all even though the air has been quite chilly. The animals all look ok - even the corals and anemones are open and happy. I did notice a dead anthias fish this morning but they had been dying since before Neil left so something else is killing them.
Well, I have to get back over there and babysit. I will be leaving Barcelona on Friday afternoon for Pisa where I will meet up with family and stay with them for a week. I will then (hopefully) drive up to Hungary with my nonna. She's got a cold right now and is not 100% sure they will make the drive. If they don't I will have to get there via train or something because my flight home to SF is booked out of Budapest.
I have to make the RO water now since we are in port and I can't just pump in this nasty-ass marina water. The RO unit takes a long time to do it's job - about 30 hours to make enough for a water change. On top of that, add the fact that I'm paranoid as hell about that hose coming off again, this was not shaping up to be a great day. And I was only supposed to have 3 days left. (Turns out it's 4 since Neil's flight to Barcelona was canceled for today due to labor strikes all over Spain - awesome). So I did what I could to keep the fish alive in an isolated tank. There is 1 pump running to just circulate water but there is no heater/chiller, and no filtration. The main concerns are lack of oxygen in the water and a drop in temp - funny, the first crisis was a spike in the temp (actually, none of this has been funny).
By the time I went to bed Monday, I had nowhere near enough water to get the system going again. I placed a small powerhead pump in the top of the tank and left the top hatch open so that there would be some oxygen exchange happening. Since I had no problems during the day with the RO unit, I decided to let it run through the night but alerted some of the guys on Odyssey to just check in there every once in a while to make sure there wasn't water gushing everywhere.
A small knock on my door woke me on Monday morning. Matt was there to tell me that water was pouring out everywhere and the pump room was flooded. It was 2:00 AM. I scrambled over there but all I could really do was just vacuum up the mess. Of course, after about 10 minutes of vacuuming the vacuum overheated and I had to stop. I went back to bed.
Tuesday I sat in the small, dark, stinky pump room ALL DAY just babysitting the damn thing so that if it busted open again, I could stop it right away. Nothing happened. Though after about 24 combined hours of water RO water, I still didn't have enough to fill the tank and reservoir enough to run the pumps. I turned off the RO unit last night - I wasn't going to deal with that again and I started making water at 7 AM this morning. I'm praying that by midnight or so I should have enough to start the tank up. I now have an oxygen tank that the engineers use for welding acting as an airstone to pump O2 into the tank. Luckily the temp hasn't dropped at all even though the air has been quite chilly. The animals all look ok - even the corals and anemones are open and happy. I did notice a dead anthias fish this morning but they had been dying since before Neil left so something else is killing them.
Well, I have to get back over there and babysit. I will be leaving Barcelona on Friday afternoon for Pisa where I will meet up with family and stay with them for a week. I will then (hopefully) drive up to Hungary with my nonna. She's got a cold right now and is not 100% sure they will make the drive. If they don't I will have to get there via train or something because my flight home to SF is booked out of Budapest.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Weekend Recap
OK, where do I start?! Where did I leave off? I don't know. Anyway, arrived in Spain Thursday afternoon, went out for a few beers that night. Friday, worked then wandered around town in the evening. I ended up running into one of the stewards from Shadow so he and I walked around a bit then grabbed a beer before heading back to the ship. Pretty sure that was if for Friday.
Got up early on Saturday to feed the fish and do any tank maintenance that was required for the day. Made - the chef - made me some delicious pancakes for breakfast!! At 10 AM, Miro, Bryan and I headed into town to catch a train to Barcelona. Miro had been there before so he was our tour guide. When we got off the train we came up into one of the main shopping areas in the heart of the city. Something about Barcelona immediately reminded me of San Francisco but I can't put my finger on it. Maybe it's because it's a port city on the ocean, maybe it's the hills, maybe it's the way the streets were designed, I don't know but I got a good feeling about the city, it made me happy!
We walked down the main street, or Rambla, which was blocked off to cars but it was packed to the gills with people. There was a big festival all weekend called Merce which celebrated the city and the patron saint so there were more people than usual for the end of September. Along the Rambla there were all these "street performers" dressed in crazy costumes posing with people for money. It was like the guys in SF that paint themselves all gold or silver and then pose. There was a cowboy, some reapers on bicycles, Cleopatra, a demon, all kinds of crazy outfits, all begging for money. We soon turned off the Rambla and headed toward the main Cathedral - which, just like every other historic building I visit in Europe was being restored so it was covered in scaffolding. Luckily, we could still go in and look around. These things are amazing, so massive inside they make you feel like a tiny little ant. It's truly a testament to human ingenuity that so many centuries ago, we were capable of building something like that. I guess that's why now, hundreds of years later, they are just now getting around to doing some fix-it projects. My favorite thing - the electronic candle that you pay to light now instead of a real candle. Classic.
We then walked back across the Catalonia Square to a little cafe that Miro liked. It's called Happy Bar and Grill and is apparently a chain started in Bulgaria (which is where he is from). They serve all kinds of food, American, Spanish, Japanese and Bulgarian. I ordered a shopska salad which is a traditional Bulgarian dish that is essentially just a Greek salad but with a shredded white cheese instead of cubed feta. For our main course, Miro talked to the waitress and asked her to bring us some traditional Bulgarian fare like kofta and kebapcheta and french fries. Everything was quite tasty but it was strange to eat Bulgarian food while in Spain. Anyway, to begin our meal we got robbed, which was fun. Miro left to use the restroom and while he was gone a woman came to our table with a piece of paper with writing on it and she appeared to be asking for money. She kind of help the paper up while gibbering at us in another language and we politely just kept saying "no." When Miro got back he couldn't find his phone. Apparently, when we got to the table, he took it out, laid it on the table and then left. the woman had covered the phone with the paper and grabbed it, then walked away. Bu this time, of course, she was long gone. Good times!
After lunch, we walked to La Familia Sagrada which is a famous cathedral, partially built by the artist/architect Antoni Gaudi. The thing was begun in 1882 and still is not finished and it is - wait for it - covered in scaffolding right now!! We didn't pay the 12.50 Euro to get in, mainly because the line went around the block, but also because the outside was fantastic enough. There are all these things carved into it - animals, people, words - you could spend all day just looking at the outside. It was pretty spectacular.
Then we walked to another Gaudi landmark, the Guell Park. This is up at the top of a hill and has an amazing view of the entire city. Gaudi designed these crazy bridges and houses and sculptures all through the park, most of which are decorated with mosaics. I read that the mosaics were created by breaking plates and then piecing them back together.
When we returned to the ship, the barbeque was in full swing so I stuffed myself with food and beer! I probably consumed about 20,000 calories this weekend. We went out that night to Sitges, which is a small, coastal town not far from Vilanova. We have been told it is the place to go for nightlife so we figured might as well check it out. The Barcelona soccer game was one, so some of the smaller bars were full of people watching the game but other, more club-like places, were practically empty. We started asking around and found out that nothing really gets going until about 2AM. Seriously? That's when they kick us out back home! We had a few beers at some different places, we found a little Irish Pub, so we had to go it. We played a round of Killer on the pool table and somehow I wasn't the first one out. Matt and I then bugged out to go see if anything was happening elsewhere and we found where all the people were so we went back and got the rest of the guys. Either Spanish people are really short, or the clubs were filled with 14 year olds - by the looks of it, they were 14. We decided to try to find something with a slightly older clientele. Then, Will started buying shots of terrible Spanish tequila. I help onto my empty beer bottle so that I could spit the crap back out into it - and thank god I did. Apparently Ross found Dan passed out in some doorway in an alley at 5am and he hasn't been out of his bed since. Sounds like he had fun!
Sunday was very low key. I woke up late, fed the fish, had some breakfast, read in my cabin until lunch. After lunch I walked the length of the beach, watched some jet ski races, read some more then walked back to the boat.
Neil returns on Wednesday so I'm looking forward to finishing up here and heading off to Italy this weekend!
Got up early on Saturday to feed the fish and do any tank maintenance that was required for the day. Made - the chef - made me some delicious pancakes for breakfast!! At 10 AM, Miro, Bryan and I headed into town to catch a train to Barcelona. Miro had been there before so he was our tour guide. When we got off the train we came up into one of the main shopping areas in the heart of the city. Something about Barcelona immediately reminded me of San Francisco but I can't put my finger on it. Maybe it's because it's a port city on the ocean, maybe it's the hills, maybe it's the way the streets were designed, I don't know but I got a good feeling about the city, it made me happy!
We walked down the main street, or Rambla, which was blocked off to cars but it was packed to the gills with people. There was a big festival all weekend called Merce which celebrated the city and the patron saint so there were more people than usual for the end of September. Along the Rambla there were all these "street performers" dressed in crazy costumes posing with people for money. It was like the guys in SF that paint themselves all gold or silver and then pose. There was a cowboy, some reapers on bicycles, Cleopatra, a demon, all kinds of crazy outfits, all begging for money. We soon turned off the Rambla and headed toward the main Cathedral - which, just like every other historic building I visit in Europe was being restored so it was covered in scaffolding. Luckily, we could still go in and look around. These things are amazing, so massive inside they make you feel like a tiny little ant. It's truly a testament to human ingenuity that so many centuries ago, we were capable of building something like that. I guess that's why now, hundreds of years later, they are just now getting around to doing some fix-it projects. My favorite thing - the electronic candle that you pay to light now instead of a real candle. Classic.
We then walked back across the Catalonia Square to a little cafe that Miro liked. It's called Happy Bar and Grill and is apparently a chain started in Bulgaria (which is where he is from). They serve all kinds of food, American, Spanish, Japanese and Bulgarian. I ordered a shopska salad which is a traditional Bulgarian dish that is essentially just a Greek salad but with a shredded white cheese instead of cubed feta. For our main course, Miro talked to the waitress and asked her to bring us some traditional Bulgarian fare like kofta and kebapcheta and french fries. Everything was quite tasty but it was strange to eat Bulgarian food while in Spain. Anyway, to begin our meal we got robbed, which was fun. Miro left to use the restroom and while he was gone a woman came to our table with a piece of paper with writing on it and she appeared to be asking for money. She kind of help the paper up while gibbering at us in another language and we politely just kept saying "no." When Miro got back he couldn't find his phone. Apparently, when we got to the table, he took it out, laid it on the table and then left. the woman had covered the phone with the paper and grabbed it, then walked away. Bu this time, of course, she was long gone. Good times!
After lunch, we walked to La Familia Sagrada which is a famous cathedral, partially built by the artist/architect Antoni Gaudi. The thing was begun in 1882 and still is not finished and it is - wait for it - covered in scaffolding right now!! We didn't pay the 12.50 Euro to get in, mainly because the line went around the block, but also because the outside was fantastic enough. There are all these things carved into it - animals, people, words - you could spend all day just looking at the outside. It was pretty spectacular.
Then we walked to another Gaudi landmark, the Guell Park. This is up at the top of a hill and has an amazing view of the entire city. Gaudi designed these crazy bridges and houses and sculptures all through the park, most of which are decorated with mosaics. I read that the mosaics were created by breaking plates and then piecing them back together.
When we returned to the ship, the barbeque was in full swing so I stuffed myself with food and beer! I probably consumed about 20,000 calories this weekend. We went out that night to Sitges, which is a small, coastal town not far from Vilanova. We have been told it is the place to go for nightlife so we figured might as well check it out. The Barcelona soccer game was one, so some of the smaller bars were full of people watching the game but other, more club-like places, were practically empty. We started asking around and found out that nothing really gets going until about 2AM. Seriously? That's when they kick us out back home! We had a few beers at some different places, we found a little Irish Pub, so we had to go it. We played a round of Killer on the pool table and somehow I wasn't the first one out. Matt and I then bugged out to go see if anything was happening elsewhere and we found where all the people were so we went back and got the rest of the guys. Either Spanish people are really short, or the clubs were filled with 14 year olds - by the looks of it, they were 14. We decided to try to find something with a slightly older clientele. Then, Will started buying shots of terrible Spanish tequila. I help onto my empty beer bottle so that I could spit the crap back out into it - and thank god I did. Apparently Ross found Dan passed out in some doorway in an alley at 5am and he hasn't been out of his bed since. Sounds like he had fun!
Sunday was very low key. I woke up late, fed the fish, had some breakfast, read in my cabin until lunch. After lunch I walked the length of the beach, watched some jet ski races, read some more then walked back to the boat.
Neil returns on Wednesday so I'm looking forward to finishing up here and heading off to Italy this weekend!
Saturday, September 25, 2010
World's Worst...
Quite possibly the world's worst song/video. Don't watch too much of it or you might lose some IQ points/hearing/lunch.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wc3f4xU_FfQ
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wc3f4xU_FfQ
Friday, September 24, 2010
Friday 24 Sept 2010
Only one week left to go!
I'm getting very excited to be done on the boat and get a chance to see my family in Italy and do some traveling.
We got into port in Vilanova yesterday at about 11 am. Our arrival attracted quite a crowd to come out and watch us dock. It was kinda funny, there were all these people standing around, snapping pictures. I don't know if they thought we had someone famous on board or were just impressed by the size of the boat but there was a bit of a buzz surrounding our arrival. We are in this kind of secluded section of the marina but we are very close to a little bar with a pool table and cheap beer so that's what matters!
When we finished work yesterday, I went out for a bike ride to explore the town with Sandy, John and Will. We went all over. We started out heading down the promenade along the beach. There is a very small basketball court, with 2 hoops sans rims in the SAND. If that's how Spain plays basketball, Ricky Rubio was a waste of money. Anyway, we turned in toward town and wound up on this little back alley with the huge tomato "farm" or something along it. It was probably about half a mile long with just row after row of these huge tomato plants, with huge, bright red fruit on them. I wanted one so bad!! We then just continued along, looking for promising bars, restaurants and nightlife. At the end of our journey we finally found the main drag (rambla) - which just happened to start at the port but we initially headed in the opposite direction. There are lots of basketball courts around and we saw quite a few pickup games going on. Amazingly, I saw more basketball than soccer here. I also saw my first Lakers jersey. Shoot me.
When we got back to the port, we stopped to have a beer at the little bar Equus, which is literally 20 feet from the boat. A beer turned into 3. The bartender kept bringing us snacks too. First we got pork rinds and a nut mix, then bread topped with cappacola and then bread with some sort of tomato spread and bacon. Oh yeah, and the beers were only 3.50 Euro per pint (about $4.50) which is way cheaper than the 5 Euro half pints in France.
There's a huge festival going on in Barcelona this weekend that I hope to attend. Tonight will probably be a quiet night - I may go explore around on my own. The boat tied up next to us is having a barbeque tonight and has invited us to stop by. We are hosting one tomorrow in observance of the departure of one of the deckhands who has worked on the Odyssey for like 10 years or something. Following the festivities we may head to Barcelona or a small town called Sitges - which is where many people have told us to go for a good night out. My plan is to head to Barcelona on Sunday either with some folks or on my own if need be.
I'm getting very excited to be done on the boat and get a chance to see my family in Italy and do some traveling.
We got into port in Vilanova yesterday at about 11 am. Our arrival attracted quite a crowd to come out and watch us dock. It was kinda funny, there were all these people standing around, snapping pictures. I don't know if they thought we had someone famous on board or were just impressed by the size of the boat but there was a bit of a buzz surrounding our arrival. We are in this kind of secluded section of the marina but we are very close to a little bar with a pool table and cheap beer so that's what matters!
When we finished work yesterday, I went out for a bike ride to explore the town with Sandy, John and Will. We went all over. We started out heading down the promenade along the beach. There is a very small basketball court, with 2 hoops sans rims in the SAND. If that's how Spain plays basketball, Ricky Rubio was a waste of money. Anyway, we turned in toward town and wound up on this little back alley with the huge tomato "farm" or something along it. It was probably about half a mile long with just row after row of these huge tomato plants, with huge, bright red fruit on them. I wanted one so bad!! We then just continued along, looking for promising bars, restaurants and nightlife. At the end of our journey we finally found the main drag (rambla) - which just happened to start at the port but we initially headed in the opposite direction. There are lots of basketball courts around and we saw quite a few pickup games going on. Amazingly, I saw more basketball than soccer here. I also saw my first Lakers jersey. Shoot me.
When we got back to the port, we stopped to have a beer at the little bar Equus, which is literally 20 feet from the boat. A beer turned into 3. The bartender kept bringing us snacks too. First we got pork rinds and a nut mix, then bread topped with cappacola and then bread with some sort of tomato spread and bacon. Oh yeah, and the beers were only 3.50 Euro per pint (about $4.50) which is way cheaper than the 5 Euro half pints in France.
There's a huge festival going on in Barcelona this weekend that I hope to attend. Tonight will probably be a quiet night - I may go explore around on my own. The boat tied up next to us is having a barbeque tonight and has invited us to stop by. We are hosting one tomorrow in observance of the departure of one of the deckhands who has worked on the Odyssey for like 10 years or something. Following the festivities we may head to Barcelona or a small town called Sitges - which is where many people have told us to go for a good night out. My plan is to head to Barcelona on Sunday either with some folks or on my own if need be.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Waxing Poetic
I just have to write down some words to try to describe how beautiful it is to be out here on this yacht, in the middle of the Med, at night, under a full moon. On the port side, where the moon is, the light shimmering off the water allows you to see just how calm it is. The way it lights up and kind of sparkles off the wake of the ship is incredible. It kind of reminds me of mercury - how it moves, separates and comes back together. The way the light plays on the water is like that, it breaks apart then comes back together. Nothing but dark and calm as far as you can see. The water kind of reminds me of an immense sheet of black silk billowing as if s gentle breeze is snaking below it. Speaking of breezes, the air is so crisp and fresh, but not cold. On the starboard side you can see tons of...stars! Without the light from the moon, it's darker on this side so you can see more stars. I could easily identify Ursa Major and Cygnus. We're far enough away form land that you can't see lights on shore so it's pure black beyond where our lights reach.
I could just stand at the railing and stare out at the sea all night.
I might.
I could just stand at the railing and stare out at the sea all night.
I might.
Hauling Ass
We are making some good time to Spain. We should be there about 9 am tomorrow. The original estimates put us in port around 2 or 3 pm. I guess they were going to just use one engine but Captain Mike decided he just wanted to get there and get it over with so we're running both engines. I wanted to make sure that I did a water change in the tank while we were still at sea so that I don't have to make synthetic water, so I just did one. At 8:00 at night. I had thought I would be able to do it tomorrow, since we were going to be at sea most of the day but Matt called me to the bridge to tell me we were making better time than he had anticipated.
Here is the main reason I don't want to have to make seawater - that Reverse Osmosis unit still scares the hell out of me. The last thing I want is for that hose to pop off again while I'm not around and flood the pump room which will then seep into the galley and cause major problems. It takes about 30 hours to make enough RO water to do a water change, so I really don't want to sit in that pump room and babysit it for 30 hours. By doing a water change now, I was able to refill the reservoir with seawater which I can use for the water change on Monday. I will technically still need to do a water change on Thursday (which is the day Neil gets back) but at least it's only one. I figure I can run that RO unit for a few hours at a time for a few days and get enough water.
Anyway, we took off from the Port of Nice after getting our fuel and installing the fire suppression bottle at about 2pm. I tried to find reasons to wander around outside so that I could look for "charismatic megafauna" - otherwise known as big animals. I didn't see anything until this evening I caught a glimpse of a single dolphin in the light shining off the water from the moon. I watched a beautiful sunset from the Bridge where I was hanging out with the new officer Matt. Then I went to the aft deck to see the amazing full moon. I'm going back out there soon to check out the stars. I have a cool app for my iPhone that shows me the stars and constellations.
Here is the main reason I don't want to have to make seawater - that Reverse Osmosis unit still scares the hell out of me. The last thing I want is for that hose to pop off again while I'm not around and flood the pump room which will then seep into the galley and cause major problems. It takes about 30 hours to make enough RO water to do a water change, so I really don't want to sit in that pump room and babysit it for 30 hours. By doing a water change now, I was able to refill the reservoir with seawater which I can use for the water change on Monday. I will technically still need to do a water change on Thursday (which is the day Neil gets back) but at least it's only one. I figure I can run that RO unit for a few hours at a time for a few days and get enough water.
Anyway, we took off from the Port of Nice after getting our fuel and installing the fire suppression bottle at about 2pm. I tried to find reasons to wander around outside so that I could look for "charismatic megafauna" - otherwise known as big animals. I didn't see anything until this evening I caught a glimpse of a single dolphin in the light shining off the water from the moon. I watched a beautiful sunset from the Bridge where I was hanging out with the new officer Matt. Then I went to the aft deck to see the amazing full moon. I'm going back out there soon to check out the stars. I have a cool app for my iPhone that shows me the stars and constellations.
Leaving Beaulieu
We started hauling up the anchor at about 7:05 this morning and actually left Beaulieu at about 7:15 AM. We reached Nice at about 8:00 where we just kind of hung out in the bay until 8:15 when the harbor pilot arrived. We just finished tying up at the fuel dock about 10 minutes ago. We will bunker fuel (that's what they say, trying to use my nautical terminology here) and then bring on the fire suppression equipment that we have been waiting for. From my understanding, we won't leave Nice until the fire equipment is installed and working correctly. Matt seems to think we should be underway to Spain by noon or early afternoon at the latest.
At the dock where we used to be tied up, there a 8 boats that took our place!
At the dock where we used to be tied up, there a 8 boats that took our place!
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
As Seen on the Streets
I keep forgetting to write about this but it randomly popped into my head while perusing failblog.org.
On our way between bars the other night we passed one of the AED things in a box attached to a street light, about 5 feet later was a condom dispenser on the street. Not sure if it was coincidence that they were that close to each other or what. Besides the proximity of the two, it's funny to see those things on the street in the first place. In the states you only see those AEDs in places where there are people trained to use them - a business cannot have one unless there is someone certified to use it. And condom dispensers - if you see them anymore, are usually relegated to men's rooms in bars.
On our way between bars the other night we passed one of the AED things in a box attached to a street light, about 5 feet later was a condom dispenser on the street. Not sure if it was coincidence that they were that close to each other or what. Besides the proximity of the two, it's funny to see those things on the street in the first place. In the states you only see those AEDs in places where there are people trained to use them - a business cannot have one unless there is someone certified to use it. And condom dispensers - if you see them anymore, are usually relegated to men's rooms in bars.
Tuesday 21 Sept 2010
For those of you that freak out when I go too long without a post, here's an update.
7:00 AM Alarm goes off, hit snooze.
7:10 AM Alarm goes off, h1t snooze.
7:20 AM Alarm goes off, get up.
7:30 Breakfast in the mess, oatmeal, apple, 2 eggs, glass of grapefruit juice, cup of green tea.
8:00 AM Look at the tank.
8:05 AM Prep food for the tank
8:30 AM Feed the tank.
8:40 AM Clean the filter sock from the canister filter.
9:00 AM sit in my room and troll Facebook. Comment on Dan's status update of "Cruising to Spain," with "Not yet you aren't."
10:00 AM Have a snack and cup of tea, watch Friends in the mess.
10:30 AM Stare at the tank for about 8 minutes.
10:38 AM See Dan has also posted a comment, "LOL, have you looked outside yet, notice we're not there?"
10:31 AM Realize that Golden Shadow has buggered off.
10:50 AM Start typing this.
My day is pretty much ruled by when it's time to eat. Only 50 more minutes until lunch!!
7:00 AM Alarm goes off, hit snooze.
7:10 AM Alarm goes off, h1t snooze.
7:20 AM Alarm goes off, get up.
7:30 Breakfast in the mess, oatmeal, apple, 2 eggs, glass of grapefruit juice, cup of green tea.
8:00 AM Look at the tank.
8:05 AM Prep food for the tank
8:30 AM Feed the tank.
8:40 AM Clean the filter sock from the canister filter.
9:00 AM sit in my room and troll Facebook. Comment on Dan's status update of "Cruising to Spain," with "Not yet you aren't."
10:00 AM Have a snack and cup of tea, watch Friends in the mess.
10:30 AM Stare at the tank for about 8 minutes.
10:38 AM See Dan has also posted a comment, "LOL, have you looked outside yet, notice we're not there?"
10:31 AM Realize that Golden Shadow has buggered off.
10:50 AM Start typing this.
My day is pretty much ruled by when it's time to eat. Only 50 more minutes until lunch!!
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Catch Up
Ok quick recap of the weekend.
Friday: Getting seriously bored. Did a water change, fed the fish 4 times, sat in my cabin. Did finally get my frozen food (which by the time I got it was semi-frozen). Played "Buzz" on PS3 with the guys - it's a quiz show game, pretty fun. Took the tender to shore to have some beers with Dan, Jamie, Sandy, Miro, Bryan and Dave. Didn't know it but Jamie has a penchant for drinking fruity girl drinks so suddenly we were drinking shots of tequila sunrises, then some other unknown greenish, then later blue-ish concoctions. Made it to a bar with a live, 3-piece jazz band but only caught about 2.5 songs before they packed up and went home. Went back to the bar where we started, were served more shots (which I gladly spat out into my beer bottle). At 1 am when the tender came back to pick us up Jamie was nowhere to be found, Sandy was passed out on the table, and Bryan was singing some Scottish jog or something. Luckily, the water was quite calm or else I think we could have lost some guys overboard. On land, when you get in the cab to go home after a night of drinking it is wise to put your seatbelt on. When your taxi is a boat, they bring you life jackets. I thought it was quite funny to see Sandy - this big Scottish guy passed out in the bow of this little boat with a tiny little orange life jacket on.
Saturday: Recovery day. Fed the fish. Took a nap. Decided to try to begin writing my memoirs, got as far as the intro and gave up. Wandered outside to find John zipping around on the Jet Ski. I decided I'd give it a go even though I don't think I've ever actually ridden a stand-up ski. They are extremely hard to keep upright, especially on choppy ocean water so I spent most of the time flying off them swimming back to it. I finally got to the point where I could keep it up when traveling in a straight line but turning was another story. Needless to say, I still have saltwater draining from my sinuses. Went up to the gym for a 35 minute bout on the treadmill. After dinner a bunch of us headed to the mess to watch "Surrogates" with Bruce Willis (don't bother, it was pretty terrible). Passed out.
Sunday: Got up, fed the fish, ate breakfast, took the 10 am tender to shore with Matt (brand new officer on board), John and Miro. Matt got this grand scheme in his head to walk up to Eze Village. Eze Village was built in the mid 1500's on the crown of this mountain, 2,000 feet above the ocean. We started at the ocean. We climbed 2,000 feet straight up. Most of it was steps then it turned into a steep, dirt and rock path. It was HARD. My knees are not going to work tomorrow. We did get some amazing views as we climbed. We actually went PAST the road to Eze, climbed all the way to the peak of the mountain and the across and down to Eze. Our ultimate goal was to have beer and pizza in the village and neither of those things have ever tasted to good! We walked through the village a bit, it was cool. Tiny little, narrow streets at all these crazy angles, buildings built right into the mountain, bougainvillea growing everywhere. There are also alot of cacti here - I didn't realize it grew so well here. There is a fancy hotel there as well called Chateau de la Chevre d'Oro (House of the Golden Goat) There will be pics on Facebook soon, I'm having issues uploading pics right now. Anyway, the trip down wasn't as hard (obviously) but I think it took a harder toll on my joints than the climb up. We then walked back to Beaulieu, stopped for some ice cream, I picked up some more peaches at the market and Miro bought us all cans of Heineken. When we got back to Odyssey we all thought a dip in the ocean was in order. Then John, in his infinite wisdom suggests swimming around the boat. Really?! We just hiked up 2,000 feet, then back down, were walking for 5 hours and now you want to swim around the boat?! We did it. I almost drowned.
Dinner was well deserved tonight and now I am going to pass out.
Friday: Getting seriously bored. Did a water change, fed the fish 4 times, sat in my cabin. Did finally get my frozen food (which by the time I got it was semi-frozen). Played "Buzz" on PS3 with the guys - it's a quiz show game, pretty fun. Took the tender to shore to have some beers with Dan, Jamie, Sandy, Miro, Bryan and Dave. Didn't know it but Jamie has a penchant for drinking fruity girl drinks so suddenly we were drinking shots of tequila sunrises, then some other unknown greenish, then later blue-ish concoctions. Made it to a bar with a live, 3-piece jazz band but only caught about 2.5 songs before they packed up and went home. Went back to the bar where we started, were served more shots (which I gladly spat out into my beer bottle). At 1 am when the tender came back to pick us up Jamie was nowhere to be found, Sandy was passed out on the table, and Bryan was singing some Scottish jog or something. Luckily, the water was quite calm or else I think we could have lost some guys overboard. On land, when you get in the cab to go home after a night of drinking it is wise to put your seatbelt on. When your taxi is a boat, they bring you life jackets. I thought it was quite funny to see Sandy - this big Scottish guy passed out in the bow of this little boat with a tiny little orange life jacket on.
Saturday: Recovery day. Fed the fish. Took a nap. Decided to try to begin writing my memoirs, got as far as the intro and gave up. Wandered outside to find John zipping around on the Jet Ski. I decided I'd give it a go even though I don't think I've ever actually ridden a stand-up ski. They are extremely hard to keep upright, especially on choppy ocean water so I spent most of the time flying off them swimming back to it. I finally got to the point where I could keep it up when traveling in a straight line but turning was another story. Needless to say, I still have saltwater draining from my sinuses. Went up to the gym for a 35 minute bout on the treadmill. After dinner a bunch of us headed to the mess to watch "Surrogates" with Bruce Willis (don't bother, it was pretty terrible). Passed out.
Sunday: Got up, fed the fish, ate breakfast, took the 10 am tender to shore with Matt (brand new officer on board), John and Miro. Matt got this grand scheme in his head to walk up to Eze Village. Eze Village was built in the mid 1500's on the crown of this mountain, 2,000 feet above the ocean. We started at the ocean. We climbed 2,000 feet straight up. Most of it was steps then it turned into a steep, dirt and rock path. It was HARD. My knees are not going to work tomorrow. We did get some amazing views as we climbed. We actually went PAST the road to Eze, climbed all the way to the peak of the mountain and the across and down to Eze. Our ultimate goal was to have beer and pizza in the village and neither of those things have ever tasted to good! We walked through the village a bit, it was cool. Tiny little, narrow streets at all these crazy angles, buildings built right into the mountain, bougainvillea growing everywhere. There are also alot of cacti here - I didn't realize it grew so well here. There is a fancy hotel there as well called Chateau de la Chevre d'Oro (House of the Golden Goat) There will be pics on Facebook soon, I'm having issues uploading pics right now. Anyway, the trip down wasn't as hard (obviously) but I think it took a harder toll on my joints than the climb up. We then walked back to Beaulieu, stopped for some ice cream, I picked up some more peaches at the market and Miro bought us all cans of Heineken. When we got back to Odyssey we all thought a dip in the ocean was in order. Then John, in his infinite wisdom suggests swimming around the boat. Really?! We just hiked up 2,000 feet, then back down, were walking for 5 hours and now you want to swim around the boat?! We did it. I almost drowned.
Dinner was well deserved tonight and now I am going to pass out.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Heaven in a Pan
Mom, are you paying attention?! One of the chefs today whipped up this mid morning treat for us using day old croissants.
He cut up the croissants and put them in a baking dish then combined some sugar in milk, added some beaten eggs and poured that mixture into the baking dish. You cook that for a bit and, viola! Heaven in a pan. He also had this custard sauce topping but that was just made with a powder mixed in milk. Not sure if we have that in that states but it was pretty tasty. Not something I should have eaten, but damn, it was worth the extra treadmill work I'll have to do today!
He cut up the croissants and put them in a baking dish then combined some sugar in milk, added some beaten eggs and poured that mixture into the baking dish. You cook that for a bit and, viola! Heaven in a pan. He also had this custard sauce topping but that was just made with a powder mixed in milk. Not sure if we have that in that states but it was pretty tasty. Not something I should have eaten, but damn, it was worth the extra treadmill work I'll have to do today!
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Weds 15 Sept 2010
Latest word on the stre...errr, ocean is that we are going to be in port somewhere about 30 minutes out of Barcelona. I will definitely make the trip to visit the aquarium at the very least. Dan says the nightlife in Barcelona is top-notch so we will probably go out at least one night to take that in.
Dove in the tank today to pick-up and rearrange some corals that had fallen over. As soon as I was done, dried off, tank hatch closed with the system back up and running, I walked through the dining room and looked in the tank to see another coral had since fallen. Ugh. It's ok, it at least fell right side up so I'll fix it Friday if I decide to dive. It depends on when we leave for port. I'd rather not dive while we are in transit.
We had sushi for lunch today and it was incredible! One of the guys joked that I needed to go do a head count of the fish in my tank.
Last night I finally got around to creating an account on the website called livemocha.com. It's a community based language teaching site. I have finished my first Italian lesson and I know how to say "the building is not blue." That should be useful when I go to Italy. It's cool because, like Facebook, you can connect with alot of different people from all over the world and they can comment on your progress and you can comment on theirs. So, I have to write sentences then I submit them, somebody reads them and makes corrections and sends me comments. In return, I can correct and comment on other people's submissions. You can also do voice recordings and submit those for comments. I have gotten alot of positive comments on my speech, and my accent. It's a great idea and I'm so glad I heard about it from James and Joyce, the folks who so graciously rented me a room in their house this past summer.
Oh, and on a positive note, I think I may have gotten the whole eReader thing figured out. I finally got a useful email from one of their help representatives. It's about time.
Dove in the tank today to pick-up and rearrange some corals that had fallen over. As soon as I was done, dried off, tank hatch closed with the system back up and running, I walked through the dining room and looked in the tank to see another coral had since fallen. Ugh. It's ok, it at least fell right side up so I'll fix it Friday if I decide to dive. It depends on when we leave for port. I'd rather not dive while we are in transit.
We had sushi for lunch today and it was incredible! One of the guys joked that I needed to go do a head count of the fish in my tank.
Last night I finally got around to creating an account on the website called livemocha.com. It's a community based language teaching site. I have finished my first Italian lesson and I know how to say "the building is not blue." That should be useful when I go to Italy. It's cool because, like Facebook, you can connect with alot of different people from all over the world and they can comment on your progress and you can comment on theirs. So, I have to write sentences then I submit them, somebody reads them and makes corrections and sends me comments. In return, I can correct and comment on other people's submissions. You can also do voice recordings and submit those for comments. I have gotten alot of positive comments on my speech, and my accent. It's a great idea and I'm so glad I heard about it from James and Joyce, the folks who so graciously rented me a room in their house this past summer.
Oh, and on a positive note, I think I may have gotten the whole eReader thing figured out. I finally got a useful email from one of their help representatives. It's about time.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Tuesday 14 Sept 2010
Nothing much to report so far today. We are still at anchor off of Beaulieu but it looks like we will be headed to Spain on Friday or Saturday. Maybe Barcelona, maybe not, but probably somewhere in that general vicinity. I'm hoping to catch a Barcelona football match if I can. There are tickets available for about $50. I would also like to visit the Barcelona Aquarium. If we end up in the Port of Barcelona that would be great since the aquarium is right there.
Once Neil returns I think I will fly out to Italy to see my family and spend some time with them before heading to Hungary with my nonna and Roy. I'll probably just finish out my trip with them exploring around that area.
The weather is still beautiful. The storm that threatened yesterday just missed us. We got a little rain and there was some distant thunder, a little rough water but that was about it. I went outside last night and watched the lightning way off in the distance. It was pretty cool, it made the sky light up this bright orange color.
Once Neil returns I think I will fly out to Italy to see my family and spend some time with them before heading to Hungary with my nonna and Roy. I'll probably just finish out my trip with them exploring around that area.
The weather is still beautiful. The storm that threatened yesterday just missed us. We got a little rain and there was some distant thunder, a little rough water but that was about it. I went outside last night and watched the lightning way off in the distance. It was pretty cool, it made the sky light up this bright orange color.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Monday 13 Sept 2010
Pretty uneventful weekend actually - which is a good thing. Saturday I took the tender to shore and spent some time wandering around Beaulieu and St-Jean-Cap-Ferrat. It's quite beautiful. Spent a few hours on the beach, went for a swim and lost my earrings. I have to take them out when I am on duty so I put them in over the weekend to keep the hole from closing up too much. They are circular barbells with a ball at each end to keep them in. Well, I was too lazy to screw in the ball I had removed in order to take them out. I went for over 2 years without that ball on there because last time I was here I lost them. Anyway, as I was walking back to the port I happened to reach up to my ears and noticed that they were gone. Must have come out while I was swimming. It was probably time to get smaller ones anyway.
I took a stroll through town and found a supermarket where I bought some green grapes from Italy and some peaches from France. The peaches were very good - reminded me of home. The grapes are awesome - except for the seeds. Yay for genetic engineering! They aren't nearly as sweet at the Thompson's we have in the States - they taste kind of earthy. Also bought a can of Bavarian Special Red Beer 8.6. If you ever see this stuff (which you won't in the states) I highly recommend you buy some and give it to your WORST enemy. The stuff is AWFUL. I took about 2 sips and then had to pour it out. I was hoping to enjoy a beer while listening to the Giants game but, alas, I had to settle with water.
Yesterday I just hung out on the boat all day. Read a little, fed the fish, took a nap, had a workout, got really bored. Tried to download another new book only to have the same problem as before and can't get it to transfer to the eReader. During the evening feeding I noticed a trickle of water coming from out of the top of the tank and freaked out. Called Dan over (he's a deckhand on the Shadow that has worked on the tank before). We decided that it wasn't an emergency and could wait until today when I did my dive. This morning I noticed that the water level in the tank had dropped. When I got in the tank I figured out that a siphon had been created in the overflow behind the tank and water was slowly escaping from there. Once we dropped the level of the water to below the pipes feeding the overflow box, we broke the siphon and the water has since stopped dripping out. Phew!
I also took note of the fact that the temp was starting to creep up again and I first thought that the pump had failed again. We open and closed some of the valves while the pump was running in order to force some water through at higher pressure to knock out any blockages that may have occurred. This seems to have worked for the time being. We may need to remove the whole chiller unit and flush it out to remove any other blockages if the temp goes back up.
If I am ever offered this job again, please remind me that since I have been here I have had to deal with:
1) 2 lost frozen food shipments
2) A failed pump
3) A massive temperature spike
4) A blockage in the phosphate dosing system
5) A problem with the overflow system
6) A busted valve in the plumbing system
7) A blowout in the RO unit hose
8) A burned out lightbulb in the pump room
Good times!
I took a stroll through town and found a supermarket where I bought some green grapes from Italy and some peaches from France. The peaches were very good - reminded me of home. The grapes are awesome - except for the seeds. Yay for genetic engineering! They aren't nearly as sweet at the Thompson's we have in the States - they taste kind of earthy. Also bought a can of Bavarian Special Red Beer 8.6. If you ever see this stuff (which you won't in the states) I highly recommend you buy some and give it to your WORST enemy. The stuff is AWFUL. I took about 2 sips and then had to pour it out. I was hoping to enjoy a beer while listening to the Giants game but, alas, I had to settle with water.
Yesterday I just hung out on the boat all day. Read a little, fed the fish, took a nap, had a workout, got really bored. Tried to download another new book only to have the same problem as before and can't get it to transfer to the eReader. During the evening feeding I noticed a trickle of water coming from out of the top of the tank and freaked out. Called Dan over (he's a deckhand on the Shadow that has worked on the tank before). We decided that it wasn't an emergency and could wait until today when I did my dive. This morning I noticed that the water level in the tank had dropped. When I got in the tank I figured out that a siphon had been created in the overflow behind the tank and water was slowly escaping from there. Once we dropped the level of the water to below the pipes feeding the overflow box, we broke the siphon and the water has since stopped dripping out. Phew!
I also took note of the fact that the temp was starting to creep up again and I first thought that the pump had failed again. We open and closed some of the valves while the pump was running in order to force some water through at higher pressure to knock out any blockages that may have occurred. This seems to have worked for the time being. We may need to remove the whole chiller unit and flush it out to remove any other blockages if the temp goes back up.
If I am ever offered this job again, please remind me that since I have been here I have had to deal with:
1) 2 lost frozen food shipments
2) A failed pump
3) A massive temperature spike
4) A blockage in the phosphate dosing system
5) A problem with the overflow system
6) A busted valve in the plumbing system
7) A blowout in the RO unit hose
8) A burned out lightbulb in the pump room
Good times!
Friday, September 10, 2010
Friday 10 Sept 2010
Last night there was some celebrating related to Ramadan. Not only is the boss Muslim, but some of the crew are so there were some yummy desserts, lots of beer and wine and karaoke. I didn't realize karaoke was a part of Ramadan celebrations! Actually, I just think karaoke is a big part of life on this boat. Anyway, I got wrangled into singing "I Walk the Line" because I said if they could find Johnny Cash I might actually sing. So Janet kind of made it her mission to find some Cash. I am a terrible singer.
Today was a day off in observance of Ramadan so that was cool. Not that I was off, I had to deal with some stuff in the pump room. Neil has this thing set up to add a chemical to the tank and it consists of a glass tank sitting on top of one of the reserve tanks with a pipe leading to another reserve tank. Anyway, when I opened the door to the pump room this morning I noticed the chem tank was overflowing. I had to drain it and take the pipework off and clean it out. Luckily that seemed to solve the problem. I also seem to have solved the problem of the RO unit blowing the hose off and spraying water all over the place. I replaced the hose and cranked down the water volume going into the hose. I'm still hesitant to let it run unwatched. Luckily, I shouldn't have to use it too much since I can pump seawater directly into the tank now instead of making synthetic seawater using the RO water and salt mixture.
After I finished what I had to do I went up to the gym and got the place to myself for my workout today. Then I jumped off the aft deck and went for a brief snorkel/swim in the ocean. Not alot to see other than the bottom of the boat and some halfbeaks.
I am currently reading James Barrie's Peter Pan and it's kind of cool because I went to see Peter Pan on stage in SF a few months ago. The stage show definitely is based on the book and Disney took some liberties in their telling of it. It's always been one of my favorite stories so I'm glad to have a reason to read it. It was included in the 100 free books on my eReader. Speaking of which, I haven't had any other major problems with it - but I also haven't tried downloading any new books.
I'm hoping to go ashore tomorrow. Not sure what the situation is - if and when the tender boats are making shore runs. It looks like there is a great beach and I'd love to wander around the town.
I also forgot to mention that the frozen food shipment I was supposed to get on Thursday or Friday...not here yet. Not my fault!
Today was a day off in observance of Ramadan so that was cool. Not that I was off, I had to deal with some stuff in the pump room. Neil has this thing set up to add a chemical to the tank and it consists of a glass tank sitting on top of one of the reserve tanks with a pipe leading to another reserve tank. Anyway, when I opened the door to the pump room this morning I noticed the chem tank was overflowing. I had to drain it and take the pipework off and clean it out. Luckily that seemed to solve the problem. I also seem to have solved the problem of the RO unit blowing the hose off and spraying water all over the place. I replaced the hose and cranked down the water volume going into the hose. I'm still hesitant to let it run unwatched. Luckily, I shouldn't have to use it too much since I can pump seawater directly into the tank now instead of making synthetic seawater using the RO water and salt mixture.
After I finished what I had to do I went up to the gym and got the place to myself for my workout today. Then I jumped off the aft deck and went for a brief snorkel/swim in the ocean. Not alot to see other than the bottom of the boat and some halfbeaks.
I am currently reading James Barrie's Peter Pan and it's kind of cool because I went to see Peter Pan on stage in SF a few months ago. The stage show definitely is based on the book and Disney took some liberties in their telling of it. It's always been one of my favorite stories so I'm glad to have a reason to read it. It was included in the 100 free books on my eReader. Speaking of which, I haven't had any other major problems with it - but I also haven't tried downloading any new books.
I'm hoping to go ashore tomorrow. Not sure what the situation is - if and when the tender boats are making shore runs. It looks like there is a great beach and I'd love to wander around the town.
I also forgot to mention that the frozen food shipment I was supposed to get on Thursday or Friday...not here yet. Not my fault!
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
My new digs
We fixed the tank temperature problem. After a small misunderstanding yesterday, it was confirmed today that the pump that serves the chiller was, in fact, dead, deceased, kaput. I had mentioned to the engineers that the pressure gauge was reading 0 psi but he somehow misunderstood that, mentioned something about it being broken and that was kind of the end of that. Turns out, it wasn't broken, the pump was dying and it was confirmed this morning when the other engineer opened the pipes and found only a small trickle of water coming out.
Let's rewind. We left Antibes at 9 AM and started heading back north to Beaulieu and more sheltered waters. About 10 minutes in, we suddenly switched direction. Apparently, another ship radioed us to alert us that they had found our tender about 5 miles south of Antibes. We went and rescued it then headed to Beaulieu. We dropped anchor at noon, I ate my lunch, took a quick power nap then headed out to the aft deck with all of my possessions and a bag full of fish food. to wait for my ride. As I boarded the tender, Dan tells me it looks as though a pump on the aquarium has failed (see above). I get over there, confirm it is the chiller pump and then beg Sandy to help me replace it. Not only did he help me, he did it all. He was great! He's a big guy and had a hell of a time getting back into the pump room to access it, pull i out, fit the new one and get it all reinstalled. While he did that I busily tended to prepping the fish food for the day and changing all the filtration systems that I usually do each morning. Once the pump was reinstalled, the temperature began to drop quite rapidly - almost too fast. Problem solved!
My next problem is the RO unit that has been spraying water all over the pump room. I changed all of the filter units on it this afternoon to see if there was a clog causing a pressure backup. This didn't help. Immediately after I turned it on, the hose popped off - this time though I has holding it together so it wasn't nearly so bad. I checked some of the lines and I don't see any clogs, water is running through the system so tomorrow I am going to try to replace the connection hose, perhaps it is just stretched a bit and needs to be replaced.
Oh yeah, and one of the UV filter bulbs is out. Neil sure picked the right time to go on vacation.
So, I am now a guest aboard the Golden Odyssey instead of the Shadow. I liked Shadow better. Mostly, I just felt comfortable there - I knew the staff, I felt like I could go wherever I wanted (within reason) and it just seems a little more relaxed. Some other downfalls include, no 110 Watt outlets (but the electrician said he will get me an adapter), no fridge in my room for my peanut butter, people actually use this gym so it's crowded at 5, no TV in my cabin, no dessert! That last one might be a good thing actually. Anyway, this may not last long as they may ship me back to Shadow. We'll see.
Last I heard from the Odyssey captain is that we may all go to Barcelona now instead of Hamburg. I like that idea much better!
Let's rewind. We left Antibes at 9 AM and started heading back north to Beaulieu and more sheltered waters. About 10 minutes in, we suddenly switched direction. Apparently, another ship radioed us to alert us that they had found our tender about 5 miles south of Antibes. We went and rescued it then headed to Beaulieu. We dropped anchor at noon, I ate my lunch, took a quick power nap then headed out to the aft deck with all of my possessions and a bag full of fish food. to wait for my ride. As I boarded the tender, Dan tells me it looks as though a pump on the aquarium has failed (see above). I get over there, confirm it is the chiller pump and then beg Sandy to help me replace it. Not only did he help me, he did it all. He was great! He's a big guy and had a hell of a time getting back into the pump room to access it, pull i out, fit the new one and get it all reinstalled. While he did that I busily tended to prepping the fish food for the day and changing all the filtration systems that I usually do each morning. Once the pump was reinstalled, the temperature began to drop quite rapidly - almost too fast. Problem solved!
My next problem is the RO unit that has been spraying water all over the pump room. I changed all of the filter units on it this afternoon to see if there was a clog causing a pressure backup. This didn't help. Immediately after I turned it on, the hose popped off - this time though I has holding it together so it wasn't nearly so bad. I checked some of the lines and I don't see any clogs, water is running through the system so tomorrow I am going to try to replace the connection hose, perhaps it is just stretched a bit and needs to be replaced.
Oh yeah, and one of the UV filter bulbs is out. Neil sure picked the right time to go on vacation.
So, I am now a guest aboard the Golden Odyssey instead of the Shadow. I liked Shadow better. Mostly, I just felt comfortable there - I knew the staff, I felt like I could go wherever I wanted (within reason) and it just seems a little more relaxed. Some other downfalls include, no 110 Watt outlets (but the electrician said he will get me an adapter), no fridge in my room for my peanut butter, people actually use this gym so it's crowded at 5, no TV in my cabin, no dessert! That last one might be a good thing actually. Anyway, this may not last long as they may ship me back to Shadow. We'll see.
Last I heard from the Odyssey captain is that we may all go to Barcelona now instead of Hamburg. I like that idea much better!
Weds 8 Sept 2010
Today started at about 3 am. Luckily it wasn’t because of an alarm on the fish tank, it was because of the storm raging outside. I think I was awakened by the tossing of the boat, but then the strobe light flashing of lightning outside my window kept me up. I didn’t actually see much lightning, I think it all stayed in the clouds, but it was constant. The rain was coming down pretty hard and the wind was really whipping. Then the hail started. It was a pretty crazy night. We lost our tender boat, the line snapped in the rough water and apparently a couple of guys jumped on another tender to go after it. The rain really started coming down just then and from what I hear, they almost got tossed over.
Eventually it calmed down and so I got back into bed but couldn’t sleep. I flipped on my handy iPhone and launched my MLB At Bat app to try to listen to the Giants game. Turns out they were featuring it as a video feed for free so I go to watch a good portion of it. Somewhere in the 5th inning we lost internet connection so it dropped the game but I got to see the best part! At around 5:30 I finally fell back asleep just to have my alarm go off at 6:30.
This morning I was supposed to move over to the Odyssey but with the tender missing, I didn’t have a ride. All of the other tenders were out searching for the lost one. The Captain told me to just wait in my room and he would call when they were ready to take me over. So, I’ve been sitting here for over an hour waiting, watching TV, sporadically surfing the web. Finally I walked out to the aft deck to hear that we are pulling anchor and moving now, so I will go over to Odyssey after we anchor in Beaulieu. I assume that since nobody has called to report any alarms, the tank is doing ok.
Eventually it calmed down and so I got back into bed but couldn’t sleep. I flipped on my handy iPhone and launched my MLB At Bat app to try to listen to the Giants game. Turns out they were featuring it as a video feed for free so I go to watch a good portion of it. Somewhere in the 5th inning we lost internet connection so it dropped the game but I got to see the best part! At around 5:30 I finally fell back asleep just to have my alarm go off at 6:30.
This morning I was supposed to move over to the Odyssey but with the tender missing, I didn’t have a ride. All of the other tenders were out searching for the lost one. The Captain told me to just wait in my room and he would call when they were ready to take me over. So, I’ve been sitting here for over an hour waiting, watching TV, sporadically surfing the web. Finally I walked out to the aft deck to hear that we are pulling anchor and moving now, so I will go over to Odyssey after we anchor in Beaulieu. I assume that since nobody has called to report any alarms, the tank is doing ok.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
The saga continues
The temp never went down on the tank. In fact, it continued to rise. I have spent all day worrying about it, trying to figure out why and how to fix it. I've done everything I could feasibly do at this point. I have told the engineers on Odyssey everything I can about the situation and they are monitoring the pumps and temp for me. We drained the pool and refilled it with cold water. I actually think we need to just leave it drained. If the situation doesn't improve tomorrow, I am going to request draining it for good, nobody is using it.
I have just received news that I am to be transferred over to Odyssey tomorrow so that I can more closely monitor the situation. It will me by 3rd cabin in about 10 days. I've had to pack up my stuff twice already. There is also the possibility that I will move BACK to Shadow. Not only do I have to move all my my stuff, but I will have to move all of the fish food as well. Luckily though, there isn't much of that - since the shipment still hasn't arrived. I'm mostly concerned that I won't have a private cabin anymore, oh well.
On a positive note, dinner tonight was amazing! Onion soup, baked potato, super tasty grilled veggies and black pepper steak that absolutely melted in my mouth. It was a great last meal aboard Shadow. Dessert was apple pie which was good, though different than what I am used to. Slightly different crust but there were raisins in it. Hopefully that means there wasn't as much sugar and the raisins were to add sweetness. Or I can hope anyway.
One last thing. There is a storm moving in so we are leaving Antibes for Beaulieu which is between Nice and Monaco. It is apparently more sheltered. It sprinkled a little bit today and was mostly overcast. Just thought I'd throw that in for those of you who thought EVERYTHING here is perfect.
I have just received news that I am to be transferred over to Odyssey tomorrow so that I can more closely monitor the situation. It will me by 3rd cabin in about 10 days. I've had to pack up my stuff twice already. There is also the possibility that I will move BACK to Shadow. Not only do I have to move all my my stuff, but I will have to move all of the fish food as well. Luckily though, there isn't much of that - since the shipment still hasn't arrived. I'm mostly concerned that I won't have a private cabin anymore, oh well.
On a positive note, dinner tonight was amazing! Onion soup, baked potato, super tasty grilled veggies and black pepper steak that absolutely melted in my mouth. It was a great last meal aboard Shadow. Dessert was apple pie which was good, though different than what I am used to. Slightly different crust but there were raisins in it. Hopefully that means there wasn't as much sugar and the raisins were to add sweetness. Or I can hope anyway.
One last thing. There is a storm moving in so we are leaving Antibes for Beaulieu which is between Nice and Monaco. It is apparently more sheltered. It sprinkled a little bit today and was mostly overcast. Just thought I'd throw that in for those of you who thought EVERYTHING here is perfect.
Tuesday 7 Sept 2010
Where do I begin for today? Oh, I know, how about 5:30 this morning when there is an insistent knock at my door. I open it to find one of the guys who was apparently on watch telling me that I have a "call" from the Odyssey on the bridge. I fumble into a t-shirt and find my glasses and head upstairs. My eyes are freaking out because I have gone from the dark of my cabin to the blazing lights in the hallways back to near pitch-black in the bridge. Over the radio I hear Jamie, the chief officer on Odyssey tell me that an alarm is going off on the aquarium for high temp. He says it's at 27.5 C. I tell him it's ok, it happened slowly and it's because the pool is full, I'll check on it when I get there later.
I luckily fell back asleep but then managed to sleep through my alarm. I woke up at 8 am sharp - which is when I am supposed to be starting work. I run down to the galley, grab some delightful chocolate-granola-something-or-other, and a cup of tea and then head out to the aft deck hoping a tender would be available to take me to Odyssey. Thankfully, Jamie was on his way over to pick up something from Shadow so he gave me a ride.
I decided that since the sea water here is the correct salinity and a few degrees cooler then the tank, I would set up a flow through system to do a bit of a water change and hopefully drop the temp a bit. It turns out that the heaters for the pool have been running so that is what has caused the tank temp to go up. I asked if they could shut those off and they did. Anyway, the water change went smoothly but I was cut short when some of the deck hands started sanding something off the side. I was worried about drawing some kind of pollutant into the tank so I shut down the water change operation. The temp did drop ever so slightly though.
I had previously filled the reserve tank with ocean water to have for my next water change, just in case the water around the boat became unusable. Today when I checked it's salinity I found that it was too high so I turned on the reverse osmosis unit to add some fresh water and hopefully bring the salinity down. I went into the dining room to observe the tank, make sure everything was ok when one of the stewards came in and told me that there was water leaking in the pump room. I rushed over to find the RO unit spraying water all over the place. Lots of water. Awesome.
One of the coupling had burst and the supply line was just free flowing all over the pump room. I got it shut off quickly and one of the engineers brought me a small wet vac that filled up so quickly I had to empty it 5 times before I got all of the water up. It's strange because the small length of hose that came disconnected was held on to the pipe with a clip that didn't seem loose or defective at all. I'm worried that there is something causing a blockage and increasing the pressure higher that the system can deal with. With any luck, we will stay in an area where I can keep using sea water and I won't have to use the RO unit so much.
The one good thing that came of this was that I stayed onboard Odyssey for lunch and they had pizza!!
I luckily fell back asleep but then managed to sleep through my alarm. I woke up at 8 am sharp - which is when I am supposed to be starting work. I run down to the galley, grab some delightful chocolate-granola-something-or-other, and a cup of tea and then head out to the aft deck hoping a tender would be available to take me to Odyssey. Thankfully, Jamie was on his way over to pick up something from Shadow so he gave me a ride.
I decided that since the sea water here is the correct salinity and a few degrees cooler then the tank, I would set up a flow through system to do a bit of a water change and hopefully drop the temp a bit. It turns out that the heaters for the pool have been running so that is what has caused the tank temp to go up. I asked if they could shut those off and they did. Anyway, the water change went smoothly but I was cut short when some of the deck hands started sanding something off the side. I was worried about drawing some kind of pollutant into the tank so I shut down the water change operation. The temp did drop ever so slightly though.
I had previously filled the reserve tank with ocean water to have for my next water change, just in case the water around the boat became unusable. Today when I checked it's salinity I found that it was too high so I turned on the reverse osmosis unit to add some fresh water and hopefully bring the salinity down. I went into the dining room to observe the tank, make sure everything was ok when one of the stewards came in and told me that there was water leaking in the pump room. I rushed over to find the RO unit spraying water all over the place. Lots of water. Awesome.
One of the coupling had burst and the supply line was just free flowing all over the pump room. I got it shut off quickly and one of the engineers brought me a small wet vac that filled up so quickly I had to empty it 5 times before I got all of the water up. It's strange because the small length of hose that came disconnected was held on to the pipe with a clip that didn't seem loose or defective at all. I'm worried that there is something causing a blockage and increasing the pressure higher that the system can deal with. With any luck, we will stay in an area where I can keep using sea water and I won't have to use the RO unit so much.
The one good thing that came of this was that I stayed onboard Odyssey for lunch and they had pizza!!
Monday, September 6, 2010
Fishing
I just hung out on the aft deck with some of the guys and watched them attempt to catch tomorrow's lunch. Made (pronounced Mad-dee) is one of the chef's and he is good at casting and is a real fisherman. Alex and Dan, I'm not so sure about. The first thing that tipped me off to Alex's shortcomings was when he was tying on the lure and he suddenly had a huge mess of a knot in the line. I'm not saying I could do any better, but I didn't have a rod in my hand.
I happened to walk over to the port railing and noticed the water moving and birds starting to swoop in so I called them over just as the captain came over the radio to tell them that there was something in the water off the port bow. It was too far away to cast so they jumped in the tender and motored over. Alex came over the radio and said, "Operation Steve's lunch is under way." Steve is the captain and he had earlier mentioned that he would like fish for lunch tomorrow.
Unfortunately, they didn't catch anything but it was entertaining to watch. Plus I had a reason to go outside and enjoy twilight on a nice evening. It looks as though we may be in for some bad weather in the next few days. The clouds are building and the forecast calls for rain on Wednesday.
On another note, the company that shipped the frozen food did some research on their side (finally) and they discovered that they had addressed the delivery to our finance office and NOT the port agent that was supposed to deliver it to us. Not my fault! So they are shipping it to the correct address first thing tomorrow. I hope.
I happened to walk over to the port railing and noticed the water moving and birds starting to swoop in so I called them over just as the captain came over the radio to tell them that there was something in the water off the port bow. It was too far away to cast so they jumped in the tender and motored over. Alex came over the radio and said, "Operation Steve's lunch is under way." Steve is the captain and he had earlier mentioned that he would like fish for lunch tomorrow.
Unfortunately, they didn't catch anything but it was entertaining to watch. Plus I had a reason to go outside and enjoy twilight on a nice evening. It looks as though we may be in for some bad weather in the next few days. The clouds are building and the forecast calls for rain on Wednesday.
On another note, the company that shipped the frozen food did some research on their side (finally) and they discovered that they had addressed the delivery to our finance office and NOT the port agent that was supposed to deliver it to us. Not my fault! So they are shipping it to the correct address first thing tomorrow. I hope.
Random things
First, some things that are difficult to do while on a boat:
a) Yoga
b) Running on a treadmill
c) Being 6''1" - I hit my head on everything.
Next, I forgot to write about this yesterday. While walking back to the pick-up point to go back to the ship, I was walking past this row of 300' mega yachts. One of them had a whole group of people on the aft deck eating and drinking and blasting Ace of Base!! I just about died laughing.
Finally, the food fiasco is now my fault because I didn't call the agent who was supposed to deliver it to us in Nice. Ummmm, I wasn't fully briefed on how this whole operation works - I was told the food would get here on Thursday or Friday and if it didn't, tell one of the officers from the Odyssey to call the agent. I did that. One box came, the frozen food box was never delivered. I again told an officer and was instructed to call the supplier myself as they figured that the agent would never not deliver something they had sitting in their warehouse. So now the guy from the supplier tells me it did, in fact, ship on Tuesday. If that is the case, then my frozen food is now not so frozen and stinking up the agent's warehouse. Serves them right.
I just got an email from the supplier in response to my asking for the tracking number:
Dear Nic,
We think it's 0406751 - the bottom copy is a bit faded.
Wayne
We THINK it's 0406751?!? FML.
a) Yoga
b) Running on a treadmill
c) Being 6''1" - I hit my head on everything.
Next, I forgot to write about this yesterday. While walking back to the pick-up point to go back to the ship, I was walking past this row of 300' mega yachts. One of them had a whole group of people on the aft deck eating and drinking and blasting Ace of Base!! I just about died laughing.
Finally, the food fiasco is now my fault because I didn't call the agent who was supposed to deliver it to us in Nice. Ummmm, I wasn't fully briefed on how this whole operation works - I was told the food would get here on Thursday or Friday and if it didn't, tell one of the officers from the Odyssey to call the agent. I did that. One box came, the frozen food box was never delivered. I again told an officer and was instructed to call the supplier myself as they figured that the agent would never not deliver something they had sitting in their warehouse. So now the guy from the supplier tells me it did, in fact, ship on Tuesday. If that is the case, then my frozen food is now not so frozen and stinking up the agent's warehouse. Serves them right.
I just got an email from the supplier in response to my asking for the tracking number:
Dear Nic,
We think it's 0406751 - the bottom copy is a bit faded.
Wayne
We THINK it's 0406751?!? FML.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Sunday 5 Sept 2010
Today I took the tender to shore and spent 4 hours at the beach. It was great. I had forgotten that many beaches in France are "clothing optional." Luckily, it's mostly women that observe the clothing optional part. Although, the men do opt for saggy Speedos, and that is not very fun to look at.
I finished the 4th book in Dean Koontz's Frankenstein series. It ended as a cliffhanger with the next book not due out until next Spring. DAMN!! Now I have to remember everything that happened for the next 6 months. And then there will be a book 6 in 2012. Any recommendations for my next book?
We had molten chocolate cake for dessert tonight. Yum!
I finished the 4th book in Dean Koontz's Frankenstein series. It ended as a cliffhanger with the next book not due out until next Spring. DAMN!! Now I have to remember everything that happened for the next 6 months. And then there will be a book 6 in 2012. Any recommendations for my next book?
We had molten chocolate cake for dessert tonight. Yum!
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Wine
On the recommendation of the captain of the Shadow, I watched a film tonight called Bottle Shock. It stars Bill Pullman and Alan Rickman (one of my favorite actors) and is about...wine! There was a very famous blind wine tasting "competition" in 1976 organized by a Brit, living in France. He pitted American wines from Napa against French wines. It was a great movie and I highly recommend it.
While watching, I decided to open the bottle I bought this morning and have some cheese, crackers and wine. Hell, I'm in France - that sounds like a very French thing to do. Anyway, just as I learned last time I was here, California wines are superior. Maybe I am biased, but this wine just doesn't have much going on. California reds and generally big and bold, the French wines I've tried are pretty weak. Sounds like the wines kind of reflect the cultures that produce them....
While watching, I decided to open the bottle I bought this morning and have some cheese, crackers and wine. Hell, I'm in France - that sounds like a very French thing to do. Anyway, just as I learned last time I was here, California wines are superior. Maybe I am biased, but this wine just doesn't have much going on. California reds and generally big and bold, the French wines I've tried are pretty weak. Sounds like the wines kind of reflect the cultures that produce them....
Living it up!
So we are now at anchor off of Antibes. Earlier I was over on Odyssey to feed the fish and do a few things with the tank. They have filled the pool on Odyssey and opened it up for anyone to use. Uhhh, yes please. So after doing my work I went back up to the deserted pool deck, lay down next to the pool and read in the hot afternoon sunshine of the South of France. Pretty amazing. I like to stand at the rail and pretend I'm somebody important/rich when the other boats cruise by.
We have tenders that make runs between the boats and shore. Had I not stayed out last night, I would probably head into town to wander around. Problem is, the next tender leaves the boat at 9 and the next pick up time from shore is midnight. Pretty sure I'll just fall asleep on the dock before 12 - hell, I'll probably be asleep in my cabin before 9. I'm hoping to head to shore tomorrow and hit up the beach. As I recall there is a pretty good beach here in Antibes. The beach off of Nice actually consists of very large (golf ball sized), smooth rocks so it's not that great.
We have tenders that make runs between the boats and shore. Had I not stayed out last night, I would probably head into town to wander around. Problem is, the next tender leaves the boat at 9 and the next pick up time from shore is midnight. Pretty sure I'll just fall asleep on the dock before 12 - hell, I'll probably be asleep in my cabin before 9. I'm hoping to head to shore tomorrow and hit up the beach. As I recall there is a pretty good beach here in Antibes. The beach off of Nice actually consists of very large (golf ball sized), smooth rocks so it's not that great.
Saturday 4 Sept 2010
So today started out pretty well - considering the pub crawl last night. I did (maybe not so) regrettably bow out at 12:30 while the rest of the guys stayed out until about 4 AM. Here in Europe they do half pints of beer at the pubs so you can hang out for a bit, watch football (the REAL kind) and drink a "demi" as it called in France. It's cheaper (except at the bar that I picked up the round, about $5 per half pint of Stella, which I don't even like but, when in Rome - or Nice), you don't get so full so fast, nor do you get so drunk so fast allowing you to do a respectable pub crawl. Anyway, I bowed out early and headed back to the ship with the Captain. Heard this morning that one of the boys started doing Jager Bombs with a shot of vodka to spice things up a bit. Glad I missed that part!
So, back to this morning. Got up and went upstairs for breakfast and passed the chef in the stairwell. I asked him if he knew how to make pancakes and could he please make me some. He said, sure, no problem. They were delicious! I topped them with some fresh bananas and some berry jam. Yummy! After breakfast I did what I needed to do for the tank - feeding, cleaning the filter and dropping the shade on the back window - then headed out for a quick walk before we left port. I swung by a little market and picked up a bottle of Cotes du Rhone wine just to say I bought some French wine (though I much prefer California wines but I can't say that too loud around here). Besides, it was only about $5, so you can't really go wrong.
On my way back to the ship I passed another little market with a fruit stand outside. Lo and behold, I found some fresh nectarines and peaches! I could tell that they wouldn't be great, but they were nectarines! I bought one and devoured it when I got back to the boat. It was ok, not as sweet as I would have liked but it satisfied my craving.
Waved bon voyage to nice about 30 minutes ago and we're motoring toward Antibes. The Bobby Darin song, Beyond the Sea popped into my head as we left the port for the azure waters of the Mediterranean.
So, back to this morning. Got up and went upstairs for breakfast and passed the chef in the stairwell. I asked him if he knew how to make pancakes and could he please make me some. He said, sure, no problem. They were delicious! I topped them with some fresh bananas and some berry jam. Yummy! After breakfast I did what I needed to do for the tank - feeding, cleaning the filter and dropping the shade on the back window - then headed out for a quick walk before we left port. I swung by a little market and picked up a bottle of Cotes du Rhone wine just to say I bought some French wine (though I much prefer California wines but I can't say that too loud around here). Besides, it was only about $5, so you can't really go wrong.
On my way back to the ship I passed another little market with a fruit stand outside. Lo and behold, I found some fresh nectarines and peaches! I could tell that they wouldn't be great, but they were nectarines! I bought one and devoured it when I got back to the boat. It was ok, not as sweet as I would have liked but it satisfied my craving.
Waved bon voyage to nice about 30 minutes ago and we're motoring toward Antibes. The Bobby Darin song, Beyond the Sea popped into my head as we left the port for the azure waters of the Mediterranean.
Friday, September 3, 2010
Food Fiasco
To add to the insanity....
Neil told me that an order of frozen fish food and flake food had been placed and was due to arrive Thursday or Friday. Well, today at 3:30 I get a call from one of the officers informing me that I had a delivery.
Great!!
I go to get the boxes and notice that neither of them seem to be particularly cold. I was supposed to be at a "drill" (more on that later) so I ran the boxes into the cold room and went back for the drill. At the conclusion of the riveting video about cleaning up shipboard oil spills (that was the "more" I referred to earlier), I returned to the cold room to open the boxes. The first box contains a black duffel bag wrapped in tape. Being a paranoid American on a ship owned by Saudi royalty, I refuse to open it to see what's inside. The second box, luckily, contains the flake food. No frozen food. Which is what I happen to be running very low on.
I return the duffel bag, in it's box, to the gangway where I found it and notify one of the officers that it DOES NOT belong to "fish man," as they like to call me. I then tell him that I did not receive my frozen food. he tells me to call the supplier and see if they shipped it and when it should have arrived. So I borrow the ship's cell phone, place a call to the UK and the guy tells me that the dude in charge of our order likes to leave early on Fridays (of course) but upon checking their export log, he doesn't see anything going out to our ship. Sweet.
Hopefully we can get this figured out before we head too far away. It's looking more and more like we'll be headed to Hamburg at some point.
So glad today is over. I may go out for a drink with some of the crew this evening. Or I may just pass out asleep so I can wake up at 4 am to listen to the Giants beat the Dodgers!!
Neil told me that an order of frozen fish food and flake food had been placed and was due to arrive Thursday or Friday. Well, today at 3:30 I get a call from one of the officers informing me that I had a delivery.
Great!!
I go to get the boxes and notice that neither of them seem to be particularly cold. I was supposed to be at a "drill" (more on that later) so I ran the boxes into the cold room and went back for the drill. At the conclusion of the riveting video about cleaning up shipboard oil spills (that was the "more" I referred to earlier), I returned to the cold room to open the boxes. The first box contains a black duffel bag wrapped in tape. Being a paranoid American on a ship owned by Saudi royalty, I refuse to open it to see what's inside. The second box, luckily, contains the flake food. No frozen food. Which is what I happen to be running very low on.
I return the duffel bag, in it's box, to the gangway where I found it and notify one of the officers that it DOES NOT belong to "fish man," as they like to call me. I then tell him that I did not receive my frozen food. he tells me to call the supplier and see if they shipped it and when it should have arrived. So I borrow the ship's cell phone, place a call to the UK and the guy tells me that the dude in charge of our order likes to leave early on Fridays (of course) but upon checking their export log, he doesn't see anything going out to our ship. Sweet.
Hopefully we can get this figured out before we head too far away. It's looking more and more like we'll be headed to Hamburg at some point.
So glad today is over. I may go out for a drink with some of the crew this evening. Or I may just pass out asleep so I can wake up at 4 am to listen to the Giants beat the Dodgers!!
Friday 3 Sept 2010
Today has been kind of crazy. I started out the day by accidentally adding some freshwater to the tank. I had left one of the return valves open after I had done a water change yesterday. Today as I was preparing to mix the salt in the reserve tank, I turned on a pump that - had the valve been closed - mixes the water in the reserve tank. Since the valve was open, it instead started pumping the water to the display tank. Oopsie! Luckily I caught it quite quickly and shut the valve. Not before the sump tank started to overflow though! In an attempt to prevent too much of the freshwater to get to the actual tank, I shut down the main pump, hoping to isolate the low salinity water to the sump. With that shut down, the main tank started to drain. ACK! Luckily it was break time so all the guys were hanging out in the mess just around the corner from the pump room. I grabbed an engineer and had him turn the pump on as I opened the valve. I'm sure this makes very little sense to anyone - but it's what happened.
All in all, the salinity did drop but only by 1 ppm which in the grand scheme of things isn't too bad especially since the tank runs pretty high anyway. When I do my next water change I can add slightly higher salinity water to try to bring it back up.
Next I had to do water quality testing and I kept getting strange results so I had to re-do almost all of the tests. While I was doing the testing I was filling some bottles with water in the pump room. The reverse osmosis unit that produces the water is very slow so I let it run while I did the tests. Or course, I forgot about them. Luckily, the bottles were sitting in a bucket and I got to them before the water overflowed the bucket. I need to stop trying to multitask until I get the hang of everything.
On another note, the Corsica/Sardinia "ferry boats" are actually cruise ships. It's approximately 170 miles between Nice and Corsica and takes about 5 hours. They literally use cruise ships. It looks like they have all the amenities of a cruise ship as well. State rooms, pools, buffets. It's crazy. Check out their website.
All in all, the salinity did drop but only by 1 ppm which in the grand scheme of things isn't too bad especially since the tank runs pretty high anyway. When I do my next water change I can add slightly higher salinity water to try to bring it back up.
Next I had to do water quality testing and I kept getting strange results so I had to re-do almost all of the tests. While I was doing the testing I was filling some bottles with water in the pump room. The reverse osmosis unit that produces the water is very slow so I let it run while I did the tests. Or course, I forgot about them. Luckily, the bottles were sitting in a bucket and I got to them before the water overflowed the bucket. I need to stop trying to multitask until I get the hang of everything.
On another note, the Corsica/Sardinia "ferry boats" are actually cruise ships. It's approximately 170 miles between Nice and Corsica and takes about 5 hours. They literally use cruise ships. It looks like they have all the amenities of a cruise ship as well. State rooms, pools, buffets. It's crazy. Check out their website.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Avoiding Awkwardness
This super hot young woman comes up to me today while I was sitting along the promenade. She holds this nice digital SLR camera out to me, smiles and says, "Photo?" I could have assumed she wanted a picture of the 2 of us together but that camera would have been hard to hold out and do a self portrait. Anyway, I happily take the camera from her, she poses against the seawall and I take this picture with a beautiful sunset behind Nice and this this hot young woman. I return the camera to her, she smiles and fumbles saying "thank you," then continues on her way.
I'm glad I didn't have any idea how to communicate with her because it allowed me to just take the picture and have her walk away without any attempt at awkward conversation. Next time a beautiful woman approaches me in the states (because, you know, it happens ALL the time) instead of being awkward, I will pretend to speak French.
I'm glad I didn't have any idea how to communicate with her because it allowed me to just take the picture and have her walk away without any attempt at awkward conversation. Next time a beautiful woman approaches me in the states (because, you know, it happens ALL the time) instead of being awkward, I will pretend to speak French.
Fun Game
Here's what I do to amuse myself while wandering around in foreign countries. Try to figure out which ones are Americans. I can usually tell by waist size and clothes. I hate it when they're not talking and I can't tell.
Of course, there's the random Canadian that sounds like an American...
Side note: both of the linked pictures are from website which describe the subjects as "typical American tourists." This is how the world sees us.
Of course, there's the random Canadian that sounds like an American...
Side note: both of the linked pictures are from website which describe the subjects as "typical American tourists." This is how the world sees us.
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