Email from Florida: It's hard to believe that I've been around the world 26,668 miles in 108 days and this was the 173rd voyage of the M V Foylebank. W crossed the equator 2 times, once southbound and once northbound. One day was lost crossing the international dateline weatbound and we skipped a Friday. Our clocks went back 1 hour 26 times for time zone differences. Isn't that a good reason for the difficulty I had knowing what day and time everyone else was on. The tropic of cancer and capricorn were both crossed twice, once each northbound and southbound. The shortest time in port was 8 hours and the longest 66 hours. We were in 19 different ports and 13 diferent countries.
Would I do it again? Yes I would. I think it would be fun to go on a shorter voyage and experience what other ships are like.
Sunday, May 23, 2004
Thursday, May 6, 2004
May 6th 2004:
Email from the Ship: We arrived at the beginning of Elba River going to Hamburg at 12 noon 5-6-04 and a pilot came on board at 12:30. It was a 7 hour trip on the river to the docks in Hamburg. We changed pilots 3 different times to guide us to the harbor. Hamburg is a huge harbor for container and cargo ships. I think it may be the largest harbor in the world. It was a picturesque trip on the river, passing many farms with beautiful yellow fields of cannola among other lush green fields, charming German villages, many vacation resorts, loads of activity with ferries, pleasure boats and sailboats, It was very windy and cool to be outside but I dressed warmly and was up on monkey island for awhile to enjoy the scenery.
We arrived at our dock at 6:45 pm. After we cleared customs, I was taken to a hotel close to the airport since my flight was leaving early the next morning. The ship will unload cargo and then sail to Antwerp where the Russian crew will leave and a new crew will come on. Then it sails to Hull where the British will leave and a new British crew will board. Then it goes to Dunkirk to start over.
It has been a grand, memorable adventure for me. Often my experiences were so awesome I couldn't find words to describe them. The captain and crew were were very friendly which added a lot to the enjoyment of the trip. It was a little sad to say goodbye to everyone after being with them for 108 days but we were all happy to be going home.
I read somewhere that "the sea restores your soul and broadens your perspective on life" and I found this to be so true.
We arrived at our dock at 6:45 pm. After we cleared customs, I was taken to a hotel close to the airport since my flight was leaving early the next morning. The ship will unload cargo and then sail to Antwerp where the Russian crew will leave and a new crew will come on. Then it sails to Hull where the British will leave and a new British crew will board. Then it goes to Dunkirk to start over.
It has been a grand, memorable adventure for me. Often my experiences were so awesome I couldn't find words to describe them. The captain and crew were were very friendly which added a lot to the enjoyment of the trip. It was a little sad to say goodbye to everyone after being with them for 108 days but we were all happy to be going home.
I read somewhere that "the sea restores your soul and broadens your perspective on life" and I found this to be so true.
Wednesday, May 5, 2004
May 5th 2004:
Email from the Ship: We are now passing the Rock of Gibraltor at 7:30 am Sun 5-2-04. position 36N 05W. It is cloudy and not so good for picture taking but I took one anyway. They say there are monkeys all over the Rock but they didn't get into the path of my binoculars,There are lots of ships all around. Morroco is on portside and Spain on starboard. Again, I'm told that the waters at Biscay Bay can be quite rough and may slow up our progress to Hamburg-whatever will be will be. Mon. am We are sailing north along the coast of Portugal. The ship is beginning to rock and roll.
5-5-04- What everybody told me has come true.Mon aft and Tues. day and night we were sailing through very rough waters. The ship was rolling and pitching fom heavy swells because of wind and stormy weather. Everything on the ship was on the move if it wasn't fastened down and if I tried to walk anywhere I was on the move too but not always in the direction I wanted to go. AND I didn't get seasick! We will soon be in the English Channel on to Hamburg.
5-5-04- What everybody told me has come true.Mon aft and Tues. day and night we were sailing through very rough waters. The ship was rolling and pitching fom heavy swells because of wind and stormy weather. Everything on the ship was on the move if it wasn't fastened down and if I tried to walk anywhere I was on the move too but not always in the direction I wanted to go. AND I didn't get seasick! We will soon be in the English Channel on to Hamburg.
Friday, April 30, 2004
April 30th 2004:
Email from the Ship: Time is passing by and it won't be long until our voyage is completed. According to schedule we will be in Hamburg, Germany on May 7 and I have a flight May 8 Hamburg-Paris-Atlanta-Tampa.
We have been in the Mediterranean Sea for 3 days and it is much cooler and very windy. On tues and wed 27th 28th the sea was calm and smooth but on thurs it was very choppy. I had to secure things in my cabin. The drawers were sliding open and all the things on my desktop were all over the floor. The dolphins were performing on portside after lunch. They are so cute. Haven't seen many ships the last few days but as we near the Rock of Gibraltor on Sun may 2 the traffic will probably increase.
This am 4-30 I saw land on portside-Tunisia. our position 37N 08 E. The sea is calm today and I'm hoping it will stay that way. They tell me that Biscay Bay along the coast of France can be quite rough.
We have been in the Mediterranean Sea for 3 days and it is much cooler and very windy. On tues and wed 27th 28th the sea was calm and smooth but on thurs it was very choppy. I had to secure things in my cabin. The drawers were sliding open and all the things on my desktop were all over the floor. The dolphins were performing on portside after lunch. They are so cute. Haven't seen many ships the last few days but as we near the Rock of Gibraltor on Sun may 2 the traffic will probably increase.
This am 4-30 I saw land on portside-Tunisia. our position 37N 08 E. The sea is calm today and I'm hoping it will stay that way. They tell me that Biscay Bay along the coast of France can be quite rough.
Sunday, April 25, 2004
April 25th 2004:
Email from the Ship: 4-25-04 Sun. It has cooled off some and not as humid. It has been very windy on the Red Sea, sometimes too strong to be on the deck outside. We are sailing between Egypt on the port side and Saudi Arabia on starboard side. The sea has narrowed and we are close to both countries. There are a lot of oil rigs along the sidesI spent most of the day on the bridge. It was very interesting to observe how they keep watch and alter the course of the ship according to where the other ships areWe got to Suez about 7:30 4-25-04. I don't know how to adequately describe what I see. It is so awesome. It is dark and all along the shore there are many twinkling lights and all the big ships are lit up--and the stars and the moon are being as beautiful as ever. I just sat by myself on the monkey island taking in all the beauty. We are anchored here for the night 4-26-04 Mon. Position 30N 32E
I went up to monkey island at 5 am this morning to see the sun come up. The ships were lining up to go thru the canal. There are no locks and the canal is 100 miles long from Suez to Port Said. On the west side is the delta of the Nile and on the right is Sinai peninsula. It will take 12 hours togo through. The ships go in a convoy and we are #12 0f 20 ships. The first ship started at 6 am and we entered the canal at 7:30 am. There are 8 major bends and 3 lakes. After 3 hours at the first lake ships coming south and our convoy going north all had to anchor for 1 hour until a large ship coming south passed throughOn the west side there are small cities all along the way and on the east side it lookslike desert with sand dunes. There was a lot of farming as we got further north. It was a very interesting day. At 7:30pm tonight we got to Port Said and we will now keep on sailing in the Mediterranean Sea.
I went up to monkey island at 5 am this morning to see the sun come up. The ships were lining up to go thru the canal. There are no locks and the canal is 100 miles long from Suez to Port Said. On the west side is the delta of the Nile and on the right is Sinai peninsula. It will take 12 hours togo through. The ships go in a convoy and we are #12 0f 20 ships. The first ship started at 6 am and we entered the canal at 7:30 am. There are 8 major bends and 3 lakes. After 3 hours at the first lake ships coming south and our convoy going north all had to anchor for 1 hour until a large ship coming south passed throughOn the west side there are small cities all along the way and on the east side it lookslike desert with sand dunes. There was a lot of farming as we got further north. It was a very interesting day. At 7:30pm tonight we got to Port Said and we will now keep on sailing in the Mediterranean Sea.
Thursday, April 22, 2004
April 22nd 2004:
Email from the Ship: We left Port Kelang, Malaysia on 4-12-04 and have been sailing the Indian ocean into the gulf of Aden and now on the Red Sea. On starboard side we see Yemen and on port side is Somalia. As I see the land from the sea it's hard to believe there is so much conflict going on in both of these areas.We will be at Suez on Sun 4-25-04. Today is Thurs. 4-22-04.
The days at sea are the same routine. Breakfast at 7:30, visiting in the lounge while the girls clean our cabins,check emails, read, play scrabble, do some writing and go to lunch at 12:00. After lunch we lounge on the deck and read and snooze. It has been hot and humid so after awhile I come down to lounge which is the coolest place on the ship. I do make frequent trips to the bridge to keep in touch with the goings on. This morning we came upon a large flock of birds but noone knew what they were-just seabirds, Dinner is at 6pm and afterwards we entertain ourselves with reading watching videos. I go to bed early when we are on pirate alert since I can't go to monkey island to see the stars. I get up early 5 am when it is so peaceful and noone is around except on the bridge.
I'm looking forward to the Suez Canal.
The days at sea are the same routine. Breakfast at 7:30, visiting in the lounge while the girls clean our cabins,check emails, read, play scrabble, do some writing and go to lunch at 12:00. After lunch we lounge on the deck and read and snooze. It has been hot and humid so after awhile I come down to lounge which is the coolest place on the ship. I do make frequent trips to the bridge to keep in touch with the goings on. This morning we came upon a large flock of birds but noone knew what they were-just seabirds, Dinner is at 6pm and afterwards we entertain ourselves with reading watching videos. I go to bed early when we are on pirate alert since I can't go to monkey island to see the stars. I get up early 5 am when it is so peaceful and noone is around except on the bridge.
I'm looking forward to the Suez Canal.
Friday, April 16, 2004
April 16th 2004:
Email from the Ship: 4-15-04- It was an interesting afternoon up on the bridge. We watched about 20 whales blowing water spouts and playing around in the ocean. They kept a distance from the ship so we had to use binoculars to really see more than then the water spouts.
The cloud formations were gorgeous again and the wind was lovely. We sat on the deck by the bridge on lounge chairs. I listened to music and Florence read. I've been playing scrabble by myself. I alternate from being starboard to port and it's been fun seeing how high a score I can get on each one.So far starboard is winning.
4-16-04=We had a beautiful sunrise this morning as we were passing Sri Lanka 05N 81E. Sailing on the Indian Ocean we have been seeing lots of other ships. Some are going the opposite direction to us and a lot of those going the same direction have a faster speed than we do so they pass us by.This morning they seemed to be emerging from the sunrise which makes a beautiful picture. We are off pirate alert for a few days until we get to the Gulf of Aden. So last night I was able to again enjoy the stars in the sky from monkey island.
The cloud formations were gorgeous again and the wind was lovely. We sat on the deck by the bridge on lounge chairs. I listened to music and Florence read. I've been playing scrabble by myself. I alternate from being starboard to port and it's been fun seeing how high a score I can get on each one.So far starboard is winning.
4-16-04=We had a beautiful sunrise this morning as we were passing Sri Lanka 05N 81E. Sailing on the Indian Ocean we have been seeing lots of other ships. Some are going the opposite direction to us and a lot of those going the same direction have a faster speed than we do so they pass us by.This morning they seemed to be emerging from the sunrise which makes a beautiful picture. We are off pirate alert for a few days until we get to the Gulf of Aden. So last night I was able to again enjoy the stars in the sky from monkey island.
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