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.
Friday, April 30, 2004
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.
Thursday, April 15, 2004
April 15th 2004:
Email from the Ship: Port Kelang was our last port to go ashore.we are now on the ship until I get to Hamburg, Germany.
When we were on the cargo dock at Port Kelang, there was a USS warship docked in front of us us. It was heavily guarded. The ship was surrounded by a chain of smaller boats and the dock in that area was walled off with containers. As we are sailing the Red sea we won't be very far away from all the conflict. After dinner I went up to monkey island to sit and relax. The wind was blowing through my hair, the sun was setting and the sea had small white caps. It's a wonderful way to relax and I'm sure you would all love to join me if you could. It is now Thurs. 4-15-04 and our position is 06 N 86 E.We are off pirate alert until we get to the Gulf of Aden just before the Red sea. Then the outside doors will be locked again for a day or so. They really do keep us safe.
When we were on the cargo dock at Port Kelang, there was a USS warship docked in front of us us. It was heavily guarded. The ship was surrounded by a chain of smaller boats and the dock in that area was walled off with containers. As we are sailing the Red sea we won't be very far away from all the conflict. After dinner I went up to monkey island to sit and relax. The wind was blowing through my hair, the sun was setting and the sea had small white caps. It's a wonderful way to relax and I'm sure you would all love to join me if you could. It is now Thurs. 4-15-04 and our position is 06 N 86 E.We are off pirate alert until we get to the Gulf of Aden just before the Red sea. Then the outside doors will be locked again for a day or so. They really do keep us safe.
Monday, April 12, 2004
April 12th 2004:
Email from the Ship: On 4-10-04 Sat at 3 am we docked at Port Kelang at the oil dock. Because of port regulations, passengers are not allowed on this port so at 5:30 am we were taken to the Crystal Crown hotel where we stayed for 2 nights. After the oil was loaded the ship had to anchor in the harbor until there was room at the cargo dock. So Mon am 4-12-04 the ship anchored at the cargo dock and we were allowed to come back on board.
This has been my least favorite part of the trip and I'm happy to be back on ship. While at the hotel we spent one day in the capital city of Kuala Lumpur.We took a 1 hour train ride to the city and spent the day shopping, going to the twin towers which are the tallest towers in the world, and we ate lunch at a Thai restaurant.. On Sun we explored a smaller town closer to our hotel- Klang. Helen leaves us today so it will be just Florence and I for the remainder of the trip. So I will miss my scrabble partner.
We are to leave here at 11pm tonight 4-12-04 but we never know for sure until we actually sail. It will take 2 weeks to get to the Suez Canal.
This has been my least favorite part of the trip and I'm happy to be back on ship. While at the hotel we spent one day in the capital city of Kuala Lumpur.We took a 1 hour train ride to the city and spent the day shopping, going to the twin towers which are the tallest towers in the world, and we ate lunch at a Thai restaurant.. On Sun we explored a smaller town closer to our hotel- Klang. Helen leaves us today so it will be just Florence and I for the remainder of the trip. So I will miss my scrabble partner.
We are to leave here at 11pm tonight 4-12-04 but we never know for sure until we actually sail. It will take 2 weeks to get to the Suez Canal.
Monday, April 5, 2004
April 5th 2004:
Email from the Ship: Last night, Mon. 4-5-04 I spent an hour up on the bridge and out on the deck as we prepared to set sail for Singapore. It's very interesting to watch when and how they undo the ropes that anchor us to the dock and how the tugboats manage to get us turned around to head out to sea. Bintulu is a particularly interesting harbor because of all the big ships coming in and out all the time. They loaded tons of plywood and we are taking it to Hamburg, Germany. We left the dock at 8:30 pm and the capt said it will take 1 1/2 days to get to singapore. Already we are talking about the singapore slings at the famous Raffles hotel .They say you have to have one at least once. Now it's Tue. eve 4-6-04 and the full moon over the ocean is absolutely gorgeous.Since we are in pirate territory we can't go out on deck at night. All the outside doors are bolted shut from 8 pm to 6 am.
One of our cadets, Chris is leaving us at Singapore and flying home to the UK because he needs to be there at a certain date and we are running at least a week behind schedule.The cadets, Scott, Mark, Chris, and Phil are quite an asset to this voyage. They are kind and thoughtful and humorous. It's fun to interact with them. They always seem willing to be helpful when we have questions.
One of our cadets, Chris is leaving us at Singapore and flying home to the UK because he needs to be there at a certain date and we are running at least a week behind schedule.The cadets, Scott, Mark, Chris, and Phil are quite an asset to this voyage. They are kind and thoughtful and humorous. It's fun to interact with them. They always seem willing to be helpful when we have questions.
Saturday, April 3, 2004
April 3rd 2004:
Email from the Ship: We arrived in Miri, borneo malaysia Sat 6am 4-3-04 and had to anchor 4 1/2 miles from shore since there is no docking space in Miri.There were 4 other ships anchored around us and lots of oil rigs all around. We will not be going to shore. They brought the plywood that needed loaded out to the ship by barge. So for 5 hours we watched how they loaded from the barge to the ship. We are very near Brunei which is the smallest and wealthiest country in the world because of it's vast oil reserves. I wish we would have stopped there except they say it is very expensive to be there.
We left Miri at 3pm on 4-3-04 for Bintulu and arrived here at 9:30 pm same day. This is a harbor full of oil refineries and they were all lit up at night. We were told we could not take pictures of the refineries.
This morning it was raining but we went to town and had a great day even though it was Sunday.We did lots of things, like getting our hair cut, going to internet cafe,visiting the beautiful market (I took a picture of it because they had all the vegetables and fruit arranged so neat.When I asked the gal if I could take a picture she got so excited and invited others to come too. Since I have a digital camera I could show them the picture and they loved it. Then as we were walking along the river Kemena there were loads of delapidated ferry boats and on the spur of the moment we decided to cross the river on one to go shopping at the super market. There was one little bench for us to sit on and we were the only passengers besides the few motorbikes that went too.So we chugged across the river, browsed in the market and came back on the ferry safe and sound.We got back to the ship at 6pm just in time for dinner. We were all tired out from our busy day.
We left Miri at 3pm on 4-3-04 for Bintulu and arrived here at 9:30 pm same day. This is a harbor full of oil refineries and they were all lit up at night. We were told we could not take pictures of the refineries.
This morning it was raining but we went to town and had a great day even though it was Sunday.We did lots of things, like getting our hair cut, going to internet cafe,visiting the beautiful market (I took a picture of it because they had all the vegetables and fruit arranged so neat.When I asked the gal if I could take a picture she got so excited and invited others to come too. Since I have a digital camera I could show them the picture and they loved it. Then as we were walking along the river Kemena there were loads of delapidated ferry boats and on the spur of the moment we decided to cross the river on one to go shopping at the super market. There was one little bench for us to sit on and we were the only passengers besides the few motorbikes that went too.So we chugged across the river, browsed in the market and came back on the ferry safe and sound.We got back to the ship at 6pm just in time for dinner. We were all tired out from our busy day.
Thursday, April 1, 2004
April 1st 2004:
Email from the Ship: What an exciting morning as we were sailing through Basilan straits with Philippine islands on both sides of us. 06N 121E. There were many many little fishing boats all around us and then a freighter was coming towards us on the same course we were on.The screen was flashing a red area-collision course so since it was a little on our starboard side we altered our course to pass by. Our captain and officers are very skillful and always seem to know what to do. It was very interesting to see how it all worked out.
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