Some of you may have read a blog post I wrote in January 2013 about ' Having the Ability to say No.'
I mentioned then that I had been asked to do a talk at the RNLI Fish and Chip supper about my career in the Merchant Navy.
Well just over a year after my talk entitled 'A Lady at Sea' debuted in front of about 80 people, it has gone from strength to strength. Feedback from that very first evening was really favourable and complimentary. Several people suggested that I ought to go round and talk to WI groups.
I decided this would be great idea and after a little bit of tweaking to the original, a talk has evolved which I have now presented six times.
I have even got two bookings for 2015 already!
I do keep rereading and rewriting it, adding and taking out bits that I think work better and changing the photos that I show.
It has given me a real boost of confidence and I'm so pleased at how interested people are in my story and they always ask questions!
As someone said at a recent talk I did, 'it beats learning about icing a cake or country hedgerows!'
Showing posts with label Merchant Navy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Merchant Navy. Show all posts
Sunday, 8 June 2014
Sunday, 23 September 2012
River Thames
My week aboard Arco Arun is going by in a flash!
Another dredger, she is slightly different to the last two ships I've sailed on in that, unlike a traditional ship, her accommodation is at the forward end of the ship. So although there is no engine noise its damn noisy when we're mooring because of the mooring winches whirring away or when the anchor is dropped. Yes that certainly wakes you up as it rattles out of its housing!
I've sailed on this ship before, many years ago as a fresh faced trainee. Sadly my trip on her then was cut short when on the day I was due to join she hit an underwater object in the River Thames, near Tilbury, and ended up on her side!
She is one of four ships built of the same design, in fact, when we were loading our cargo the other day, all four of us were out there together. Here are two of them,
This week we have been loading cargoes for the Thames - Dagenham, Greenhithe and most recently Victoria Deep which is a berth right up the river near Canary Wharf.
It involves going through the Thames Tidal barrier, under the new Thames cable car and past the O2 dome to berth almost opposite Canary Wharf.
Another dredger, she is slightly different to the last two ships I've sailed on in that, unlike a traditional ship, her accommodation is at the forward end of the ship. So although there is no engine noise its damn noisy when we're mooring because of the mooring winches whirring away or when the anchor is dropped. Yes that certainly wakes you up as it rattles out of its housing!
I've sailed on this ship before, many years ago as a fresh faced trainee. Sadly my trip on her then was cut short when on the day I was due to join she hit an underwater object in the River Thames, near Tilbury, and ended up on her side!
She is one of four ships built of the same design, in fact, when we were loading our cargo the other day, all four of us were out there together. Here are two of them,
This week we have been loading cargoes for the Thames - Dagenham, Greenhithe and most recently Victoria Deep which is a berth right up the river near Canary Wharf.
It involves going through the Thames Tidal barrier, under the new Thames cable car and past the O2 dome to berth almost opposite Canary Wharf.
Sunday, 13 May 2012
Anchor watch
This morning was interesting! The day started at 3.30 for me, I was on watch at 4am. Its only when I'm at sea that I appreciate just how early it gets light! It was already getting light by 4.30am. We were anchored in Great Yarmouth Roads about 3/4 mile of the beach and about a mile inland from a large sandbank area and a wind farm. One thing I have noticed this trip away to sea is the amount of sea wind farms that are popping up everywhere it would seem.
Anway i got some lovely photos as the sun was rising,.
It only takes a few minutes for the sun to rise and its so beautiful.
Its a Sunday here so there was quite a lot of activity on the beach, its a sunny day after all. At about 10am I heard a couple of the lifeboats calling in on the VHF radio to say they were going out on an exercise. Probably to have a spin along the beach and practice.
They were from the Great Yarmouth and Gorleston Lifebaot Station.
They came across to near our ship and did a circle round us,
Click here to see details of this Lifeboat Station
Anway i got some lovely photos as the sun was rising,.
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| Windfarm at dawn |
It only takes a few minutes for the sun to rise and its so beautiful.
Its a Sunday here so there was quite a lot of activity on the beach, its a sunny day after all. At about 10am I heard a couple of the lifeboats calling in on the VHF radio to say they were going out on an exercise. Probably to have a spin along the beach and practice.
They were from the Great Yarmouth and Gorleston Lifebaot Station.
They came across to near our ship and did a circle round us,
Click here to see details of this Lifeboat Station
Wow I thought how good was that, being an RNLI committee member I was pleased to see them and glad to get some photos too.
At the same time there was a ship sailing out of port behind and also a little sailing boat. It was sailing to the east of us, between us and the sandbanks, heading north towards the wind farm.
A little time later, after the lifeboat had gone back into the port, I heard a yacht calling Yarmouth Radio on the VHF. When I looked out the window behind me i could see the little yacht again but this time it had its sails up but was getting quite close to the sandbanks and because of the tide etc there were quite a few waves breaking near it.
I didn't catch what exactly was wrong, perhaps the engine had given up because the man on the yacht was explaining that they were drifting onto the sandbanks and couldn't seem to get off. Sadly the wind was westerley so he was being blown further out onto the sandbanks.
Great Yarmouth radio explained they were launching the lifeboat and asked the man to drop his anchor in an attempt to stop him actually going aground.
In a few minutes the lifeboat was back in sight, zooming along towards the yacht. However once he got nearer it became clear that the water was too shallow for the lifeboat to get close enough to get a tow rope to the yacht. So the inshore lifeboat was called to assist too,
At the same time another ship at anchor volunteered its fast rescue craft to assist. Their offer of help was accepted and soon there was two small fast craft and the larger lifeboat all on scene.
Luckily they got a tow line to the yacht and managed to get him clear of the sand banks.
Well done to the crews who helped rescue him.
This is one of the reasons I support the RNLI - no matter what the situation they will come to your rescue at sea and they are all volunteers!
It does highlight though that if you are a small craft owner it pays to carefully plan your voyage and clearly know what direction wind and tide are going and what effect this is likely to have on your vessel. Also make sure your equipment works and your engine is in good working order.
Below is a video I have put together of photos and video footage of the rescue - make sure you have the volume on!
Thursday, 10 May 2012
Brugge to Tees
We arrived in Brugge on Sunday. It is approached from the sea through the port of Zeebrugge and then down a canal where we berth just before the city of Brugge. It's about a 30minute walk from the ship into the centre.
The Captain went up into Brugge to have a look round. It's a lovely city, hubby and I have visited once. More recently I have seen it as the star of the film 'In Brugges' starring Colin Farrell, an actor who is very easy on the eye! I have seen this film a few times now, which as a non film person is quite an achievement.
Captain came back very happy. He'd taken a few photos of the lovely buildings and then had come across a big group of people gathered in the square. On closer inspection he found that the subject of the attention was a group of British 1970's cars, Capris, Cortinas, escorts. More photos were taken of these.
We commenced discharging our cargo at 5am on Monday morning, just as it was getting light.
Cargo discharge took about 5 hours and then we set off back down the canal again. We stopped at a berth in Zeebrugge to load fresh water, we were getting low and we don't go to many berths where you can easily take fresh water. This done we set off back upto a dredge area near the Humber Estuary. We washed and cleaned out our hold because the next cargo was a sand cargo to Tees.
Sand cargoes don't usually take very long to load so in no time at all we were on our way north. It was lovely clear night on the passage up the coast. When I came on watch at 4am it was already beginning to get light.
We anchored for a few hours before the pilot came aboard and we sailed up the river to our berth and we discharged our cargo of sand.
The Captain went up into Brugge to have a look round. It's a lovely city, hubby and I have visited once. More recently I have seen it as the star of the film 'In Brugges' starring Colin Farrell, an actor who is very easy on the eye! I have seen this film a few times now, which as a non film person is quite an achievement.
Captain came back very happy. He'd taken a few photos of the lovely buildings and then had come across a big group of people gathered in the square. On closer inspection he found that the subject of the attention was a group of British 1970's cars, Capris, Cortinas, escorts. More photos were taken of these.
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| Discharging ashore |
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| Prior to discharge |
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| The bucket wheel in the middle of the photo turns and discharges the cargo onto the discharge conveyor belts. |
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| Looking down the canal to Brugge. |
Cargo discharge took about 5 hours and then we set off back down the canal again. We stopped at a berth in Zeebrugge to load fresh water, we were getting low and we don't go to many berths where you can easily take fresh water. This done we set off back upto a dredge area near the Humber Estuary. We washed and cleaned out our hold because the next cargo was a sand cargo to Tees.
Sand cargoes don't usually take very long to load so in no time at all we were on our way north. It was lovely clear night on the passage up the coast. When I came on watch at 4am it was already beginning to get light.
We passed Flamborough Head, Filey Brigg, Whitby and I took some lovely early morning photos of the sun shining on the land but with the moon faintly visible. As if it didn't quite want to go to bed yet!
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| Good morning
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Saturday, 28 April 2012
Clinker
We arrived in Dunkirk on Thursday evening. I had an eventful watch across the Dover Straits which included seeing hubbys ships sailing past at about 10 miles away.
The Dover Straits is like the equivalent to the M25 - it is always busy with ships. Those heading in a South westerley direction do so in a lane nearest the English coast and those ships heading North do so in a lane closest to the French coast. I should point out perhaps that the lanes are not marked out like lanes at a swimming pool, they are marked on a navigational chart very clearly and the occasional navigational buoy will mark the edge or centre of the channel. When crossing the lanes from England to France you have to do so at 90degrees to the flow of traffic so it is clear what you are doing. You only do that however if it is safe to do so.
So when I came down to cross from England to France there were loads of ships about.
There are Rules of the Road like the Highway code at sea so when I was crossing the South west lane it was the duty of all the ships coming south bound to keep out of my way but once I was crossing the North east lane it was my responsibility to alter course for any ships in that lane that were on a collision course with us.
So I started altering course for one ship and then I was on a collision course with another so I came round a little more and that made me on a collision course with yet another ship! It only takes about an hour or so to cross the lane but it was full of actitvity and I really really enjoyed it, Its what i love most about this job. Problem solving. Making sure I don't crash into anything or run aground!
So I went off watch at 8pm just before the pilot boarded to take us into the port. By the time I came on watch at 0400 we were safely alongside and waiting for the French stevedores to turn up to start loading the clinker.
At 0500 there was a flurry of activity with a few forms to sign and off we started. By the time i went off watch at 1200 we had just about finished.
When I came back on watch at 8pm last night we were already back on the English coast heading for the Thames and guess who came sailing past again - Hubby! He was also Thames bound too.
The Dover Straits is like the equivalent to the M25 - it is always busy with ships. Those heading in a South westerley direction do so in a lane nearest the English coast and those ships heading North do so in a lane closest to the French coast. I should point out perhaps that the lanes are not marked out like lanes at a swimming pool, they are marked on a navigational chart very clearly and the occasional navigational buoy will mark the edge or centre of the channel. When crossing the lanes from England to France you have to do so at 90degrees to the flow of traffic so it is clear what you are doing. You only do that however if it is safe to do so.
So when I came down to cross from England to France there were loads of ships about.
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| Electronic chart showing my ship position and our intended route in green across the Dover Straits |
So I started altering course for one ship and then I was on a collision course with another so I came round a little more and that made me on a collision course with yet another ship! It only takes about an hour or so to cross the lane but it was full of actitvity and I really really enjoyed it, Its what i love most about this job. Problem solving. Making sure I don't crash into anything or run aground!
So I went off watch at 8pm just before the pilot boarded to take us into the port. By the time I came on watch at 0400 we were safely alongside and waiting for the French stevedores to turn up to start loading the clinker.
At 0500 there was a flurry of activity with a few forms to sign and off we started. By the time i went off watch at 1200 we had just about finished.
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| Our cargo of clinker waiting to be loaded |
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| Our hold nice and clean ready to load |
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| The first grab of clinker |
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| A piece of clinker |
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| Hubby's ship sailing by - so close and yet so far |
By 0400 this morning we had reached Gravesend. A pilot came out to meet us and take us the last few miles up the river to Purfleet to discharge the cargo, We are moored right beside the QE2 bridge at Dartford. We have no more orders for cargo and the weather forecast is not good so we are not sailing today. Hubby is further back down the river and is not sailing either.
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| A view of the conveyor belt which carries the cargo ashore |
Wednesday, 25 April 2012
Back to sea
Well I've run off back to sea again! Well I drove actually and I really didn't feel like coming back but I had arranged it a couple of months back so couldn't let them down. Besides I know once I get into the swing of things I'll be fine.
So hubby got up and left at 3.45 this morning, he had an early flight to catch to join his ship in Antwerp. I got up at the same time but left just before 5 am to drive upto Teesport. Strange I should join in the same place that I left my last ship!
Anyway I got on board at about 1015 and met Andy, the chief officer leaving and we spent the next 2 hours running through loads of stuff. My head was bursting. You know when someone tells you loads of things, like email this to them, send this form to that person, full in and send this form here........ My head almost exploded and to be fair although he did a really good handover I was beginning to lose the will to live by the time he had finished !!
I know some of the crew, I've sailed with the Captain, Chief Eng, bosun and one of the deckhands before. So I don't suppose it'll be too bad.
I've unpacked and am off to have a snooze. I'm back on watch at 8pm this evening and want to get up there a bit earlier to get my bearings etc.
I'll be on watch until 4am.
We're off down to Dunkirk to load a cargo of clinker. Clinker is a residue of burned coal or from a furnace which comes in lumps. It's used in the production of cement. I remember sailing on a ship some years ago and we loaded clinker. It was usually loaded once a month and taken to a berth up the Thames river. Since this is the only ship that can carry it in this company, we get the job every month!
From memory I do remember clinker being really dusty, it had to be wet down with fresh water. However if it comes into contact with a lot of salt water then it can start to stick together so let's hope it all goes smoothly.
My cabin here is not as spacious as the last ship I was on but it's not bad although the only down side is that I don't have my own bathroom. So glad I brought my bathrobe with me. It'll come in handy as I traipse down the alleyway to have a shower!
Anyway here's a few photos of my cabin.
Also if you fancy tracking my ship and seeing where I am click on the link at the side of this page and type in Arco Beck into the vessel name search engine.
So hubby got up and left at 3.45 this morning, he had an early flight to catch to join his ship in Antwerp. I got up at the same time but left just before 5 am to drive upto Teesport. Strange I should join in the same place that I left my last ship!
Anyway I got on board at about 1015 and met Andy, the chief officer leaving and we spent the next 2 hours running through loads of stuff. My head was bursting. You know when someone tells you loads of things, like email this to them, send this form to that person, full in and send this form here........ My head almost exploded and to be fair although he did a really good handover I was beginning to lose the will to live by the time he had finished !!
I know some of the crew, I've sailed with the Captain, Chief Eng, bosun and one of the deckhands before. So I don't suppose it'll be too bad.
I've unpacked and am off to have a snooze. I'm back on watch at 8pm this evening and want to get up there a bit earlier to get my bearings etc.
I'll be on watch until 4am.
We're off down to Dunkirk to load a cargo of clinker. Clinker is a residue of burned coal or from a furnace which comes in lumps. It's used in the production of cement. I remember sailing on a ship some years ago and we loaded clinker. It was usually loaded once a month and taken to a berth up the Thames river. Since this is the only ship that can carry it in this company, we get the job every month!
From memory I do remember clinker being really dusty, it had to be wet down with fresh water. However if it comes into contact with a lot of salt water then it can start to stick together so let's hope it all goes smoothly.
My cabin here is not as spacious as the last ship I was on but it's not bad although the only down side is that I don't have my own bathroom. So glad I brought my bathrobe with me. It'll come in handy as I traipse down the alleyway to have a shower!
Anyway here's a few photos of my cabin.
Also if you fancy tracking my ship and seeing where I am click on the link at the side of this page and type in Arco Beck into the vessel name search engine.
Tuesday, 24 April 2012
Comings and goings
There was much excitement in our household yesterday tinged with a little sadness though.
At the beginning of March my lovely hubby sourced a sewing desk for me. It is custom made to fit my sewing machine and folds away into a very tidy cupboard. I think the main reason for this was because when he had come home from sea he had found the dining table strewn with material and the sewing machine as I was right in the middle of quilt making for our grand daughter.
This has been a wonderful table to use but we both hate clutter and fearing this hobby may become more permanent hubby went ahead and ordered the desk.
When I got home yesterday the man had been to fit it in the upstairs spare room.I shall really enjoy filling all these little boxes and containers and of course making many lovely items.
When I got home yesterday my mum was also there. She had come across for lunch but had also come to collect our dog, Maisie. Maisie is off on her hols, staying with my parents, because both hubby and I are going away back to sea tomorrow. I said goodbye to my furry companion and went off back to work. It wasn't until when I got home last night that it hit me how quiet the house was without her. Both hubby and I sat around looking at each other and said, 'Its not the same without Maisie is it!'
It has felt really odd to day too without her but I am sure she is having a wondeful time, being thoroughly spoilt no doubt.
We have packed and are ready for our early start. I shall be poting while I'm away like I did before with lots of lovely photos too I hope.
At the beginning of March my lovely hubby sourced a sewing desk for me. It is custom made to fit my sewing machine and folds away into a very tidy cupboard. I think the main reason for this was because when he had come home from sea he had found the dining table strewn with material and the sewing machine as I was right in the middle of quilt making for our grand daughter.
This has been a wonderful table to use but we both hate clutter and fearing this hobby may become more permanent hubby went ahead and ordered the desk.
When I got home yesterday the man had been to fit it in the upstairs spare room.I shall really enjoy filling all these little boxes and containers and of course making many lovely items.
When I got home yesterday my mum was also there. She had come across for lunch but had also come to collect our dog, Maisie. Maisie is off on her hols, staying with my parents, because both hubby and I are going away back to sea tomorrow. I said goodbye to my furry companion and went off back to work. It wasn't until when I got home last night that it hit me how quiet the house was without her. Both hubby and I sat around looking at each other and said, 'Its not the same without Maisie is it!'
It has felt really odd to day too without her but I am sure she is having a wondeful time, being thoroughly spoilt no doubt.
We have packed and are ready for our early start. I shall be poting while I'm away like I did before with lots of lovely photos too I hope.
Thursday, 9 February 2012
Bikes!
This week has featured bicycles in a few different ways!
On Monday I went out for a ride with my dog. Now I should explain here that about a year or more ago my husband came back from sea ( he works in the Merchant Navy too) with a big basket. He sails into Amsterdam a lot and as you may know the Dutch are quite a biking nation. So he had sourced a basket big enough to fit a dog!
Normally what happens is that the dog sits in the basket, securely fastened with her harness on and we cycle along a short stretch of main road until we turn off down very lovely quiet country lanes. At this point its time for her to get out and run along next to the bike. Hubby and her travel many miles using this method and she gets lots of exercise, well needed for a border collie.
We have plenty of comments about it and have seen many heads turned as we have cycled past. I often go out with them and find it fun to cycle behind them because I get to hear all the comments - "Did you see that dog?" is the most common. Its funny cos she just sits there looking very smug at times especially if we pass another dog.
When hubby is away I do try to go out and use his bike and take her for a cycle run but with work etc its not always possible so we do tend to stick to conventional dog walking!
Anyhow on Monday I decided we would go out for a short cycle in between rain showers.
We had done our main cycle run and were just entering a small housing estate near were I live which is still in the process of being built. There is a short cut through to where we live so I thought I would go through that way as the occasional droplet of rain had turned to a constant shower.
I stopped and put the dogs lead on and got back on my bike. She trots along easily on the pavement as I was going to freewheel down the slight hill to the gate. As I set off I had my right hand on my handlebars while holding the lead in my left hand. I have done it so many times but on this occasion it didn't quite work out. As I turned my handlebars slightly to keep away from the kerb, for some reason I also yanked on the brake and before I knew it I was falling, slamming onto my right side.
Wow that was hard.
The dog just stood looking at me on the pavement 'What exactly are you doing?' she seemed to be thinking.
'Are you alright?' said a voice as I picked myself up, trying to understand the stupid thing I had just done. The occupant of a nearby bungalow had just come out their front door and had seen me sprawled on the road. 'Oh yes, I'm just fine' I replied and proceeded to brush myself off and clamber back on the bike. 'I've got to get out of here quick, 'I thought, I was so embarrassed.
I came home and got straight in the shower, bruises had already started to appear on my right knee and elbow.
I have to say my shoulder has been the worst casualty, especially first thing in the morning but after a visit to the doctor yesterday I've been reassured that I have broken nothing. Anti inflammatories and Tiger Balm are the prescribed solution.
Yesterday I had a more cheerful encounter with a bike. As well as spending time at sea my main form of income now is as a Foot Health Practitioner. I visit people at home, trimming their toe nails, removing corns and callus and generally cheering them up so they can walk more comfortably until I see them next.
I was visiting my last patient of the day, I had made up some time in the afternoon and was about 20 minutes early for my appointment. This particular gentleman, I'll called him Mr Posh, is a lovely chap, who used to write plays and Radio & TV scripts. He is very well spoken, 'Posh' even but is sadly going blind. I don't leave him an appointment card as he wouldn't be able to read it so I always phone him a day or two before the appointment to remind him I am coming.
He can no longer write which I know saddens him very much. He lives on his own and I know he enjoys listening to audio books a lot now using headphones. He is also a great font of all sorts of knowledge, every time I visit he always asks if I have an ancestor who did one thing or another. I think he must look up my surname and find out information about different 'Greenways'. One was apparently deported to Australia!
Anyway I knocked on the door several times and after getting no reply was feeling a bit worried. I know he rarely goes out so hoped nothing terrible had happened to him. I thought maybe he was listening to a book and couldn't hear my knocking so I rang his phone. He answered but seemed a bit out of breath and I was aware of loud music in the background. Slightly puzzled I explained I was a bit early but I was on his doorstep waiting to be let in.
After a few minutes he arrived at the door, a bit breathless and as I apologised again for being early he said,' Oh I was cycling'
I wasn't quite sure what to say but I think a quiet 'oh' came out of my mouth followed by a louder, 'Cycling? what do you mean?'
It appears he has an exercise bike in one of his rooms and goes cycling on it every day. No wonder he is still quite fit at the age of 91!
Finally today I have been updating my local RNLI fundraising page on Facebook. We have recently met a chap, who has decided to do a cycle ride in aid of the RNLI.
At the end of May /early June, this recently retired railwayman, will attempt one ofFrance ’s
more exacting long distance cycling challenges, the Brest
to Strasbourg Brest to Strasbourg
It did get me thinking about how brave he was to decide to do such a thing. When I was 16 I cycled from Lands End to John O'Groats. I did it with my father and 4 other people from our cycling club. Although we were a cycling family, having done a few cycling holidays etc, cycling such a large distance was completely alien to me. 'Oh yes, I'll do that' I said and off we went. I remember doing a practice ride a week before and after about 10 miles I was knackered. I think we all doubted if I would succeed so much so that I never got myself any sponsorship until after I had completed it and then told everyone what I had done. We cycled 1000 miles in 2 weeks, the longest day being over 100 miles on the last day. We stayed in Youth Hostels along the way and were supported every day by my mum, a friend of my parents and my brother. They travelled in a big yellow minibus from youth hostel to youth hostel and stopped at various points during the day where we would stop and refuel!
It was the hardest endurance thing I have ever done and I'm not sure I would do anything like it again. We did it in July so the weather was fairly good to us until we arrived in Scotland and then it rained. The worst day was cycling into Scotland, on a very main road with rain pelting me in the face and wearing a cape which ballooned up making me feel like a giant plastic bag or umbrella being blown along the road. Traffic was thundering past us as we pedalled along in a line. I had got to the point of wondering why on earth was I doing it and had started to cry. It was at this point that the big yellow minibus came past and I remember seeing my brothers face peering out of the van at me. Apparently he tried to make my mum stop to see if I was alright but on such a main road it wasn't possible so I just had to carry on.
I have to say that there were many times before that, that I could have given up. One of the men would say, 'Get in the van luv' if I ever looked weary or sounded fed up but I always thought, well yes I could, but I would feel better again in a few miles and I could get out again and carry on BUT I wouldn't have cycled ALL of it, so I always carried on.
So I shall be wishing this chap much luck in May when he sets off to France for his endurance test - rather him than me!
On Monday I went out for a ride with my dog. Now I should explain here that about a year or more ago my husband came back from sea ( he works in the Merchant Navy too) with a big basket. He sails into Amsterdam a lot and as you may know the Dutch are quite a biking nation. So he had sourced a basket big enough to fit a dog!
Normally what happens is that the dog sits in the basket, securely fastened with her harness on and we cycle along a short stretch of main road until we turn off down very lovely quiet country lanes. At this point its time for her to get out and run along next to the bike. Hubby and her travel many miles using this method and she gets lots of exercise, well needed for a border collie.
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| Mad dog and Englishman! |
We have plenty of comments about it and have seen many heads turned as we have cycled past. I often go out with them and find it fun to cycle behind them because I get to hear all the comments - "Did you see that dog?" is the most common. Its funny cos she just sits there looking very smug at times especially if we pass another dog.
When hubby is away I do try to go out and use his bike and take her for a cycle run but with work etc its not always possible so we do tend to stick to conventional dog walking!
Anyhow on Monday I decided we would go out for a short cycle in between rain showers.
We had done our main cycle run and were just entering a small housing estate near were I live which is still in the process of being built. There is a short cut through to where we live so I thought I would go through that way as the occasional droplet of rain had turned to a constant shower.
I stopped and put the dogs lead on and got back on my bike. She trots along easily on the pavement as I was going to freewheel down the slight hill to the gate. As I set off I had my right hand on my handlebars while holding the lead in my left hand. I have done it so many times but on this occasion it didn't quite work out. As I turned my handlebars slightly to keep away from the kerb, for some reason I also yanked on the brake and before I knew it I was falling, slamming onto my right side.
Wow that was hard.
The dog just stood looking at me on the pavement 'What exactly are you doing?' she seemed to be thinking.
'Are you alright?' said a voice as I picked myself up, trying to understand the stupid thing I had just done. The occupant of a nearby bungalow had just come out their front door and had seen me sprawled on the road. 'Oh yes, I'm just fine' I replied and proceeded to brush myself off and clamber back on the bike. 'I've got to get out of here quick, 'I thought, I was so embarrassed.
I came home and got straight in the shower, bruises had already started to appear on my right knee and elbow.
I have to say my shoulder has been the worst casualty, especially first thing in the morning but after a visit to the doctor yesterday I've been reassured that I have broken nothing. Anti inflammatories and Tiger Balm are the prescribed solution.
Yesterday I had a more cheerful encounter with a bike. As well as spending time at sea my main form of income now is as a Foot Health Practitioner. I visit people at home, trimming their toe nails, removing corns and callus and generally cheering them up so they can walk more comfortably until I see them next.
I was visiting my last patient of the day, I had made up some time in the afternoon and was about 20 minutes early for my appointment. This particular gentleman, I'll called him Mr Posh, is a lovely chap, who used to write plays and Radio & TV scripts. He is very well spoken, 'Posh' even but is sadly going blind. I don't leave him an appointment card as he wouldn't be able to read it so I always phone him a day or two before the appointment to remind him I am coming.
He can no longer write which I know saddens him very much. He lives on his own and I know he enjoys listening to audio books a lot now using headphones. He is also a great font of all sorts of knowledge, every time I visit he always asks if I have an ancestor who did one thing or another. I think he must look up my surname and find out information about different 'Greenways'. One was apparently deported to Australia!
Anyway I knocked on the door several times and after getting no reply was feeling a bit worried. I know he rarely goes out so hoped nothing terrible had happened to him. I thought maybe he was listening to a book and couldn't hear my knocking so I rang his phone. He answered but seemed a bit out of breath and I was aware of loud music in the background. Slightly puzzled I explained I was a bit early but I was on his doorstep waiting to be let in.
After a few minutes he arrived at the door, a bit breathless and as I apologised again for being early he said,' Oh I was cycling'
I wasn't quite sure what to say but I think a quiet 'oh' came out of my mouth followed by a louder, 'Cycling? what do you mean?'
It appears he has an exercise bike in one of his rooms and goes cycling on it every day. No wonder he is still quite fit at the age of 91!
Finally today I have been updating my local RNLI fundraising page on Facebook. We have recently met a chap, who has decided to do a cycle ride in aid of the RNLI.
At the end of May /early June, this recently retired railwayman, will attempt one of
It did get me thinking about how brave he was to decide to do such a thing. When I was 16 I cycled from Lands End to John O'Groats. I did it with my father and 4 other people from our cycling club. Although we were a cycling family, having done a few cycling holidays etc, cycling such a large distance was completely alien to me. 'Oh yes, I'll do that' I said and off we went. I remember doing a practice ride a week before and after about 10 miles I was knackered. I think we all doubted if I would succeed so much so that I never got myself any sponsorship until after I had completed it and then told everyone what I had done. We cycled 1000 miles in 2 weeks, the longest day being over 100 miles on the last day. We stayed in Youth Hostels along the way and were supported every day by my mum, a friend of my parents and my brother. They travelled in a big yellow minibus from youth hostel to youth hostel and stopped at various points during the day where we would stop and refuel!
It was the hardest endurance thing I have ever done and I'm not sure I would do anything like it again. We did it in July so the weather was fairly good to us until we arrived in Scotland and then it rained. The worst day was cycling into Scotland, on a very main road with rain pelting me in the face and wearing a cape which ballooned up making me feel like a giant plastic bag or umbrella being blown along the road. Traffic was thundering past us as we pedalled along in a line. I had got to the point of wondering why on earth was I doing it and had started to cry. It was at this point that the big yellow minibus came past and I remember seeing my brothers face peering out of the van at me. Apparently he tried to make my mum stop to see if I was alright but on such a main road it wasn't possible so I just had to carry on.
I have to say that there were many times before that, that I could have given up. One of the men would say, 'Get in the van luv' if I ever looked weary or sounded fed up but I always thought, well yes I could, but I would feel better again in a few miles and I could get out again and carry on BUT I wouldn't have cycled ALL of it, so I always carried on.
So I shall be wishing this chap much luck in May when he sets off to France for his endurance test - rather him than me!
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| Us at the finish line in John O'Groats - July 1991 |
Saturday, 21 January 2012
Shipwrecked
Imagine you have just checked into an exclusive hotel............................
You follow the porter as he takes you and your bags to your room, not really paying attention as you walk down identical looking corridors................................................
Once in your room, you unpack, have a look round the room, locate the fridge and mini bar, see what freebies there are, check out the bathroom, survey the view from the window.......................
After showering and dressing for dinner you try and find your way back down to the restaurant.
Did you look at the fire exit plan on the door in your room?
Do you know where your nearest exit is?
If all the lights went out would you know where you were and how to get out?
Now translate that scenario onto a ship.............................it gets more complicated because not only are you in the dark but you are also on water.........which way is forward or aft? Do you know where your life jacket is or indeed how to put it on? Do you know where your muster station is and how to get there?
The ship will start tipping shortly and make things even more scary.
This must have been the situation for the 3000 passengers on board the Costa Concordia last Friday. They had only been on board for a couple of hours or so before tragedy struck and their trips of a lifetime became a nightmare.
On Friday, how many people had checked the muster list which by law must have been displayed in their cabin?
This would have told them details of all the emergency signals they would possibly hear such as fire alarm, general emergency alarm (7 or more short blasts on the ships whistle or siren) and abandon ship command (usually verbally by the Captain) and the actions that should be taken if they heard them. They should also have known where their nearest lifeboat was, where their muster station was and how to don a life jacket.
I'm sure many people were saved by the actions of crew members who were able to guide people to lifeboats and help them put on their life jackets correctly.
I have taken part in many drills on ships in the 12 years I was at sea, often times thinking 'why oh why are we doing this again?' but I'm sure nothing can prepare you for the real thing. Luckily on the ships I have sailed on the number of people on board was much smaller so mustering and checking if there is anyone missing is a lot easier and quicker than on a cruise ship. And of course our drills are always done during the day, usually during calm weather.
So who is to blame?
Well the buck always stops with the Captain.................he is in charge of the ship.
Even if he is fast asleep in bed at the time of an accident, he is always the one to blame,
In this instance it would seem that the Captain was still on the bridge and was wanting to show off his fancy cruise ship to the people of Isola Del Giglio. By deviating from the course prescribed by the cruise company he has broken the rules. The ship would have been fitted with an echo sounder which shows how much clearance there is under the ships keel. Navigational charts, paper and on computer, are updated weekly and new clusters of rocks would surely have been noted.
Once the ship had hit the rocks I am sure that a bilge alarm would have sounded and engineers would have gone to investigate. Once the ship lost power and blacked out, this must surely have been a sign to muster everyone at the muster stations, whilst more investigations were carried out by the ships crew.
The Captain does seem to have had the presence of mind to turn the ship around and bring her nearer into shore, perhaps helping to save lives.
It should always be the last resort to abandon ship, the ship itself being the safest place to be, but once it started listing and taking on more water, this must surely have been the time for the Captain to declare 'Abandon Ship'.
Whenever I go on an aeroplane or stay at a hotel, I do always look at where my nearest exit is......why? No idea, I just like to know how I would escape if the worst came to the worst.
How many of you can say the same?
Do you spend more time flicking through the in flight magazine than listening and paying attention to the safety announcements?
Do you check out the fire exit plan on the back of your hotel door or check out whats in the mini bar?
It only takes 5 minutes but it could save your life!
Whilst researching for this blog I was shocked to see that on a passenger ship, passengers "should be strongly encouraged to attend abandon ship drills". They don't have to attend,
If I had to change 2 things it would be that:
1) All passengers must attend an abandon ship drill.
2) An abandon ship/emergency drill on a passenger ship must take place before the ship sails.
Happy Sailing!
Read MGN71
You follow the porter as he takes you and your bags to your room, not really paying attention as you walk down identical looking corridors................................................
Once in your room, you unpack, have a look round the room, locate the fridge and mini bar, see what freebies there are, check out the bathroom, survey the view from the window.......................
After showering and dressing for dinner you try and find your way back down to the restaurant.
Did you look at the fire exit plan on the door in your room?
Do you know where your nearest exit is?
If all the lights went out would you know where you were and how to get out?
Now translate that scenario onto a ship.............................it gets more complicated because not only are you in the dark but you are also on water.........which way is forward or aft? Do you know where your life jacket is or indeed how to put it on? Do you know where your muster station is and how to get there?
The ship will start tipping shortly and make things even more scary.
This must have been the situation for the 3000 passengers on board the Costa Concordia last Friday. They had only been on board for a couple of hours or so before tragedy struck and their trips of a lifetime became a nightmare.
"On any ship carrying passengers where the passengers are scheduled to be on board for more than 24 hours, a muster of the passengers must take place within 24 hours of their embarkation. Passengers must be given instruction in how to don their lifejackets and the action to take on hearing the general emergency alarm signal" (MGN71)
On Friday, how many people had checked the muster list which by law must have been displayed in their cabin?
This would have told them details of all the emergency signals they would possibly hear such as fire alarm, general emergency alarm (7 or more short blasts on the ships whistle or siren) and abandon ship command (usually verbally by the Captain) and the actions that should be taken if they heard them. They should also have known where their nearest lifeboat was, where their muster station was and how to don a life jacket.
I'm sure many people were saved by the actions of crew members who were able to guide people to lifeboats and help them put on their life jackets correctly.
"Each crew member must participate in at least one abandon ship drill and one fire drill every month. These drills must be held within 24 hours of leaving port if more than 25% of the crew
have not taken part in drills on board the ship in the previous month."(MGN71)I have taken part in many drills on ships in the 12 years I was at sea, often times thinking 'why oh why are we doing this again?' but I'm sure nothing can prepare you for the real thing. Luckily on the ships I have sailed on the number of people on board was much smaller so mustering and checking if there is anyone missing is a lot easier and quicker than on a cruise ship. And of course our drills are always done during the day, usually during calm weather.
So who is to blame?
Well the buck always stops with the Captain.................he is in charge of the ship.
Even if he is fast asleep in bed at the time of an accident, he is always the one to blame,
In this instance it would seem that the Captain was still on the bridge and was wanting to show off his fancy cruise ship to the people of Isola Del Giglio. By deviating from the course prescribed by the cruise company he has broken the rules. The ship would have been fitted with an echo sounder which shows how much clearance there is under the ships keel. Navigational charts, paper and on computer, are updated weekly and new clusters of rocks would surely have been noted.
Once the ship had hit the rocks I am sure that a bilge alarm would have sounded and engineers would have gone to investigate. Once the ship lost power and blacked out, this must surely have been a sign to muster everyone at the muster stations, whilst more investigations were carried out by the ships crew.
The Captain does seem to have had the presence of mind to turn the ship around and bring her nearer into shore, perhaps helping to save lives.
It should always be the last resort to abandon ship, the ship itself being the safest place to be, but once it started listing and taking on more water, this must surely have been the time for the Captain to declare 'Abandon Ship'.
Whenever I go on an aeroplane or stay at a hotel, I do always look at where my nearest exit is......why? No idea, I just like to know how I would escape if the worst came to the worst.
How many of you can say the same?
Do you spend more time flicking through the in flight magazine than listening and paying attention to the safety announcements?
Do you check out the fire exit plan on the back of your hotel door or check out whats in the mini bar?
It only takes 5 minutes but it could save your life!
Whilst researching for this blog I was shocked to see that on a passenger ship, passengers "should be strongly encouraged to attend abandon ship drills". They don't have to attend,
If I had to change 2 things it would be that:
1) All passengers must attend an abandon ship drill.
2) An abandon ship/emergency drill on a passenger ship must take place before the ship sails.
Happy Sailing!
Read MGN71
Friday, 13 January 2012
Last Day
Today was my last full day on board. I shall be signing off tomorrow and driving home to Shropshire. I'm surprised that I have such mixed feelings about that too.
My reasons for coming back to sea were quite simple. To be able to revalidate my certificates I need to have done 12 months seatime in 5 years. I've got about 18 months to go until I need to revalidate but not much seatime. As I've been working away from sea for 3 1/2 years I've been a bit undecided as to whether I wanted to revalidate at all.
One part of me still yearns to work on a ship, be part of a crew, navigating around the sea etc. I worked hard to get all my certificates, so figure it would be a shame to lose the certificates.
On the other hand I have a quiet life in the country, working for myself with my dog for a companion and a great husband who I see every 3 weeks as he works at sea too. I don't have to get up at silly hours of the day anymore, I get to belong to clubs/ groups etc and don't miss out on family birthdays/ weddings/ get togethers.
I wanted this trip away to help me decide whether I should bother trying to revalidate my ticket or just concentrate on my 'newer' life.
Of course it is hard to measure it by this trip alone because it has by no means been a 'normal' trip. We have only done 1 cargo and have been in a repair stop for just over a week. Being able to go ashore with other crew, makes a difference. Normally at sea you wouldn't see a lot of other crew members because of doing opposite watches. In a 3 week trip I probably wouldn't go ashore once.
So this has been a refreshing change, I've thoroughly enjoyed myself, I've had a great laugh with the crew and some of the lads working in the dockyard. It's worked out well really that I knew the ship already too.
Another nice thing is that several of the crew have said how nice it has been having me on board. It's made a change to them too.
So will I continue and come back for a few more trips to sea or will I say 'no this isn't for me' and cast away the idea of going back to sea??
What would you do?
My reasons for coming back to sea were quite simple. To be able to revalidate my certificates I need to have done 12 months seatime in 5 years. I've got about 18 months to go until I need to revalidate but not much seatime. As I've been working away from sea for 3 1/2 years I've been a bit undecided as to whether I wanted to revalidate at all.
One part of me still yearns to work on a ship, be part of a crew, navigating around the sea etc. I worked hard to get all my certificates, so figure it would be a shame to lose the certificates.
On the other hand I have a quiet life in the country, working for myself with my dog for a companion and a great husband who I see every 3 weeks as he works at sea too. I don't have to get up at silly hours of the day anymore, I get to belong to clubs/ groups etc and don't miss out on family birthdays/ weddings/ get togethers.
I wanted this trip away to help me decide whether I should bother trying to revalidate my ticket or just concentrate on my 'newer' life.
Of course it is hard to measure it by this trip alone because it has by no means been a 'normal' trip. We have only done 1 cargo and have been in a repair stop for just over a week. Being able to go ashore with other crew, makes a difference. Normally at sea you wouldn't see a lot of other crew members because of doing opposite watches. In a 3 week trip I probably wouldn't go ashore once.
So this has been a refreshing change, I've thoroughly enjoyed myself, I've had a great laugh with the crew and some of the lads working in the dockyard. It's worked out well really that I knew the ship already too.
Another nice thing is that several of the crew have said how nice it has been having me on board. It's made a change to them too.
So will I continue and come back for a few more trips to sea or will I say 'no this isn't for me' and cast away the idea of going back to sea??
What would you do?
Wednesday, 11 January 2012
Nights out.
Whilst away on a 3 week trip at sea, it is quite rare to get the opportunity for a 'run ashore'. We are never in port very long, maybe 4-5 hours, so when in a repair stop its great to have a night out.
On Saturday, 4 of us (Bosun, Cook, Mr 2/E and myself) went ashore for a few drinks. Our ship is berthed on the River Tees not far from Middlesbrough. We went to a local social club, something which don't seem to exist much anymore where I live.
We had a few drinks, chatted and laughed and had a go at the quiz and stand up bingo. Bosun had been going on for a few days previously about stand up bingo and how good it was. Myself, I'd never heard of it. I'd played normal bingo but never stand up bingo. Basically you buy a single bingo card, so it has 15 random numbers between 1-90. Everyone playing stands up and the bingo caller starts calling out numbers. If the number called is on your card then you sit down. The last person standing wins!
So we all agree to have a go, a £1 a ticket, and Bosun pays for us to play. The first number called was 77, and poor Bosun had to sit down. He was gutted to be sitting down so soon. Anyway I ended up winning- I won £43. I felt so happy but also very sorry for Bosun who had been so excited about playing but had had to sit down so soon.
Last night we went ashore for a meal. It's customary for the shipyard to take a couple of the ships crew out for a meal. I was very lucky to be asked to go too. So Captain, Mr 2/E, Bosun and myself went along with the Ship Superintendent and from the Shipyard, the 2 project managers and one of the Health & Safety guys (MrH&S). We were picked up in a minibus from the shipyard and taken up to a place called Yarm. We all met up in a pub at 7.30pm. We had one drink, then another and one more! I was drinking Gin & tonics (I later found out they were doubles!) and they were slipping down very well. Eventually after an hour we walked down the road to an Italian restaurant. The shipyard people are obviously regulars here as we were all greeted enthusiastically. Our table wasn't ready so, yes we had another drink. I'd decided I would have red wine so a bottle of Barolo appeared and a few of us tucked into that! After 2 large glasses of wine I felt drunk and really hungry. Mr H&S and I were chatting and agreed we needed to eat something soon. Luckily our table came available so we went to sit down. I had a lovely King Prawn starter followed by a pasta dish with Chicken and bacon. By now I was talking and laughing so much that I hardly ate any of my main course really. I was sat next to Mr H&S and unbeknown to me at the time, every time I turned to chat to someone down the table, he was filling up my glass! No wonder I couldn't understand how come I didn't seem to be drinking very much!
I also had a dessert, a trio of puds but to be honest I really don't remember what they were let alone if it was nice or not.
We all had a fabulous night, no expense spared. Great company and such a laugh.
I was still laughing/ giggling when we got back on board and I'm ashamed to admit it took Bosun and I at least 20 minutes to get from the back deck door, up a flight of stairs to our cabins! We were laughing so much, we were holding onto the rail along the alleyway and then when we got to the bottom of the stairs we did that awful thing of loud shushing with our fingers upto our mouths, 'shhhhh, shhhhhh' when really the shushing is probably louder than the laughter.
By some strange miracle, I felt absolutely fine this morning apart from a bit of a sore throat!( too much laughing). I had been up during the night and drunk 2 large glasses of water so maybe that helped me not have a hangover.
Anyway we all had a lovely evening, great food and company.
On Saturday, 4 of us (Bosun, Cook, Mr 2/E and myself) went ashore for a few drinks. Our ship is berthed on the River Tees not far from Middlesbrough. We went to a local social club, something which don't seem to exist much anymore where I live.
We had a few drinks, chatted and laughed and had a go at the quiz and stand up bingo. Bosun had been going on for a few days previously about stand up bingo and how good it was. Myself, I'd never heard of it. I'd played normal bingo but never stand up bingo. Basically you buy a single bingo card, so it has 15 random numbers between 1-90. Everyone playing stands up and the bingo caller starts calling out numbers. If the number called is on your card then you sit down. The last person standing wins!
So we all agree to have a go, a £1 a ticket, and Bosun pays for us to play. The first number called was 77, and poor Bosun had to sit down. He was gutted to be sitting down so soon. Anyway I ended up winning- I won £43. I felt so happy but also very sorry for Bosun who had been so excited about playing but had had to sit down so soon.
Last night we went ashore for a meal. It's customary for the shipyard to take a couple of the ships crew out for a meal. I was very lucky to be asked to go too. So Captain, Mr 2/E, Bosun and myself went along with the Ship Superintendent and from the Shipyard, the 2 project managers and one of the Health & Safety guys (MrH&S). We were picked up in a minibus from the shipyard and taken up to a place called Yarm. We all met up in a pub at 7.30pm. We had one drink, then another and one more! I was drinking Gin & tonics (I later found out they were doubles!) and they were slipping down very well. Eventually after an hour we walked down the road to an Italian restaurant. The shipyard people are obviously regulars here as we were all greeted enthusiastically. Our table wasn't ready so, yes we had another drink. I'd decided I would have red wine so a bottle of Barolo appeared and a few of us tucked into that! After 2 large glasses of wine I felt drunk and really hungry. Mr H&S and I were chatting and agreed we needed to eat something soon. Luckily our table came available so we went to sit down. I had a lovely King Prawn starter followed by a pasta dish with Chicken and bacon. By now I was talking and laughing so much that I hardly ate any of my main course really. I was sat next to Mr H&S and unbeknown to me at the time, every time I turned to chat to someone down the table, he was filling up my glass! No wonder I couldn't understand how come I didn't seem to be drinking very much!
I also had a dessert, a trio of puds but to be honest I really don't remember what they were let alone if it was nice or not.
We all had a fabulous night, no expense spared. Great company and such a laugh.
I was still laughing/ giggling when we got back on board and I'm ashamed to admit it took Bosun and I at least 20 minutes to get from the back deck door, up a flight of stairs to our cabins! We were laughing so much, we were holding onto the rail along the alleyway and then when we got to the bottom of the stairs we did that awful thing of loud shushing with our fingers upto our mouths, 'shhhhh, shhhhhh' when really the shushing is probably louder than the laughter.
By some strange miracle, I felt absolutely fine this morning apart from a bit of a sore throat!( too much laughing). I had been up during the night and drunk 2 large glasses of water so maybe that helped me not have a hangover.
Anyway we all had a lovely evening, great food and company.
Tuesday, 10 January 2012
Shipboard food
A couple of nights ago the Captain cooked our evening meal for us! Very nice you may say, so what!
On my ship there are 11 crew members, Captain, Chief Officer(me), 2nd officer, Chief Engineer + 2 engineers, bosun, 2 able seamen(AB), cargo operator and a cook. Of those 11 crew, 6 are Polish and 5 are Brits.
We're lucky as in some smaller crewed ships one of the AB's would double up as cook.
I've never come across a cook at sea who has been happy for someone else to use his galley. They are usually very territorial beings!
The cook we have now is new to this ship and company, it's only his 2nd trip, but I have to say he's a lovely chap. So he agreed to the Captain cooking a traditional Polish dish. It was really nice actually, a pork steak marinated in salt, pepper and paprika. Then cooked slowly with onions and served topped with tomato ketchup, mayonnaise and cheese. It was really tasty, something I would try and cook myself at home.
The cook that was here before, had been in the company for years working just past his retirement age. He was nice enough but could also be described as cantankerous, rude, militant, opinionated or a miserable old git! I noticed after I had been onboard only a day or so how different the atmosphere on board was to when I had been here 3.5 yrs ago.
A lot of the cooks I've sailed with were older blokes, who have been at sea for years. Their staple evening meal of the day would be a roast dinner with fruit duff ( pudding) and custard.
One cook I worked with was another strange character. He was quite short and fat, a Glaswegian, who looked like a bulldog who had swallowed a wasp. He would stare at you through the hatch between galley and mess room, making sure you were eating the food. You would hope someone else would come along for food, to distract him long enough for you to chuck it in the bin. Then you would wash your plate, pass it back and say thanks.
Years ago, before drinking and smoking was banned on ships, I remember one cook who would be in the galley, can of beer in hand, roll up in his mouth, stirring the food. Goodness knows what happened to the ash!
So for our Captain to get in the galley and do a bit of cooking is something I've never seen before but is a welcome change.
On my ship there are 11 crew members, Captain, Chief Officer(me), 2nd officer, Chief Engineer + 2 engineers, bosun, 2 able seamen(AB), cargo operator and a cook. Of those 11 crew, 6 are Polish and 5 are Brits.
We're lucky as in some smaller crewed ships one of the AB's would double up as cook.
I've never come across a cook at sea who has been happy for someone else to use his galley. They are usually very territorial beings!
The cook we have now is new to this ship and company, it's only his 2nd trip, but I have to say he's a lovely chap. So he agreed to the Captain cooking a traditional Polish dish. It was really nice actually, a pork steak marinated in salt, pepper and paprika. Then cooked slowly with onions and served topped with tomato ketchup, mayonnaise and cheese. It was really tasty, something I would try and cook myself at home.
The cook that was here before, had been in the company for years working just past his retirement age. He was nice enough but could also be described as cantankerous, rude, militant, opinionated or a miserable old git! I noticed after I had been onboard only a day or so how different the atmosphere on board was to when I had been here 3.5 yrs ago.
A lot of the cooks I've sailed with were older blokes, who have been at sea for years. Their staple evening meal of the day would be a roast dinner with fruit duff ( pudding) and custard.
One cook I worked with was another strange character. He was quite short and fat, a Glaswegian, who looked like a bulldog who had swallowed a wasp. He would stare at you through the hatch between galley and mess room, making sure you were eating the food. You would hope someone else would come along for food, to distract him long enough for you to chuck it in the bin. Then you would wash your plate, pass it back and say thanks.
Years ago, before drinking and smoking was banned on ships, I remember one cook who would be in the galley, can of beer in hand, roll up in his mouth, stirring the food. Goodness knows what happened to the ash!
So for our Captain to get in the galley and do a bit of cooking is something I've never seen before but is a welcome change.
Monday, 9 January 2012
Can you guess what it is yet?
So here are the answers to my previous blog!
The first is a pair of binoculars! Very useful bit of kit for a navigator, help see those dangers for miles!!
Second is a SART (Search And Rescue Transponder). It shows up as a series of dots on a radar screen if any ship nearby once it is activated. Used for emergencies it is triggered by the radar of other ships to help locate a distressed ship/lifeboat/life raft.
Lastly was the ships wheel. Yes it really is that small, no more big wooden wheels! Used to steer the ship when in hand steering.
Hope you enjoyed the quiz!! Perhaps I'll do another one in a week or so.
Been a busy few days work wise. We docked yesterday at A&PTees repair yard for a scheduled repair stop. Within minutes of tying up the ship is swarming with people from ashore, all here to do jobs onboard. As the Chief Officer(mate) you find yourself stretched in different directions. One person will want to be shown where something is, another wants to ask a question and so it goes on plus as the Ship Safety Officer you find yourself writing permits. Today I've been measuring steel thicknesses of various bits around the ship, climbing up into pipes etc. What fun!
The first is a pair of binoculars! Very useful bit of kit for a navigator, help see those dangers for miles!!
Second is a SART (Search And Rescue Transponder). It shows up as a series of dots on a radar screen if any ship nearby once it is activated. Used for emergencies it is triggered by the radar of other ships to help locate a distressed ship/lifeboat/life raft.
Lastly was the ships wheel. Yes it really is that small, no more big wooden wheels! Used to steer the ship when in hand steering.
Hope you enjoyed the quiz!! Perhaps I'll do another one in a week or so.
Been a busy few days work wise. We docked yesterday at A&PTees repair yard for a scheduled repair stop. Within minutes of tying up the ship is swarming with people from ashore, all here to do jobs onboard. As the Chief Officer(mate) you find yourself stretched in different directions. One person will want to be shown where something is, another wants to ask a question and so it goes on plus as the Ship Safety Officer you find yourself writing permits. Today I've been measuring steel thicknesses of various bits around the ship, climbing up into pipes etc. What fun!
 |
| SART |
 |
| Steering Wheel |
 |
| binoculars |
Sunday, 8 January 2012
Laughter is a good tonic
I've been feeling reflective today. It's been great this last couple of weeks on board. It's been unusual too as we would not normally have spent so much time alongside as we have. Add to that the repair stop and all the hassle that can come with that.
I've realised that it hasn't all been bad though and I've spent lots of time catching up with people, making new acquaintances and laughing. I've laughed a lot actually, in fact in the last week, I've laughed til I cried more than once! I nearly choked on my steak one time.
Of course when at sea, a lot of the crew are on watches so you don't always get to see everyone. In a repair stop we all work day work 8am -5pm so there is almost always a full table of 6 of us in the officers mess for lunch and evening meal.
Seafarers are always good at telling a good yarn and my shipmates are no different. A lot of the time it tends to be stories about people we know, who we've sailed with. We exchange funny stories about our experiences and encounters. It's made me think a lot about all the people I've met over the years. Here's a story which I have told a few times over the years.
When I was a trainee, I would do 4-6 months seatime usually assigned to one ship and then either move to another ship or go to college. On one occasion I was going to join a new ship in Great Yarmouth. We joined by boat transfer at Great Yarmouth so we all met at the Seamens Mission. Also I should explain that the whole crew would change at the same time so 10 people joined as 10 people left.
When I arrived at The Mission I realised there was only one other person there. So after putting down my rucksack I went over to the bloke. He was quite old, with greying hair and glasses and nursing a pint of beer and a roll up cigarette. This is how the conversation went:
Me: Hello are you here to join the Arco?
Him: Yes
Me: oh hi, I'm Sharla the new trainee
Him: You won't last
Me: oh right...um.... Why not?
Him: oh this is a very very big ship! Lots of heavy things to lift, you won't handle it!
Me: oh well I'll give everything a try and then if I can't do it I'll ask for help
Him: Mmmmm
And so ended our conversation!
As you can imagine I did wonder what on earth I was doing, how was I going to cope? Noone had said this was going to be easy but hey, give me a chance!
It turned out that this Seaman (I'll call him 'Bert') was a real old salty seadog type and had never sailed with women before. Add to this he had not long become divorced and was still having to live in the same house as his ex who made his life very difficult. She had decided to split the house in two even to the point of there being a dividing line down the centre of his kitchen table!
So as you can imagine Bert wasn't too happy to have a female on board. I remember during Smoko ( morning and afternoon tea breaks) he would sometimes start moaning about women, how evil they were and how they should be kept in cages and just let out to breed. Of course I knew very well he didn't mean it and me and
the rest of the crew just humoured him and over time he did soften just a little bit.
I'd like to think that over time I proved that women at sea weren't a burden and that we did pull our weight.
I will never forget his face about a year later. I had done my seatime, been to college and passed my exams. That was the first ship I was sent to as a newly qualified 2nd mate. I walked past the crew mess towards my new hangout- the officers mess. But as I put my head round the crew mess door to say hello, there was Bert, his face fell when he saw me. I could almost read his thoughts, 'Oh my god, she's back!'
In the end I spent almost 2 years on that ship and we got on very well. He even showed me around Hull on one occasion and bought me a pint.
I've realised that it hasn't all been bad though and I've spent lots of time catching up with people, making new acquaintances and laughing. I've laughed a lot actually, in fact in the last week, I've laughed til I cried more than once! I nearly choked on my steak one time.
Of course when at sea, a lot of the crew are on watches so you don't always get to see everyone. In a repair stop we all work day work 8am -5pm so there is almost always a full table of 6 of us in the officers mess for lunch and evening meal.
Seafarers are always good at telling a good yarn and my shipmates are no different. A lot of the time it tends to be stories about people we know, who we've sailed with. We exchange funny stories about our experiences and encounters. It's made me think a lot about all the people I've met over the years. Here's a story which I have told a few times over the years.
When I was a trainee, I would do 4-6 months seatime usually assigned to one ship and then either move to another ship or go to college. On one occasion I was going to join a new ship in Great Yarmouth. We joined by boat transfer at Great Yarmouth so we all met at the Seamens Mission. Also I should explain that the whole crew would change at the same time so 10 people joined as 10 people left.
When I arrived at The Mission I realised there was only one other person there. So after putting down my rucksack I went over to the bloke. He was quite old, with greying hair and glasses and nursing a pint of beer and a roll up cigarette. This is how the conversation went:
Me: Hello are you here to join the Arco?
Him: Yes
Me: oh hi, I'm Sharla the new trainee
Him: You won't last
Me: oh right...um.... Why not?
Him: oh this is a very very big ship! Lots of heavy things to lift, you won't handle it!
Me: oh well I'll give everything a try and then if I can't do it I'll ask for help
Him: Mmmmm
And so ended our conversation!
As you can imagine I did wonder what on earth I was doing, how was I going to cope? Noone had said this was going to be easy but hey, give me a chance!
It turned out that this Seaman (I'll call him 'Bert') was a real old salty seadog type and had never sailed with women before. Add to this he had not long become divorced and was still having to live in the same house as his ex who made his life very difficult. She had decided to split the house in two even to the point of there being a dividing line down the centre of his kitchen table!
So as you can imagine Bert wasn't too happy to have a female on board. I remember during Smoko ( morning and afternoon tea breaks) he would sometimes start moaning about women, how evil they were and how they should be kept in cages and just let out to breed. Of course I knew very well he didn't mean it and me and
the rest of the crew just humoured him and over time he did soften just a little bit.
I'd like to think that over time I proved that women at sea weren't a burden and that we did pull our weight.
I will never forget his face about a year later. I had done my seatime, been to college and passed my exams. That was the first ship I was sent to as a newly qualified 2nd mate. I walked past the crew mess towards my new hangout- the officers mess. But as I put my head round the crew mess door to say hello, there was Bert, his face fell when he saw me. I could almost read his thoughts, 'Oh my god, she's back!'
In the end I spent almost 2 years on that ship and we got on very well. He even showed me around Hull on one occasion and bought me a pint.
Thursday, 5 January 2012
What is it??
I decided to have a bit of fun and I'm setting a challenge to you. I've been round taking close up photos of things on the ship, all you've got to is guess what on earth they are!
Answers in my next post!
Answers in my next post!
Tuesday, 3 January 2012
First Navigational watch.
It seems odd to name this post my first navigational watch because strictly speaking that happened back in 1999.
But as I haven't been to sea in 3.5 years it does feel like I'm starting again.
Luckily I've had an easy re start to life at sea, with almost a week on board before actually sailing.
My watch started at 2000(8pm) and the first hour we were finishing off loading our sand cargo. We loaded it on an area just outside the Humber Estuary. I should perhaps explain here that the Arco Humber is an aggregate dredger. We load aggregate( sand & gravel) in specific licensed areas off the UK coast.
Once the Captain was happy we had loaded enough, we stowed our gear, switched off the deck lights and set our course north towards Teesport.
I spent quite a while re acquainting my self with all the various controls, lights, buttons and more importantly alarms and most annoyingly rattles!! I found that the starboard bridge door rattles if you close it firmly to, leave it slightly ajar and .....aaah....silence!
I did feel a little flutter of excitement when I saw a few ships on the radar. To me this has always been the most enjoyable part of the job, you can forget paperwork. Plotting a ship, seeing where it is going, how fast, is it on a collision with us? Do I need to do anything? Just like when driving a car you need to follow the Highway Code, when navigating a ship there is a similar set of rules to follow.
I knew that going from the dredging area to the Tees I wouldn't encounter too many ships and any I should encounter would be on a similar north/ south route like me.
I saw a few gas platforms in the distance, their bright lights highlighting their presence from miles away with their familiar light flashing Morse U (••-) meaning 'You are running into danger'. Their guard vessels, float around between a few platforms, like a guard dog making sure you don't get too close.
The navigation bridge is dark except for the glow of radar screens. My only companion is a Polish Seaman watch keeper who sits on the other side of the wheelhouse, keeping a look out. It's strange to think that only us two and the duty engineer in the Engine room are awake. Eight others are fast asleep down in their cabins as I navigate us safely through the night. What a responsibility!
At 0048hrs came the soft lilting tones of 'Sailing By' on 198LW, Radio 4. It is such a soothing tune which lulls you into a false sense of security in a way. As soon as it finishes, there you are all chilled out and then Wham! the weather shipping forecast is coming at you, you have to listen as well as scribble down really quickly what the man is saying about your shipping areas. Tyne,Dogger,Fisher, German Bight, Humber......... Not good news weather wise SW or W 8-10 occ violent storm 11! Expected soon. Luckily as we are creeping up the East coast, only 5-6 miles from the coast we are still fairly sheltered. The friendly lights of Flamborough Head and Whitby are on the port side. It's comforting to know we are not too far away from land!
So after a quiet watch, I hand over to the Second Mate (2/O) at 0400 and go down and curl up asleep for a few hours. The first watch over.
Watch snacks were 2 oranges, a banana and 4 cups of green tea!
But as I haven't been to sea in 3.5 years it does feel like I'm starting again.
Luckily I've had an easy re start to life at sea, with almost a week on board before actually sailing.
My watch started at 2000(8pm) and the first hour we were finishing off loading our sand cargo. We loaded it on an area just outside the Humber Estuary. I should perhaps explain here that the Arco Humber is an aggregate dredger. We load aggregate( sand & gravel) in specific licensed areas off the UK coast.
Once the Captain was happy we had loaded enough, we stowed our gear, switched off the deck lights and set our course north towards Teesport.
I spent quite a while re acquainting my self with all the various controls, lights, buttons and more importantly alarms and most annoyingly rattles!! I found that the starboard bridge door rattles if you close it firmly to, leave it slightly ajar and .....aaah....silence!
I did feel a little flutter of excitement when I saw a few ships on the radar. To me this has always been the most enjoyable part of the job, you can forget paperwork. Plotting a ship, seeing where it is going, how fast, is it on a collision with us? Do I need to do anything? Just like when driving a car you need to follow the Highway Code, when navigating a ship there is a similar set of rules to follow.
I knew that going from the dredging area to the Tees I wouldn't encounter too many ships and any I should encounter would be on a similar north/ south route like me.
I saw a few gas platforms in the distance, their bright lights highlighting their presence from miles away with their familiar light flashing Morse U (••-) meaning 'You are running into danger'. Their guard vessels, float around between a few platforms, like a guard dog making sure you don't get too close.
The navigation bridge is dark except for the glow of radar screens. My only companion is a Polish Seaman watch keeper who sits on the other side of the wheelhouse, keeping a look out. It's strange to think that only us two and the duty engineer in the Engine room are awake. Eight others are fast asleep down in their cabins as I navigate us safely through the night. What a responsibility!
At 0048hrs came the soft lilting tones of 'Sailing By' on 198LW, Radio 4. It is such a soothing tune which lulls you into a false sense of security in a way. As soon as it finishes, there you are all chilled out and then Wham! the weather shipping forecast is coming at you, you have to listen as well as scribble down really quickly what the man is saying about your shipping areas. Tyne,Dogger,Fisher, German Bight, Humber......... Not good news weather wise SW or W 8-10 occ violent storm 11! Expected soon. Luckily as we are creeping up the East coast, only 5-6 miles from the coast we are still fairly sheltered. The friendly lights of Flamborough Head and Whitby are on the port side. It's comforting to know we are not too far away from land!
So after a quiet watch, I hand over to the Second Mate (2/O) at 0400 and go down and curl up asleep for a few hours. The first watch over.
Watch snacks were 2 oranges, a banana and 4 cups of green tea!
 |
| Arco Humber - Sand cargo |
 |
| Night time on the bridge |
Friday, 30 December 2011
It is a dirty job.........
Today started with a blocked toilet! How nice!
As far as i can remember the toilet in my cabin has always been a bit temperamental, you always need to give it a good flush to make sure it doesn't block. Unlike the toilet at home there is no cistern so the flush handle just releases water into the toilet bowl for as long as you hold it. Also this ship was built in Holland so many of the fittings are Dutch so aren't easy to source in the UK. Hence the unusual toilet itself. Although the waste pipe is at the back of the toilet( like in UK) the hole in the toilet is at the front of the toilet bowl. Basically we can't just nip down B&Q and get a replacement.
After noticing the toilet bowl was filling but not emptying I sighed a big sigh and held my breath whilst using the toilet brush as a plunger to try and unblock said toilet quickly followed by a bucket of water. Alas this did no good so I thought, ' I know I'll go and speak with the Bosun, he'll know what to do!!'
On a Merchant Navy ship the bosun is in charge of the deck crew,like a foreman ashore, he usually has many years experience and as a Chief Officer he is your right hand man really. If anything needs doing you speak to the bosun. To have a good reliable bosun makes my job a lot easier! My bosun is brilliant, I've known him since I was a new trainee about 15 years ago. He has been on this ship for many years and knows it inside out.
So Bosun came up and had a look and then we went and had a chat about the best way to unblock the toilet. He had, I should mention, not long left my bathroom after fixing the sink back firmly in place. I did suggest that perhaps the previous occupant had been sitting on the sink, perhaps because his toilet was blocked :)
Then the 2nd and 3rd engineers came up from below ( from the Engine Room) and they joined in the rather strange conversation on how best to unblock my toilet!
Anyway it seems that the 3rd engineer (Mr 3E) was destined at an early point in his life to become a plumber. His father was a plumber and so was he, until he ran away and joined the Royal Navy. Years later, he's in the Merch and is obviously THE man for the job. He positively relishes the fact and gets to work with long red rubber gloves and a long piece of wire.
Within a matter of minutes, the 'problem' is solved and the toilet is once again flushing freely! I thank Mr 3E again and again, happy that I can now use the toilet again :) and all without a £50 callout charge!
Needless to say I shall keep an eye on what goes in to my toilet and flush accordingly! I have also put in an order for a new toilet and pipe work as this problem will reoccur at some point.
It only remains to be seen whether the job is agreed.
As far as i can remember the toilet in my cabin has always been a bit temperamental, you always need to give it a good flush to make sure it doesn't block. Unlike the toilet at home there is no cistern so the flush handle just releases water into the toilet bowl for as long as you hold it. Also this ship was built in Holland so many of the fittings are Dutch so aren't easy to source in the UK. Hence the unusual toilet itself. Although the waste pipe is at the back of the toilet( like in UK) the hole in the toilet is at the front of the toilet bowl. Basically we can't just nip down B&Q and get a replacement.
After noticing the toilet bowl was filling but not emptying I sighed a big sigh and held my breath whilst using the toilet brush as a plunger to try and unblock said toilet quickly followed by a bucket of water. Alas this did no good so I thought, ' I know I'll go and speak with the Bosun, he'll know what to do!!'
On a Merchant Navy ship the bosun is in charge of the deck crew,like a foreman ashore, he usually has many years experience and as a Chief Officer he is your right hand man really. If anything needs doing you speak to the bosun. To have a good reliable bosun makes my job a lot easier! My bosun is brilliant, I've known him since I was a new trainee about 15 years ago. He has been on this ship for many years and knows it inside out.
So Bosun came up and had a look and then we went and had a chat about the best way to unblock the toilet. He had, I should mention, not long left my bathroom after fixing the sink back firmly in place. I did suggest that perhaps the previous occupant had been sitting on the sink, perhaps because his toilet was blocked :)
Then the 2nd and 3rd engineers came up from below ( from the Engine Room) and they joined in the rather strange conversation on how best to unblock my toilet!
Anyway it seems that the 3rd engineer (Mr 3E) was destined at an early point in his life to become a plumber. His father was a plumber and so was he, until he ran away and joined the Royal Navy. Years later, he's in the Merch and is obviously THE man for the job. He positively relishes the fact and gets to work with long red rubber gloves and a long piece of wire.
Within a matter of minutes, the 'problem' is solved and the toilet is once again flushing freely! I thank Mr 3E again and again, happy that I can now use the toilet again :) and all without a £50 callout charge!
Needless to say I shall keep an eye on what goes in to my toilet and flush accordingly! I have also put in an order for a new toilet and pipe work as this problem will reoccur at some point.
It only remains to be seen whether the job is agreed.
Wednesday, 28 December 2011
Surrounded by buoys!
Well we're broken down here in sunny Hull so my dreams of sailing away into the sunset have been thwarted slightly. I've been reacquainting myself with the old girl, her crew and our surroundings. Been out and about taking photos.
Many of you will have been on boats or ferries in your life or even been lucky enough to go on a cruise so you may well have seen these navigational buoys in the water and wondered what on earth they meant.
The beginnings of a navigational buoyage system began to emerge around 1889. Certain countries agreed to mark some of their channels by placing black can shaped buoys on the port ( left) hand side and red conical buoys on the starboard ( right) side.
Things were complicated with the addition of lights because some added a red light to the port side mark whereas some added a red light to the starboard side mark to match the red buoy.
In 1973 the International Association of Lighthouse Authorities (IALA) tried to make a single worldwide system. Eventually 2 regions were agreed upon with regard to the Lateral navigation marks. Region B is the Americas and Pacific and Region A is everywhere else. So most of the places I have sailed to use the Region A system of buoyage and it is this one I shall refer to here.
There are 5 main types of navigational mark.
1) Lateral - these indicate the sides of a well defined channel according to the direction of buoyage. *
A port hand mark will be a red can shaped buoy with an optional top mark of a small red can. It's light will be red.
A starboard hand mark will be a green cone shaped buoy with an optional top mark of a small green cone. It's light is green.
2) Cardinal - these indicate where the best navigable water is in relation to a danger or hazard and are referenced to the 4 points of a compass, North(N), South(S), East(E) and West (W).
The buoys are yellow with black bands which relate to the black cone shape topmark. Each topmark is made up of 2 black cones in various unique combinations. The lights are white and all relate to the clock.
As an example a South cardinal buoy has a top mark of 2 black cones, in a vertical line both with points facing down. The buoy colour is yellow with black around the bottom half of the buoy. It's light would be white either VeryQuick6 + Long Flash 10s or Quick6 + L Fl 15s.
The named side is the safe side to pass so if you saw a South Cardinal buoy ahead you would pass to the South of it.
3) Isolated Danger Mark - used to mark areas/ isolated dangers of limited extent.eg a wreck. They usually have navigable water all around them. They are black and red in colour and always have a top mark of 2 black spheres in a vertical line. The light is white and always Fl(2)( A group of 2 flashes close together. )
4) Safe Water Mark - As the name suggests these indicate safe water around the mark and are usually found in channels/rivers to mark the mid channel. They can be either spherical, pillar or spar shaped and are red and white vertically striped. The light, if fitted, is white, occulting, isophase, LFl 10s or morse code 'A' ( ._ )**
5) Special marks - these are not of navigational importance but just help to indicate a special area, depicted in a chart. These can include: naval exercise areas, recreational areas for bathing or water skiing or cables and pipelines.
They are yellow with a topmark of a yellow St Andrews cross. It's light is yellow and the rhythm is one not used by any other mark nearby.
Opposite where my ship is berthed I noticed these buoys, obviously out the water for servicing, they are L-R spherical Safe Water Mark, Lateral port hand mark, spherical Safe Water Mark, Special Mark, Lateral Starboard hand mark and South Cardinal buoy. Now it's got a bit darker I see they are still merrily flashing away with their own special coloured light and rhythm.
*Direction of buoyage - always marked on navigation charts. Local direction used when entering ports/rivers from seaward. General Direction is clockwise around continents. Around the UK it is North (N) up the West(W) coast and Irish Sea, East (E) up the English Channel and then N up the North Sea.
** Occulting - duration of light is longer than dark.
Isophase - duration of light and dark are equal.
Flashing - light shorter than dark
LongFlash - 2 seconds or longer.
Many of you will have been on boats or ferries in your life or even been lucky enough to go on a cruise so you may well have seen these navigational buoys in the water and wondered what on earth they meant.
The beginnings of a navigational buoyage system began to emerge around 1889. Certain countries agreed to mark some of their channels by placing black can shaped buoys on the port ( left) hand side and red conical buoys on the starboard ( right) side.
Things were complicated with the addition of lights because some added a red light to the port side mark whereas some added a red light to the starboard side mark to match the red buoy.
In 1973 the International Association of Lighthouse Authorities (IALA) tried to make a single worldwide system. Eventually 2 regions were agreed upon with regard to the Lateral navigation marks. Region B is the Americas and Pacific and Region A is everywhere else. So most of the places I have sailed to use the Region A system of buoyage and it is this one I shall refer to here.
There are 5 main types of navigational mark.
1) Lateral - these indicate the sides of a well defined channel according to the direction of buoyage. *
A port hand mark will be a red can shaped buoy with an optional top mark of a small red can. It's light will be red.
A starboard hand mark will be a green cone shaped buoy with an optional top mark of a small green cone. It's light is green.
2) Cardinal - these indicate where the best navigable water is in relation to a danger or hazard and are referenced to the 4 points of a compass, North(N), South(S), East(E) and West (W).
The buoys are yellow with black bands which relate to the black cone shape topmark. Each topmark is made up of 2 black cones in various unique combinations. The lights are white and all relate to the clock.
As an example a South cardinal buoy has a top mark of 2 black cones, in a vertical line both with points facing down. The buoy colour is yellow with black around the bottom half of the buoy. It's light would be white either VeryQuick6 + Long Flash 10s or Quick6 + L Fl 15s.
The named side is the safe side to pass so if you saw a South Cardinal buoy ahead you would pass to the South of it.
3) Isolated Danger Mark - used to mark areas/ isolated dangers of limited extent.eg a wreck. They usually have navigable water all around them. They are black and red in colour and always have a top mark of 2 black spheres in a vertical line. The light is white and always Fl(2)( A group of 2 flashes close together. )
4) Safe Water Mark - As the name suggests these indicate safe water around the mark and are usually found in channels/rivers to mark the mid channel. They can be either spherical, pillar or spar shaped and are red and white vertically striped. The light, if fitted, is white, occulting, isophase, LFl 10s or morse code 'A' ( ._ )**
5) Special marks - these are not of navigational importance but just help to indicate a special area, depicted in a chart. These can include: naval exercise areas, recreational areas for bathing or water skiing or cables and pipelines.
They are yellow with a topmark of a yellow St Andrews cross. It's light is yellow and the rhythm is one not used by any other mark nearby.
Opposite where my ship is berthed I noticed these buoys, obviously out the water for servicing, they are L-R spherical Safe Water Mark, Lateral port hand mark, spherical Safe Water Mark, Special Mark, Lateral Starboard hand mark and South Cardinal buoy. Now it's got a bit darker I see they are still merrily flashing away with their own special coloured light and rhythm.
*Direction of buoyage - always marked on navigation charts. Local direction used when entering ports/rivers from seaward. General Direction is clockwise around continents. Around the UK it is North (N) up the West(W) coast and Irish Sea, East (E) up the English Channel and then N up the North Sea.
** Occulting - duration of light is longer than dark.
Isophase - duration of light and dark are equal.
Flashing - light shorter than dark
LongFlash - 2 seconds or longer.
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