HIGH SEAS REPORT – FREIGHT

I joined m/v Jeanette in September and were introduced to the frustrating event of waiting (and nagging) for freight.  In a four week period we only made one short trip.  In Dunkerque France, we loaded 5700mt of coal and brought it to Amsterdam.  Finally we got a 5600 mt load of steel coils in Ijmuiden, the Netherlands for Salerno in Italy and two other ports in Turkey. While heading for our first discharging port we made a bunker stop in Ceuta, Spain. To bunker 150 mt of fuel took 4 hours all together from coming alongside till we were underway again.  After totally 8 days sailing from the Netherlands to Italy we arrived in Salerno.  We had hoped for a weekend alongside as the agent mentioned in his mails to ship but the Italians were quick with discharging and we were out on sea again in no time heading for Turkey.  Through the Dardanelle we went into the Sea of Marmara and in the Gulf of Izmit, near Istanbul, to our two discharge ports Rota and Diliskelesi.  From Salerno it was 4,5 days sailing to the Gulf of Izmit.  The pace of off-loading in Turkey was slower than in Italy but in three days time our cargo was out.  Cleaning ship and preparing (paint the holds) for the next load is a big part of the job.  It is frustrating and tiresome though when standards are adjustable from one day to the next.  We took 5650 mt of soda in bulk (also used to make glass) for Tarragona in Spain. This trip took 7 days.  From there immediately on to Barcelona, which was only 4 hours sailing from Tarragona on the way cleaning and preparing ship again from the soda dust, and getting the new paint dry, and ready to load within 12 hrs from the time we were empty.  Everybody involved in this cargo was happy to see the ship ready for loading in such a short time. Maybe you wonder why every time painting again?  Well many times they go with front-end loaders into the hold when discharging which scrape off the paint, and the next load requires no rust, no dust etc.  Now we are underway to Rouen in France to discharge our load of 5600 mt of Potash.  From there we will sail to Scheveningen in Holland for a crew change which is too costly in France and then on to Letland in the Baltic Sea for another load of fine Potash to deliver this time in Kokola, Finland. Then some wood products like pulp and paper from Sweden to Marocco will follow.  Life’s a song if the storms keep at bay.

HIGH SEAS REPORT – TECHNICAL

Some information about Eelco’s professional life for the year 2011.

Motor Vessel Jeanette – belongs to Egbert Bos who also captains his second ship, m/v Anet. (This was the ship I worked on last year).  The owner is Dutch and younger than Eelco.  M/v Jeanette is a general cargo ship  of  6000 mt  DWT, 110  mtr long and 14  mtr wide.  General speed in normal conditions around 11 knots.  She was build in Germany in 2007 and is chartered by Wagenborg Shipping in Delfzijl in the Netherlands who sees to it that the ship gets freight.  Her main working grounds are Western Europe from the Black Sea in the south to the Baltic Sea in the North. 

The crew is from the United Nations.  Captain Eelco is Dutch and works as a freelance relief captain for three months a year.  The permanent captain Wim, now on holiday, is also Dutch and the oldest of the team.  Wim was a fisherman before with his own fishing boat for years.  When the catch became uneconomical he sold his ship and went back to school to get his master ticket for the merchant marine. His is involved in the Jeanette since new-build first as chief officer and later as captain.  Eelco has a good soundboard in him. The Chief mate is Dutch and known to Eelco from his previous job / ship (same owner) where he worked as second officer.  Second mate is Filipino and also he worked with Eelco on his previous ship as boatswain.  The relief Chief Engineer at this moment is from Murmask in Russia and now the oldest crew member.  Communication is not always the best but with the help of hands and feet they get along.  He knows his job. He took over from Dragomir who is original from Croatia but he has a Dutch passport by now and he speaks Dutch with an accent.  Dragomir is just as Wim involved with this ship since new-build in 2007 and knows all the ins and outs of the engine room.  The Filipino cook Joleyn, has supreme culinary qualities.  Eelco say’s, we are growing round and fat but enjoy it all the same.  The two Filipino deckhands – Gilbert and Giovanni - are also good guys.  A positive, productive and good sphere exists onboard and it is a fine team that does their job well.  Not much more for working conditions can be asked.

ON THE TRAIN in NETHERLAND

Mostly the train stations of the well runned rail network are just a peron (an elevated step-off) with a see-through weather shield - practical. Logic has it that the bigger the place the larger the station.  One such station building has a décor theme of old Edwardian style.  Lovely lacework fringes the roof lines and buildings while small decorative post on corners and roof ridges proudly make a statement of presence of an era.  Welcomingly and stylish the benches to wait on, invite for a sit-down.  A whistle sounds, bells ring, the doors close and with an expecting feeling if all is well and on time, the travellers look around to see if a known face is sharing the ride before settling down with a telephone, ipad, newspaper or some office work. Gently rocking, the train departs and settles soon on a well known track, rhythm and tune.   With a soft but intense high note the wheels whistle on the steel tracks to a high crescendo.  At hundred and forty eight kilometres per hour we fly along to the next stop on this rack.  Many if not most of the walls lining the railroad have graffiti art on it, colourful and with different styles.  Cold autumn weather presents the passing countryside with patches of yellow, orange, brown or still some green bush as it rolls by.  Many places the trees are already stripped bare from any leaves which for the time being, still beautify the landscape with a carpet on the ground of warm and rich autumn colours.  A yellow and blue train flashes by in the opposite direction, shaking the trains slightly with their airstreams meeting and pushing, and blotches out sight from the window for a few seconds.  Soon after, our train reduces speed and a car park packed to the brim comes in sight.  Many stands of parked bicycles, ten in a row, follow and then the rows of closed bicycle containers.  Continuously our train paces down in speed and sound.  It shunts on the rails with metal screeching like a cat scratches its nails in lamentation on a glass windowpane.  We approach the Houten station.  Super futuristic with clear glass dome roof and clear tunnels on a shiny steel structure it could well have been the docking station in a Startrek movie with it’s décor of crisp, clear, clean – no frills, streamlined, modern and fast on the eye and mind. The train stops.  Whistle sounds.  Doors open.  People step in and out. Whistles - bells - closing doors - five minutes gone and the train pulls out of the station.

Travelling again

I could rely on the best of friends to pick me up at the day of my departure from New Zealand.  Not only did they ferry me and my heavy bag across the Kerikeri River, they also dropped me at the bus and waved me goodbye.  It is wonderful to feel so ‘at home’ in a country where one is only a visitor.  On the bus I met an interesting marine cadet and in Auckland I was welcomed into the lives of new friends.  People whom we’ve met during one of my book signings in Kerikeri.  Their spontaneous friendliness mirrors that of most New Zealanders.  For me the time with them was food for my soul. I was honoured to share a few hours with a great artist and explore and appreciate new ideas, values and customs.  Another time to say: Mi  sa le (I'll return).  The flights to HongKong and Amsterdam were good but tiring.  I loved the golden spider webs of townships on the ground as we approached the Netherlands in the dark early morning night sky.  The old antique ones with story figures in them were easily distinguishable from the modern ones with square, straight and round lines.  Now I’m basking in the welcome of my in-laws.  Eelco has off loaded their load of steal rolls in Turkey and are loading at the moment a shipment of soda to be delivered in Spain. 

September'11

Eelco has had a productive time in Holland.  First he could visit with his mom and did little maintenance chores for her like all good sons do for their mums.  And then he attended a Ship Security Officer course to add yet another paper to his file.   His captain job waited for him and he boarded m/v Jeanette in Terneuzen.  From there they went on anchor out of Zeeland, in the south of Holland.  Freight however is slow for the time being.  In the meantime weather is not the best.  Very windy and rainy conditions with poor holding ground makes dragging a constant and frustrating issue.  Mylady here in NZ are also experiencing gale conditions but we are surviving well.

NORTHLAND AUG’11

Mylady visited many of her old haunts and enjoyed it just the same.  It is winter.  The air is brisk and smoky cold.  Mostly the vision is clear.  There are very few boats out on the water.  I was hoping to pick up some scallop shells but where there used to be aren’t any more.  Bad luck.  Will have to keep our eyes open for some.  I use the shells to put photos inside as most of you know.    Well we have settled between our pile moorings on the Kerikeri River and have been busy to prepare for Mylady’s winter sleep.  Time flew past as always and it was time to jump into our hired car and have a look how the north of the Northland looks like.  We loved it.  The west coast is rugged.  Ninety mile beach stretches as far as the eye can see.  It was cold.  The ranges were beautiful and Maori presence everywhere.  Not a single car on the road.  When it rained the mist rolled down from the sky and settled ON the roads and covered the landscape to a no-see.  Piha on the west coast of Auckland was great.  The road to there a zigzag disaster, blinded with fog.  And then the big metal bird flew Eelco far away from me.  It is freezing cold.

TASMAN SEA JULY ‘11

We left Australia in front of bad weather coming. We knew it. The advantage was that we would be on the topside of the low pressure system making use of favourable wind directions for half of the way. Well the low caught up with us three days out of Coffs Harbour. Humongous seas chased us. Wind was horrific but direction was good. Thus, we survived it well. The rest of the trip we had unexpected favourable winds or no wind and relatively calm seas. We even had lovely sunshine and not hazy skies when we passed the top of New Zealand. So for the first time after having been here many times, we actually had a beautiful clear panoramic view of the northern tip of New Zealand with the lighthouse at Cape Reinga balancing on the highest, sharpest point of steep ranges.
Thanks for all the messages that came in. We appreciate.

YAMBA, Clarence River, NSW, OZ

We have avoided Yamba for two years. The channel to get there goes around tight hairpin bends and over worrying shallows, hugging small islands closely in other places. My bravery to be on the water do not need to get stuck somewhere in the mud. Two years ago we bumped over some boulders here on the Clarence River and that event seriously rocked my ‘security’. How the fishing fleet of Yamba comes and goes is something I just don’t even want to know about – practising my ostrich head-in-the-sand approach. But guilt for being here and not explore, which goes against the grain of being a tourist, made us decide to try it. Then during our last social visit with another cruising yacht in Iluka, they mentioned with detail how a friend of theirs dragged numerous times at Yamba. Oops, that meant poor holding – and a strong blow was predicted for two days. ‘Maybe we shouldn’t go.’ ‘What the heck, we just go’ the boss man said. I stayed below decks busying myself with all kinds of nothing in the galley during our trip to Yamba, to prevent being confronted with my what-ifs. Only once did we plough through the mud when we gave way to the ferry and left the channel. When we anchored further up the narrow channel, the anchor gripped immediately the sticky mud and we stayed put for a few days. We were in Yamba after all, and enjoyed the climb to the lighthouse and looking over the coastline dotted with surfers. We also supported a local dentistry once again.

Maclean, Clarence River, NSW, Australia

It rained all day the previous two days so the grey drizzles early morning was but a mere continuation of the weather pattern. Between two bouts of more misty rain coming down, we packed the dinghy and hurried to shore. A beautiful White Heron waded in the shallows. Atop a close-by tree sat a Brahminy Kite with his contrasting white chest and warm red-brown wings, turning his head to face us over his back. On the shore Magpies and Butcher Birds chattered happily. All the birds were at peace with the rainy conditions. We continued on to our first book signing.

Red moon

The Clarence River is flooding. We listened during the night to the tree stumps and debris scratching MYLADY'S hull as it pushes by on their way down river. The water is liquid mud - chocolate brown. Due to the fast running current, the car ferry at Lawrence is also out of service. Very early this morning the total eclipse of the moon was grand to see. I wonder how often this occurs?

Broken Bay OZ

BROKEN BAY where the giant Hawkesbury River with its many tributaries meets the see. Wedge-tailed Eagles glide with hunting eyes along all the creeks. And many Sea-Eagles perch in water-side trees, waiting. In the sandy shallows small stingrays hover motionless just above the bottom. Schools of tiny fish regularly go running on the water in a silver cloud when the hunters are about. There is wind but somehow it seems to blow over the high mountains around us. Down here in the creeks the reflections mirror the grandest paintings. Winter is creeping closer. We have loved living in Broken Bay.

Sydney

It was overcastted. The light was soft yet warm. A magnificent, colourful weathered rock wall rose vertical out from sea. On top of it peeped double storey houses over the edge - all for a view over the sea. Behind it, the landmass of Australia dozed in yet another rain shower for yet another day. On the sea side of the wall, vines and salt loving plants thrived on the tiny terraces of the eroded stone. It looked just like a Mediterranean setting. We've arrived in Sydney. In Spring Cove the youngsters dive-bombed off the fenced-off cliffs for a swim and the old pier had tired-less fishermen all hours of the day and night. In the dark their lures glowed. Manly was the first place where I had the feeling that if I had to live in a city, I could do it here. A family kind-o-feeling caught me. It felt as if the people themselves enjoy their place. The Spit Bridge opened for us and into peaceful Sugarloaf Bay we went. It's a small nature reserve amongst city high-rises and compact urban development. There might be one other boat sharing the anchorage with us. But then starts weekend and the place turns into buddy-boat-bay with numerous gin palaces and yachts gathering for a who's who. Crows laugh. Sulphur-crested Cockatoos make the wildest racket at dusk. Fish jump constantly and at night, owls hoo-hoo.

The place of TOM the ORCA

We have arrived in Eden on the New South Wales coast of Australia. The time we’ve spent at Flinders Island north of Tasmania and Deal Island was FANTASTIC! Bass Strait gave us something of everything in fair amounts. The chiming song of the bellbirds here in Eden is fascinating and beautiful. Dolphins play around the boat and little penguins dive and paddle between us and the shore bobbing their heads up as if asking ‘Hey big one, what’s up?’ Yes, sharks and seals join the party. No, we don’t swim. Our current project is to make a cover for the dinghy from old sail. Every afternoon we go to the beach for some healthy exercise and then we check our progress when we fit the cover. (There’s light at the end of the tunnel. / Wij hebben de lek amper boven. / Ons is al oor die hond se rug.) Today a lot of roads are closed due to flooding. Yes, we are also getting drenched by pelting rain. That means going to shore is not a good option. With all this rainwater donated to us, we try and make the best of it. That means washing …. We feel so ‘settled’...

Beautiful Deal Island

The bad weather is gone, temporarily. We explored the west coast and north coast of Flinders Island in the quite period after the gale. Roydon Island was our best liked anchorage so we returned there for some quiet time before hopping over to Deal Island. We are now in beautiful Winter Cove on the east side of Deal. The rocks and mountains are majestically here.

Blowing a gale

We're exhausted. The onslaught of noise from the wind on our sanity is tremendous. In the last 36 hours we had one hour relieve from the 70 -90 km/h winds. For a time it gusted regularly to a screaming 100km/h. In the reprieve period it went down to 50-65 km/h. The rain flies horizontally. We're waiting out this bad wet weather in Lady Barron, Flinders Island, Tasmania. It is a strong tidal port. Many hours we are broadside between the current and strong wind. Then we sail zigzag behind the mooring, canting heavily. According the forecast it would continue for at least 24 hours more. We are at this moment in a period of screaming 100km/h winds again. And on the weather map the tropical cyclone Dianne is charging down south on the west coast of OZ and will bring more of this bad weather in the following days for us. I guess we are experiencing what Tasmania is associated with - the Roaring Forties. We are well. Mylady is a tough girl. Eelco is completing the insulation project and I pray.

Don't worry

Dear friends, if ever we have wondered if anybody is visiting our website, then we wonder no more. A very big THANK YOU to EVERYBODY who have dropped us a line. We just want to let you all know that we are well. The disaster floods in Australia, including Tasmania, are not affecting us too bad. We are currently 'settled' at Maria Island with lots of good hiding places from the strong winds and rain. Our home is cosy and floating and the anchor is doing a proper job.

Liewe familie en vriende, ons wil maar net sê dit gaan goed met ons. Mylady dryf, die anker doen goeie werk en ons is gesond. Huidiglik is ons adres, Maria Eiland, Tasmania. Die dakkies vang al die water en ons kan weer die was doen met vars water.

Hallo luitjes, als jullie je afvragen hoe het met ons gaat , willen wij net laten weten, als ben wel aanboord Mylady. Vies weer beteken veel tijd voor klussen en prutsen en dat vinden we niet erg, eigenlijk heerlijk.

Kiep - Kiep

It was about two weeks since we last had the possibility to shop. So when we arrived safely in Nubeena and were sure the anchor was set well, we immediately went ashore. Something meaty was high on our wish list. And at the little shop we became the owners of a massive frozen chicken. Back on Mylady we planned with eager anticipation the braai for the following evening. The weather was looking promising, our first brew since we're back was ready for the taste and our mouths were watering. Our job the next day was to unpack the bilge which is a big storage place for me and then to chop any rust on the keel frame away and afterwards I painted it with a rust converter - back breaking work. We deserved a braai and a beer. The barbecue smoke curled enticingly and the sizzling sounds were music to our ears. The big moment arrived. The table was set and the side dishes ready. "Tra-la-la-la" the Barbie lid was lifted and we admired the golden grilled chicken. Eelco speared it with the meatfork and lifted it onto a plate. Horror struck. Frozen for a moment in time Eelco stood looking down passed the barbecue, before he started swearing like a sailor. I couldn't see and didn't know what happened but it was crystal clear something was very wrong. For a moment I wondered if the container with our gasbottle for the stove which is in close proximity of the barbecue got burned, or maybe the dinghy that was swinging behind. Eelco got control over himself. He wriggled all of his giantness with amazing speed out of the tight corners of the full cockpit and jumped into the dinghy while calling "it is still floating!" I immediately started to undo the dinghy painter but that seemed not necessary. Leaning out from the dinghy he fished out our lovely grilled chicken floating by! With the prized chicken held in both his hands we started laughing. It was a great, man overboard, exercise. The effort was worth it - our sea-chick tasted superb. It was an excellent way to say good-bye to the old year of 2010.