Travelling on a Cargo Ship - Part II - eriksen.com.au fileThe ship arrived 2 days late because of very bad storms between Fremantle and Melbourne. Hopefully this was not to be a precedent

Travelling on a Cargo Ship - Part II

Written and Edited by Janet Eriksen

Layout and Webpage by Sven Eriksen

This document can be read electronically at http://eriksen.com.au/documents/library/freightertravelpart2.pdf (2 Mb)

Document Id: JME 2008-04-15

Copyright 2008- Janet Eriksen

Last saved: 10-Jan-11

JANET ERIKSEN TRAVELING ON A CONTAINERSHIP – PART 2

freightertravelpart2.doc 1

Contents

Introduction .................................................... 1 The Ship .......................................................................................................... 1

The Route of my Trip .................................................................................... 1

Embarkation................................................................................................... 2

My Living Quarters....................................................................................... 3

Preparations for Departure .......................................................................... 3

The Trip .......................................................... 5 Day 1: Departure ........................................................................................... 5

Day 2: My New Routine ................................................................................ 5

Day 3: Sydney................................................................................................. 6

Day 4: Departure from Sydney .................................................................... 6

Day 5: At Sea .................................................................................................. 7

Day 6: Even more at sea................................................................................ 7

Day 7: Arrival in New Zealand..................................................................... 8

Day 8: At Sea Again....................................................................................... 9

Day 9: Napier ................................................................................................. 9

Day 10: At sea................................................................................................. 9

Day 11: Port Chalmers................................................................................10

Day 12: On our way Home – Visiting the Engine Room .........................11

Day 13: Water Water Everywhere.............................................................12

Day 14: Final Day at Sea .............................................................................12

Day 15: Melbourne - So Near And Yet So Far!........................................13

Conclusion: ................................................... 14



Introduction

Here you have my musings about my second voyage on a containership. The first was in 2003 and this one began on the 18th May 2008 on the containership “Willi Rickmers”, which was, as part of a much longer voyage, transporting cargo between Europe, Australia and New Zealand.

I was the only passenger, the only woman, and in fact the only person of European origin aboard (which set the scene for a lot of fun in the language department I can assure you). The entire 24-man crew were Burmese.

I have used a chronological organization of segments; each written soon after an event took place, hopefully capturing my initial reaction. During the journey I was most of the time pushing the boundaries of my “comfort zone” but ultimately gaining a sense of achievement and finding that I loved every minute of it!

The Ship The ship I was to travel with for 15 days was the Willi Rickmers built in Guangzhou, China in 1998. Owned by Rickmers, Hamburg. Length 195.60m, Width 26m. Capacity 2226 Containers. Speed 22 Knots, Passenger Capacity 4.

The Route of my Trip The total route travelled by the Willi Rickmers (from London and back again) is shown below. I only travelled part of that distance. The ship took me to five ports. Melbourne (Day 1), Sydney (Day 3), Auckland (Day 7), Napier (Day 9), Port Chalmers (Day 11) and back to Melbourne (Day 15).



Embarkation This trip was to be an autumn trip. The ship arrived 2 days late because of very bad storms between Fremantle and Melbourne. Hopefully this was not to be a precedent for the rest of the voyage.

Port security since my last trip had been tightened considerably, therefore the maximum quota of 2 visitors allowed to accompany me on board were my husband Sven and son Peter. Jessie our German Shepherd did come as far as the car park but that was where she and I said au voir.

We were greeted by the Captain and learned that the entire crew of the Willi Rickmers on this journey were Burmese. I was quickly reminded of what was to be a recurring theme on a voyage of this nature: unpredictable and unreliable schedules and information. Since I had been led to expect a German Captain my efforts to brush up my German language skills during the previous weeks were now all to no avail. However, all the preparatory work I did to get into physical training for the many steep stairways on the ship came in very handy. Both Sven and Peter were puffing a bit by the time we got up to my cabin. A climb up to what is equivalent to an apartment on the 10th floor of a building with no elevator.

The next bit of information was not so welcome. The route itself had been changed and we would not be travelling via Brisbane. That was a disappointment. I had particularly looked forward to that visit, as I would have been able to make contact with friends there.



My Living Quarters Pictures are worth more than a thousand words.

Lounge Sitting Area

Lounge through to Bathroom

Lounge through to Bedroom

Bedroom

Sven and Peter stayed for a couple of hours and helped me to get partly organised in what was a very comfortable cabin and then chugged off home. Thinking, I’m sure, “rather her than me”!

I happily used the rest of the evening to organise my things in my cabin, but as on my first trip, I found myself drawn repeatedly to the fascinating scene spread out beneath my 7th storey cabin windows.

Preparations for Departure The wharf side was as busy as a beehive with six 14 metre tall mobile cranes racing backwards and forwards trying to keep each of the main overhead cranes fed with containers. There is something quite whimsical about the look of these mobile cranes. Rather like a very tall scraggy maiden aunt who scurries along on stilts and then, on cue, drops her contribution from under her skirts and dashes back to pick up the next offering (officially they are called “Straddlers”).



These are “Straddlers”

Main Overhead Crane in Action

Beginning to fill up

View underneath my window



The Trip

Day 1: Departure Silently, and almost imperceptibly, on the stroke of 23:00 the huge containership began to ease away from the dockside pulled in the darkness by two attendant little tugboats that seem to possess Herculean strength. As the gap slowly widened I felt as if the ship was letting go of terra firma and preparing to get on with the job ahead. 19 hours work, unloading and loading containers, by stevedores and seamen at the Port of Melbourne had gone into this moment. It was a sedate and controlled beginning to what, for me, was to be a voyage of thousands of kilometres, and my second trip on a containership. I had been looking forward to this moment for half a year.

Before the ship left the docks I had been interviewed by Customs and Immigration and I had even completed my Passenger Safety and Security Familiarization tour. This entailed being thoroughly shown over the upper decks of the ship, up and down steel staircases both internally and externally. No mean feat for the faint-hearted! Then came the tour around the entire poop deck from front to rear of the ship all the time being made aware of the position of emergency equipment, life rafts, lifeboat etc. Down in the lifeboat I was even sat in the pilot’s seat and, just in case I should be the only (wo)man left standing, I was taught the procedure for fire-off and starting the diesel motors (and I mean I actually started and cut them out) once the boat hit the water!

Once underway I made an attempt to settle down in my bunk, but excitement kept getting in the way of real sleep. I think fitful dozing would be a good description of at least the first few hours, then once outside the heads of Port Phillip Bay rough weather put paid to any real sleep for the rest of that night!

Day 2: My New Routine Time to catch-up on a bit of sleep, begin reading a book, sorting out the CD and DVD players, and generally settling in. The TV, except for playing DVDs, remained a total mystery, but that was probably because there is no reception out on the ocean, and anyway who needs it?

The Captain and crew, all being Burmese, and my being the only passenger on the ship, it was very necessary for me to work out fairly quickly whom, of the crew, had a better command of English than my own almost non-existent Burmese. I can tell you there were not many! But I soon learned to splutter my way through “thank you” in Burmese. It brought a big smile every time but unfortunately usually no further real communication. Linguistically my main contacts were the Cook/Cabin Steward, the Chief Engineer and the Captain in that order. I was also introduced to the Chief Electrical Engineer who, I was told, would be able to fix my computer mouse. The mouse had died on me less than 24 hours into the trip. As soon as we got down to business I realised this was going to be a bit of a challenge and that I would need all my drama skills to explain the problem to him. However with goodwill and lots of miming from both of us he had soon fixed it.

Less than a day into the voyage I began to feel that I was experiencing a weird shift in time and reality. It was more than five years since I had disembarked from the previous containership trip and yet suddenly I was feeling as if I had slotted right back into the same place in time. Almost as if the intervening years had never happened.



Day 3: Sydney Woke at 06:15 and found that we were silently waiting, in pre-dawn stillness, for the Sydney Harbour Pilot and the tugboats to arrive. Suddenly everything went into action and as the sun rose above the horizon the ship was slowly and gracefully tugged and pushed into the harbour and into its allotted berth. All the while me hanging as far as possible out of my cabin window in order to see everything. My five cabin windows were directly under the bridge so I had a grandstand view. The docking took about half an hour and was a fantastic start to my day.

Chance for a hair wash. The physical challenge of massaging my scalp whilst standing on a wet slippery surface was pretty daunting without a third hand to hold on to the grab rail. Best done while the dragon is asleep.

As I chose not to take shore leave in Sydney I was equipped with a sun lounge and cushions, and I spent most of the day basking in the sun on the small area of deck close to my cabin. I now understand the true meaning of a ‘deckchair’. The view, being so high up, both by day and night, was phenomenal. The docks spread out underneath, the comings and goings of Sydney Airport just beyond that and like a calendar picture the CBD in the background

Next port of call Auckland.

Day 4: Departure from Sydney Having said that, there was still the small matter of getting out of Sydney Harbour. The first gestimate of our departure had been 06:00. By then the loading of the containers was obviously not completed, hence a revision to 10:30. The actual time of departure was 12:00 midday and soon after that we were again enjoying the rock and roll of being out on open sea again. When I had safely seen the ship out of the harbour I felt I had earned my lunch. As I walked into the Officers Mess my special friend the cook announced with a big smile that he had made Rooster Park especially for me. I was very intrigued, but decided not to show my ignorance. When it arrived I realised how slow on the uptake I had been. It was, of course roast pork!

I am continually amazed and in admiration of how life on a ship functions. Everyone has their job, takes responsibility for it and makes sure it is done. I was of course an observer and with no insight into their language. However attitude and body language told me that on this ship there was a close-knit community that functioned smoothly.

Six hours out of Sydney the rock and roll had developed a nasty tendency towards buck and bellow. The ship was bucking and the wind was bellowing, not only outside but whistling all the way through stairs and corridors. In this weather a trip down to the Mess for a meal and back again took quite a lot of muscle. It is very necessary to judge the correct moment to attempt a manoeuvre. Get the timing wrong and the result is not nice



Day 5: At Sea Didn’t do too well in the breakfast department this morning. Entirely my own fault as I knew well enough that the clocks on the ship had to be put forward two hours on the outward journey to New Zealand, but not exactly which day. Silly me didn’t listen properly to the announcement on the loudspeaker system yesterday that was clearly telling everyone about it (in Burmese!) Never mind I got my exercise covered. I was counting my blessings too as on this ship there were only 5 decks down to the eating Mess, a total of 5x11=55 (steep) steps. On my last trip there were 7 decks, 7x11=77 steps.

The sailing was rough but nothing overly exciting. However I had taken the precaution the previous evening of trying on a life jacket and the hard helmet. I think my imagination had run away with me a bit after reading an article in a magazine about the MS Explorer on its way to Antarctica last November colliding with an iceberg (in a place where icebergs shouldn’t be) and sank. Of course it happened in the middle of the night. Paranoid perhaps, but it occurred to me that if anything did happen knowing where things were, with straps adjusted properly etc., would be a distinct advantage. Having done that I slept like a log.

After lunch I took the air out on ‘my balcony’. A bit of a laugh because the wind was so strong that it could be said that it was trying to take me. I was hanging on to the railings for dear life when I suddenly noticed an Albatross. I was watching its very graceful wheeling and diving when another one joined in the dance. They came quite close to the ship and I was impressed with the width of their wingspan.

Two hours later the same boisterous wind was throwing sea-spray up at the windows of my cabin, 25 meters above the poop deck and about 35 meters above sea level. The night was a bit rough.

Day 6: Even more at sea Before I got out of my bunk I could see that a hanging garment was standing out from the wall at a 30-degree angle. This meant a difficult uphill struggle in the corridor could very suddenly change to a downhill sprint. It was very necessary to be aware of where the closest grab rail was at all times. Especially when visiting the loo. Consider the process, and then imagine you have only one hand to carry it out successfully (the other being firmly attached to a grab rail), and remember all the while the deck is heaving under your feet. One becomes very adept in both preparation and timing.

Often I have been asked the question “What do you do when you are on the ship?” Whilst writing this on my Laptop I was listening to a CD playing Schubert’s wonderful Octet. A couple of interesting programs installed on my laptop PC were endless sources of amusement in that I was able to play Bridge (against a fellow named Jack) and Chess (against a fellow named Fritz). I was very pleased I took both Jack and Fritz along with me.

I read two books and saw a couple of DVDs. I had taken plenty of reading and viewing material with me. I spent a lot of time looking at the view out of one of the windows in my cabin. I would organise myself with a pillow for elbow comfort and with binoculars at hand I was quite satisfied and fascinated whether in dock or watching the antics at the front of the ship with the horizon dancing around in front of me. But most importantly I had no fixed schedule and full choice over when and what I did. This, together with the experience of participating in, and at the same time observing, a world vastly different from my everyday, I found very enjoyable. I am however aware that the transient nature of the experience, just fourteen short days, added to the attraction.

During the evening the wind kindly settled down or blew off in a huff as the daylight faded, which meant we were favoured with very smooth sailing all night.



Day 7: Arrival in New Zealand

Land Ahoy! At dawn on our right hand side, the mountains of New Zealand’s North Islands were slowly revealing themselves through the morning mist. After three days at sea and with still many hours sailing to go it looked as if there was another disappointment looming. Those expectations! I still hadn’t learnt to curb them. It seemed our arrival in Auckland would be too late to get shore leave as we were scheduled to leave the next morning at 06:00.

However, it I spent a lovely afternoon in Auckland! Suddenly everything had fallen into place. The Harbour Pilot didn’t keep the ship waiting. The mist lifted and revealed the most stunning picture postcard view of the city and as soon as I had been released by Customs and Immigration I was off. In the port gatehouse was a delightful (huge) Maori lady who first of all wanted to know all about why on earth I would be travelling on a containership? Alone? Then for my pluck she rewarded me by saying that if, instead of following the road out of the parking area, I climbed up the earth embankment clearly visible from her gatehouse, I would save myself a walk of about a kilometre. Done! I don’t think anyone noticed this white-haired senior citizen scrambling (eventually on all fours) up the embankment. My main goal was a decaf cappuccino and a cream cake, and I got both, even with a nice view.

After that I wandered around a bit and was half wondering whether to board a bus, and take a round trip out to the suburbs, any suburb, when around the corner came a tourist sight-seeing bus advertising the fact that it was free. That suited me down to the ground. I hopped on and got a 40 minute tour around the City, much more, of course, than I would have managed on foot.

One memory from our arrival in Auckland that will stay with me is the depressing foolhardiness of some young people. As the ship, still sailing at some considerable speed, was being manoeuvred into the outer harbour by two tugs, a yacht with 10 – 12 teenagers on board sailed right across the bow of the ship. Well, they got no less than 8 blasts of the horn. They only laughed and waved, but they were in enormous danger. Our ship at that stage just had no possibility of stopping. I held my breath until I saw that they had reached the other side of the bow safely.

Although I dislike the phrase I suppose with a 3-hours very enjoyable visit there, I can now say I’ve “Done Auckland”.



Day 8: At Sea Again After a most spectacular dawn the ship was on its way again. This time around the northern tip of New Zealand to begin the journey down the east coast of the North Island. Fantastic scenery. The dawn had fulfilled its promise. To absolute perfection, blue skies and azure waters complemented the visual impact of the many small and large islands we were sailing past and in between. This was indeed when I felt the advantage of my cabin being so high up on the superstructure, I could see everything without having to be out in the very cold wind whistling around in the rigging outside.

A lovely relaxed day at sea, the ship barrelling along at a fair pace. As I went down to lunch I was vaguely thinking along the lines of “Sunday Lunch”. I shouldn’t have gone there. During the trip I had been presented with many concoctions from the Burmese cuisine. Remember the cook and the entire crew were Burmese. Today as my meal was being served I just didn’t ask what it was. Part of it looked very much like deep-fried locusts. I preferred not to know! However, I must say it was very tasty.

At dinner that night I had an in-depth conversation with the Chief Engineer. It always delights me when talking to someone from such an utterly different background to my own, to discover how similar human beings in fact are, regardless of culture. He talked about his observations of all the different countries he travels to in his job and praised the Australian way of life saying a number of times that we are very rich. Which is true, of course.

The ship arrived and dropped anchor in the outer harbour of Napier a little past midnight.

Day 9: Napier It was now I began to realise my sensitivity to the movement of the ship and my addiction to the lulling effect “full steam ahead” had on me. The night before, whilst the ship was lying quietly at anchor, I had tossed and turned and I was disturbed by any little noise. Whereas at full speed a cacophony of sounds continually bombarding the ear makes me sleep like a log.

After breakfast the ship was still lying at anchor. To find out why I went right to the top, onto the Bridge in fact. It turned out that Napier has very little dock space and another containership had got in just before us last night. Result? We had to wait a total of 22 hours for the unloading and loading of the other ship before we could get in. This of course meant no shore leave. So, the coastline from afar and the inside of the dock area was as much as any of us saw of Napier.

Whilst I was up on the Bridge I was shown the entire route we were sailing on a very detailed map. After finishing up at Port Chalmers the ship was to sail directly south (around the southernmost tip of New Zealand) before navigating north towards Melbourne. In this area we would be on a latitude more than a 1000 km south of Tasmania. I found myself hoping there were no loose icebergs floating around.

Day 10: At sea By 09:15 in the morning the port cranes in Napier had finished unloading and loading the front and middle decks before turning their attention to the rear decks. It was a slow process because there were only two dock cranes in all. However, by 11:30 the cranes and their attendant helpers had turned their backs on us no longer interested. Our ship was now inching out of port pulled by two tugs.

The night before the ship had been docked with its nose towards land (probably because of the positioning of the cranes) which meant that the tugs now had to work very skilfully to pull the ship out and get it turned around ready for sailing.



After some pulling and pushing the tugs retrieved their tug lines and the ship’s own engines, under the responsibility of the Harbour Pilot, took over control. The tugs immediately sped off to the next containership waiting in the outer harbour. At this point another boat with a Harbour Pilot on board overtook us and delivered him at the next ship so that he could pilot them in. The pilot boat then came alongside us and accompanied us out to the open sea, after which it took our Harbour Pilot back to port.

A calm days sailing. At dinner I was talking to the second-in-charge in the engine room and I asked about the weather forecast (hadn’t seen the news or a newspaper for 10 days). He seemed to think that the weather would be fine for the rest of our trip back to Australia. He also said he would have time to show me round the engine rooms tomorrow or the next day so we made an appointment for 10:00.

Day 11: Port Chalmers After a very smooth night’s sailing we reached the outer harbour of Port Chalmers at about 13:30. The Harbour pilot arrived promptly, climbed up the rope ladder that had been let down over the side of the ship to receive him, and was soon in control of the ship. Port Chalmers is totally land locked and the entry channel has many dangerous sand bars, waiting to snag any unsuspecting sailor. It took 40 minutes negotiation of the sailing channel before the waiting tugs could take over. Even then they had the very difficult job of turning our huge containership 180 degrees in very tight conditions before docking it. It could be compared to two wire-haired terriers trying to manoeuvre an elephant. But they huffed and puffed sometimes on the same side and sometimes on opposite sides and by 14:55 the ship was docked.

By 15:30 I was through Customs and Immigration and on my way through the docks. The sight of a female senior citizen, walking around alone, in the dock area is obviously not an everyday event. Many times in different ports I was asked, quite kindly, if I needed help. Perhaps I might have looked as if I was an escapee from one of the local nursing homes! However when I explained my legitimate reason for being there I was always met with warmth and real interest.

Port Chalmers was a very tiny and hilly town but I enjoyed the opportunity to walk on terra firma again and look at the few shops and historical buildings. I took the opportunity to buy two wholegrain bread rolls, which I hadn’t tasted for 10 days, but declined the chance of buying a newspaper, reasoning that any bad news could wait until I returned to civilisation.

This, I began to realise, was now imminent. That night, long after I had fallen asleep, when the ship nudged its way out of Port Chalmers it would be my last port departure at least for this trip. If the weather gods were kind to us there were only three more days and nights sailing and I would be home in Melbourne again.



Day 12: On our way Home – Visiting the Engine Room I woke in the very early hours and from my windows I could see the ship, in total darkness, calmly forging ahead at full speed, the scene lit only by the waning moonlight. The exciting thing, however, was the sky. So bright and clear! We were well away from land, there were no clouds, and the sight of so many stars left me feeling very humble and insignificant. It took a long time before I could pull myself away from the spectacular night sky.

I was told it takes 5-6 years to become a Chief Engineer depending on many factors. Quite frankly I wouldn’t want to spend even one eight-hour shift down in the inferno of the engine room of a large ship. Even using trade strength earmuffs the din was enormous. I arrived just in time to be invited for mid-morning coffee with the eight crew men working in the engine room. Coffee was served sitting on the floor in the control panel room where it was relatively quiet, so at least we could talk.

On the main working bench there were internal circuit monitors for all areas of the engines as well as scores of dials, computer screens, buttons and levers. Connection to the bridge consisted of two phones. One used to convey all the necessary steering instructions from the Piloting Officer. The other was the Alarm Phone. I was told that if this were to be used it would also activate bells and red-flashing lights throughout the engine room and everyone would go into high alert.

Out in the main engine room was the engine proper. Three meter tall pistons, the main flywheel, over two meters in diameter, the main crankshaft about 60 cm in diameter and probably 40 meters long and the enormous rudder housing with its own constant oiling system.

On my guided tour up and down the stairwells, along protected catwalks, in and out of designated special areas I lost count of all the different processes that had a separate system. If I wanted to ask a question it was necessary to get up very close and personal in order to guess what the answer was. To name just a few I can remember:

• Collection of distilled water for our use to drink, bathe in etc. • Heating water for showers etc. • Conversion of energy produced by the engine to regulate the air conditioning • Compacting the ship’s sewerage • Separating used engine oil from its water content

The whole engine room occupied roughly the rear half of the ship, below the water line. Directly above the engine room was the super structure containing living quarters, etc. The rest of the ship is stacked with containers, below and above the water line, in all up to 2226.



There were 15 storeys between my cabin and the bottom of the engine room. I usually never gave the trip down to meals and back again a second thought. However, I will admit that the return journey coming up from the engine room managed to get the old ticker going pretty strongly! I gained new respect for the Chief Engineer who works down there but lives in the cabin next door to me. The Captain, who is my other neighbour has a much easier life. He only has to go one deck up to work on the Bridge.

By midday the wind was whistling again. The ship and the waves were engaged in a lively argument as to which would control the course of the ship. At lunch the second-officer in charge confirmed that we were now about one thousand kilometres south of Tasmania and that it might be a little while before the weather calmed down. Fortunately we were heavily laden which tends to help the situation on a ship without stabilisers. On my way upstairs I noticed on the general notice board that someone had written “you shall retard your watches 1 hour this evening” So that is what I did! An hour closer to Melbourne time, an extra hour in bed.

Day 13: Water Water Everywhere Well, my retarded watch gave me an extra hour and the weather had settled so that made for a good long night’s sleep. I decided to use some time going through this document to make sure it makes sense. I also intended to build in plenty of wave-spotting during the day, whilst I still had the chance. I just never tired of the scene spread out beneath my cabin windows.

I now increasingly had the feeling that my voyage was coming to an end; especially when the Captain asked what time I would like to leave the ship when we reached Melbourne. He needed to know of course so that he could arrange for a Customs, Immigration and Quarantine officer to see me before I would be allowed to enter Australia again.

Day 14: Final Day at Sea For my final day of cruising I had planned a very leisurely morning followed by a very leisurely afternoon followed by a teeny-weeny bit of packing in the evening.

Well, at about 10:30 those plans disintegrated pretty sharply. I couldn’t believe my ears. Seven blasts on the ships horn followed by one long one. That meant trouble. I had learned that on my first night on board. I started to scramble into warm clothes, my life jacket and hard hat, and suddenly the cook was at my door shouting “follow me”. Strangely enough he also shouted “bring your camera”. I remember thinking “if the ship is going down what the hell do I need my camera for?” but in that situation you just do what you are told. I grabbed a packet of mints and for some reason I locked my cabin. After that it was all a bit of a blur. I was just trying to keep up with the stream of hard hats heading down towards the lifeboat. When we reached the Muster station I suddenly realised that perhaps my camera would be useful after all.

We were in the middle of a regular fire drill! However, it was no joke. Everyone was absolutely serious about what they were doing. When everyone had been accounted for, the officer in charge asked each person some safety questions. Later, sitting on our prearranged seat (mine was No 25) in the lifeboat, I found myself fervently hoping that none of these people would ever experience this for real.



By early afternoon we were close to Tasmania in beautiful sunny weather. My mobile phone was suddenly within range so I was able to receive a few text messages from Sven, Peter and Jens, but I just couldn’t get an answer through. Then my mobile packed up altogether having chosen that particular moment to depart to the great Mobile Hereafter. One Nokia lost at sea!

I also had to acknowledge that neither my lazy morning nor the afternoon had worked out quite how I had planned it. I was up on the Bridge again during the afternoon. Amongst other things the Captain showed me the entire route to Europe, because I mentioned to him that this might be my next trip. He also thanked me and told me that he and the crew thought that I had brought good weather on board!

Day 15: Melbourne - So Near And Yet So Far! We were supposed to dock around 02:30 and we were indeed in Port Phillip Bay by about 01:30 but then we sailed into a pea-souper of a fog that stopped any further possibility of continuing! When the fog lifted enough for our Harbour Pilot to begin our entry, the West Gate Bridge was clearly visible from where we had been waiting for a whole 12 hours. We were first in line to make our entry but there were no less than seven other container ships waiting for their turn. However, at 14:45 our engines started and by 16:10 we had docked.

After the formalities of Customs and Immigration I was ready to disembark at about 17:30 when Sven came on board to welcome me home. Just as on my last trip I realised that for a long time to come part of me will sail on in spirit with this ship and its friendly Burmese crew.



Conclusion:

Before I started on this my second voyage on a container ship I was trying not build up my expectations so as to avoid disappointment. I knew what the physical conditions were. As the sole occupant of a 45 sq meter apartment, lounge, separate bedroom and bathroom, all mod-cons, I had no doubt I would be extremely comfortable.

What came as bit of an unpleasant surprise for me on the day of embarkation was the realisation that the opportunity for real interaction and communication with other people was likely to be much less on this trip than on my last one because of the language barrier. For a short space of time I did wonder what I had gotten myself into. “On the other hand”, went my internal dialogue, “it is the actual journey with all its experiences you wanted and that is still going to happen”. So, perhaps a little less relaxed than I would have been if had I been surrounded by English or German speaking crew, I threw myself into every day in a positive frame of mind. Now at the end of my trip I can confirm that it was once again a fantastic experience, albeit of a different kind. I had to rely on my own resources to a much greater degree than first time round. However, for the same reason the sense of achievement is therefore so much more satisfying.

• Again I was strongly reminded that there is a whole different world out there waiting to be embraced.

• Again the experience reinforced an important perspective: “it’s not the Destination that counts, it’s the Journey”

After this voyage I can repeat “I am so glad I did it”! Willi Rickmers will remain in my memory for a long time to come.

Finally I would like to thank you Sven for all the hours work you have done, so willingly,

producing the layout for this document. Janet. Melbourne, June 2008.

Documents

Travelling on a Cargo Ship - Part II - eriksen.com.au fileThe ship arrived 2 days late because of very bad storms between Fremantle and Melbourne. Hopefully this was not to be a precedent