8. i miss easter !!

11th april 2006 - 0730 pm
after a long time i came back from the engine room at 0600 pm. it is exactly one month since i joined this ship...after coming to my cabin, had a quick bath and went out to the deck to have a glimpse of the fading day. its amazing....no artist in this world can paint such beautiful scenes with such perfect colour combinations...Nature, you are the best!! its all sea, sky and clouds...but the colours of sea and sky in the fading light will take your breath away.
its getting chillier as well..since we are moving north, it is expected to get much colder..sea water temperature is just 17 degrees, a couple of days ago it was 28 degrees..
i had called home today..talked for about seven minutes...i was surprised to hear that it is easter time at home...i never thought about it here. here all days are alike...cant distinguish between a sunday or any other day...i really miss easter days at home...
today afternoon, i could see mountains far away..from the chart i learned that those are the mexican lands, the part of mexico which is like a long, narrow strip on its western side.we are expected to reach los angels on 13th.thts all for now. let me have my dinner!!

7. up the americas..

9th march 2006 - 0840 pm
i could nt write the diary for a few days. its just that i dont feel like doing anything after coming to my cabin after a very long day in the engine room.
nowadays i come to my cabin after 1900 hrs or 1930 hrs. its been quite a long time since i last enjoyed the evening time on deck after my duty. its only during taking soundings on deck that i actualy see the sea in daylight.
we left balboa on 3rd. balboa is the port at the pacific side of panama. we were anchored there for almost 10 days, because of some maintenance works. we are heading towards los angels now. it is a 10 days journey. heard that ther wil be one more cargo handling before our dry docking.(for those who doesnt know what a dry docking is - it is the time when a ship is taken ashore to have overall maintenance, which is not possible when the ship is in water) it will be in kochi or colombo. would be great if it is in kochi..lets wait and see.
actually we are going to a port called 'long beach' near los angels. ther is no chance of getting shore leave there in the united states!!
sometimes i think about what i should do after my first sail. at times it seems tough and other times i feel i can handle it all. anyway i will be here for another 8 months or so..i dont want to depend on others any more.
there is absolutely no time to do anything after the duty time. in my training institute, i used to think that the schedule is tight and i wasnt getting time for anything. but now i feel that i had plenty of spare time there.
feeing real sleepy..dont know when i will write this diary again..
today i saw the position of the ship on the chart. we have passed costa rica, nicaragua & el salvador, and now in the seas of guatemala..tomorrow we will be in the seas of mexico. it is great to think that i am travelling along all these routes..but actually, i am not feeling or seeing any of these countries..only if i get the chance to go out on land can i say that i have actually come to a new land..

6. Tough times in Panama

(...continuation)

at about 2 pm, the ship had some technical problems. i am not at a liberty to go into the details of that. the ship had to stop maneuvering and the problem investigated. it was very tense times for everyone onboard, since the problem occured in a heavy traffic area and there was lot of inspections and formalities to be done...by night the ship was towed to another place and works were carried out. after about a day, maneuvering started for the ship to move across the Gatun lake to the Miraflores lock gates...i donot wish to go further, since lot of things are and have to be classified for the time being. to end the story, i would like to add that i had just 8 hrs of sleep in 48 hrs! not that it is a big deal, but it showed me how tough the life of a mariner can be at times...looking back, its all lessons, which help you take a step further in life.
(...i am sorry that i had to edit this post to a very large extend)

5. Across the Panama Canal !

27th March 2006 - 10:15 pm

i dont know how to start this page...it had been one of the exceptional days of my life...marked by the excitement of crossing the canal and the tough times a marine engineer has to endure.
22nd was a very beautiful day. the ship came in through the three lock-gates (called the Gatun locks) to the natural lake - Lake Gatun. the technology was spellbound. a couple of tram-like machines on either side of the canal, both forward and aft, pulled the ship into each lock-gate to raise the ship to next level. the time required to flood the locks was amazing. it was actually filled by gravity from the next lock, where water would be at a higher level, using underground tunnel and valves. (i am happy to provide a link here for anyone interested in knowing the detailed operation of the transit of ships through the canal. Click here to go to the site of 'Panama canal Authority' where you will find an animated description). as i had wished, i got the chance to see the ship passing into the lock-gates and rising to the next level. the ship is raised to an overall height of 28 meters to get to the lake!! at the end of the lake there is another set of locks called 'Miraflores locks' before the ship finally enters the Pacific ocean.
before afternoon we reached the lake and the scenery was enchanting...it was so good to see greenery after a long time..since joining the ship back in canada, i hadnt seen a single green plant! almost all the crew, other than those who on duty were on the deck, enjoying the serenity of the place.
but beyond all the thrill, tough times were in store for me...

4. Panama Anchorage

march 21st 2006 - 0830 pm

we have reached the entrance of the panama canal. the canal is stil out of eye sight, but i can see the land of Panama at a distance. a large number of ships are anchored here along different lines waiting for their turn to move into the canal.my ship will be moving in by 0730 hrs tomorrow.
the panama canal is a marvellous feat of engineering and i have heard that a number of lock gates are provided in the canal, to raise the ship from one level to another, since the ship has to pass through a lake, which is at a higher level than the two mighty oceans - the pacific and the atlantic. the canal is narrow with just enough space for one ship to move at a time, so it would be nice to be on the deck watching the ship maneuvering through it. but since i would be in the engine room, i doubt how much i could enjoy the sight. still, i hope to go to the deck at times and have a look, since i dont want to miss this once in a while event of my ship crossing the panama canal...

3. loneliness, a whale and some land

17th march 2006 - 0800 pm

back from a long day! i am already feeling sleepy...but 4th enginer
has asked me to come down to engineroom...said he would show me
some important stuff like tappet clearance and lub oil system of
generator...i am in a fix! a part of me wants to go down to learn the new things, but another part is dragging me to bed...i have been thinking about calling home for quite some time. the chance never came along...hope to call today before going to bed...god alone knows when i will be coming back from the engine room.
right now we are heading for Panama.to the eastern entrance of the Panama Canal - Cristobal. we are supposed to reach there on 21st. i have to wait and see when i will be getting the chance to go out on shore leave when we reach any port. just want to call or mail my friends...its real isolation here. in MERI (my training institute), even though life was tough at times, more often there were laughs, fun, friends, weekly outing and that sort...good thing is that here i am not getting any time to feel the lonliness!

18th march 2006 - 0745 pm

i had called home yesterday after coming back from engine room at
around 11:00 pm. the phone is located in the bridge, the navigation control room. its a satellite network, so communication is pretty expensive..it was then 0800 am in india! mum was really excitd to hear my voice...just talked for five minutes and hit bed right away.
it is amazingly beautiful sight to look at the ocean in the evening time...different colours blend beautifully into the sky...the patterns of the clouds with a very wide horizon in the distance, the dancing waves...are all just magnificient! it is a real food for the mind after a hectic day in the engine room.
the most interesting thing is that i saw a Whale today...for the first time in my life!! it was far away from the ship, still i could ot miss the peculiar hiss and the tails..
i could see land far away...if i am not mistaken, those are the lands of the Dominican Republic. yesterday i had a look at the navigational map in the bridge. then we were to enter the sea between PuertoRico and the Dominican Republic in a day's time..at around 0730 pm, i could figure out distant lights, probably that of
some coastal city.
i am looking forward for the ship to reach Panama. it i not sure whether we would be able to go out on shore leave, but the glimpse of land nearby would be exciting!!

2. Sea Sickness!!

16th march 2006 (continuation)
...second day onboard was a terrible one. sea sickness!! the ship was sailing to panama from canada..sea was extremely rough and the ship was rolling badly. i dont know how many times i vomited. right from the morning, my stomach was turned upside down and my head was in my hands...from the moment i reached engine room, i couldnot stand straight...somehow i sat at a corner of the control room...all others were busy in their works, yet they managed to console me whenever they got time...i felt bad! ..real bad. is this for what i travelled half way around the globe..! that was all i could think.. i could not complete my breakfast...by afternoon i found myself on bed! had some tablet from the 2nd officer and slept rightaway..! i slept peacefully till 0900 pm...and found that i was feeling much better. during the day, i really wanted to throw away everything and go home..i was so disturbed and disappointed. but fortunately from the next day onwards everything was fine..no sea sickness, no vomiting, nothing!! i think it is just that God wanted me to know what this sea sickness is all about..!
three more days have passed since that horrible day. i am thankful to the almighty that the ship is not in a very bad condition, except for some minor problems. the work is really hard...after 12 hours of continuous work, just the sight of bed induce sleep in me.
i have learned to write logbook, take soundings and basic tasks of that sort..the major task of pipe line tracing is yet to be done.

1. Joining the Ship.

16th March 2006 - 1930 hrs

Its been five days since i joined this ship. everyday i ve been thinking about start writing my diary, but i end up sleeping on my bed.
The trip to join my ship was one of the most exciting ones in my whole life..perhaps the most exciting..my first flight was from mumbai to paris, then from paris to toronto, and then from toronto to newfoundland..then the 200 kilometre car journey from airport to the remote village from where we would board the boat..the ship was anchored off the coast of port comebychance...it will all be unforgettable events in my life.
the flight journey itself was a great experience..the view outside of clouds passing nearby.., arial view of the varying landscapes.., houses and roads which came into view during takeoff and landing...and the majestic deep blue atlantic ocean which came into view at times through rare clearing of clouds...the surprisingly dense layer of cloud over the canadian province...the food aboard...the piercing pain in my ears during landings and takeoff...simply unforgettable!
the road from St. Johns airport was an excellent one...i was spellbound to see thick layer of snow outside the airport, about 2 feet thick, visible since the road was chipped clear of snow..i could feel the strength of the chill, even with my long johns, formals and jacket on..! both sides of the road were covered with a massive layer of snow throughout our journey..it was a beauty to see the fir trees and distant mountains capped with white snow in the early morning hours..
the boat was one state of the art vessel, fully equipped and with an advanced GPS onboard.the sea was very rough and the climate, extreme..i had never experienced such cold weather in my life. It was a freezing -2 degree celcius!! visibility was low and i was eagerly looking out for my ship, where i would spend a pretty long time before i see home again! it was about 20 minutes before i saw a speck on the horizon..as the boat moved on, i could see the majestic form of the tanker revealing before me...i could feel my heart pounding against my ribs as the boat approached the ship...sea had got more rough since we started and a light rain had started...the new captain was also with me to join the ship..he made me wear a life jacket and a rain coat...it took sometime before the boat positioned properly alongside the ship on the starboard side. i was really wondering how to get on the ship, since what i was seeing was a massive metal wall of about six metres..the ship's hull! ...to my amazement, a rope ladder was thrown down and my heart skipped a beat. it was an adventurous task, climbing that (hehe, ...i love adventure!!) it was my turn first, followed by the captain. it was so cold that i could feel my hands freezing, even with the gloves on...and once onboard the deck, the deck crew greeted me warmly and helped me with my luggage..i am at a loss of words to express the exact emotions i was going through then...a blend of happiness, sadness, wonder and...fear!!
A cabin was allotted to me, a pretty good one with an attached toilet, a cupboard, a bed, a small sofa, a table and a chair. it was 0830 hrs then..had my first breakfast onboard..i loved it!
Then it was time for meeting everyone onboard, especially my chief and second engineers..and a round of the huge machinery space of the tanker, where i would sweat out for a long tme..i am not going into the details of that now...!