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  Sunday 1st of January 2006 and I didn't forgot to write 2006 instead of 2005.  Before continuing I just want to remind you of those in need. I hope that you joined www.greenpeace.org and www.amnesty.org last year.
You still have the chance to join  Greenpeace and Amnesty now. They need every cent they can get. It's as simple as visiting their web pages and join. You only need your credit card number and expiry date. I did it and it took me 23 seconds.
We reached Islas Canarias on my night watch. We passed between Fuerteventura and Cap  Yubi in Morocco and I could hear Spanish Radio during the night.
But the music left more than a little to wish for. 3rd Engineer was up drinking tea on the bridge telling me all about the life in Hull and Newcastle. I told him about the Captain in Donsötank telling the Pilot on River Humber how hard it was with the time difference between England and the rest of Europe. - It's only one hour, the pilot said. - Yeah, but it's hundred years as well. I also told him some stories from County Hotel in Immingham, but I can't write those stories here. We have to think about them with parental filter in their web browsers. +++++++++++++++
Monday 2nd of January 2006 and the weather was good when I came on my morning watch. Sunshine and 18°C. I spent the afternoon on deck checking fire flaps. I also took a long walk before my shower. Our Steward had bought a new computer in Spain and he wanted me to copy all my pictures for him. I copied 500MB to my USB memory and I will give it to him at dinner.
Well, of course I forgot my USB memory when it was time for dinner. When I came to the mess room our 3rd Engineer was already eating. He kept me company when he was finished. - I keep you company with a cup of coffee, he said. He returned with a cup of tea. - Well, maybe we can make a man out of you, I said. After dinner I was off to my cabin and my web page. I had  also copied some music that I had to sort out, busy busy. Now I have been onboard for about 3 weeks and I  haven't opened my school books. I'm learning a language and I thought that I should have plenty time on the ship. But I have to wait until I became a Captain.
Then there is plenty time. Well, except for the Captain that needed 4 hours to write and send an e-mail. Then 12 hours are soon gone and you've been busy all day long. It was soon time for my night watch. I bring my iPod with all my MP3 music. Soon 6000 songs and  that's enough to last MC Aladdin a few hours. HEY! Did I tell you about the American guy in my school, yeah, I was in school before coming on this ship. I study a new language, well, anyway. We had lunch and we walked to the  cantina when he asked me:
- Are you an MC? - A what? I asked. - Yeah, you look like an MC. - What the hell is an MC? I asked. Well, he liked Hip Hop music, but he didn't know any of the “Old School” stuff, but he was pretty  impressed when I told him that I almost won the “Sverige's Tjockaste Hip Hoppare 2005 ” award.  I came in second, J “50-skylten” Andersson made a remarkable final spurt and won the prize. He's a real hardcore Hip Hopper now.
It's only Hip Hop music and Motherfåcker this and Motherfåcker that. His fingers are pointing in all strange directions. Second doesn't count, but I will give it a try 2006. I stole J “50-skylten” Andersson's  Ali G glasses so I'm in the lead position for the prize.
 Just after I got on my night watch our 3rd Engineer turned up for a cup of tea.
We talked about Ali G and I don't know how we got in to the subject salary. But when I  uploaded my web page in Spain I checked my bank account. No salary and I were so disappointed. This was not what I expected.
 Our 3rd Engineer called his bank and there were no salary on his account. 2nd of January and no salary, he was very disappointed. I told him that I had worked on “Flag of convenient” before and that I had always had my salary at the end of the month.
I told him that I should have asked when they get their salary in Germany. - Maybe they pay their bills and get their salary in the middle of the month in Germany. I had been a little worried about my  bank details. Captain has sent e-mails to the company asking if they had my bank details. But no answers.
No salary and I have not signed any contract.  Next thing is the stowaway treatment.
+++++++++++++++
Tuesday 3rd of January 2006 and we were just NW of Nouakchott when I came on my morning watch. Next time we're stopping in Nouakchott on the way to Rio De Janeiro. But this time we're
I had a nice morning watch with 23°C and a cooling wind from NE. Days like this we can work for free. Well, that's literally what I'm doing. I got e-mail from my bank today. - No money! This is exactly the things we don't want to worry about when on a ship in the middle of the
 paid even if we're in the middle of the Atlantic. We see tonight, our 3rd Engineer will POP by for a cup of  tea and he will call his bank to see if there has come any money to his account. We will reach Arquipélago de Cabo Verde in the evening so we have something to look at while drinking our tea. Captain will most likely POP by for a Diet drink. The more the merrier.
 Our Bosun working on deck
 The crew is busy on deck
 The crew is busy on deck
Our Chief Officer is on a “Kick a••” diet. He's only eating Müsli and water. I told our Cook that I  will join Chief Officer's diet tomorrow so only oatmeal and water for me and it's not necessary to cook for me.
I had been on the bridge for a few minutes on my night watch when our 3rd Engineer came. We were out of milk so he brought a packet of milk.  The evening tea on the bridge has really stroked our 3rd Engineer's fancy.
It's better to spend time on the bridge with virtuous people than sitting in the cabin alleviating your boredom by banging your head in the bulkhead until you fall asleep. It was a beautiful evening and the stars were out. 23°C and a cooling wind, and of course our tea tasted good.  Always tea and good music on the bridge
 Enjoying his tea while watching the stars
3rd Engineer had just left when Captain came up for a Diet Drink. This is good, we're retarding  the ships time on my watch so I'm on watch for 5 hours. All the visitors make the time turn a little faster.
We were talking about the good 'ol times and especially about Sweden. Our Captain always talked about Sweden. When he left the bridge I attended the log book. I was writing in the log book when the AB on my watch came sneaking up with a SNICKERS®. - Captain told me to give you this, he said.  - SABOTAGE!!!
This is exactly what I don't need. I will have a serious talk with him tomorrow. We're starting our diet tomorrow and SNICKERS® is the  last thing I need.
At 2251 I reached our WP SE of Arquipélago de Cabo Verde and I changed from course 210° to steer course 206° towards Capo De São Tome. The last hour of my watch went  pretty quick, we meet 2 ships and we were closing in on one ship on our starboard side. Not much traffic to write home about.
Well, actually, not much exciting to write about at all, but it's better than all the excitements back home. Senior citizens complaining about all the rowdyism and they don't dare go out. Yeah, Kalmar, Sweden 2005  My watchman
 Suddenly there was something to look at
The only disturbing element is the fact that I haven't received any salary, neither has our 3rd Engineer. We see, Captain will ask the company tomorrow about our salary. But now it's too late, all the bill should have been paid end of December. +++++++++++++++
Wednesday 4th of January 2006 and still nice weather. A steady wind from NE force 3-4 and some   grey clouds when I came on my morning watch.
When I came down for lunch there was oatmeal for me. I will have my dinner with Chief Officer on the bridge in  the evening. We have a plan:
 Instead of eating our oatmeal and müsli in the mess room with all the temptations (nutella®) we will eat an Oatmeal (Müsli) surprise on the bridge at 17:30 when I'm relieving him for dinner. We will  hopefully never have to see any nutella® again.
At 17:30 I went to the bridge with my oatmeal. Chief Officer made big eyes when I mixed my “Oatmeal Surprise”. - Do you use honey? He asked. - Only water and oatmeal, Sundays, maybe a little sugar, I said. He mixed his surprise and I must say that he looked more than a little sceptical.
Chief Officers first ever Oatmeal Surprise
But it was not only joy and bright prospects. Just when I was drinking my tea and eating my  Oatmeal Surprise while imagining myself slender like a Greyhound (No, not the famous bus) our Chief Officer came to the bridge with all his Christmas chocolate.
- The AB can eat it during his night watch, he said. - For fåck's sake! You don't know me! PLEASE! Hide the chocolate for me. I told him that the only place left for me to eat my oatmeal without temptations were the Fo’c’s’le. - I have to pitch my camp on the Fo’c’s’le and you have to send our Steward with a packet of oatmeal every now and then, I said. It was soon time to relieve Chief Officer on the bridge. I'm usually going to the bridge at 19:45 or 19:50 to have a chat with our Chief Officer. I also prepare my tea and my iPod. Our 2nd Mate has his, I don't know what to call it. But it's a  cassette adapter. You connect your CD player or MP3 player to the cassette and then you insert the cassette in the cassette player and push “PLAY”.
It's easier than tuning my Hip Hop transmitter for the iPod, especially when we're close to shore and there are plenty radio stations. But at the middle of the ocean there is no problem. +++++++++++++++
Thursday 5th of January 2006 and it started to rain on my morning watch. The weather was gloomy and grey, but no wind. Captain came for tea at 10 o'clock and we started to discuss sport. I told him that I tried to stay on the ship during all major sport events.
- It's too much at home. 24/7 with Olympic Games and all the other stuff. Captain mentioned the World Championship in Soccer in Germany the summer 2006. - German a•• will be kicked when the Swedish team arrives, I said. - No no, the Swedes will cry, he said. When I came for lunch I told our British Engineers that I heard the funniest thing today. - Someone told me that the German soccer team will kick a•• during the World Championship!  Our Steward had to come and pick up our Britons from the floor.
- The Swedes will get their a•• kicked! Captain said. - The only time I heard the word German mentioned in connection with soccer is together with Adidas, and I think that's Spanish now, I said. Our Steward asked if I wanted some potato pancakes, my favourite. - Can't you wait to ask me until the others have left the mess, I said. I'm on a diet and I'm not eating, but the Steward keeps asking me what I want to eat. I only wish he could wait until we were alone. In the afternoon it was time for a Videotel training course on video. The whole crew mustered in the officer's dayroom and we spent one hour in front of the video.  Watching video
 Watching video
 Watching video
 Watching video
After the video and I was off to the bridge and my oatmeal surprise. Chief Officer was mixing sugar in his oatmeal today. Maybe it tastes a little better.  Before going on my night watch I wrote a little on my web page. I thought about the “Sverige’s Tjockaste Hip Hoppare 2005 ” award. If I came in second, it's that's the same as winning the “Sverige’s näst Tjockaste Hip Hoppare 2005 ” award. I gave it a real thought, but I must say that I was disappointed. I had not received any award so I guess it's not the same.
I hope that Chief Officer's Christmas candy is gone when I come on my night watch. I put the rest of the candy in 2nd Officer's drawer during my morning watch and I hope that I never have to see the candy again. Our Brazilian schedule has been changed due to the delay. We got a telex during the afternoon with order to proceed straight to Itajai. I went to the bridge at 19:40 in it was crowded up there. 2nd officer eating chocolate and the AB on the 12-4 watch were visiting the bridge as well. Captain was on the phone so there were plenty people on the bridge. - What is this? Bridge watch level 5? I asked. I told Chief Officer that Captain told me that he thought I had lost 5 kg since joining the ship. Chief Officer burst out in laughter and 2nd Officer almost pissed his pants laughing.
- Maybe 1 or 2 kg, they said. Well, the T-shirt I was wearing fitted me nicely. When I came onboard, well, it was not too small but very tight if you understand what I mean. Now it fits me nice. +++++++++++++++
Friday 6th of January 2006 and the wind had changed direction. It was blowing from SSE and it  was gloomy and grey when I came on my morning watch.
But the sun was soon shining again and at the end of my watch it was nice weather.
Our Chief Officer don't give up on the oatmeal surprise, he really forced himself to eat the Oatmeal Surprise in the afternoon. And that's even though he add sugar. I asked him if  sugar didn't counteract on the “FAT TO FLAT” effect. Honey might be a better alternative.
Sugar is something we can add on Sundays to make it a wee bit more festive.  He doesn’t give up on the Oatmeal Surprise
 He doesn’t give up on the Oatmeal Surprise
 The Oatmeal Surprise is most likely not growing to be any favourite
 He really forced himself to eat Oatmeal Surprise
+++++++++++++++
Saturday 7th of January 2006 and, yeah, believe it or not. Its Christmas again. Our Ukrainian crew celebrates Christmas today. Darn, and we just managed to finish all the  Christmas candy from the REAL Christmas on the 24th.
When I came to the bridge for our evening oat our Chief Officer told me that he had forgot to bring oatmeal to the bridge. We ate the last oatmeal yesterday and he told me that he would bring more for today. Well, not even on aladdin.st you can trust everything. I took the picture of our Chief Officer eating the oatmeal yesterday. I had prepared the picture for today thinking that it will be oatmeal on the bridge, the usual procedure. - I will bring oatmeal when I'm coming back from the Christmas dinner, he said.  He came back 10 minutes later with a box filled with oatmeal packages and milk.
- This is the last oatmeal onboard, He will order more for next time taking provision, he said. Hmm, no more oatmeal before Jebel Ali, but we have the black bread. I will try to skip lunch as well from now on. Today I had a long lunch with 3rd Engineer. We didn't leave the table until 1 o'clock. I had several cups of tea and more than one nutella® sandwich.  Well, now I hope the Christmas is over, hmm, when do they celebrate New Year’s Eve in Ukraine? I will go and ask. I went down with my empty Diet drink cans at 18 thirty, we have a bin for metal garbage on 2nd poop deck. I passed our Engineer's cabin for a chat, the cabin was empty. I went down to our mess room to look for him. Christmas dinner in full swing. So I had to make some tea to keep them company. And I had a couple of nutella® sandwiches with my tea. I promised myself and our Steward that I will not come to the mess room any more. From now on its black bread on the bridge. I asked our Steward about the New Year, and yes, it's next Saturday. But I will have my New Year Dinner and lunch on the bridge. +++++++++++++++
Sunday 8th of January 2006 and I don't need to put any picture of Chief Officer eating oatmeal today. We seen it all yesterday and we save downloading time and space on my web hotel.  We're saving money!
It's going to be nice to arrive to Itajai on Tuesday. The crew are looking forward to the disco. Well, I wish I were 20 years old again. The crew only smiles when I ask them if they are going to disco. I hope I have time to go to internet cafe and check my e-mail. I will see if my previous company has sent my certificate were they certify the reason why I gave my own notice. But after 6 months and no answer from the company there is not much hope. I must call the Swedish Maritime Administration in Norrköping and ask for a copy of the report Veritas Tankers gave when all the narcotics onboard was taken and leaving Kaliningrad one man short.
- What! You don't think they reported that they left berth without Captain? - Of course they did, this is a serious company and they follow the law. No problem, I will get my certificate sooner or later. But it's interesting how this company think they can do as they want. Never mind for them if I lose 3000$. They don't bother replying on e-mail, they do as they please. They have no manners. Well, it's strange everything has to be done the hard way and I have to ask for a copy from the Swedish Maritime Administration in Norrköping. I will also buy a real tea cup. We remember the cup I bought in Kaliningrad with our  Motorman. We all remember that adventure.
I will try to find linseed on the super market. But no disco, I can just imagine coming onboard at 0530 and then going on watch. No, I have done all that already and at 22 I'm too old for that. But it's nice to have done it so I know how I would feel like if I would have done it. 
I got 10 GB of music of our 3rd engineer so I'm sure I will manage to keep myself busy. I think most of the 10GB will go to the recycle bin.  +++++++++++++++
Monday 9th of January 2006 and we passed Capo De São Tome when I came on my morning watch at 0800. At 1100 I could see land for the first time since passing Canary Islands. I could see Ilha do Cabo Frio on my starboard side. Today there were plenty traffic and fishing vessels on my watch. Good, I don't have to feel lonely.
After my watch I went with our 4th Engineer to start our Rescue boat motor. We also start the lifeboat engine and our emergency generator and emergency fire pump. We do this every Monday.  We start the MOB boat engine
 4th Engineer in the MOB boat
 We start the life boat engine
 We start the emergency generator
 Oil spil kit
 Oil spill kit conveniently carried in the pocket
 Assistant Electrician on deck
 2nd & 3rd Engineer
 Motorman
 3rd Engineer
 3rd Engineer
 3rd Engineer
 3rd & 4th Engineer
 2nd Engineer
 Relaxing in the work shop
 3rd Engineer relaxing in the work shop
When we were ready I went down in the engine room to watch all the “action” I heard about in the mess room. But I must have ended up in the wrong place, there were no action to see. I kept my self busy with 3rd Engineers music during the afternoon. MP3 is a good thing. When I was relieved by 2nd Officer yesterday I took my iPod and I told him: - Do you remember when we had to carry bags with cassettes to the ships? On this iPod, the size of a cassette I have music so we can play noon stop from Brazil to Jebel Ali (3 weeks) without listening to the same song twice. And the iPod is not even half full. I hope I'm ashore tomorrow afternoon uploading all this to the internet. We have ETA Itajai pilot midday tomorrow and I hope we can go straight to berth so I can go ashore. +++++++++++++++
Tuesday 10th of January 2006 and we were not far away from Itajai pilot station when I came on my morning watch. EOSP at 10:00 - POB at 11:01 - All fast at 11:58
When I spoke with the pilot station they wanted the pilot ladder on starboard side. But when the  pilot boat came they wanted the ladder on port side. There were some swell coming from behind. But finally at 11:01 our pilot was onboard safe. I had time to pester our Chief Engineer for drinking coffee while waiting for the pilot. ECR is located at the deck office on poop deck. So we see the Engineers all the time at stand-by. It's nice to crack a few jokes. Especially on board Pegasus where we have nice Engineers.
It's not like the Japanese VLCC I worked on with the ECR on the bridge. Duty Engineer came up stinking like a brewery and told me that he wanted to talk about safety. (I used to turn of the light in the ECR during the night time so I could see out from the bridge. The Engineer didn't like that) Well, anyway, he came on the bridge drunk and he wanted to talk about safety with me. - Get out of my face, Bozo! I said.  Engine department on deck looking at Brazil
 Waiting for the Pilot
 Chief Officer on the bridge
 Preparing the ropes on the fo'c's'le for arrival
 Itajai - Entrance to the river
 Itajai - Passing the breakwater
 Itajai - Getting our tugboat forward
 Itajai
 Itajai - Crew stand-by on the fo'c's'le
 Itajai - Crew stand-by on the fo'c's'le
 Itajai
 Itajai
 Itajai
 Itajai
 Itajai
 Itajai
 Itajai
 Arriving to Itajai
 Arriving to Itajai
We had to go up a river passing the city of Itajai to the container terminal. The terminal is a 5 minutes  walk from the city center. Very convenient.
There were 2 ships at the jetty when we arrived, container vessel MV Safmarine Cunene and MV Pipit Arrow from Nassau loading boards. MV Safmarine Cunene had arrived just 20 minutes before us. We were mooring with 2 spring lines and 3 head lines. We wanted 3 long head lines but the boatmen refused to shift our head lines. We also wanted 2 long spring lines, but we got 1 long and 1 breast line. It's  the rain season and during heavy rain there is a very strong current in the river. Sometimes it's necessary to have our main engine stand-by.
When we were ready at the Fo’c’s’le I went straight for my shower and I were off to the city. I went together with our Assistant Electrician. We waited for the AB on my watch, he was going ashore as well. But he never showed up, I think it was some misunderstanding due to the language barrier. If you understand me? While waiting our 2nd Officer waved good bye from the Fo’c’s’le and we were off just after 13:00. What do you call those time travel things? Time warp? It was like being back in the 70's in Sweden. I remember those old Scania and Volvo trucks. I haven’t seen them for at least 30 years. Here they were everywhere and in mint condition.  SCANIA 1115 in mint condition
 Alongside in Itajai
 Alongside in Itajai
On the way to the gate we meet the guy with the seaman's shop outside the gate. He's from Greece  but has lived in Itajai for many years.  Hmm, I wonder what makes you want to move to a place like Itajai? I refuse to think it's because of all the action and the FUNKY night clubs around here. 
We had a word with him and he handed us his name card. He was surprised when he heard that I  was from Sweden. He thought I was Russian. We continued to the city. We had things to see  and shop. Pictures had to be taken and all this before 18:00 when it was time to go on watch again. Our Assistant Electrician had to be onboard to connect reefer containers during loading.
We walked the town and I bought me a carpet for me cabin. I also bought me a tea cup. Our Assistant Electrician had been here before and he wanted to go to a shopping mall just outside city center. It was a 15 minutes’ walk and, yes, it was a big super market. There were a coffee shop as well and I bought a bottle of water. I had to borrow 100$ from the 3rd Engineer when I went ashore. We were changing Captain  in Itajai and he had closed the account when I asked for cash. But our 3rd Engineer had $. He wanted me to buy PRINGLES and deodorant for him, so I took the opportunity to do it in the super market.
We had been ashore for a few hours and we had not seen any beautiful girls at all. It's strange, otherwise after 1 month at sea all the girls are beautiful. But here they all looked like truck drivers with 2,1 meter between the back pockets. - What time it is? I asked Assist. Electrician. - 1410, he said. - OK, let’s synchronise our watches and let's see how many beautiful girls we seen after 1 hour, I said. After 1 hour our Assist. Electrician told me that he agreed with me. - Strange, no beautiful girls, he said. On the way back we stopped at an internet cafe and I uploaded my web page. We walked towards the  port and I spent my last Scooby Dollars on black “FITNESS” bread at a super market. At this supermarket we saw 2 possible 3 beautiful girls.
On the way back we stopped at our Greek friend and I saw that he had good shoes for sale. - If we're here tomorrow I will buy from you. Otherwise I come back next time, I said. We we're back onboard in good time for 18:00. At 18:35 we started loading and at 21:40 discharging were complete. When I got of my watch at midnight we were almost ready with the loading.  Coming back to Pegasus from the city of Itajai
 Coming back to Pegasus from the city of Itajai
 Coming back to Pegasus from the city of Itajai
 Coming back to Pegasus from the city of Itajai
+++++++++++++++
Wednesday 11th of January 2006 and I were called for at 01:30. Time for a stowaway search  before departure. Pilot was ordered for 0200.
Pilot came onboard at 02:16 and we left Itajai at 02:24 and I was off to my bed just after 3 o'clock. We have about 12 hours to Santos so all sleep is needed. After my morning watch I went straight to bed after some paper work and when I woke up we were anchored outside Santos. During the morning we received e-mail that pilot would board us at 1800. But now we were waiting for M/V MOL Miracle to be ready. ETD 2100, but as you know by now, shipping is an uncertain business so we never know.
Well, I was busy drinking tea and listen to our 3rd Engineers stories on my night watch. The time turned quick and it was soon 21:50 when Santos pilot called me on VHF ch 11. - Pilot will board you at 23:00@ buoy #1. We had our anchor up at 22:30, and as usually we had to wait. There were 1 ship before us and we didn't got our pilot until 23:35. +++++++++++++++
Thursday 12th of January 2006 and we had first line ashore at 00:18 and all fast at 00:30. We started to discharge with 3 cranes at 01:00.
At 03:30 we started to load and at 06:15 loading were complete and at 06:45 discharging were completed. Pilot onboard at 07:52 and we left Santos at 07:18. It was a sunny and nice day and I enjoyed the view when we passed Santos on the river. When we arrived yesterday we could hear music and plenty parties everywhere on both sides of the river. But today it was only noise from the traffic. We dropped our pilot at 07:45 and we were on the way towards Paranagua, ETA 15:30. It's not many hours between the ports and not much sleep. But we are still young and we can handle it. But I hope I can get a few hours of sleep in the afternoon.  Rio Estuario de Santos - Leaving Santos, Brazil
 Leaving Santos, Brazil
 Leaving Santos, Brazil
 Leaving Santos, Brazil
 Leaving Santos, Brazil
 Leaving Santos, Brazil
 Leaving Santos, Brazil
 Ship approaching the port of Santos, Brazil
 At this jetty there was music and party when we arrived
 We're out from the river Rio Estuario de Santos
 Santos Beach front and the Pilot boat waiting for us
 Santos Beach front from the Atlantic Ocean - Click HERE for bigger picture
 Ship arriving to Santos, Brazil
 Ship arriving to Santos, Brazil
 Some old wreck anchored outside Santos, Brazil
 Bosun on the fo'c's'le when we're leaving Santos, Brazil
 Captain with the ECDIS when we're leaving Santos, Brazil
 ABs washing the bridge after departure from Santos, Brazil
 ABs washing the bridge after departure from Santos, Brazil
 ABs washing the bridge after departure from Santos, Brazil
 2nd Officer making the noon report after departure from Santos, Brazil
I steered 202°(t) and at 09:55 I had I. Queimada Grande in bearing 333° and distance 7,1 NM. I changed course to 235°(t) and that was the course I kept when I was relieved by 2nd Officer at 12:00. It's always nice to be relieved and I was off to our mess room and our lunch. Soup and tea with 3rd Engineer and then a little paper work and sleep. When I relieved Chief Officer for dinner we were anchored. We had dropped our anchor at 15:45 and he told me that pilot would board us at 19:00. Good, about 20 hours along side and maybe I can go ashore to upload my web page tomorrow afternoon.  I spent the evening with my web page and a few cans of Diet drinks. At 19:45 they called for stations fore and aft. I don't know what time we had all fast in Paranagua, and I'm not going to run up to the bridge to check either. But it was around 20:30 and
 We got a new Chief Engineer today and our 3rd Engineer is happy. They are both from Hull so they will have a lot to talk about. 3rd Engineer knows that I'm not impressed by Hull. I told him the story about last time we discharged timber in Hull and everything closed at 23:00.
The TAXI driver took us to a place that turned out to be a whorehouse. It was on the second floor in a mangy house. Well, the girls could not have turned us on even if we had  spent the last 15 years on Alcatraz.
To make a long story short: We left for the ship before very very quickly. +++++++++++++++
Friday 13th of January 2006 and cargo operation were in full swing when I came on my morning watch. They had used 1 crane during the night and when they resumed work again at 06:40  after 1 hour brake, they used 2 cranes.
We completed cargo operation at 12:35 and we left Paranagua 13:18. I was in bed just after 14:00 and I woke up at 16:30, just in time for a Diet drink. I have found a picture of MV Pegasus when she was new on the ships computer (b4 the hard drive seized) and I put it on my web page so you can see a container ship hauling a••. When I came to the mess room after relieving Chief Officer for dinner I could see that our 3rd Engineer and the new Chief Engineer hadn't eating their dinner. I called 3rd Engineer. - Yo!! Where are you? - We're coming in a jiff! After dinner I did my laundry and I went to the 3rd Engineers cabin to finish the tube of PRINGLES I started the other day with our 3rd Engineer's cabin. Chief Engineer and 3rd Engineer were sitting there talking about the good old days. And I? I finished the tube of Pringles, and well, at least I'm better prepared for the “Sverige’s Tjockaste Hip Hoppare ” award next year. Now I understand all the words like “Chilling ” and “Lounging ”. Comes in handy when it times to compete for the “Sverige’s Tjockaste Hip Hoppare ” award.
 Engineers relaxing like only Engineers know how to do
We had received e-mail that they expected us to get pilot at 17:00 tomorrow and estimated time for departure was 00:00 15th of January 2006. Well, midnight is a good time to leave. We will make 128 lifts in Rio Grande, we're discharging 6 containers so that means that we're loading 122 containers. +++++++++++++++
Saturday 14th of January 2006 and it was very nice weather when I came on my morning watch. No
I spent the morning preparing TELEX for the Danish Metrological Institute. They will advise us on our route when passing the Atlantic and Indian Ocean on the way to Jebel Ali. So they need our intended route and estimated speed and time for departure from Rio Grande. After lunch I prepared some pictures with our Fireman's outfits for Captain to send to the company. We ordered new outfits  after our last fire drill. I showed some pictures of Fireman's outfit on Swedish ships and Captain wanted some of those pictures to send to the company.
I managed to get 1 hour of sleep in the afternoon as well. I really hope that we will leave Rio Grande at midnight, but you never know. We had to wait a little for the pilot at arrival to Rio Grande pilot station. He boarded us around 18:00 and we had all fast around 7 o'clock and we started cargo operation at 19:15. They had changed the loading plan and we were only loading 75 containers. They expected us to be ready at 22:30 - 23:00. Good news for me  Loading containers in Rio Grande, Brazil
 Loading containers in Rio Grande, Brazil
 Loading containers in Rio Grande, Brazil
 Loading containers in Rio Grande, Brazil
 Loading containers in Rio Grande, Brazil
 Loading containers in Rio Grande, Brazil
 Loading containers in Rio Grande, Brazil
 A container's way from the truck to the cargo hold
 Our Steward is the gangway watch
 Cargo holds are full and we lift onboard the hatches
 Cargo holds are full and we lift onboard the hatches
 Cargo holds are full and we lift onboard the hatches
 Cargo holds are full and we lift onboard the hatches
 Cargo holds are full and we lift onboard the hatches
 Cargo holds are full and we lift onboard the hatches
 Now we can soon start loading containers on top of the hatches
 Assistant Electrician can start to connect the reefer containers
Assistant Electrician can start to connect the reefer containers
 Loading reefer containers on deck and Assistant Electrician connect them to power
 Loading reefer containers on deck and Assistant Electrician connect them to power
 More reefer containers coming on board in Rio Grande, Brazil
 Assistant Electrician stand-by to connect the reefer containers
 Assistant Electrician climbing up and down to connect reefer containers
 Assistant Electrician busy connecting reefer container to the ships power supply
 Chief Officer enjoying a Diet Drink
At 22:30 we had discharged 7 containers and loaded 75 containers and we left Rio Grande at 23:06. We have about 18 days to Jebel Ali. +++++++++++++++
Sunday 15th of January 2006 and we had very nice weather when I came on my morning watch. Head wind, but only force 2. At 11 o'clock the wind increased and turned to an NW'ly wind and at 12 it was blowing force 5 from the North. Our Bosun was on deck checking our lashings. I was enjoying my tea while taking pictures of him working on deck.
A little later I had our Assistant Electrician climbing around in the mast putting up a wire for Captain's radio. So there was action all watch long and the time passed quickly.  Bosun on deck checking lashings
 Bosun on deck checking lashings
 Assistant Electrician busy putting up a radio antena
 Assistant Electrician busy putting up a radio antenna
 Assistant Electrician busy putting up a radio antenna
 Assistant Electrician busy putting up a radio antenna
 Assistant Electrician busy putting up a radio antenna
We had to change our route to South Africa as well. We buy advice on which route to use when passing the oceans from the Danish Metrological Institute. I think its Maersk paying the bill. We had received advice from the Danish Metrological Institute to proceed on rumb line from Rio Grande pilot to 35°S/35°W and then with great circle navigation to off Cape Agulhas and shortest way via Mozambique Channel to Jebel Ali. Now they changed it to great circle to a position just North of Tristan Da Cunha Group and then great circle navigation to a position 37°S/20°E of Cape Agulhas to avoid some gale. I got a few hours of sleep during the afternoon and when Chief Officer came back from dinner he told me that 3rd Engineer were eating nutella. I was in my cabin in 2 steps and I got my camera. Then I ran down to the mess room. But the only one I caught eating nutella was the 2nd Officer.
nutella/div>
 2nd Officer gorge himself on nutella
 2nd Officer gorge himself on nutella
 nutella
 3rd Engineer, I just missed him aving his nutella
 3rd Engineer coming from the slop chest with beer and chocolate
 3rd Engineer coming from the slop chest with beer and chocolate Chief Officer was happy as usually when I came to relieve him at 20:00. I had a nice watch with 2 pots of tea and our 3rd Engineer popping by for some coffee +++++++++++++++
Monday 16th of January 2006 and it was nice weather when I came on my morning watch. Some swell from various directions and it was blowing a force 4 from NNE.
After my watch I did our Monday routine with the 4th Engineer. I watched him starting  rescue boat motor and then the lifeboat engine.
I did some paper work during the afternoon. I didn't want to go to bed because we will advance ship time by 1 hour on my watch tonight. So my watch will be 1 hour shorter. My night watch went pretty quick. 3rd Engineer drinking tea and at 21:00 the clock became 22:00 and it was soon midnight. After my watch I went down to my cabin and my web page. I will write a few words and then I will try to sleep. Believe it or not, but I like it better when we retard the ships time. - Yeah, I know. It sounds strange but I will try to explain. Hang on! - This will go quick, so be alert! I have written about the time zones on my web ship so I just copy it over here. I think most of you know about the different time zones, but if there is anyone that don't know
Noon solar time it's the time for meridian passage of the sun. That's the time when the sun is highest on the sky. You see the sun rise in the East and it rises until it's on the top 12:00, midday. Then it sinks and sets in the West. On the ship we check the meridian passage with a sextant. I measure the height between the horizon and the sun with my sextant and it's easy to see when the sun starts to sink. Hmm, why do we check the time for meridian passage on a ship? It's easy to see on what longitude we're on with the meridian passage. Well, we're not doing it today with GPS, but its fun to know how to do it. Meridian passage is not exactly 12:00, you can see the time for meridian passage in the nautical almanac. Sometimes it’s 11:54 and sometimes its 12:13. But here we say 12:00 just to make it easier. Meridian passage is midday solar time. In this example our nimble Deck Officer “Captain Swell”  is going to show us how to do this. It's UTC time onboard and “Captain Swell” has consulted the nautical almanac well in advance and he knows that the meridian passage is at 12:00.
But where are “Captain Swell”? He checks the sun with his sextant and at 11:03 the sun is still rising. At 11:11 it's still rising. This is getting exciting, don't wet your pants.  World map with the different time zones
I think everyone has seen a map like this before
At 11:25 it still rising and at 11:37 “Captain Swell” measures the height and now the sun starts to sink again. He's lucky, even minutes and no seconds. He can do this calculation in his head. 4 minutes is 1° and thus is 1 minute on the clock 15 minutes on the longitude scale. Meridian passage was 23 minutes before 12:00 so “Captain Swell” must be 5° 45' East of Greenwich. “Captain Swell” is a real prankster. In this example he has not changed ships time. So he still have Solar Mean time for Skåne onboard. So in this example the meridian passage at longitude 005° 45' will be 12:37. Now the meridian passage is 37 minutes after 12:00. And now the quick-witted Deck Officer calculate this in the head and find out that 37 minutes is the same as 9° 15'. Ships time is East  015° and meridian passage after 12:00 means west of 015°
East 15° - 9° 15' = East 005° 45' I think you start to understand this by now. I'm not sure I understand it anymore after all those examples above. If he have the height of the sun he can find his latitude as well, but that has nothing to  do with our time zones. But there are plenty books on the subject if you want to become absorbed in astronomical navigation.
The Greenwich time zone is centred on the 0° meridian and as mentioned above 15°, is 1 hour. So it's noon UTC between West 7,5° and East7,5°. But it's only noon (solar time) at 0°, at West 7,5° it's 11:30 because the sun pass the meridian West 7,5° 30 minutes later. At East 7,5° it's 12:30 because the sun passed 30 minutes before reaching
OK, I mentioned that 360° is 24 hours and thus is 15° 1 hour. It takes 1 hour for the sun to pass between East 15° and the Greenwich meridian. Well, it's not the sun passing, it's the globe rotating around its axis. Never mind that now. So if I stand on the 0° meridian (looking south) and Mr. X stands 463m left of me. Well, that is then east of me. Mr. Y stands 463m to the right of me. We have 2 watches each, 1 are showing solar time and 1 is showing mean solar time. At 12:00 solar time the sun passes Mr. X and my solar time watch shows 11:59:59 where I stand. All 3 solar mean time watches are showing 11:59:59. 1 second later the sun passes me and my solar time is 12:00:00 and all 3 watches with mean solar time show 12:00. After 1 more second Mr. Y's solar time watch shows 12:00 and my watch show 12:00:01 and Mr. X East of me has a solar time of 12:00:02. All 3 watches show 12:00:01. Like this wasn't enough I have to give you one more example. Well, we can send home Mr. Y and I bring Mr. X to the north of Sweden and the border between Finland and Sweden. Sweden have Solar Mean Time 15° East and Finland have Solar Mean Time 30° East. Still 463 meter between us, but Mr. X is on the Finish side of the border. At 12:00 solar time the sun passes him and my solar time is 11:59:59 and my solar mean time is 11:00. His solar mean time is 12:00 and its 10:00 UTC.  - Puh hvor er jeg træt! Where do I find the time and energy to write all this bull?
- Now it's east & west solar and mean time here and there. I can't keep track any more. So the sun moves over the globe with about 463m/second (at the equator, 1 longitude minute = 1852m and that's 4 seconds) and that makes it about 1666,8km/h. So if we can fly 2000km/h with a concord we beat the sun.  I don't know, but if we left Paris at 12.00 and landed in New York at 10:00 we beat the time with 2 hours. If we fly even longer we will beat the time with 4 hours.  Hmm, if I could fly 1 billion times around the globe, would that mean that I could come back as a 22 year old to Paris?
 - I mean, HEY! That would be something.
Where is the beer belly and baldness gone? On this flight you don't have to worry about reclaiming you luggage. Just as an extra precaution you tag you bag with wrong name and address.  - CAN MR. BOND COME AND PICK UP HIS LUGGAGE AT BELT 11!!!!
 - Oh yeah, I care about that baggage.
- Don't bother store it in the lost luggage store. I will never come back for it. Yeah, I wish. But now I hope you know a little about the time zones and why we have to change the time onboard. Believe it or not, we had a Captain that didn't know about this stuff. When I signed  on he told me that he was running the show and that he was the Captain.
- Yeah yeah, sit down and have a cookie! Well, we left and after a few days I told our Chief Engineer that I suspected that our Captain didn't knew about the different time zones. Sunrise at lunch and he was running around looking at the sky: - WHAT THE H••L IS HAPPENING AROUND HERE? - Where is the sun? Is the world coming to an end? 
Chief Engineer and I were screaming and crying in laughter.
 Well, Captain was running the ship, but the day before arrival Chief Engineer change the clock in the mess room and now it was 8 o'clock in the morning and the sun came up in the east. Captain looked at his watch and at the watch in the mess room. Then he looked at the sun coming up. He never asked where the lunch was.
I know you're disappointed, I would love to write more about it, but I can't explain it to you in a good way. But now I can explain why I don't like to advance the time. We advance the time on my night watch and at 21:00 the ship times become 22:00 and my watch is only 3 hours long. I go of my watch at 24:00 but for me it's still 23:00 and I cannot sleep until 01:00 and that's 2 o'clock the new ships time. At 08:00 they call me for watch and for me it's still 07:00. I'm tired and I'm morose and sullen when I'm coming for my watch.
Retarding the time is another story. At 21:00 the time become 20:00 again and I have to do a 5 hours watch. At 24:00 it's still 1 o'clock for me and I'm tired. I fall asleep and I sleep until 8 o'clock when they call me for my watch. When they call me at 8 it's still 9 o'clock for me and I have slept 8 hours and I'm beaming of joy when I'm coming for my morning watch.
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Tuesday 17th of January 2006 and the days goes by without very much exciting happening. It's not very nice weather so I have not been on deck walking today. I spent the evening with 3rd Engineer, I finally managed to catch him in his favourite position with my camera.
 3rd Engineer enjoying himself in his cabin
 3rd Engineer enjoying himself in his cabin
We talked about this and that and before soon it was time to go for my night watch. We drank tea and listened to music. I don't know if our 3rd Engineer were impressed by my French Hip Hop. But I will give it a new try tomorrow again. +++++++++++++++
Wednesday 18th of January 2006 and it was gloomy and grey weather when I came on my morning  watch. A drizzle every now and then didn't made it better.
But it's 20°C so no need to freeze. I spent the afternoon weighting fire extinguishers. I found 2 extinguishers with missing seals and I need to weight them before putting a new seal on them. They are 5 kg CO2 and the bottle is 9,5 kg. If they are full they will weight 14,5kg. Then I can put a new seal. If they are less than14,5 kg they need to be refilled before putting a new seal. Before my night watch I had an emergency meeting with our 3rd Engineer in his cabin. When I should  weight our CO2 extinguishers I first looked for a scale outside our meat store. There was an electrical scale and by accident I happened to end up on the scale. I got a shock, this was not was I had expected.
Hmm, I told you so, this darn nutella®!!! From now on our 3rd engineer will go to the mess room and hide all the nutella® before I arrives. First I wanted to skip the mess room and just eat my “Fitness” bread on the bridge. But we agree on the “hide the nutella®;” method instead. We will try it out and then I will reconsider the “skip the mess room diet” instead. The rest of the evening I spent with agony drinking tea on the bridge. The first hours of my watch I watched the drizzle and at the end of my watch I thought the sky was looking a little brighter. I hope it will be nice tomorrow morning when we pass Tristan da Cunha on my morning watch.  2nd Officer and Steward in the mess room
 nutella
 “SPY CAM” picture of our 3rd Engineer
 “SPY CAM” picture of our 3rd Engineer
When I was relieved by 2nd Officer at midnight he asked if I could take a picture of him with Tristan da Cunha in the back when we were passing tomorrow. - Of course, if the weather is nice, I said. - And if you promises that you never bring nutella® to the bridge again, I said. +++++++++++++++
Thursday 19th of January 2006 and the weather was gloomy and grey when I came on my morning watch. Not good, we had about 3 hours to go before passing the Tristan da Cunha. We want nice  weather when we pass the island. I had been on my watch for a while when our Steward came with cookies and biscuits.
- Hey Hey! Take that down again, I said. Every time I open a drawer on the bridge is the same story. 2nd  Officer has left a jar of nutella® that hit me in the face.
- HEY! You're talking to me!!? Be careful or I go get a spoon and you're V-shaped torso is history! 
I kick some nutella® behind and I jettison the empty jar. Well, obviously my friendly approach isn't working.  I have to have a serious talk with our Steward and 2nd Officer about leaving nutella® and chocolate cookies around.
I know how, well, I don't know how it feels to be an alcoholic, but I can imagine. - There is a case of beer in the slop chest. I must drink it. Every time you pass the slop chest you're hit in the head by a bottle of vodka. Then it's easier to be  attacked by a chocolate cookie.
- What the h...!!?? Come here you little .....! I will get you! 
We approached Tristan da Cunha at 1030 and Captain came to the bridge. We had been excited for a few days to see the island and we  were more than a little disappointed with the weather.
The island was covered in white clouds and we could see the black clouds covering the top. It looked very strange and if we didn't know about the island we would just have thought that it was a strange cloud formation. Well, we took a few pictures of the clouds and we went back to our tea. - A disappointment, Captain said. - No, this was good. We have seen many islands before but we have never seen this cloud formation before. Next time the old salty sailor tells us about this cloud formation we know what they talk about, I said.  Tristan Da Cunha
But we can discern the island covered in white clouds and the top being surrounded by the grey clouds.
 Tristan Da Cunha
But we can discern the island covered in white clouds and the top being surrounded by the grey clouds.
 Tristan Da Cunha
But we can discern the island covered in white clouds and the top being surrounded by the grey clouds.
We changed course to 082° and we steered towards Cape Agulhas and South Africa. I opened a  Diet Drink and I could see the sky open up in the east and when I got of my watch I could see light blue sky in the east. But it was still black sky in the east.
According to Africa Pilot “Mariners are advised to consult the islanders concerning the weather as
Sounds a little like when the police in Sweden were chasing our Prime minister's killer. A murderer was on the loose and with all the attention the case got from the media, extraordinary methods were called for. There were rumours about a guy that could see things in coffee grounds. Predicting the weather was nothing for him, he did it while sleeping. Easy peacy pancake! Our proud police force opened the tap and out came freshly paid tax money. - Is Aladdin working and paying tax? - He's on 50% so just brim the bucket! - Any drunken Captains home enjoying the summer on sick leave? - No, it's just to fill it up! - What about the hospitals? Is there anything we can cut back on there? - No, the service is next to nothing! - DARN!! - Just pour! Brim the bucket, we can always close an emergency ward or two! - Good! The bucket is almost full now! What about the schools? - Yeah, the kids can use the same school books for a few years more. - But then the workers at the printing house will be redundant! The have to be on welfare! - Never mind, that next month’s budget. They will never be able to track it back to us. They take the bucket full of tax money and they disappear with screaming and smoking   tires to the airport. Now the best agents that could be found in Sweden were flying to Malmö to see this to say, at least extraordinary man.
The only thing they left behind at the headquarter was the smell of gun smoke. They meet the man and he was looking in his coffee grounds and he threw a deck of playing cards on the floor. - Mr. X is the man you're looking for! Our proud police force could not believe their luck. With a minimum of efforts they have managed to catch the #1 wanted killer and the streets were safe to walk again. Not surprisingly Mr. X turned out to be our seer's concurrent at the marketplace. He had a stall next to our soothsayer and he was 2 cents cheaper on the potatoes. Believe it or no, this was back in the 80's and not during the 17th century when they chased witches. A proud chapter in the history of the Swedish police force. And yeah, it's also a proud  moment for Sweden and the King have a wee something to bring up in his “Talk to the nation” every New Years Eve.
I think it's a shame how they waste our tax money. Before leaving for this ship I read in the newspaper that they will give 20 million to a Tsunami warning system in Thailand. What the BIP! Have they been to Thailand? They have for sure enough money in Thailand. How many Swedish workers should work and pay tax to get this 20 millions? They said on the radio that they will make it easier for relatives to immigrants to immigrate to Sweden. - They are old and cannot work. But it will ONLY cost us 100 Million to support them. It's not that it cost us 100 million, its ONLY 100 millions. Well, you get sick when you hear stuff like that. Who will pay? Yeah-yeah, for sure all the poor Swedish senior citizen that don't have any pension after living a full life in Sweden paying tax. They will for sure be happy to heat that it's just 100 millions. I can imagine that all the libraries, museums and youth recreation centres etc without funds are very pleased to hear that it's only 100 millions.  +++++++++++++++
Friday 20th of January 2006 and we held a fire drill during the afternoon. At 16:00 the alarm went off and we mustered at the muster station. All crew present. Fire in 4th Engineers cabin and we sent 2 smoke divers with a fire hose to extinguish the fire. After the drill we meet at the deck office and we talked about fire extinguishers and other techniques to fight fire.
I relieved Chief Officer on the bridge so he could go for his dinner. When Chief Officer came back from dinner he asked me to open my hand. He filled up my hand with candy. - HEY! What have I told you about my diet? I was asked if I needed anything from the slop chest. I said no, but when I came to dinner the sale was in full swing. I bought shaving cream and moisture cream. This I could carry in my hands while my pockets were full of SNICKERS® and Ritter® SPORT White Whole Hazelnuts. No one could see my chocolate or peanuts.
I could as well go back to my cabin minding my own business when they screamed after me. - Your back pockets are full of peanuts! And hey! What's that in your front pockets? I fled the scene. But you, as a frequent visitor to www.aladdin.st know that 5 hazelnuts a day will only do you good. You probably won’t believe me, but I left the chocolate and peanuts in 3rd Engineers cabin. Yeah, agony stroke after 1 SNICKERS® and I sneaked in to his cabin and left the stuff on his desk. During the night watch I listened to Radio Sweden, thanks to the Marine Manager at INTERTANKO in London for that. In Sweden it's 30 or 40° below zero. - Hey! Mr. Chief Engineer can you please crank up the A/C a notch. +++++++++++++++
Saturday 21st of January 2006 and the sky were blue when I came on my morning watch. I started by making myself some tea.
Later on I went down to my cabin to get some Diet Drinks (still no sponsor money as you can see). - That will last you until Jebel Ali, Captain said. - No, no. Tonight we have to fill up the refrigerator again, I said. Well, I spent the evening in 3rd Engineers cabin, and you guessed it. I finished all the chocolate that I had left there yesterday. Tonight we advance ships time 1 hour again. We passed the Greenwich meridian early this morning and now we have to write East before the longitude. I didn't write West any time by mistake during my morning watch. Otherwise it's like with the new years. You always write the wrong year or latitude the first couple of times. But hey! Don't ask me to explain the time zones again. +++++++++++++++
Sunday 22nd of January 2006 and it was bright sunshine when I came on my morning watch. The wind and swell had changed so we got it all from behind. The swell made us roll easy, about 5° to each side. After my first 2 pots of tea I called me darling  on the phone. After our call
 yesterday I was in a very good mood and now it's only just a little more than 2 months until I will sign off. This will go quick.
I spent the evening waiting for my night watch in 3rd Engineers cabin, and no, I didn't eat the peanuts. During my night watch we could see fishing boats and some other traffic. Just after 22:00 we could see lights from South Africa and we could listen to South African radio. At Cape Agulhas we changed from AOR E (Atlantic Ocean Region East) to IOR (Indian Ocean Region) on our satellite C receiver so we can get weather, navigational warnings and other important stuff for Indian Ocean. +++++++++++++++
Monday 23rd of January 2006 and by now you know what we're doing on Mondays. Yes, we start lifeboat, rescue boat, emergency generator and emergency fire pump.
It was a beautiful day with no wind, but the vessel rolled up to 10°, to each side due to 3-4 meters swell from SW. But otherwise 21-22° and sunshine. I saw a big whale coming on our port side. I called Chief Engineer but when he came on deck the whale were gone. Later on a saw a seal or a sea lion swimming and enjoying the weather. I like watching all the animals swimming by. Most of the people on the ships like to watch the whales and dolphins and stuff. But I don't understand those throwing garbage overboard and then tells me that they like to fish and watch sharks and other fishes. I try to explain about the fishes and garbage but they don't understand. I was on one ship and we passed Fredrikshamn, Denmark and I was looking back in the wake of the ship. - What the BIP! 
It looked like a garbage dump with boxes and plastic bags. I called the Captain and he relieved me and I was on deck in 2 steps. - Who the h••• was throwing the garbage in the sea.
Well, no one was guilty. But I found out who it was and I explained that he was not home on the farm now. It's absolutely forbidden to throw anything in the sea. Well, anyway, we will advance our ship time 1 hour tonight again and I have only a 3 hours watch tonight. +++++++++++++++
Tuesday 24th of January 2006 and today I brought my camera for my morning watch. I was hoping  to catch sight of whales again. The first thing I caught sight of was the nice weather. No wind and sunshine. Swell, about 2 meters in height. The second thing I caught sight of was Chief Officer and Captain at the chart table.
I wished I had brought my camera the other morning. There would have been a  fun picture of our Captain caught sight of my “Oatmeal Surprise ®”. Obviously the first time he had seen a “Oatmeal Surprise ®”. I arrived to my morning watch and I prepared my tea and I mixed a “Oatmeal Surprise ®” and I went to the chart table where Captain and Chief Officer had a chat. I put down my “Oatmeal Surprise ®” and cracked a few jokes with the guys.
When Captain and Chief Officer went down for breakfast Captain passed my “Oatmeal Surprise ®”. He gave my “Oatmeal Surprise ®” a quick glance and then he looked for a second time with saucer eyes. This wa something he had never seen before.  - What the BIP is that?!!
Well, a “Oatmeal Surprise ®” can be either a enjoyment or a chock. My watch went on and no sight of any whales. At 09:20 I took a picture of a passing container ship with South Africa in the back. But no whales.  A container ship passing Dakane, South Africa
Hmm, after the excitement with the container ship I checked our radio again. I checked all the stations and on the English speaking channel the cricket game was still going on. As one man said to me in Australia: - The game has been going on for 2 weeks and nothing has happened. I choose a station with Indian music, pretty good stuff. If I have the chance I will go ashore  in Dubai and buy some CDs with Indian music. I saw 2 small whales, but too far away for pictures.
The only exciting happening where that our Assistant Electrician came to the bridge with a AA battery for our Barograph. We talked about whales and I told him the story when I saw the hammer head shark. He wasn't very impressed by my story. - I saw one swimming next to us at Durban anchorage, he said. What the ....? My shark story doesn't seem to be attracting any attention. Maybe I have to catch sight of a swimming giraffe to make a stir. Well, still no whales and the only thing around to take picture of was the Assistant changing tubes in the electric fittings. While our Assistant Electrician worked with our light assisted by me I could see a whale  on our port side. I called Chief Engineer and we were lucky. Just when we passed the whale it dived and we could se the whale showing the fin. Like the whale on the Greenpeace picture.
I had called Captain, but when he came the whale were gone. But it was soon time again. I called Captain and we could see a small whale passing us on the port side. It was a small whale, but no fin this time.  Whale outside South Africa
Well, now there are 13 on a dozen of these whale pictures, it's like the hammer head shark, every one has seen one. But I had to take the picture because otherwise it had been a waste of time and efforts to bring the camera to the bridge. At 10:30 I reached South Sand Bluff and I changed from course 044° to 046° towards Mozambique Channel and the Arabian Sea. Leaving Africa, GSM network and FM radio behind. I have my iPod so no worries. I was relieved at 12:00 and we talked about sharks and stuff. 2nd Officer told me that he had seen a hammerhead outside Madagascar. Where is the Giraffe? I need it now! Well, as we say in Sweden: “Det är alltid nån som har sin gottepåse kvar när du ätit upp din ”  3rd Engineer eating soup
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Wednesday 25th of January 2006 and it was nice weather when I came on my morning watch. We were  approaching the Mozambique Channel.
I didn't forget my camera today, but I could not see any sharks. I tried to take pictures of flying fishes, but when I was stand-by with my camera there were no flying fishes to see. Our 3rd Engineer called me and asked if we had any old charts. - If you bring some milk I will find some charts, I said. I found 3 charts for him and he came with a package of milk. I got the milk and I just had to ask: - What ship chandler are they using? They must try to fåck us over, all the milk packages are almost empty. Well, at 11:47 I reached a position 120 NM South of Pta Zavora and 185 NM East of Maputo and it was time to change course. I changed from 046° to 030° and we entered the Mozambique Channel Well, it's not like entering the English Channel or something like that. Its 475 NM ≈ 880 KM between Pta Zavora in Mozambique and Cap  Andriamanoa on Madagascar. So there are plenty room for
Well, it was soon 12 o'clock and it was time for lunch. I poured a cup of tea and when I asked our Steward for milk he gave me a full and unopened package. What the ...? This is the first time I see a full package of milk since I joined the ship. in Jebel Ali 2 months ago. There is always a little something happening that make a tedious day a little more exciting and enjoyable.  And I hope we can see some sharks while passing the Mozambique Channel. At Île Europa there should be numerous sharks. If no sharks I hope I can get a picture of a flying fish tomorrow. Well, we have seen flying fish before at www.aladdin.st, but this was a dead fish we found on deck. I want a little action on my picture.
 3rd Engineer on the bridge to get old charts
 3rd Engineer on the bridge to get old charts
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Thursday 26th of January 2006 and the sea was like an mirror when I came on my morning watch.
I brought my camera to the bridge just in case that I should see any sharks. No sharks but a  few flying fishes and I shoot a few pictures from my hip. And I managed to catch a fish with my camera. Well, we seen flying fishes before at www.aladdin.st, but that was a dead one that we found on deck.
Well, I must admit that this  latest pictures of a flying fish can be anything. A flying dog poop, but you just have to take my word for it. On the last picture we can see the fish propelling it up again when it sinks back to the surface.
I have never seen a fish flying this far before. That's why I managed to catch a picture of it. It flew a couple of hundred meters with several consecutive glides. I had time to take several pictures and I was lucky on 2 of them. The rest of the pictures were only water.  Working on deck
 Working on deck
Otherwise there wasn't very much exciting happening during my watch. I drank my tea and listened to music while on sharp look out for sharks. It would be nice to get a nice picture of a 5  meters hammerhead shark.
I was not very impressed by the flying “Dog poop” but it was better than nothing. The watch was soon over and I was down for some soup. Our cook makes soup every day and they are all good, except for the one he makes with egg in it. We're approaching the coast of Somalia. We keep a course to steer clear from the coats by more than 200 NM. Off Somalia there are plenty pirate attacks and a distance of more than 200 miles are recommended. At 18:00 we meet in the Officers dayroom to talk about piracy. Information about alcohol and porno in the gulf states were also given. Especially in Dammam, Saudi Arabia they will fine us if the find beer in the cabins.  We also watched a Videotel about “Waste & Garbage Management”. 
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Friday 27th of January 2006 and the weather was gloomy and grey when I came on my morning  watch. It soon started to rain and the visibility was not that good. Thunder and  lightning. But the rain was soon over and it got a little lighter. I enjoyed my tea and rayed bread. The time turned pretty quick and it was soon time to go for lunch.
We will pass the Comores around 15:00 in the afternoon and then we're out of the Mozambique Channel. We're still keeping course 030° and when we reach a position South of Anjouan we will change
Well, I came down to the deck office to do a paper on the computer. I passed through our Chief Engineer's office, and our Chief Engineer keep himself busy with his file. So the bridge is not the only place to find action on a ship. We receives warnings about piracy via SAT-C. We received one TELEX today about piracy and I placing it on the web for all of you to see. 
I hope you note the UTC and LT (Local time) mentioned after the times in the TELEX. Now you should know what all that is about.  Chief Engineer busy in his cabin
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Saturday 28th of January 2006 and I was tired when they called me for my morning watch. We advanced ships time by 1 hour yesterday so it was actually 0640 when they called me.
It was nice weather and I enjoyed my watch  with tea and music. But it will be nice to arrive to Jebel Ali now, this is getting boring. Nothing exciting is happening and no sharks or Flippers. Today I saw a few flying fishes and seagulls that were trying to catch them. Or maybe they tried to catch something else.
 Well, anyway, I will continue to bring my camera to the bridge, so keep an eye out  for  updates and exciting pictures on www.aladdin.st.
 I'm, of to my shower. I just came back from my constitutional on deck. So I just relaxed with a cold Diet Drink (No sponsor deal yet) while writing a few words on my web page. But now I'm off to my shower and then I will go to the bridge for my night watch.
3rd engineer spent most of the night on the bridge drinking tea so my watch went pretty quick. Before I went down from my watch I opened a package of crackers. Hmm, now I know why they call it a cracker. It really cracks and you have crumbs all over the bridge, well, never mind that. I was in an emergency meeting with myself. How to get on with my diet? I decided to abandon my friendly and humble manner and from now on it will be an a•• kicking diet.
- Where are the crackers? - Aladdin ate them!! - Where are the cookies? - Aladdin ate them!! - Where are the chocolate? - Aladdin ate it all!! - Yeah, it's about time you learn! I will continue eat all the cookies until you learn to hide them for me! From now on I hope they will hide the stuff from me on the bridge and I will be stuck with my rye bread. I hope I can find some flaxseed in Dubai. +++++++++++++++
Sunday 29th of January 2006 and the wind had increased to a force 4, headwind, when I came on  my morning watch. We received 3 DISTRESS messages from JRCC Stavanger, Norway on the SAT-C. Manara/ 7OQY some 100 miles away from us were adrift. I called Captain and he told me that they had been spoken to this ship during the early morning.
They needed some spare parts for their engine and were sending distress signals. Our 2nd Officer had been spoken with their Chief Engineer and they needed a bearing for the turbo charger. - Isn't that a problem for the technical department ashore? 2nd Officer asked. Technical department should order a salvage tug or arrange a helicopter to deliver the spare part. Well, the ship was 37 years old and had been adrift for a few days, so I think that says all about the company owning that ship I got a 1, 5 hours constitutional before my night watch. I came to the bridge fresh out from the shower in good time for my night watch. I prepared my tea and checked the cookies first thing. They are learning, 1 bag of cookies is gone. But they left a roll of chocolate cookies. The roll was gone in a jiff.  Ha! That will teach them.
When I finished the cookie business I had a chat with Chief Officer: - Why did you turn of the light on deck? I was out there kicking a•• in my jogging shoes. I had a nice watch and I listened to Radio Sweden while drinking tea and eating chocolate cookies. +++++++++++++++
Monday 30th of January 2006 and it was time for 4th Engineer and me to do our safety round. We started our engines and then I did some paper work. End of the month and stuff has to be sent to  the company, so they know that we have done something during the month, so there is some paper work to do. Well, I'm off to relieve Chief Officer so he can have his dinner. Third day without dinner and first day with no lunch. Only black bread and oatmeal. This was the idea when I offered to relieve Chief Officer for dinner every day. I should stay away from the mess room. When Chief Officer is back on the bridge I'm off for my 1, 5 hours constitutional on deck with my iPod. Then a hot shower and I'm ready for my night watch. Tonight we advance our clocks again so it will be a 3 hours watch tonight. Tuesday the 31st of January 2006 and we had just changed course to 007° from 033° when I
At 10 o'clock Captain came for his 10 o'clock tea. This was about the only exciting stuff that happened on my watch, well, we passed a few fishing boats at the end of my watch. One of them called me, but I didn't understand what he said. Something about the weather report or the radar. Could as well have been pirates. I ship with containers passing Somalia must be like a magnet for all kind of pilferer. Well, just as we thought that it would be impossible to raise the level of action in the “action department” we really surprised ourselves. It's not only the end of the month, we're also  approaching Jebel Ali and that means paper work. So I was busy during the afternoon with paper work.
Luckily we're used to a heavy workload in the action department. It was soon 17:30 and I was off to the bridge to relieve Chief Officer. My 3rd day without dinner and lunch. Only black bread and I feel very good. 1, 5 hours of walking on deck when Chief Officer is finished with is dinner. I don't sleep so much now when I'm only eating healthy food and when I'm walking on deck. Well, I hate to break it to you. But now it's over and no more adventure in January. But don't despair there will be plenty more action in February so just hit that left button on your mouse.
    
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independence, but on Mayotte they wanted to continuing the French rule.
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E ni Svenskar och inte förstår Engelska så ska ni skämmas. J och Björn, med det menar jag inte att alla mina stavfel ska ältas varje gång vi träffas.
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