Day 1

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Day 1 - Tuesday, April 1 2008

I brought a biography of Nelson to while away the idle hours. In retrospect, maybe not such a good idea. This ship is French, not Italian as we’d supposed. Recherchez du Trafalgar? Non, non, mais oui, l’Admiral d’Villeneuve est un matelot magnifique, ne c’est pas!

So that’s Horatio confined to the cabin for the rest of the voyage. His presence in the wardroom appears to be un petit non diplomatique.

As you see, my French is coming on splendidly as a result of such fraternite with the master and the officers whose English is on a par with my Franglais. I’ve even managed to pick up the motto of the French navy. Apparently, the English translation is “To the water - it is time.” In French, it’s “A l’eau, c’est l’heur”. Now I understand why this is such a popular phrase with the waterfront ladies. Or so I’m told, having had only minimal experience in such matters.

The not so immaculate Italian misconception arose from the naming of the vessels. Our original booking was on the Nabucco. That got replaced by the Tosca. The logical conclusion (at least what I pass off as logic) was that ships named after Joe Green operas were bound to be of Eyetie origin. Not so. The fleet nomenclature has a musical theme. Among the sister ships are the Berlioz, Bellini, and Ravel. Had we been booked on the Ravel, would I have assumed it was a Hungarian vessel? As likely as wearing a bolero for the rest of the voyage! (Someone will have to explain that one to Mick the Scouser…)

We’re now about 450 miles offshore. Noon position is given at the end of this bulletin and will be updated in subsequent dispatches so anyone interested can track progress as we head south-east through the Indian Ocean before turning left at Sri Lanka.

Although this is Day 1 at sea, it’s Day 3 since our departure from Dubai on Sunday. Despite being only 75 miles out on Saturday afternoon, there were no berths available in Khor Fakkan so Tosca had to stand off till just after dawn on Monday. As a result, we had to spend Sunday night in a hotel - and there were no rum rations to be had - Khor Fakkan somehow being part of dry Sharjah emirate, despite being geographically disconnected. Maybe sodomy and the lash are equally lacking in the port’s maritime tradition, but we decided not to pursue such matters. At times, Linda has no sense of adventure. Instead, she commandeered a cab over the border to Dibba where less censorious morals prevail. Enough fine ale and whisky were had there to help us make it through the night - and back to Khor Fakkan.



After seemingly endless delays at immigration, and much head-scratching by the passport officer unaccustomed to eccentrics who claim to be passengers on a box carrier - yani, why you going to China, uh? - we eventually boarded about lunchtime yesterday (Monday).

We spent the rest of the day exploring the ship and watching countless containers being loaded, unloaded, stacked, and restacked as crane operators and crew worked flat-out to make up the lost time.

Tosca is a massive ship - about 240 metres overall length and with eight decks in the aft superstructure where our cabin is located, as well as crew quarters, ops rooms etc. Containers are stowed lengthwise in 18 stacks for’ard and five aft. Each stack is 18 boxes wide at the beam, and eight high - diminishing pro rata to the contours of the vessel. The same configuration applies below decks. I still can’t do the arithmetic, so I’ll wait until the Franglais improves and I can get a definitive figure from the skipper on exactly how many we have on board. Lots!

Our cabin is on F deck, just below the bridge, about 25 metres up from sea level - not quite Burj Dubai, but still more than a bit vertiginous as you venture a squint over the guardrail. Our for’ard view is the backside of a container, but from up top on the navigation deck where you’re above the stack you still can’t see the bows - just row after row of boxtop runway. What’s in ‘em? Lots of airbags for Chinese motor manufacturers, for starters. Plus assorted chemicals, and cargo descriptions beyond my limited French translation skills. That’s gleaned from a glimpse of the manifest but I’m sure more info will be forthcoming as the voyage progresses.

Loading/unloading continued through the night and we eventually got under way about sunrise this morning. We were up at 5am to see the action. Tugs fore and aft eased us stern first into the channel which seemed perilously narrow - the flashing navigation beacons seemed a hand’s breadth away - and after dropping off the pilot we headed for open waters. We have full access to the bridge, so watching the ship being worked was quite fascinating, especially as our previous nautical experience has been in sail yachts smaller than a Tosca life raft. The volume of shipping off Fujeirah/Khor Fakkan is quite staggering. On the radar, they look for all the world like a shoal of fish, so we had to thread our way carefully through them. Some are anchored in the roads waiting for berths - others making their way in or out of harbour or up and down the coast. Everything from giant oil-tankers to bulk carriers, container ships, fishing boats, service barges, even a naval corvette bristling with artillery. Whose, I couldn’t make out in the morning mist. This was definitely the Sheikh Zayed Road of the sea-lanes.

By about 7am, we’d cleared the traffic and picked up full revs and top speed of 25 knots. The weather’s good and the forecast’s for more of the same. A strong breeze sprang up late afternoon, right on the nose, so sunbathing on the quarter-deck was more like a wind-tunnel test. Even in calm conditions, the Tosca’s speed generates a powerful side draft that doesn’t encourage you to stick your head out the porthole.
Although the for’ard view is containers and more containers, we have an uninterrupted panorama to port, so much of the time is spent with binoculars trying to identify other vessels. Train-spotting was never like this! Tonight the wind has dropped and the sky is clear and ablaze with stars. Our wake is glowing with phospherence and moonlight, and after an enormous dinner we’re ready to sling our hammocks and be on the bridge again for sunrise tomorrow.

Did I mention hammocks? That must be the Nelson influence again. Seriously, the accommodation is great. A very spacious cabin, with en suite heads and shower, two large beds (so we can get friendly as an alternative to reading Nelson/counting the waves/ looking at the view/ship spotting etc), sofa, chairs, desk, fridge, and all home comforts. The food is superb, four courses with as much wine as you can manage thrown in. Beer and whisky are on offer at give away prices, certainly by shore-side standards in Dubai. At this rate, there seems to be little prospect of passive on-board aerobics working off the waistline. The Tosca is very stable so there’s none of the involuntary bracing against the pitch and roll as happens on a canvas-powered vessel. In that case, I might as well have another can of Tsingtao - purely for experimental purposes of course. We have another 20 days at sea and I have to confirm that my palate really is getting to like Chinese beer…

Noon position 24◦11.7 N - 58◦39.3 E
Day’s run to noon - 142 miles

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