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Published: March 30th 2014
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I guess I’ll head north now…
I stood on the back deck and watched as Ushuaia vanished into the drizzle. The mountains were gleaming with fresh snow and the greenery was shining in the early evening light. The Beagle Channel was lumpy and strong winds howled across the decks. Gulls followed in the wake of the ship as we headed towards the open ocean of the ever–grumpy South Atlantic...
It was eerie being on a ship with no guests! Empty rooms, quiet hallways and decks, no restaurant, no bar, no lectures – nothing! It’s ideal for getting stuff done though! I’m on the ship with Niki, my work colleague, for stage one of the repositioning phase of the ship - a four day stint up the coast from Ushuaia, Argentina to Montevideo, Uruguay. Our task is to inventory all expedition equipment on board and close the ship down for the season! So we began packing things! And counting things! Life jackets, tents, sleeping bags, walking poles, climbing ropes, Zodiac parts, paddles, anchors, safety equipment, electronics, radios, GPSs, boots, tools, kayaks, dry-suits, snowshoes, karabiners, etc.! Did I miss anything? The first couple of days were on a
bumpy South Atlantic with 6 metre waves slamming into the side of us. It was challenging carrying boxes about the ship and up and down staircases…
Of course we did not have the ship entirely to ourselves - there were 38 of us… The captain, navigator and bridge officers were clearly still on board, as were the essential ship crew of engineers, electricians, plumbers, mechanics, welders, IT, cooks and kitchen staff, housekeeping, and several deck-hands. We hardly ever see these folk – yet they form the beating heart of this entire operation… Thanks guys!
We pulled up alongside the dock in Montevideo and I was anxiously waiting to disembark from my home. For the past three months the MV Sea Spirit has been my floating home, my workplace and my playground… It’s been my friend on tranquil seas, my companion on rough seas and my tormentor on the stormy seas. It’s been wonderful in so many ways…
A Final Thought… The sun, the sea and the albatross, ever visible from the ship, are powerful symbols! The sun, with its life-giving powers has been worshiped since the dawn of mankind, it is essential to us yet it
could easily kill us! We cannot go near it and we cannot live in it - yet we need it. The sea is vital to us too, but we also must be respectful of it. The sea is big and it does not care, and it can kill us if we get too close or if we go in it - yet we need it. And then there’s the albatross flying between the sun and the sea as a symbol of peace – and that’s something that we can live with…
Flying, gliding, silently, waiting…
“Dave, Dave, Captain.”
“Go ahead for Dave.”
“You have clearance to leave the vessel, over.”
“Copy that captain, out.”
And there was Theresa waiting at the dock…
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MOM
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sunset
beautiful sunset and those waves I think I will try to do some paintings on that, good pictures\LOVE MOM