DCdt’s Log 211445 May 2016

UTC -8

This is actually not my fourth post written from anchorage it’s about my sixth or so, but I really wish I had started with the terrible movie-style anchorage puns earlier. At least I’m getting to use my personal favourite one at last.

We ended up sailing way too fast for our unexpected new port of Penang, although this wasn’t all our fault, with wind and currents in our favour, we ended up steaming along at a blistering 13.5kts for most of the journey since we left our rough weather, and we couldn’t reduce our RPM any further otherwise we it damages the engine to operate at a low revolution for a prolonged period of time. As such, we have brought forward our ETA many, many times, and yet we’re still here early. Oh well.

Yes we got more rough weather, about 5 days of it after we passed over the north of Madagascar we hit a rather extensive low pressure which brought with it large, long swells again abeam to our course, a lot of rolling, surging, yawing, all that fun stuff. Thankfully it kind of died down by the time we changed course to 057° when we were heading up to join the start of the Malacca Straight, and it’s been calm now since about 5° S of the equator all the way up to where we are now!

We got the port of Penang added to our port of call list because we were expected to arrive into Singapore so early. They figured that if we’ve got a few days in hand, sod it, throw in another destination en route, because why not? I mean I was looking forward to potentially going home a few days early, but now I get to add another port to my list and I’m still due to fly out of Singapore on the original date, so I shan’t grumble too much.

Once again it was a relatively quiet transit from Beira up to Malacca, minus the aforementioned weather issues, it was pretty simple sailing. And I have been hitting my TRB overtime to get as many things signed off as possible before I sign off, and that seems to have been going well, but I am certainly shattered now. God knows how long I’m going to sleep for when I get home, but I think lots of the hours. One of the highlights as ever with work to do before arriving into port is painting. I honestly love it, so calming. Although sometimes you do get headaches from mixing the paints and huffing all the paint fumes, thinner fumes, hardener etc. Although one type of painting I have grown to detest out here is stencilling. I’m no good at it and it just makes me angry now. I can’t cut stencils very well because I get impatient and go quickly, so make a pig’s ear out of it, and then when it comes to the application of paint on the stencil I always manage to bugger it up somehow. I have literally started trading jobs when I get given stencilling as a task. Yesterday it was full rounds of fire extinguisher testing and BA cylinder refilling, much more up my street.

Speaking of home, I got my flight details through yesterday! It feels so real now, I can’t waaaait, I think it’s fair to say I’m rather excited, like a kid at Christmas.

Also, sod’s bloody law, I’ve lasted almost my entire voyage without damaging any of my belongings (apart from my shin.. RIP.), and a mere day outside of Penang, our penultimate port of call, I managed to lose my sunglasses, and more annoyingly, walk into one of our radar terminals and smash my phone screen that was in my pocket… Well done, Dan, sterling effort. I guess that’ll be something to sort out when I’m home! Let’s just hope I don’t get any [more] glass splinters until then.

Well, that’s all I can think of for now. Not long now until Singapore, sign off and home! British Airways, best start stocking your on board bar, just saying.

-The Scouse Deckie