So as I planned the trip John kept telling me they’d put me to work. You know swabbing the decks and peeling potatoes. He was right they did put me to work They looked at my obvious qualifications and decided I should drive the boat. Clearly they see my natural abilities shine through lol. So much for swabbing the decks 🤓

So we cast off three hours late from Philly. Captain Nelson wasn’t very happy. In order to leave the port a pilot has to come on and direct the ship out to open sea. In Philly that’s a good 4 hour trip down the Delaware river so it’s unusually long. Our river pilot was very serious. He arrived dressed like he was going to the yacht club in Khakis and a polo shirt with a nautical emblem. He seemed a bit nervous as there was a bit of fog between Wilmington and Cape May. He kept barking orders and yelling on the telephone to another pilot bringing a container ship into the port. Apparently the other ship was too close in foggy conditions. It looked fine to me but hey I’m not responsible for a 2 billion dollar super container ship.  

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​He also was very picky about what he was eating They brought him three different meals but he couldn’t eat anything. Finally he had a bowl of corn flakes. I guess every profession has their divas🤓

Finally, he was gone ..dropped off on a tugboat and things seemed to calm down. Ten minutes after he left the crew changed into shorts and t shirts and everyone mellowed out. 

Speaking of dietary requirements. I just found out they sell Diet Coke on board. Sign me up for a 12 pack !!

Efficient 

Been watching the ship being unloaded and loaded. I assumed they took everything off first then load but they actually do both at once. There are four cranes and two load and two unload at the same time. Trucks line up under the dual cranes in two lanes. One truck gets a container offloaded while the truck on the right gets a container on loaded It was incredibly fast. The thing that took the longest was when they laid a concrete pallet on every third level.  

Apparently an average ship carries over 4200 containers and they can unload and load them all in a six hour average.  
The cranes almost seem as if they are alive. It’s real Star Wars stuff. I took a video ( lucky you ) 
of the unloading/Loading ballet and the removal of these huge concrete pallets that provide a base for three levels of containers. They weigh several tons each but the cranes move them like card board 
It was like watching an assembly line but sort of hypnotic lol. Guess that’s my inner nerd 🤓 anyhow a few snaps and a video. Even I admit that to watch this you need to be having a very slow day at work or on a very tedious budget conference call… then it might brighten your day 

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No I’m not a service rep …I’m a retiree..that’s better than a service rep ..I m like cargo..I paid to be transported I just weigh less…”
That’s me explaining to the security guard at the Philadelphia Port that I’m a passenger and he needs to let me through to get on the ship 

Finally after a few calls and checking several lists he tells me is going to let me through and even better since im like “Cargo ” he won’t charge me the 150 dollar port transportation fee to take me 700 feet to the ship. 150 dollars for 700 feet ….Uber eat your heart out ! 

He actually was a very nice guy. He said they don’t get many passengers so he wasn’t sure the protocol ( yes John I know what you’re thinking ) 

Eventually a beat up former school bus now painted white pulls up and I load my suitcase and duffle and off go   

I arrive at the ship and they are loading and unloading. I’m met by a crew member who drags my embarrassingly large suitcase up the gangway and takes me to my cabin. It’s actually quite large and roomy. Two rooms and a killer sound system from the 80s.  Below you can even see the white bus !

The Journey Begins 
So John dropped me off at the port. It was strange to think I won’t see him for two months ! He knows I really want to have this experience but we both were a bid sad. I’m hoping he will decide to meet me in NZ ! If only there wasn’t that 22 hour flight thing !!  My cabin seems a bit empty without him.  

So I got my room. Very plush in that 1970 maritime way. Lol .. Sort of odd since the ship was built in 2010. I unpacked my clothes and shoes and of course my pillows and I’m ready ! I immediately set up my beats speaker and my iPod and my portable DVD player … I actually brought 98 DVDs in case I get bored or we hit a hurricane 😇

I took a quick tour of the bridge and top deck. Amazing views Can’t wait to be on the open seas.  

The efficiency of the loading unloading process is pretty impressive. More on that to come !

Dinner is at 5:30. I’ll keep you posted . 

I like Tom Waits a lot…he has a scratchy but authentic voice and knows how to write a mean lyric. I was listening to him this am when all of a sudden, this song came on

I remember the first time I heard this song. I was living in the UK and it struck a chord with me because it is of course not about sailing away at all but about the willingness to take the journey on 

So, its in that spirit of taking the journey that I am embarking on this trip. I really have no idea what to expect for the next 60 days other than I will be on a huge ship making a long journey to a place I have always wanted to explore. I have no idea what my fellow travelers will be like or even if there will be fellow travelers Will the crew be gruff and distant or friendly. Will I make new friends or spend 30 days at sea and 30 days on land all alone….its all about the journey I guess…though a spa would have been nice lol

I’ve now repacked my suitcase three times taking out more and more things and then putting a few things in. Packing for two months and numerous climates is nerve wracking. Thank god, I don’t ever iron anything as those of you who know me can testify to.

The one true creature comfort I did take…pillows. I am very particular about having at least three pillows. I figure they will have one on the ship so I had to take out enough shirts and clothes to get two pillows in…don’t tell John. He will be very annoyed I took one of the fluffy pillows from the bed. However, since I personally” borrowed” those pillows from the numerous Renaissance hotels I’ve stayed at it seemed completely fair. Those Renaissance pillows are amazing fluffy but firm. I can’t believe they have any left…. I will do the right thing when I finally get to Australia where I am staying at a renaissance the night before I fly home. I will leave my fluffy pillow behind .thus returning it …see I am an honest guy!!

Well tomorrow about 2 John will drop me off at the ship….ill let you know how it goes!

Shiver me timbers I’m sailing away 

Hurricanes…. Leave it to me to plan my bucket list trip during the worst storm cycle in history. So I heard from the shipping company and we are now leaving at 4 am on the 13th but I have to be on the boat by 4 pm on the 12th. Due to Irma it is unclear if we will stop in Florida at all and with Jose forming they want to get into the south Caribbean sooner rather than later. I guess you really do have to be flexible on a freighter.  

Well I think I’m almost packed..just need a quick trip to Walgreens for some Dramamine and some aspirin and then to ACME for some pot noodles and snacks. Apparently snacks are quite limited on a freighter so you need to bring your own …oh is that a jumbo bag of M&M peanuts ? 

“Your too young to retire “,,,I hear that a lot …but its nonsense …  I loved every day I worked, well, almost everyday….but there is so much i want to see and so little time to see it. I wish i could have retired at 30 ! Life is full of transitions and Ive never been one to fear change,,if anything i fear being stationary!

When I was a little kid my Grandpa Syvertsen lived with us. When he was a  young man he came to the states at the turn of the century from Norway . He was an 11-year-old kid travelling alone to live with his older brother who had come 5 years earlier. He stayed with his brother for a few years but it didn’t work out ..families…and he ended up spending a few years in the merchant marine and travelling before he settled near San francisco with his sister Margaret

When i was growing up he used to get his scrapbooks out and walk through them telling me about all his journeys and the places he thought i should see in my life.  As a direct result of his stories I’ve managed to get to Easter Island, Machu Picchu , Angkor Wat and quite a few places that became my bucket list   One place he didn’t get to was New Zealand and he never made it thru the Panama Canal. So, I thought I’d  kick off this blog with that very  journey that starts September 13th.  I will board the Bernhard S a container ship as a passenger for 28 days as it makes it way from Philadelphia to Auckland New Zealand via the Panama Canal. Then once I’m there I’ll spend a few weeks exploring the South Island.   Hope you’ll tag along for the journey

My Grandfather shortly before we lost him, with my parents and finally a childhood pictures taken in Norway with his sister Margaret .  The Bernhard S..my home for 28 days

 

So when I told my husband i wanted to take a 27 day freighter voyage  from Philadelphia to Auckland he asked if i was “crazy”. Having endured the 7 day Queen Mary crossing in May I think John had enough. I think he was ready to jump overboard after day 5. He felt there was a lot of sea and not much else. I on the other hand loved all that sea and spent most of the day walking the deck and curled up in the lounge drinking tea and reading.  I found it very relaxing and for the first time in 35 years I felt i had really disconnected from email and Facebook and texts. The idea of doing that for 27 days sounded like heaven!  Then, since i was in NZ I might as well enjoy it for a few weeks.

I think that idea of disconnecting is something I really look forward to. My work had been stressful and demanding and fantastic but i never really left it behind. I started working full time in 1982 and never ever truly disconnected. It always seemed to be hovering about.  I took a few long trips in those years but either work or the knowledge that I needed to find work when i got back was always in my mind.

John likes to tell people how he would wake up at 3 am and the bedroom would be bathed in blue light as I lay in bed answering e mails or reading texts from other crazy employees who were sending them at 3 am!.

Now I have no emails that need answering urgently or texts that must be responded to immediately and i”m looking forward to just enjoy the journey. …and not having to wear a tux at dinner….although we did look pretty good in those tuxedos on the Queen Mary.