A night off the boat...

Sometimes we forget we are Sailors

 We have been on the water now for 5 weeks... Thanks to the foul weather around Cape Horn, we got a rare day in the harbor along side Port Stanly.  Its hard to think about what we do and maintain much in the way of sanity. Our families are saints for dealing with our long absences as they do.  Looking into the future here is like looking off the bow into the fog, we don't see much past where we are now. One thing we did was to stop into the International Seaman's Mission center at the head of the port. I'll post some more on this neat little place in a bit. But here are some of the guys as we just walked off the dock into a cold misty morning. Left to Right: Julien, Ian, Hilmar, Kevin, Relly and Owen. It was the first time we'd been "on the hard" for over a month.

In the distance the snow was falling as we entered the harbor. It is amazing how comforting it is to be this close to land again.

Looking out the port bridge wing over our communications array

A rare look at all the ships officers on the bridge at one time.

Left to Right: Haans, John, Thomas and Stef all staring at the thruster controls for the ship as we pull into the harbor and position ourselves for docking.

The vessel technology has progressed SO FAR from when I started on boats. There is no wheel, or rudder, it is all directional thruster and satellite guidance and is more like a flight simulator than driving a boat.

Here is the main steering and control center for the ship. See no wheel, its all joysticks and trackballs.

 

http://www.missiontoseafarers.org/about-us

This is the Seaman's Center/Mission. If you didn't have a charity in mind for this year try this one. Its awesome. I'm going to post some of there info from their website below but I strongly suggest you go to their site which I have linked to, and see some of the work they do to make our lives better. Thanks guys..!

Excerpt:

Loneliness, danger and separation from loved ones are just some of the problems seafarers face. Around the world, night and day, The Mission to Seafarers provides help and support to those in need. As a Christian agency, we work in more than 230 ports caring for the practical and spiritual welfare of seafarers of all nationalities and faiths.

Through our global network of chaplains, staff and volunteers we reach out to seafarers by visiting them on their ships, offering them the hand of welcome and friendship, and caring for them in their hour of need.
In over 100 ports we also run centres which provide ‘a home away from home’. These are places where seafarers can contact their loved ones from whom they are separated for months on end, receive assistance with any problems they may be facing and get a break from their demanding way of life onboard ship.
To find out more about what we do and how you may be able to help, please contact pr@missiontoseafarers.org