Tender November / Happy Thanksgiving

Life in a shipyard is far more work and pain than I originally had anticipated. Immediately after tying up alongside our sister ship the Sea Lion, we were bombarded by new faces consisting of shipyard workers and crew from the other vessel. The Shipyard workers hurriedly rolled out a blue plastic material from the stern of the boat all the way to the forward lounge and then down into the crew quarters where they could access and drain the black water tank. Stores were transferred over to the Sea Lion, and everyone was put to work. Myself, and fellow deckhand Ian were sent below to clean the bilges below, which unknown to us would soon be the week long setting of the most uncomfortable labor tasks I have ever been involved with. An hour after arriving at Bay Ship and Yacht company 2900 main st Alameda California we were preparing to be lifted out of the water into dry dock. The process in which a 152 ft long boat is lifted out of the water is quite incredible to experience. Bow first we headed into a narrow slot between two small concrete piers where we tied up to cleats and evidently were directly above a hydraulic lift capable of lifting tens of thousands of pounds right out of the water. Once the underwater diver confirmed that the boat was lined up correctly with the lift, we were ushered out of the Sea Bird and stood aside while it rose out of the water. Seeing the boat in which you live out of the water is a beautiful site, but was soon forgotten once the excruciating labor began. Being out of the water allows one to access the places which are normally submerged and cannot safely be accessed while below the agua. The priority was to get the bilges ground down and repainted. Being inside a bilge was a new experience for me. In order to enter and find a comfortable or at least tolerable position involves a great deal of contorting and bumping of knees and heads against the steel frame. These are places so uncomfortable that anyone would feel claustrophobic, and once you are wearing a respirator, ear muffs, goggles, and awkwardly grinding away rust with an angled grinder, it become hell! 4 days of hot uncomfortable grinding were followed by 4 days of painting with one the most toxic of paints; Hempal, while basking in its fumes in tight quarters. I was more than pleased to be out of there! After 8 days of dry dock, we were lowered back into the water and then moved all our belongings off the Sea Lion back onto the Sea Bird initiating the same hellish process to be undergone by the Sea Lion crew! The rest of shipyard was comprised of chipping paint off all walls / railings, grinding them down and then feathering them with an orbital sander in order to apply a nice smooth coat of fresh paint! After 3 weeks of this pattern I can proudly claim to be surgical with my grinding skills! Working 7-5 for 10 days straight takes its toll on your energy and your body, so once that day off comes around I was more than ready! It is currently 3:46 in the morning and I am two hours and 14 minutes away from completing my first of 7 nights of the graveyard shift! The Sea Lion disembarked for a 2 week positioning trip south to Costa Rica at 8pm thanksgiving evening! We head south December 2^nd, and my next blog will most likely entail details of more vomiting or excited stories of whale sightings!

10/30-11/2 Southbound and green

At 10pm we passed below the four mile bridge which connects Astoria to Washington. 10:05pm I could feel the boat bouncing more than any other day aboard. 10:10pm my books and other personal items were rocking back

and forth along the shelf followed by my alarm clock falling to the floor. 10:15pm waves were slamming along the hull and I began to sweat and felt a bit off…10:20pm quickly slammed my laptop shut, flew off the bed and into the 2.5’ x 5’ so called bathroom/shower floor where the vomiting began! Yup, 20 minutes of rough conditions is all it took for me to experience my first bout of sea sickness! For those of you who have never been sea sick, it is not a fun experience. In fact it was the worst I have ever felt in my entire life. A bad hangover doesn’t even begin to do justice. I had to lock my legs and attempt to stay balanced as the boat swayed from side to side while painful vomiting due to the tensed up muscles which were keeping me from falling limp to the ground. A few vomits and feeling dizzy for an hour or so is manageable, miserable…but manageable. Anyone can handle that, but that feeling intensified by ten, and lasting for 18 consecutive hours is a whole new level of misery. Somewhere into the night a roof tile fell into my bed bringing a chunk of insulation with it. I was so weak and feared vomiting as a result from shifting positions that I didn’t even bother removing the insulation which had worked its way under my sheets. At 8am the following morning I was to report for duty. Reporting to “duty” consisted of me miraculously leaving my room and struggling to the dining room dressed in slip-ons, polo, and gym shorts. Upon arrival of the dining room my body collapsed to the floor attempting to battle the inevitable vomit episode that was coming…which didn’t prove to be an effective method of deterrence. After a good vomit session, I embarked on a two story journey to the pilot house where I was past due. To my amazement I found the ground littered with books, charts, and empty water bottles and standing above them was the 3^rd mate who who’s face was greener than mine. She had a bucket behind her and once our eyes meet, we knew what the other was feeling. My daily duties were excluded for the day. Eventually the water calmed down and my body adjusted to the gentle rocking of the sea. 18 of the 24 crew member vomited the first 12 hours of the trip to San Francisco. The journey wasn’t entirely awful thanks to an hour of watching a pod of four dolphins joyfully surf the bow of our vessel. A quick description of the last 30 minutes of the voyage can’t be omitted from this post… we crossed under the Golden Gate bridge exactly as the morning sun rose to tuck in a weary full moon.