final preparation

The seven day positioning trip from Alameda to La Paz was very uneventful. Perfectly calm seas, clear sunny days, and ridiculously illuminated nights from the moon. The only wildlife to be seen was our daily visit from a couple of pacific white side dolphins and a few spouting whales in the distance. Unfortunately I was asleep for a two minute viewing of a westbound school of 80-100 of the mentioned dolphins. Chief Mate Shawn Nettles saw a couple of marlin skimming the waters edge about 100 miles north of Cabo. Monday the 7^th of December around 4pm we got the first view of the 100’s of mansions littering the Cabo cliffs. Luckily we were ahead of schedule so captain allowed us to go for our first swim out in front of lovers beach and the Cabo arch. The water was warm and salty and it was a great welcome to Baja! That evening the moon was waning which displayed more stars than I ever remember seeing. There was no light pollution whatsoever besides the dim running lights of the Sea Bird enabling us to clearly see all the basic constellations and if I knew more…I’m sure they were clearly visible as well.

The minute we arrived at the fuel docks, customs officials and health inspectors bombarded us. Due to ever growing concern of swine flu, Mexican law has gotten far more strict than the past year adventures. We, as in fellow deckhand Ian, had to dig through all the trash with a Tyvek suit and respirator, separating all the meat and fruits from the rest of the trash. It was a task so foul that I would for sure have vomited. Once separated it had to be sprayed down the following morning with some sort of chemical before it could be off loaded. The ironic / humorous part of this rancid and time-consuming project was that once we were given the approval to offload, it all went in the same garbage truck! After translating for a couple of mechanics and government officials I was dubbed the official translator. It was nice to see that all my Spanish has paid off, but also a hassle while constantly delaying my daily projects.

We spent 4 days in La Paz docked right in the center of the marina paralleling the main drag. All that separated us from the music blaring street cruising Mexican rigs, was 150 ft concrete walkway and a security gate. It was great having town so accessible as well as having the ability to people watch from the decks. For the duration of our stay in La Paz, three local workers came aboard; Javier, Martin, and Gilberto. For the past 10 years 2 of the 3 had been helping out with painting and cleaning tasks whenever the Sea Bird came into port. The were hilarious and proved to be hard workers once I got on them a little! The amount of work we accomplished in those 4 days really impressed me. The boat was such a mess from shipyard and positioning that I was concerned we wouldn’t be ready in time for the first group of Baja guests.

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.

positioning

10/30-

The windows are locked tight and any loose equipment is extra strapped down! We are crossing the Columbia river bar tonight at midnight and expecting 12-15 ft waves. This will be my first test to see how I fair in rough water. More than half the crew tell me that they vomit the entire 2.5 day journey down to San Francisco... I hope I am not one of them. All aboard in 10 minutes so this is all I can post!

round 2

10/24 Riverplace

Awoke already docked at the Riverplace marina where I entered the boat for my first time 6 days earlier. We unloaded the guests and 6 hours later loaded a new group of 60 only to repeat the same journey! I had a lot to do but was able to take 20 minutes and give my buddies Shehan, Casey and Kevin a quick tour of the boat! I just completed my 7 day rotation and instead of beginning at 7am tomorrow, I get and extra 6 hours and will start at 1pm my new rotation of 12 hour shifts.

roll on columbia

10/23 Cape Disappointment.

For the first time aboard the Sea Bird I awoke to a violent rocking. I quickly dressed and went above to figure out what was going on. Apparently we were 2 miles west of Astoria introducing everyone to the Columbia River Bar. The only other spot on earth as difficult and deadly when it comes to navigation is Cape Horn. This extremely shallow and rough section of water is the result of fierce ocean currents combining with massive amounts of water pushed down the Columbia. Over 2000 ships have sunk and at least 700 lives lost within the 17 mile section of water making up the Bar. Once again this was all new to me. Having gown up in the state I was shocked never having learned this fact. Everyday huge barges enter into Columbia where they are loaded with grain or unload electronics and other supplies. Each and every one of these vessels is piloted by a local pilot who is dropped off via helicopter to assist them through the narrow 17 mile stretch of the dredged channel. The men who are trained to pilot these barges make around $180,000- $300,000 a year and one little mistake can result in death or the loss of millions of dollars in product! Astoria is also the home to the National Motor Lifeboat rescue school which is the only school for rough water rescue operations in the U.S. In the town of Astoria we got 6200 gallons of fuel costing around $10,000 and taking a little under two hours to fill! The guests were unloaded to explore the world class maritime museum and then shuttle across a 4 mile bridge to cape disappointment WA. My duty of the day was to watch the entrance of the boat and make sure that nobody but guests and employees entered...t’was a long and wet day!

air force

10/21 Palouse-

In the early a.m we had anchored up the Palouse river which confluences with the Snake. There were three choices for our guests this day; kayak up the river, bus ride to a waterfall, or a guided zodiac tour up the river. Only 4 people chose to kayak, which was the boat operation that myself and the 3^rd mate were responsible for. Being my first small boat operation I was beyond excited. The 3^rd mate and I unloaded all the zodiacs and then loaded 4 kayaks onto one of them which we drove 1 mile up the Palouse. The river lies at the bottom of a steep rim rock canyon. Waterfowl exploded out of the river the entire time. Never had I seen so many ducks concentrated in one area. A few hundred yards from where we dropped off the kayaks followed by the guests I could hear a Pheasant calling and got up a cubby of 45-50 quail. It was very beautiful terrain and empty shotgun shells scattered the ground proving excellent bird hunting ground. While heading back towards the main boat, a thunderous sound was chasing us up the canyon...Out of nowhere a fighter jet came flying bye only 100-120 yards off the ground. The sound was deafening and the proximity was mind blowing!

10/22 Hood River

I consider myself to be pretty familiar and knowledgeable with the state of Oregon, but the areas that I know the least about are exactly where we paralleled during this adventure. Finally mid-day on the 22^nd I got my first real glimpse of the town I had heard so much about; Hood River, land of breweries and wind surfing! Approaching Hood River from the once mighty Columbia is beyond breathtaking. A snow covered MT Hood towers in the background looking down on gentle slopes covered with homes and yellow and red leaved trees. Seeing these brilliant colors and dense forests is quite the contrast to the bare and rocky slopes that live to the east.

lewis and clarkston

10/20- Forty hours later we found ourselves pulling into a small dock in Clarkston WA, which, strangely enough is across the Snake river from Lewiston Idaho 350 miles inland from the Pacific Ocean. The Lewis and Clark expedition camped out in the area in the early 1800’s with the Nez Perce Indians before they headed out on the last part of their 2 yr plus search for the Pacific! In that forty hours time we had gone through eight different sets of locks/ dams including; the famous Bonneville dam, The Dalles, John Day, McNary, Ice Harbor, Lower Monumental, Little Goose, and Lower Granite. The Columbia River drops twice the elevation as the Mississippi in half the distance! It is said to be far more difficult to maneuver than the Mississippi due to its shallow rocky bottom compared to forgiving mud. Clarkston is just a small simple town with a large paper mill and of course a Wallmart. Early on the 20^th the guests disembarked the ship and loaded onto jet boats headed into Hells Canyon, a section of the Snake far too shallow and difficult for the N.G.S.B. With all the guests away we were really put to work. Fresh water was pumped into the boats tank, which holds 4400 gallons. All the garbage, recycling, and laundry were delivered to the dock by means of a human chain where bins and trucks awaited. Once all the dirty work was done we took on a weeks supply of food for 72 people including employees and naturalists. Seeing the amount of food and waste consumed and produced by this amount of people in a weeks time is quite impressive! The rest of the day was filled with painting, cleaning and organizing. At 2300 we took off to head back down the snake!

Bulkhead

10/18

“Head on down to the fantail, grab the Ospho and a doodle bug then meet me on the aft 200 to give a quick pass over the scuppers…” Yeah, that’s how I felt too the first day aboard the National Geographic Sea Bird listening to commands in what seemed a foreign language. Two minutes after boarding the vessel at the Riverplace Marina making it 8:32am, I was put to work and told my shift lasted until 7:00pm. Given that I was pretty tired from my final evening on land, I started to evaluate my decision committing myself to a six month contract in a position in which I know absolutely nothing about. But, after a good meal, some friendly faces and a real tour of the ship I soon knew that only good times lay ahead. Having completed a good 5 hours of monotonous tasks, cartloads of luggage began to line the dock to be loaded into the corresponding rooms written on the yellow luggage tags. Fifty-five senior citizens do not pack lightly for a 6 day excursion up the Columbia and Snake rivers in pursuit of historical Lewis and Clark landmarks… Prescription meds, history books, excursion outfits, booze, and binoculars tend to weigh down a suitcase! At 1800 my first voyage aboard the Sea Bird commenced.

All aboard!

It is official! Yesterday 10/16/09 I awoke at 4:30 a.m. and my father dropped me off at the Redmond Airport. I flew to Seattle and took a taxi into the heart of rainy downtown arriving at the Lindlbad Expeditions west coast office. I filled out my final paperwork and meet a variety of employees with job titles such as; port operations manager, captain of the National Geographic Explorer, 2nd mate to the National Geographic Sea Lion, Purchasing Manager, Engineering, Human Resources, Staffing and others...

There is a very inviting and warm feel to the office in which spectacular wildlife shots cover the walls. All photography was obviously taken by professional photographers who accompany these vessels on their adventures. The above photo displays my basic attire for the 6 month journey. Khaki pants, blue polo, L.E. belt, and during the colder times...a fleece and or jacket. I also have a incredibly styling jump suit provided for those not so cleanly tasks.

Tomorrow morning at 8:30 am I will set my eyes on the NG Sea Bird for my first time. I am instructed to meet the 152' Sea Bird at the Riverplace Marina in Portland. After meeting the crew and familiarizing myself with the vessel I expect to be put to work. I have a fixed schedule of seven 12 hr days in a row followed by an 18hr brake, and continue that pattern until April 28th! The first two weeks we will be giving tours on the Columbia River, and then head south to Alameda Shipyard outside of Oakland California for an entire month. After a month of maintenance and preparing the ship for 5 months at sea...the real adventure begins! I don't know how often I will have internet access, but I know that I will be updating this with photos and stories whenever I can!